Whats your range routine?

[toddmlazarchick]

So let's hear what you guys do when you go to the range. How do you warm up? Which clubs do you hit? What order? Do you hit all your clubs or certain few one day and the rest another? Have at it.

[doublesuited77]

If its before a round, something like this on the range. Also, i always putt and chip before i go to the range. If I have limited time, i will only chip and not go to the range - 3 wedges with feet together for balance and turn - 3 wedges just about 90 yards - 3 8 irons about 100 yards - 4-5 full eight irons, basic shot pattern (high draw) - a couple hooks, cuts and punchs with 8 iron - a couple hooks, cuts and punchs with 5 iron - a few hybrids - a couple hooks, cuts and punchs with driver - a few reps each of every club i will hit off the tee on the par threes - a few three woods if i am going to hit it off the tee - wedges for distance; will go after three targets, will hit until i knock one to a couple yar - one shot of whatever i will hit off the first tee

[596]

If I'm not playing:

5-10 half wedges.  A different wedge each day. Just to loosen up.

5-10 easy full wedges with same wedge

5-10 mid irons.  A different mid iron each day.

10-15 or so fairway woods. Either a 3,5,or 7 wood

10-15 drivers.

I then hit ALOT of balls with 1 club that I am working on that day.  I hit cuts, draws, high, low etc

Then I head back down with a mid iron, then a few more wedges, a few drivers, then back to the club I'm working on for the last 10 shots.

This takes about an hour about 150 balls.  I then chip and putt for 30 minutes or so.

If I'm playing:

I hit about 60-80 balls using the same as above but less balls with each set.  My last 5 balls are hit with whatever I'm going to use on the first tee.

[ajschn06]

Two things:

1. 150 balls in an hour!?  That seems like a lot to me.  It takes me a good 30-45 minutes to get through a 45 ball bucket....

2.  I envy you guys who always hit balls before you tee it up.  Maybe once or twice a season I will hit balls before I play.  2 things prevent me from doing this.  Golf is expensive enough as it is, the cost of an extra 3-4 dollars every time I play would really add up over the course of a season.  Second,  I just don't have that kind of time.  I'm lucky enough that my wife lets me golf basically whenever I feel like it, I don't want to tempt fate by spending even more time at the course. To combat this, my buddies and I have a rule.  We don't hit balls before we play, so if necessary, we allow ourselves a "redo" on the first tee shot.  I don't consider it cheating since the round hasn't really started yet.  I would never take a mulligan or gimme putt in the middle of a round, but my concience is clean on this one.  I am curious to see what the rest of you think though?

[Zeph]

150-200 balls in an hour is no problem. It's 3,3 balls each minute.

I usually start with some short irons then work it up to the driver, from there I keep changing clubs up and down, finishing the last 5-10 balls with whatever club I'll be tee'ing off with.

[Gerald]

I do this my way .....

• Start with some stretching and warming up for some minutes
• Followed by some pratice swings
• Then grap a 9i or 8i and start with some finesse chips to half swings, focus on clean contact, further to 3/4 and full swings (10-15 balls)
• Then a few full swings with mid and longer irons (about 5 with each), but not always with all irons
• Then some pitches etc.

The above practice is just a basis for what I am going to practice.

After this it is about what I am going to practice .... go to the chip & pitch area for 100 or so chips, pitches or maybe practice bunker shots or to the driving area to practice with the woods, hybrids or driver or to the putting green, etc.....

After a decent practice I go back to the driving range, hit a few balls again and then I play a few holes at the range as if I were in the course, playing a driver, followed by a 5 iron for example and practise to targets...... including pre shot routines etc, etc., etc. I know it may seem strange to the guys hitting 150 balls per hour, but only practice with a goal works !

- - - - -

But when I visit the driving range before a round, I might only hit about 40-50 balls (mostly less), do some chips, pitches and about 5 minutes at the practice green.

- - - - -

BTW at our course we pay about $30 annual fee for balls at the driving range, most people never practice and some practice about daily ....... it will not be a surprise that the about 30 guys I see at the range in general are playing in the first 3 competition teams ...... ;)

[ajschn06]

Originally Posted by Gerald

BTW at our course we pay about $30 annual fee for balls at the driving range, most people never practice and some practice about daily ....... it will not be a surprise that the about 30 guys I see at the range in general are playing in the first 3 competition teams ...... ;)

What!?  At 4 bucks a bucket I spend $30 at the range in 3 weeks!  There's one course around me that offers range balls with their memberships, unfortunately I can't afford the $1k membership fee...

