Taking my range game to the course. I suck at it

[Joeyvee]

So I put a lot of time in at the range. Well not A LOT. Not too much. But it is always very productive and I always feel great when I leave there.
The other night I got a large and a small bucket (about 100 balls) because I wanted to just hit a ton with my wedges and dial their distances in better and work on my iron and driver swing. I might have hit 8 bad shots out of the 100. No kidding. I was nailing everything. Now the dispersement is something I need to work on but thats more of my aim and alignment than anything else.
What's pissing me off is my ball striking at the range is PERFECT. Whether it's the thin mat or the thick rough one. Doesn't matter. I compress the hell out of the ball, no slices, no hooks nothing. Just straight shots. Sometimes straight right or left but that's another issue.
But when I get to the course oh boy. 1st drive off the toe. I mean I BARELY made contact with the ball. Mulligan gets sliced 2 fairways over. Iron shots are bladed and short and even my wedges come up super short or way left or right.
What the hell is going on? I mean I always have a good night at the range and I usually only hit a few decent shots on the course. It's really upsetting. I mean if you went from over 200 yards with a 4 iron to 130 yards running along the ground it can really get you mad.
I guess my biggest issue would be blading the ball. I have been blading it a lot with my irons. That's pissing me off the most.
Any ideas? Motivation?
Unfortunaltey I cant hit off of real grass for another 6 days.

[alomar123]

You need a range with real grass. I have the opposite problem, I don't take the range seriously and nearly 60/100 are unacceptable. But, when I am playing maybe 20/100 are unacceptable. I think that you may be getting nervous under the pressure, so you need to put that same pressure at the range. I need to put the same seriousness at the range. I think you just need more time playing under your belt. I used to love the range till I relized why do that when I can play.

Also, sounds like you are bottoming your swing too early, maybe trying to take a divot and thats why they are going shorter. Also, the blading may be caused by raising up during the swing to gain more power.

[Rexx]

At the range, don't hit the same club twice in a row + step away from the ball and go through your normal routine before hitting each shot. It's too easy to become grooved to a certain club and you'll quickly forget that the first few you hit with it weren't very good (but are more indicative of what you would do on the course).

[Blades4me]

IMO, that is pretty common. We have 2 swings, a range swing and a course swing and of the 2 the range swing is usually the better of the 2. Also, on the range how many times do you think or say, "oh gee, don't hit it there"?--if you are like me, never.

When I go to the range before a round I just concentrate on tempo, rhythm and ball striking, pretty much in that order. Oh, and on the range you should always hit to a target.

[Open-Faced Club Sandwedge]

Sounds to me like you're tightening up and not turning your shoulders. The thin and off-the-toe shots will happen when you're tight and nervous and aren't able to naturally extend your arms. The slices happen when you don't turn your shoulders on the backswing and then the downswing has nowhere to go but swiping left across the back of the ball.

Of course, that's a lot of guesswork/assumption; it may not be your shoulders. But if it's not your shoulders, I'd lay money it's excessive tightness somewhere else, not allowing you to make a relaxed full swing once you're on the course.

Try focusing on tempo. Your body knows what to do (the range proves it); you just have to get out of its way. So instead of thinking about the swing (your conscious mind can only hinder your subconscious on how to do it right), think about the tempo. Give yourself a metronome beat in your head, and make sure you're allocating plenty of time to get the club back away from the ball, and that you're not rushing the transition from backswing to downswing. See if that doesn't trick you into making a relaxed, natural, fully-extended swing, even when you're on the course and starting to think negative thoughts about how you suck at bringing your range game to the course.

-Andrew

[Open-Faced Club Sandwedge]

When I go to the range before a round I just concentrate on tempo, rhythm and ball striking, pretty much in that order.

Ah, I see Blades4me kinda said what I said, before I said it.

-Andrew

[bkoguy07]

Try to focus more. You and I were opposites I used to have huge problems at ranges. It's getting better now, but for a while I'd see all of this open space tons of balls and wouldn't take my time rush my shots and not aim and try to murder it.. I'd say try to focus and have fun, when I'm relaxed and just having fun I do well. Just step up to the ball thinking, its just a golf ball, I don't have to swing hard, if I get even crappy contact I'll hit it farther than I can throw it (which I've seen people pick there balls up and throw them... not pointing fingers at myself... lol)

[JML22]

hit off grass tees
make sure you get oyur weight forward so your divots are infrtont of the ball
the problem with hitting at the range is you get a perfect lie everytime and fat shots can still go 90% distance
So be honest with yourself if you hit shots that are obviously gonna be fat on grass

[ghalfaire]

Going from the range to the first tee can be tricky and I believe mostly a mental problem. I, when warming up as opposed to practice, take about 5 clubs to the range and never hit the same one twice in a row. I always have a target and ALWAYS use my pre-shot routine for every shot. I make sure I arrive at the course well ahead of tee time and usually putt first then chip/pitch then full swings. It seems to help getting off the first tee and we all know that the most difficult shot (mentally) in golf is the first drive off the first tee with your buddies looking on and a $1 skins game.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Well your range game may be the same as your golf game... Are you hitting at distinct targets at the range? Trying to hit a specific yardage? If you're not doing those things at the range, then thats not practicing golf, you're just hitting balls. You may be hitting the same balls on the range that you do when you play and thinking they're good because you dont have a firm target and objective in mind. I see this approach at the range nearly every time i go.

[Tweetie]

I have this issue as well, and I've found its all mental and stress. Im fully relaxed on the range, and then tighten up on the #1 tee box. Its been something I've been working on, trying to relax before I get to hole 3. I think this is a common issue with most high handicappers.

[anthony]

PRE SHOT ROUTINE

Like many golfers, I also suffer from the range to course syndrome. I'm hitting perfect shots at the range and then go to the course and forget how to play the game. Having a pre-shot routine with nearly every shot at the range has helped me make the transition to the course. Personally, it has a lot to do with shot confidence. At the range there's no pressure, while at the course there is. A routine helps me "zone out" on the course and setup correctly.

Mine is: 1)stand behind the ball and line up the shot. 2) start the club out towards the target and make 3 swings back and through. 3) Set the club down, align it, take my grip and stance 4) look at the target to make sure I'm lined up 5) look back at the ball, imagine the club is out towards the target and starts like a pendulum into the backswing 6) swing

Sounds like a lot, but it happens pretty quick. I used to spend a ton of time over the ball and this has helped me step up to the ball and swing without thinking about mechanics and what not.

[chilly]

Sounds to me like you're tightening up and not turning your shoulders. The thin and off-the-toe shots will happen when you're tight and nervous and aren't able to naturally extend your arms. The slices happen when you don't turn your shoulders on the backswing and then the downswing has nowhere to go but swiping left across the back of the ball.

This is 100% right on the money for me. On the range, natural shot is a draw with irons. Driver I hit a little fade, but if I keep my swing flat I'll hit a little draw. Range balls, one after the other, nice little draws. I get on the course, especially par 3s, and all of a sudden I'll hit a weak fade with a 7iron. Took awhile, but figured out as I tighten up, my backswing gets short and result is exactly as you stated. Driver, same thing, backswing gets short and I start flipping at the ball.

So, back to OP question, I've found that working on hitting to a specific target on the range helps build the "pressure" to hit a good shot..so you get accustomed to this instead of just hitting balls. Secondly, I've been using "full turn" as my swing thought when out on the course, just concentrate on getting shoulders fully turned. This seems to be helping. I agree though, bringing the range swing to the course is very tough to do, and very frustrating when it just doesn't happen.