What's the best way to practice on your own?

[Alex1]

Swinging: Is hitting balls at the driving range the only way to practice? Most of the old-timers only hit a small bucket, and this makes me wonder if hitting too many balls can be counter-productive.

Putting: For some lucky guys, building a putting green in their backyard might be an option. What about putting in the living room? Or is this too unrelated to real-life putting?

[ERC7.5]

Swinging: Is hitting balls at the driving range the only way to practice? Most of the old-timers only hit a small bucket, and this makes me wonder if hitting too many balls can be counter-productive.

My favorite way to practice is to go out and play alone. If I can get to the course and get out by myself, I like to play different shots from different areas. Hit different tee shots. Different shots from different distances into the green and then putt each one out. Even putt each one multiple times. I'm afforded the ability to do this because the course I'm a member at isn't usually real busy.

But in actuality, it depends on what type of practice you are talking about. If you want to work on muscle memory or just your stroke, what you'd mentioned is definitely worth while.

[dragonflyin]

Swinging: Is hitting balls at the driving range the only way to practice? Most of the old-timers only hit a small bucket, and this makes me wonder if hitting too many balls can be counter-productive.

I used to mindlessly hack around on the driving range ball after ball, without an aim in mind. Now, I usually go with a smaller to medium sized bucket, and always keep one or two simple swing thoughts in mind. Yesterday, it was just to keep my grip looser.

Too many balls can definitely be counter-productive. I find that after about 60-75 balls, I get significantly worse. So, that's why I tell myself to leave and go get a beer! :)

[Alex1]

I find that after about 60-75 balls, I get significantly worse.

So it's not just me!

[BermudaTrooper]

I agree with ERC7.5 in that playing alone can be really beneficial. Playing for a score allows you to practice under pressure which (for me) is really helpful. Striping the ball at the range is a lot easier than on the course. Playing alone really helps work on your individual game in a live setting--can't duplicate that at the range.

[Harold]

It's not just you though everyone is different in the regard to how many range hits they can make before diminishing returns set in. As I incorporate more practice time into my game I have found for full shots that a small bucket (40 balls) is about all I want to handle. I will warm up on the pitching/chipping green and then hit about half the bucket. I go through my entire preshot sequence so it's at least a minute and a half between shots but I do take downtime to think etc. After a half I will go back to the pitch/chip green and practice there. I have found it's best if break the full shot session in half. After about 15-20 minutes or so I go back and do the second half of the bucket. Then I work on putting and/or the sand game. Depending on how I feel after that I go home, play the par 3 course or play the front nine.

[case31]

A good way to prevent "driving range burnout" is to treat each swing like you would on the course. When I'm playing a shot on the course, I stand behind the ball, find an aim point (similar to what you would do for putting), gauge the wind, address the ball, and swing. On the range: same thing. If you use your own on-the-course pre shot routine, it helps you keep a rhythm. As others have said, it is definitely counter-productive to hit, drop a ball, hit, drop a ball, hit, drop a ball...because that's not what you do on the course unless you're Tin Cup.
If I'm on the range and I feel like I'm spraying the ball, I'll lay a wedge down on the ground and use it to make sure my feet are in a line with my target. This helps me determine if my problem is with my setup.

[kfowler]

I practce at the range often and have learned to just get a small bucket. ~50 balls. Always go with an objective in mind. "I going to concentrate on this one element today." This will keep you focused and not mindlessly hitting shots. Take lots of breaks and think about your last shot. Another thing that's really helped me is get one of those really small composition books and right down what your practicing and how it went. I keep it in my bag.

[shortstop20]

I always lay a club across my feet and another inline with the ball pointing towards me to help me make sure my setup is correct.

[ks8829]

When I practice on my own, I work on parts of my game that need improvement. I get up and down about 40% of the time and want to improve that statistic to 60 - 80%

1) chipping and pitching around the green
2) pitch shot within 50 yards and in
3) 100 yard shots
4) 150 yards shots
5) putting and distance control

a) I working on feel and distance control for chipping and pitching around the green. I will get a feel for 1/2, 3/4 shots
b) I working on confidence on my putting stroke and distance control
c) I working on making solid contact with my wedges and then focus on 100 and 150 yard shots
d) I work on the mechanics of the wedge and pitch shots and transfer that over to the 100, 150 and driver to confirm my mechanics.
e) I work on my take away and backswing

[lolzzlolzz]

A lot of people want to improve, but they don't want to practice.

This = laziness. This is fine; if you don't like to practice you shouldn't force yourself to go and hit balls.

But when you do hit balls, even if it's just three balls a day, make the best of it. Think in terms of what caused your bad swing, not the result of your bad swing.

If you will do that you will improve. You can't help but improve. How fast you improve depends on how on how much you practice.

Practice is the mother of all skills; your base of improvement should be practice! Don't go out on the course and expect results if you didn't put in the hours and hundreds of thousands of balls that the rest of us put into it, it just wont happen.

And don't forget to practice!

[baal]

Swinging: Is hitting balls at the driving range the only way to practice? Most of the old-timers only hit a small bucket, and this makes me wonder if hitting too many balls can be counter-productive.

In the apartment I am in there's a thin moquette all over the place, it's smooth almost like a putting green. Great for practice on distances (even better than the putting carpet with the slope which I also have)