Time On The Driving Range

[JonMA1]

10 minutes ago, ejm1994 said:

Even if I stink on the course, golf is a nice distraction from the stresses of life.

It really is.

I made some attitude changes since that post you quoted and golf has never been as enjoyable as it has been this past month - both practicing and on the course. You don't have to be a single-digit player to enjoy golf.

I think you'll do fine on the course.

[downbylaw11]

Does anyone ever simulate rounds when theyre at the range?  Sometimes I feel like you learn nothing by hitting 5-10+ balls with a particular club until you've got it 'grooved in' or whatever, because on the course, you never have the luxury of taking 3 mulligans before you hit a good one.  I wonder if there would be greater benefits to simulating a round on a particular course by playing your tee shot, hitting an iron based on where that tee shot goes, and so forth so you get a good feel for switching between club lengths, distances, etc.  I supposed it could also help you gain a greater level of focus when you practice

[b101]

2 hours ago, downbylaw11 said:

Does anyone ever simulate rounds when theyre at the range?  

I'll often do that at the end of a range session to try to make that transition between range swing and course swing easier. I'll take the first nine holes at my course and try to simulate that, picking different fairways, targets etc so that I keep changing my alignments. If I feel I missed a green, I'll still play a pitch or chip and just try to land it on a specific ball that someone has duffed. The real aim though is hitting gaming shots with the range pieces that I've been working on. Oh, and I'll still use a camera to check whether it's close to what I'm aiming for. It won't be as good as the range swings, but will be closer than it was.

[SPJr]

Unless I am in a time cruch, one medium sized bucket works perfectly for me... Any more and my swing suffers due to fatigue. Any less, and I usually feel like I didn't have enought time to even improve. When hitting a large bucket, I don't always feel tired, but my swing gets sloppy. I often start fatting balls and lose all of my mojo. At that point, I take a quick break, regroup and focus on two consecutive quality strikes, etc. Once I get two quality swings in, I'm done and I walk away, whether there are balls left or not. I think it is much more beneficial to leave the range with good feelings. Once you lose the groove, it is often times hard to get it back.

What I need to start doing more often is hitting a small bucket before a round. Too often I find myself avoiding the crowd at the range and just going straight to the tee box. I'm sure it would make a difference on my round, but unless it's a league night, I'm not all that motivated to "warm-up". Anybody else?

[Shindig]

7 hours ago, SPJr said:

What I need to start doing more often is hitting a small bucket before a round. Too often I find myself avoiding the crowd at the range and just going straight to the tee box. I'm sure it would make a difference on my round, but unless it's a league night, I'm not all that motivated to "warm-up". Anybody else?

When you don't warm up before a round, do you find yourself hitting better shots in the second nine than the first?  I used to notice that;  now I warm up just about every time I play.

[billchao]

4 hours ago, Shindig said:

When you don't warm up before a round, do you find yourself hitting better shots in the second nine than the first?  I used to notice that;  now I warm up just about every time I play.

I'm like that. It takes me a few holes to "get going" without a warm-up. Then again, the last time I hit the range before a round I ended up fading on the back nine, so I'm not sure it makes or breaks my round.

[sofingaw]

The key for me re: warming up is making sure not to overdo it. Based on the marathon range sessions I have when I’m not about to play, I have a limit of about 100-150 balls hit consecutively before performance suffers a lot.

I figure I’m going to hit between 50 and 70 (yikes!) full shots in a round, so I shouldn’t hit more than 50-60 balls max to warm up. Gets me warm/grooved, but doesn’t wear me out. 

[Shindig]

3 hours ago, billchao said:

I'm like that. It takes me a few holes to "get going" without a warm-up. Then again, the last time I hit the range before a round I ended up fading on the back nine, so I'm not sure it makes or breaks my round.

Once you start fading, aim a little left and allow for it and you should be okay.

[DrMJG]

Years ago, A well known pro told me to take a break every few strokes at a DR. The more you realize that you don't hit 100+ shot in an hour on the course makes the way you practice more efficient in mind and body. Unless I am trying to play a "course" on the DR, I take  a break every 10 hits or so to step back and refresh mind and body and to think through what went well or not so well.  When I don't I tend to be very inefficient.

Edited July 26, 2018 by DrMJG

[RussUK]

2 hours ago, DrMJG said:

Years ago, A well known pro told me to take a break every few strokes at a DR. The more you realize that you don't hit 100+ shot in an hour on the course makes the way you practice more efficient in mind and body. Unless I am trying to play a "course" on the DR, I take  a break every 10 hits or so to step back and refresh mind and body and to think through what went well or not so well.  When I don't I tend to be very inefficient.

^^ this is spot on. I have found since going to the range with my 5 year old son my quality of practice has increased. He will hit 5 balls then i hit 5 so i have to think about the shots/clubs i want to hit and focus on quality over quantity. Plus i dont get tired out.

