Stud on the practice greens and range

Does anyone else get to the practice range and greens and find themselves doing great hitting solid, putting/chipping like your a scratch... andddd when you get to the first hole you card a 7 followed by more over par scores. I don't know what it is, but I have been struggling consistently this season ( about 1.5 months, 5 rounds) to transfer practice to playing. I am noticing i might have to raise my hcap up a few notches.

I seem to be over analyzing my shots once I am on the tee. I am noticing that I am ballooning some shots off grass much higher than the mat at the range. I cant tell if maybe I need newer shafts or I am possibly flipping but its killing my game. The same can be said for putting. On the practice greens I can feel center strikes and good rolls, meanwhile on the greens during play i am hitting on top of the ball or not giving it enough.

Anyway, rant over.. I think it is the 6 inch shot between the ears I need to fix.

I think your last sentence is the most important.  On the range/practice green, there's no pressure...if you hit a bad shot it doesn't affect your score, it's just a range ball in the bushes.  It gets a lot more mental on the course when there's something at stake.  Most of us can roll two-footers pretty consistently on the practice green, but when you're standing over it for a birdie or par on the course, all of a sudden that little two-footer looks a lot different!

On the range it's real easy to get a groove going just like the putting green, you need to pay close attention to what your doing that is giving you this consistency and either make mental notes or write it down.

I think it has to do with more of a free swinging motion on the range. I might be tensing up or trying to muscle/get up my shots on the course.

Thank you for this, Ill have to check this out.

... and you tend to hit same shot many times in a row whereas in field, you hit different club each time.   I go through a simulation round at range, going through each club sequence that I use at my home course.

When practicing putting, do not play 3, or more, balls from the same place.  Here's what i do.  In a wide circle 6-16 feet from the hole i'll drop 6 balls.  Each ball has an unique placement, just like real. Play one putt, move to another ball.  What's the score? How many 2 putts?

To tell you the truth I have had the opposite happen quite a bit. I've hit the ball pretty bad on the range before a round and got up to the first tee and grooved one right down the middle and played some of my best rounds. If I'm not emulating a hole on the course or 100% focused I tend to get lazy and start to hit poor shots on the range which is one thing I'm continuously working on.

I try to use this method as much as possible. Arrange shots with a mental image of courses i play. I think the mat is what throws me off. We do not have grass ranges where I go, unfortunately so.

This is helpful, thank you. I tend to use about 5 balls in a line for 1ft - 8ft from the hole. I find the hole with break and repeat left to right and right to left. I will try to play a game of up and down tomorrow when I go.

Try some up-ad-down situationals. Hit a chip or pitch, and then see if you an sink the putt.

1. * Blast out of a greenside bunker, see if you can sink the putt.
2. * Run a 50-foot chip shot up the hill, see if you can sink the putt.
3. * Flip a lob wedge out of shaggy rough with little green to work with, see if you stop it quickly enough to have a makeable putt.
4. You play golf, fill out 4 through 9 on your own.

The only flaw when i try these things is the crowds of people. The 50 foot chip shot up would be something I could do with no one there. The wedge out of the rough is that main thin I focus on while I practice. There are two cuts I can choose from and about 5 pins

That is exactly what I was doing yesterday. I threw down 6 balls in a general area around the green. Some in the higher grass and others on the fringe or in-betweeners. I would pick one of the little numbered flags and have a go at it and then putt them out. A little simulated round on the practice green. I didn't do any sand bunker work but will have to add it to the practice routine. Then I would throw them somewhere else and pick a different hole. It let me play around with trying to hit a spot and let the slope take it from there. I had a Sunday bag with two putters and 46, 52, 56, and 60 degree wedges. I had the place to myself for two hours so it worked out fine. I holed out a couple pitches from some reasonable distances. If anybody came I would ditch the wedges and probably just putt. I wish the rest of my game was better but full swings are not agreeing with me at the moment. Probably the first opportunity out on the course will be a skull or 2 foot fluff.

I had a nice  session on the range with a friend and he shot a DTL for me. I will post it in the swings section. I feel like I look uncomfortable in my shot. I dont know, maybe the artist is the biggest critic. However, I was able to get a nice piece of real estate at the practice green to practice long chips and pitches up to 25-30 yds. Again, I played well on the range two buckets simulated rounds at my courses. Time will tell if I can get out of my head on thursday for league play.