Life of a bogey golfer on the driving range

[Lihu]

Ever been at the range and had something you need to work on and suddenly everyone on the range is trying to fix the same thing?

 

So, I went to the range to work on my swing a bit and try to ingrain fixes for the horrible key 1 failure I had uncovered yesterday on the course. I warmed up with 30 balls or so with wedges. Then started doing my key 1 drills.

The person next to me admitted to being a bogey golfer and I mentioned I was in the same ballpark. We talked a bit about not being professionals and were just there to enjoy the game. I finished up my drill swings and started to hit a few balls. Decided to hit a few drives into the wind as it picked up to a gust to see how much they were affected. He guessed that I carried in the 185 range, then the wind died down and I hit the same shots past the "235" flag. We noted that the wind made my drives about 5 clubs shorter, but he also told me that the pros do not lose so much distance because they can hit low drives when needed. So, he seems to know quite a bit about the game in his 20 years or so of playing.

So, I explained that the drills I was doing were specific to my particular problem at the moment, and that I am working on trying to keep my head steady. Then he mentioned that his last Sunday round was horrible, but didn't really specify what he thought needed fixing he had a a feeling what it might have been. He was continuously hitting a ton of different clubs towards the "150" flag with no apparent effort to try to figure out what was wrong with his swing. I didn't volunteer any advice, since I really don't know what was wrong with his swing. He told me he put too much weight forward, as in leaning towards the target line. He made a few shots to demonstrate, but his spine was centered nicely and the shots he made with the wedge were quite nice. The next thing I knew he was trying to do similar drills to the one I was taught by Mike and Dana a couple years ago. Then I noticed that a couple other golfers on the range were following suit. It was pretty windy so maybe they were just swinging slowly due to that? It looked like more people were doing slow steady drills. Hopefully, specific to their current priority.

Well, to the untrained eye, it seemed like when one bogey golfer makes some headway and is doing some drills or something, then others follow suit thinking that there is a generic solution to all bad swings. I assume that many of the other golfers on the range are experienced and have many years of training as well. Not sure why there is this kind of mass behavior among bogey golfers.

Note that the few better ball strikers were pretty much just doing their own thing, I just assumed they are low single digit players from the seriousness of their dispositions. They looked like unhappy souls working hard on their games.

Life of bogey golf, if you have any stories on the driving range whether serious or humorous, please share them.

[Buckeyebowman]

One thing I have learned at the range is that mimicry is a very powerful force. One time I went to play a powerhouse course in the area. Included in the greens fee was a bucket of balls to warm up. I happened to find myself next to a guy who obviously knew how to swing a golf club. The way he got his legs and hips into the shot marked him out.

As I started warming up, I found myself unconsciously mimicing this guy. Next thing I know I'm making a really nice move through the ball, and hitting everything dead on the button! I went on to have a very nice round of golf.

So, the next time you go to the range, maybe look for the guy who looks like he knows what he's doing. Find a place near him and watch him hit balls, then hit some yourself. If you feel like it, ask his advice. If not, don't. Most golfers are willing to help, maybe too much so!

As for your not offering unsolicited advice, I say Hooray for you! I can see thing that someone is doing wrong, but unless they ask me I keep my mouth shut! As I once read, "unsolicited advice is like a headache looking for a forehead to slam into!"