Swing Thoughts and Interruptions

Has this ever happened to you?  I go to the range a couple of times a week, usually to work on one or two things to try to develop the muscle memory to make that part of the swing second nature.  I get to the range early and like the last spot to give myself a little room for quiet (and to sometimes cuss at myself where no one else can hear).  Yesterday I was working on staying relaxed with a good knee flex and staying down through the swing.  I sometimes tend toward having a pretty good position at address and during the backswing but a tendency to become a little more upright at the top or on the downswing, leading to some topped or thin shots.  Yesterday I had hit about 20 of my 120 or so balls when a woman came in with her instructor.  She said to him "He's in my spot!" and they proceeded to set up past the end of the marked spots about six feet from me.  The instructor was loud and didn't hesitate to talk while I was swinging.  I guess she was supposed to be working on her shoulder turn and making her left knee move forward.  Since that's not what I was working on I found it more than a little distracting.  Thankfully the range wasn't too crowded yet so I moved about 50 feet away.  I could still hear them but at least I could concentrate on what I came to work on.  Now, I don't have rabbit ears, but a little consideration would have been appreciated.  What do you think?

Was that lady the owner of the driving range? Probably not, I just thought I would ask anyway. Anywho, for some reason I tend to be very relaxed on the driving range and nothing and no one has been able to distract me. My problem is I can't take that same focus to the course for some strange reason. The best thing that I can think of to do in situations where there are distractions around you is to block it all out and zone in on what you are trying to do. I have a friend that will actually back off the shot, put in some ear plugs, and then proceed to bomb it down the middle of the fairway.

Amp

I always go to a spot on the end of the range when I go. I like to be as far away as possible from other people because it does help me to concentrate.

I do know a lot of people listen to an ipod or something to help them drown out others, but for some reason I just can't do that. Music gets too distracting to me. If you can yourself though, that would be an option to help.

As far as instructors talking near you, I was just mentioning it to a friend of mine last week. The tendency is to start thinking about what you are hearing about, whether it affects you or not. I have suffered from it before as well as seen it happen when I was helping out friends. Anymore I can usually drown it out, but I think that comes with confidence in your own swing than anything else. If you hear an instructor helping a student to (for example) turn their shoulders more and you really don't know if your shoulders are turning enough then it starts creeping doubt into your head and you get distracted. On the other hand however, if you do know that your shoulder turn is fine and you honestly believe it then it won't get to you and soon become background noise.

The only things that distract me at a range are kids watching their parent(s) hit (I'm always afraid they are going to walk right into my downswing) and nicely put together women wearing tight clothing. Otherwise you could drive a bus through the driving range and I don't think it would distract me much at all.

If they hadn't been so darn loud I would have been able to tune them out but on a near empty range I think that they should have found another spot.  I'm still trying small things every time out to try to see what works for me, and hearing about someone else's swing keys doesn't help me with mine.

I totally understand the annoyance, but I think it is something you just need to accept and deal with. You are at the practice range. You have your favorite spot at the end because people stay away from you. That lady shares your favorite spot, and she has the same right to practice on that end of the rage as you do. There was a time when I felt I had to be on the stall farthest right, because I would hit one or two shots that  shank directly to the right nearly hitting people. I might have intruded on your spot, but for completely different reasons.

Also, don't forget this is a practice range. I never count on having peace and quiet at the range. Where else do you expect these people to get lessons? I would much rather have some new jack ruining my range time, than just going out and slowing down play because they don't know a wedge from a driver. The range I go to almost always has three or four lessons going on, groups using the range as an excuse to hang out and drink away from the family, and sometimes a golf camp for kids. If you want to practice in peace an quiet, you might just have to pony up to walk 9 or take some old balls out to a unused sports field. Otherwise, I think your expectations for the range are pretty unreasonable.

As already mentioned, a lot of people bring ipods. You could also bring ear plugs. Just my thoughts.

A busy range should be full of conversations. It always surprises me that I can concentrate on the range with everyone talking and expect and "need" silence when hitting on the course. I have more issues with the voices in my head.

As a friend once said, "There are too many people talking during my backswing and they are all me."

I don't begrudge people giving or getting lessons. Heck, I could use some more lessons myself.  I'm just saying that I was there before the range opened to get that spot and with 30 spots between me and the next person on the range that they could have found a space that didn't have to be off of the range and next to my place ON the range.  I didn't take their space with better grass to hit from because it WAS past the range markers.

Iacas, I moved and didn't complain about it.  In fact, it gave me some angles and distances to try that I hadn't had before yesterday.  Of course, with the varying quality and age of the range balls at this place distance isn't reproducible anyway.  I wonder if any of you older guys will remember this. Yesterday I found a Spalding DOT in my range bucket.  I started playing when I was 8 in 1964 and remember the ball from the 60s.  The one in my bucket looked like it was 40 years old plus too.

At the driving range, I usually expect conversation or some noise so I just learn to drown it out. If the lady and instructor were talking as loud as you say, that would annoy a little but I would still try to ignore it. I would probably do the same and move like you if there were plenty other spots available.

We probably all pretty much accept that the range is not going to be totally peaceful, but I think it's reasonable to expect courtesy and consideration from our fellow golfers. Talk is inevitable, but it doesn't have to be loud.

Also, in my experience ranges vary widely : my club range is very quiet even when busy and / or the instructors are present, whereas my local double-story public range can be a bit of a zoo, esepcially at weekends when dad's been told to take the little 'uns out of the house and it's so buys that you have a lot of people hovering, watching and waiting for a bay to come free.

I try to be patient and not let things distract me and if I'm compltely honest with myself I usually only find other people irritating when I can't put a good swing on the ball - i.e. I'm actually annoyed with myself, not them ! Haivng said that, I would reiterate my point that people should still feel obliged to be courteous and keep the noise down.

TidyFreak

I don't mind people talking at the range to be honest. For some reason I can concentrate with people talking at a range but not a course. If it bothers you, honestly I would politely ask if they could be a little quieter. I agree though, when I go to driving ranges it's not usually that loud and definitely cannot hear people 50 feet away. I try to talk very little in courtesy to others.

There was an assistant pro at my local practice facility (I could name him but I play with his dad - also a jerk - so I'll refrain) who was being so loud and agressive with his two students (a couple) that I got the impression they were in the middle of a running argument spanning several lessons. It was both awkard and annoying for everyone else at the range.

I went back to the range this morning and again was the first one there and put my bag in the last spot again.  When I was filling my bucket the same teacher showed up.  His student then drove up to the same place that I had put my clubs again.  I asked the teacher why he felt that he needed to take the same place where I was set up when I was the only one there.  He said "There are lots of other spots to hit from".  I told him "That's exactly my point!".  She had set up again just past my clubs (outside the limits of the range but on much better grass), and he was as loud as ever once they began, so again I moved.  After listening to everything that people posted on the thread I just moved away and had a heck of a lot better range session than the teacher and student did.  I decided that they just weren't worth it.

For a range instructor not to be in their usual spot is like putting up a closed for the day sign. But, if hes a "grass hopper" then that's inexcusable.