[596]

I envy you guys who always hit balls before you tee it up.

My wife knows it'll be 6 hours after I leave the house before I'll get back home.  I get to the course an hour before my tee time.  The courses are about 20 minutes from our house.  She has zero problems with this.  She always tells me to have fun as I'm walking out the door.  Even on days I don't play golf I'm cycling/running for up to 2-3 hours.  We have lots of time.  As for the $$, when you pay $40-$60 per round, 6 bucks more is nothing to be able to practice and play well : )

[Cossackred]

I am not an experienced golfer, although I'm trying really hard to get better. When I go I take out my 9 iron and hit the 100 yard pin, which is my normal length on that club. Then I go down the list trying to hit my usual distances with each club. 8i 125, 7i 150, etc etc...going down the list. I end on the range with my driver. I then head over to the chipping area and finish on the putting green. I don't know if that's a good way to order things, but it's my routine. :)

[Jay-Bird]

I start out by fully stretching. Then I hit four balls - bang, bang, bang, bang - with a three iron. I do this to get the bad shots out early - and expecting them to be bad, it makes it psychologically beneficial to me. I rarely pure a 3 iron regardless, so how bad is it to hit a few bad three irons to start the warm up? The first few swings are always less than grooved - so I'd rather blast away with three iron vs a wedge - which I expect to hit VERY well every time.

Then I go into my real practice - a few punch draws for crisp "flying wedge" contact, then I hit a VERY pronounced hook, a cut/slice, a subtle draw, a subtle cut, and straight shots until I feel like my shot cones are manageable. Then it's target oriented, real-life, course simulated shots. Rinse and repeat.

[frankteo]

I always start with a pitching wedge. Then work my way up with odd or even irons (I switch every time I go). After I'll go hybrid, 3 wood and then driver to end. So I hit about 85 balls total every time. I'll usually hit the putting green for about 15 minutes as well.

[JD616]

I start my practice off with some stretching, no point in practicing if you risk injury. I then move on to my wedges 5 shots with each to a certain area. I follow up by progressing through my bag in this order 9i,7i,5i,3i,3w,driver taking 5-7 good strokes with each. After that I'm pretty much warmed up and can finally begin take some good swings.

Being that I am 15 I feel as though I can just swing forever, often playing 54 holes a day and hitting up to about 500 balls a day. My coach gave me some advice last year and it is guaranteed to help anyone. For every ball you hit with anything other than a wedge, hit 2 with a wedge.

After I get done playing all day I like spending the last hour of daylight putting and hitting shots into the 18th green from the bunkers,rough, and fairway.

[dbuck]

I start by stretching. Then I assume a stance with my arms on my chest holding a club and do a few turns back and through.  I am turning so my shoulder points behind the ball, then back to a follow through position, working on shoulder turn and balance.  Then swing a couple of irons together.

After that, I will usually start with a five iron and work into a rythm hitting full shots, and trying to move a few both ways. Once it is flying well, I will hit a couple of 1 irons off the tee, then back to the 5 iron for a few more. Then I will hit a few 3 woods off the tee, then off the deck. Then a couple 1 irons, then back to the 5 iron.  Then a few drivers always rotating back to the 5 iron after a couple with each different club.  If I am hitting pretty well and hit several like I want, I quit.  I almost never hit a whole bucket, but it usually takes 45 minutes or so for this part.

If I am working on the short game, I use 3 balls and practice chipping first to various holes and various combinations of run and air.  With putting, I also use three balls and practice lag putts and holing them all out.  I usually finish up by practicing  8-10 footers.

[Arsenal8807]

Well started this past summer (June/July of 2010) and since getting a lot more serious, I have developed a better routine at the range that seems to be paying off. Usually shoot mid 80's..

1. Bought Tour Sticks, a GREAT investment because you think you know where your aiming? Wrong lol.

2. Make sure I am doing things right in my practice swings before I even hit balls, keeping my head still, no sway, EASY TEMPO, straight left arm (for full arc).