Its down to him that i have improved like i have. It's also fun watching him hit both his little driver and my full size one off the deck just for fun and the looks on the faces of the guys in the other bays! 

[Darth_Fader]

1 hour ago, RussUK said:

I have found since going to the range with my 5 year old son my quality of practice has increased

Well that's that, never thought I'd have this chat with the GF to improve my golf game, but that's all the logic/proof I need. Will report back in, oh, 70 months. The 15 year old bro bombing it 30 yards past me gets tiresome after a while anyway. 🙄 

Couldn't agree more with the take a break notion, even 30 balls in (reasonably) quick succession leave my back pretty tight, let alone the quality of the 'shots' after the first 5 or 6..

[billchao]

5 hours ago, Shindig said:

Once you start fading, aim a little left and allow for it and you should be okay.

That's not what I meant. Sorry, poor choice of words there.

I meant that I started hitting poorly on the back so instead of shooting a higher score on the front and lower on the back, I ended up reversing it and scoring about the same as usual.

[SPJr]

17 hours ago, Shindig said:

When you don't warm up before a round, do you find yourself hitting better shots in the second nine than the first?  I used to notice that;  now I warm up just about every time I play.

I don't know about "better" shots but I definitely play more consistent and predictable on the back nine when I don't warm up before a round.

I played a quick nine yesterday and hit a small bucket before I played. Being a weeknight, and the fact that I had already spent time at the range, I opted to hit just a few puts on the practice green and get going on my round. I was definitely striking the ball better and more consistent - Of course, it took me 3-4 holes before I hit anything that would be considered a 'respectable' chip shot, which I neglected to practice before the round... SMH

[Shindig]

9 hours ago, DrMJG said:

Years ago, A well known pro told me to take a break every few strokes at a DR. The more you realize that you don't hit 100+ shot in an hour on the course makes the way you practice more efficient in mind and body. Unless I am trying to play a "course" on the DR, I take  a break every 10 hits or so to step back and refresh mind and body and to think through what went well or not so well.  When I don't I tend to be very inefficient.

My quality and enjoyment on the practice tee really improved after I remembered I pay by the ball, not the hour.  Now it generally takes me an hour or more to go through 30 range balls during practice (and maybe 40 minutes if I'm just warming up before a round).  Sometimes I'll be working on something specific, range will be packed, and someone will come by and see a dozen balls and ask if I'm hitting more after that.  No, but I warn them this may take me a while to hit.

6 minutes ago, SPJr said:

I don't know about "better" shots but I definitely play more consistent and predictable on the back nine when I don't warm up before a round.

I played a quick nine yesterday and hit a small bucket before I played. Being a weeknight, and the fact that I had already spent time at the range, I opted to hit just a few puts on the practice green and get going on my round. I was definitely striking the ball better and more consistent - Of course, it took me 3-4 holes before I hit anything that would be considered a 'respectable' chip shot, which I neglected to practice before the round... SMH

Or the chips didn't come out well because you're a 25 handicap.  My chips certainly weren't good at a 25 handicap, and one of the mistkaes I made at that level was to practice them quite a bit.  Also you and I might have different definitions of what a respectable chip shot is at your level.  My view is that any time you (and I mean you, @SPJr, not some generic you) have a short game shot that finishes on the putting surface, it's respectable.  If it's on the putting surface and within 25 feet of the cup (no matter whether it's uphill, downhill, etc), it's a good shot.   If you can get your short game to the level where a respectable outcome is expected and a good outcome isn't a surprise, you'll be in good shape to bring that handicap on down.  

Lastly, you may often find you don't need a lot of chipping practice before a round.  If I get to a course super early I might chip a bit as a way of warming up for the range or something.

[Mmgolfwiz]

You go to range for two reasons  one is to hit balls and that’s about it. Most people don’t have a purpose. But if you want to get better. You need a purpose. And that is to perfect ones swing. When I played professionally I would hit 500-1000 balls a day. You need a purpose. The swing has to become imbedded in your brain and become effortlessly consistent. If you can’t break par it’s because you don’t have a consistent swing. So you need practice over and over

[Shindig]

I'm not sure I agree with this statement:

1 minute ago, Mmgolfwiz said:

If you can’t break par it’s because you don’t have a consistent swing. 

Lots of high handicappers have consistent swings.  Many of the high handicappers in my club have consistent swings, big ol' slice every time.

[lastings]

8 minutes ago, Mmgolfwiz said:

When I played professionally....  

umm..  your profile over there (<----) says your a 10 index?    

[Mmgolfwiz]

5 minutes ago, lastings said:

umm..  your profile over there (<----) says your a 10 index?    

I am now. I played pro 30 years ago in my early 20’s had to quit with bad back issues. And was never able to get back to the same. I just enjoy it now but I do not practice much at all anymore and only play a dozen times a year or so