Great pre-round range hitting, terrible round

[iammike]

So what are everyone's thoughts (for an average golfer) on hitting the driving range to warm up before a round. This past weekend, i actually was able to get to the course a bit early before my round, and hit a small bucket of balls (i'd say 30). I was killing the ball. Aside from a few beginning warmup shots, everything seemed to be straight and far.

My round for the day, was abysmal, probably the worst i've played all summer. It seemed like i just couldn't aim right, and I wasn't consistantly hitting the ball well.

Any ideas?

I'm really thinking Aiming right on the course was a biggie, since you don't get the same feel (and consequences for miss-hits) on the driving range, that you do on the course.

[SuaSponteMn]

I'd agree with you on having to wide an area to aim at on the range. What you're perceiving as great shots may have been off due to the fact that aiming and alignment really aren't as critical as they would be if you were to have to drive the ball down a narrow fairway. I read some suggestions prior to this thread about narrowing your focus while on the range, one of which was picking out two net poles to aim between.

Personally, I could go either way with the range before playing thing. I've played at some upscale/resort courses where they give you a bag of balls to hit before the round, I usually play on courses where that's an option but you're paying for the balls (= no range for me); there's really no difference in my play. I prefer to spend any free time before the round on the putting green. To me that's the one variable that you can't control from course to course, or even day to day...

When I do get to the range between rounds, I'm "that guy" with the club on the ground pointing out my target line. Gives me a better idea of whether I'm pushin, pullin, etc.

[SubPar]

I've had this experience many times and thought long and hard about the phenomenon. At one time I would strike the ball well on the range and I'd have a terrible round. The reverse was also true. Once I played in a nine hole tournament and told my son as I went to he first tee that I would win because I couldn't strike a ball decently in my warm up. I did win.

My best guess: Often when you hit the ball well on the range, you go to the tee with high expectations and reduced focus. You don't think every shot through because you just assume you are going to hit the ball magnificently. Then you miss hit one shot and you crumble. When you hit somewhat poorly at the range, you are likely to go to the first tee with a feeling you need to think though your set-up and consider every variable because you are not drunk on over confidence. That's the best answer I've come up with.

I don't have the problem now. I think it is because I approach each round with the same focus and routine(s), no matter what I just did on the range.

[cdriver]

That's one of the reasons I decided to just warm up a little on the range. I always pick a very specific target when warming up so that I can decide which way my ball is tending to go today. I have experienced the same phenomenon of hitting it great on the range and then having a bad round.

A lot of evenings I leave work and meet the gang on the first tee. They always tease me about being "Mr. Automatic" because I tend to hit my first tee shot when I haven't warmed up - straight down the middle. Go figure.

[iammike]

the funny thing is, the guy who got there early with me, had a terrible time at the range but had a great round.

I hadn't thought about the focus thing before. One thing that did occur to me thinking about the day, is i was focusing way too much on the next shot, and not enough on the shot i was taking at the time. I totally wasn't thinking about setup, and I definately needed to re-aim myself. When i did think about aim I ended up overcompensating.

Also next time, i don't think i'm going to do the range. I'm goin to go through some warmup stuff, and practice swings, to loosen up, and then just hit the ball.

[InTheTwenties]

Does anyone know if the hight of the rubber tee thing on the range versus the hight of the tee on the course, could produce such a difference? Because I've also had this problem.

Is your range, a grass range, or the green plastic mat with the plastic tee thing?

[iammike]

the range i hit on was a mat, with a plastic tee. Though thinking back on it, they had space to tee it up in front, and I could have easily done that. Maybe i should have.

[Rafcin]

I almost NEVER use the range before a round... unless somehow I got there very early and I'm bored Why you might ask? IMHO at the range you won't stretch as much as you would before a round, so you're not warmed up and start swinging. You're not focused, just going trough the motions, not aiming at anything.. you miss a shot... miss another... start thinking about it.. adjust... miss another... start changing your swing...
and your round is in the shitter
Instead I do about 10 min stretching and spend some time on the putting green to get a general idea on the speed (not trying to make any putts, w/o lining up - just worry about distance).

[supercow]

Does anyone know if the hight of the rubber tee thing on the range versus the hight of the tee on the course, could produce such a difference? Because I've also had this problem.

Once upon a time I had such a problem. Then I just bought my own three pack of rubber tees and take it whenever I head to the range (heck, spending $5 is better than going nuts every time you go to practice).

My range currently has plastic mats but these aren't exactly your run of the mill mats. They're sort of like bristles which look kind of like a broom head turned upside down (green of course ). We also experimented with some mats that you could insert real tees into but they weren't particularly successful because the surface was too hard to hits irons off of while another part of the range has a type of synthetic turf which you can insert real tees into. Personally they're still too hard for me (because the surface underneath is concrete) to hit irons off of though so I only use it to drive off of. Binh.

[iammike]

I almost NEVER use the range before a round... unless somehow I got there very early and I'm bored

Great ideas there... i think i'm going to keep that routine in my head for my next round.

[Rafcin]

Great ideas there... i think i'm going to keep that routine in my head for my next round.

thanks, but be aware - it comes with no guarantee

what works for me might not work for others. I can't execute a shot w/o full focus (what's the situation at the range), but there are people (I know a few) that can not hit a shot w/o pre-round bucket... You've to find your own way to be ready on the 1st tee !

[iammike]

i'm just trying things till they work.

as a side note, this is the first time i hit the range before a round, and the outcome was such i probably should keep with my previous streak of not hitting the range beforehand haha.

[Konrad]

I always hit a large bucket of range balls before a round. I pick out these two trees on my driving range and hit to them. I don't really care where they go honestly. I'm just trying to feel the club.

[ABPositive]

I play much better if I hit 30 balls on the range before the round.

I noticed that I do better when I adjust my round's goal to how well I did on the range. If I hit poorly on the range, I'll tell myself "you're not in great shape today, just do your best to break 100". This removes some of the tension I have after a bad driving range session.

If I hit the ball well, I'll tell myself "break 90 today" ; this lofty goal (for me anyway) makes sure I stay focused... With a good swing, I know I can do it, but it still requires me to pay attention.

Hope this helps