Routine:

1. PW for about 10-20 shots depending on my contact and just to get a good tempo going and make sure my contact is good.

2. PW for 10 more shots but shaping and distance.

3. 7 or 8 iron for 10-15 shots, working on ball flight and tempo a little.

4. 5 iron 10 shots, TEMPO and catching ball first.

5. 3 iron for at least 15 shots, I love hitting my 3 iron and usually catch it very well. I work on contact and ball flight.

6. Hybrid, 3 Wood and Driver for at least 10 shots each.

* I use my tour sticks for every shot. *

Putting I work on my normal pre shot routine then...

1. 4 foot putts ( 20-40)

2. 12-15 foot putts ( 25 )

Short game:

1. 20 yards (20)

2. 45 yards (45)

3. Bunkers (20)

I can get 40 balls for $3 at my local course which isn't bad at all! I'll be working there in a few weeks so I'll definitely be practicing a lot more and should be able to break into the 70's with a little help and some practice on my own.

[B-Con]

A typical practice-only session: - First I pitching about 20 balls, then I chip about another 20 balls, on the pitching green. - Then I got to the range and choose two irons, usually two numbers apart (eg, the 9 and 7 or the 8 and 6) and hit about 15 balls a piece. - Then I pick one long club, almost always a hybrid, and hit another 15 balls. - Then I put about 15 through on my driver. - If I have time, I'll then putt for about 5-10 minutes. Lately I've been cutting out both the driver and putting, though, in favor of more iron practice. I got so sick of having poor iron play and not having much distance off the grass on long par-4s or par-5s, that these past couple months my main priority has been to fix my irons and get comfortable with my hybrids. A typical warm-up session before I play: - First I pitch about 5 to 10 balls and chip 10 to 15 balls. - Then I choose three irons and hit about 5 balls with each irons. (Again, the irons are usually two numbers apart, eg the PW, 8, and 6). - Then I hit about 5 with a long club (eg, hybrid). - Then I hit about 10 with my driver. - Then I putt for the remaining time. I generally try to leave at least a couple minutes. I've found that I have to warm up with my irons or I'll do terribly with them. And at a minimum I have to warm up with a short and a long iron. I will take 6 holes to get a favorable feeling with my irons if I don't warm up with them. It's nice to warm up with my driver, but so long as I warm up with some club I'll swing the driver as well as I normally expect, so practicing the driver is somewhat optional. For putting, I just need to get the speed of the green in my head, get the feel for a couple 3 footers, and get the feel for a couple 20ft lags, and I'm good. I don't think anything beyond about 4 or 5 putts directly influences my performance that day. Chipping before-hand is very helpful, to re-enforce the necessary strength for different distances of chips.

[michaeljames92]

The most amount of balls I ever hit at one time is probably 40. I learned a while ago having an alignment stick really doesn't teach you to set up properly. Sure it helps sometimes, but I find if i practice my course routine before hitting about 30-40 balls it helps immensely on the course. Once upon a time I used to hit maybe 40 balls before going out, Now I find I am warmed up after 20 or so, quite often in competitions i will go out on the course without warming up at the range, especially in summer when it is 38*C sometimes for a whole week.

Originally Posted by toddmlazarchick

So let's hear what you guys do when you go to the range. How do you warm up? Which clubs do you hit? What order? Do you hit all your clubs or certain few one day and the rest another? Have at it.

[etlreams]

1. I stretch for a good while
2. Take a few practice swings
3. Hit about 1/4 of the bucket with my 6 and 7 irons
4. Hit about 1/4 of the bucket with my driver
5. Hit about 1/4 of the bucket with my gap and pitching wedges, doing different types of shots (pitching, full swing, 1/2 swing, etc.)
6. Hit 1/4 of the bucket again with my 6 iron

I usually hit my fairway woods and hybrids pretty well; So I don't practice with them much at the range unless I see a need to work something out.  Otherwise, I stay pretty generic in my routine.

[mlf16507]

Take out my Driver and try to hit into trees at end of Range(280 yds)!! Oh sorry,that's the majority of pupils before I start working with them.

10 balls-40 yd flag

10 balls-60 yd flag

10 balls-80 yd flag

10 balls-100 yd marker

10 balls-150 yd maker

10 balls-200 yd marker

10 balls-250 yd marker

By then I am too tired to hit any more!!!(It's hell to be old)