Practicing after a round

[O.B. Right]

I finished my round today really unhappy with the way I was hitting the ball. It seemed like all the progress I have been making at the range just went away and I was hitting banana ball slices and tops and fat shots all over the place.

After my round I stopped at the range and hit a bucket. All of a sudden I'm hitting good again. WTH? I managed to hit some of my straightest, longest drives yet.

Do you ever hit balls after your round? Do you think it's helpfull or better to just practice on different days than playing?

One of these days I would like to hit balls BEFORE my round . . but the course I play at always puts me on as soon as I check in . .no matter how early. Gotta learn to hit first and then check in :)

[Where's the Cart Girl?]

I never like to leave the course with a round of nothing but bad shot pictures in my head. I'm definitely an after the round practicer whenever I get the chance to be. I can't say that as soon as I start hitting range balls my problems cure themselves, but I typically end up leaving the range feeling much better than had I just went home right from the course.

A lot of times just hitting easy 3/4 swing punches for a few swings with my mid irons to get the feeling of solid contact back in my hands helps put me right back where I belong. This is basically my cure-all for contact woes and all my friends who suck worse than me like it too when I tell them to try it. Not much help for driver trouble, but it is definitely a confidence boost for your hands.

If you're problem vanished as soon as you went to the range then you probably went in thinking, "watch, I bet if I go to the range I'll hit the ball great..." and then you did it. So your problem was likely a mental one.

[O.B. Right]

If you're problem vanished as soon as you went to the range then you probably went in thinking, "watch, I bet if I go to the range I'll hit the ball great..." and then you did it. So your problem was likely a mental one.

True. As soon as I don't have to worry about a disasterous result, I start hitting great. Of course, for every 8 decent drives on the range there are 2 disasterous drives. It's these 2, and trying to prevent them on the course, that keeps me from hitting the other 8.

[pounc007]

Nothing really good to add, just thought I'd tell you, you really should go hit a few balls at least before your round. Just to stretch out and get a little blood flowing. I don't know if you walk or ride, but you might want want to try walking a round or two if you don't already. I almost always play better whe I walk. I really think getting your heart rate up a little bit keeps your swing more even.

[bioman]

Which courses do you play in SoCal?

[Parker0065]

My normal routine is a small warmup bucket of 12-15 balls before I play. I'll just loosen up and try to establish my tempo for the day. I'm not really working on anything specific during my warmup.

After the round I sometimes hit a large bucket if I have time to work on specific movements in my swing or to straighten out my swing if I played poorly. This is usually very productive because everything is still fresh in your mind.

At least once a week I will go to the course to just hit balls and chip/putt. I'm there specifically to practice on those days.

Basically what I never do is get a large bucket of balls right before I play a round and bang on +50 balls. It just does not seem to help my game or tempo prior to a round!

[McGolf-Doggie]

One of these days I would like to hit balls BEFORE my round . . but the course I play at always puts me on as soon as I check in . .no matter how early. Gotta learn to hit first and then check in :)

Clinic I participated in with KJ Choi, he said, "do [some of] you find you spray them around a bit for the first nine holes, ... then you start to get better after about the back nine?" ... "it would help you if you go hit a bucket or two of balls before you go out on the course, and it would also speed up the game for everyone else."

KJ wouldn't even think of going out there without hitting at least a few balls with each club in his bag, and I doubt most other pros wouldn't think of trying to go out there cold, either. And since many of us are not on the same planet as them, well it should be obvious. If I play a course where there's no range, I hit balls at a different location before driving to the course that has no range. Or at least I use their chipping area first for a good long time before checking in to play. Oh, and answer to the original question, Yes, sometimes after a round, too. Not often, but sometimes.