Driving Range Advice

[mkrosal]

I'm very new to the game and i've been going to the driving range at least twice a week for the last 3 or 4 weeks. Just from surfing around on the internet and reading articles everywhere i've kinda gotten the point that good iron play is usually the best thing to learn first. I'm actually hitting my irons pretty good but not too consistant. However i'm pretty terrible w/my driver and woods/hybrid. My question is should i continue w/my irons in order to get more consistant or should i really start to work w/my other clubs? How do you mix it up when at the range? do you have any drills or routines that would help me out?

[kfowler]

Hi mkrosal,

IMO, they're all important. If you can't hit your driver on a somewhat reasonable basis, you'll always be hitting from trouble. You can be lights out with your irons but if you're always hitting your tee off shot OB or behind a tree, it doesn't really matter how good you are at your irons.

That being said, don't constrain yourself to just a driver off the tee. Try a 3 wood and see if you get better results and work your way up to a driver. A 3 wood is much easier to hit and will often keep you out of trouble.

As far as the range, try to mix it up as much as possible. Don't just mindlessly hit balls. Always have a purpose. I like to spend part of my practice session switching clubs after every swing. This will help the transition from a driver to say a 7i.

Hope that helps.

[ks8829]

If you are new to the game, I would ask myself what do I want to accompolish?

1) learning to hit all your clubs?
2) scoring low?

If you want to score low
1) focus all your attention on shots under 100 - 50 yards. (I know its difficult when you have 14 clubs in your bag to not hit your driver or fairway woods all the time at the range)

a) when you practice the short game what you really are doing is learning the basic golf swing so that your overall golf swing improves.
b) your focus is on the impact zone, the take away, your body position on your backswing, rotation of your body, grip pressure all the fundamentals that are important for you to hit the correct golf shot.
c) view videos on the fundamental golf swing (swing like Tiger Woods, on You Tube is a great video)

50% of your practice on the range should be 50 yards and in
30% of your practice on the range should be around 100 yards
10% mid irons
10% fairway and driver

practice putting everyday on your carpet
good luck and have fun,

another tip is to hook up with a friend, relative, classmate that is a single handicap golfer and you will learn and improve faster watching him play.

[allin]

I'm very new to the game and i've been going to the driving range at least twice a week for the last 3 or 4 weeks. Just from surfing around on the internet and reading articles everywhere i've kinda gotten the point that good iron play is usually the best thing to learn first. I'm actually hitting my irons pretty good but not too consistant. However i'm pretty terrible w/my driver and woods/hybrid. My question is should i continue w/my irons in order to get more consistant or should i really start to work w/my other clubs? How do you mix it up when at the range? do you have any drills or routines that would help me out?

I do believe that when trying to make changes, or master new skills, breaking the session up is important. Hit balls for 15-20 min, then chip or putt the same amount, then come back to hitting balls. Most research shows quicker progress this way with new skills, particularly physical ones.

[fischman]

I do believe that when trying to make changes, or master new skills, breaking the session up is important. Hit balls for 15-20 min, then chip or putt the same amount, then come back to hitting balls. Most research shows quicker progress this way with new skills, particularly physical ones.

I like this advice too, because it forces you to find that same swing you had before you switched it up. I find that I can get in a good groove and hit everything straight. But as soon as I switch it up, I loose the feeling and it takes me a bit to get it back again. I think this is more representative of how well ingrained the right swing is getting. When you can switch back and forth with any club and still have that feeling, or go and chip and putt and come back and hit the driver like you were before when you found your groove. This is what I try to do.

Josh

[retexan599]

One thing that helps me get the most out of a driving range session: taking notes on what I have learned. I have small notebook in my bag at the range, then I transcribe the notes to something permanent after getting home. This helps me absorb the lesson after the session. I can refer to the notes the next day or before I next go to the course to remind myself of what I learned in the last practice(s). Some typical notes I took recently:
•Putting: very light grip felt better than tight grip.
•Slightly higher tee w/driver helps get some height.
•Zone in on 1-2-3-4 tempo.

Note making works for me anyway....

[kfowler]

One thing that helps me get the most out of a driving range session: taking notes on what I have learned. I have small notebook in my bag at the range, then I transcribe the notes to something permanent after getting home. This helps me absorb the lesson after the session. I can refer to the notes the next day or before I next go to the course to remind myself of what I learned in the last practice(s). Some typical notes I took recently:

I do this as well and find it to be very helpful.

[plugged]

Every time I go to the range I start with my 7i, then progress as follows: 5i, 3H, 5W, driver, 9i, PW, GW, SW, LW. My driver has been terrible lately, but I don't break my routine. Instead, I hit fewer balls with my 7i-5W and more with my driver.

I always leave 1/2 of the bucket reserved for my short game.

[right handed phil mickelson]

You can be the greatest iron player in the world, but if you can't drive, chip, or putt, then your scores will still be high.

Work on your drives- accuracy, not distance. Maybe use almost a whole bucket on drives if need be.

Work on chipping and putting.

Then you can work on your irons once those things are taken care of.

Have fun.

~RHPM

[mhodar13]

If you're doing bad with your driver you just gotta find what works for you. Basically you have to keep your left arm straight through impact, you have to hold your wrist release until right before impact, and you have to learn how to keep your swing on plane and not over the top.

[brgolf]

Dedicate part of your sessions to building up a nice swing which you can repeat, with reliable ball flight. I would not try hitting irons below a 5 iron and if you want to try a wood then the 3 wood is a good place to start. Try to evaluate the percentage of shots that you hit with each club that are on the fairway, in the rough or out of bounds. To do this you must have a target at the range and imagine you are on the course.

If possible try to determine the average length of a decent shot with each club both carry and roll. If you bring this to the course, you wont be seeing your few good contacts end up unnecessarily short or long of the greens.

[amcquay]

At the range I pretend that I'm playing a round. Let's start by picturing a par four. I'll hit a drive, then a mid-iron. Then I might switch back to driver or hit a wedge, depending on my mood (did I get on in regulation, or did I miss the green?) Then I may hit a long iron to simulate a par 3. Then maybe I'll hit driver, hybrid, PW on a "par 5". I'll also toss in punch shots when I hit a bad drive and "miss the fairway", etc.

Whatever you do, make sure to pick out specific targets and treat hitting or missing them as though you hit/missed the fairway or green.