Do you have a plan when you go to the range

Do you have a plan when you go to the driving range or do you just go and hit multiple balls with each club robot style.

I am very interested to hear what you think because i always plan my practice sessions to get the very best out of it. I am also looking for immediate improvement when i take it to the course.

When I went to the range daily I had a 30-30-30 routine. 30 putts, 30 chips, 30 range balls.

Now I break it up over three days: Off Day, Short Game Day, Long Game Day.

Short Game Day is either play 9H Par 3 NSRCC, or spend time at the short game areas of MBGC or LNGCC.
Long Game Day is play 9 or 18 regulation holes, or hit 60 balls at the range.

If I'm itching to get out on an "Off" day I'll do short game.

Hitting balls at the range I'll do either all odd or all even clubs.

But I'm still struggling to break 100 so don't do what I do .

I normally break my routine into 3 sessions a week, Range 1 day short game 1 day & 1 combination day. On the range day after warming up with a wedge i hit a range of shots imagining im on the course. I will only hit my driver once every 3-4 shots and work heavily on my irons. with my woods and rescue I imagin I have a specific distance and direction i want to hit and try to land it there. One session i focus on the long irons and one session i focus on the mid-short irons. I never it more thatn 1 shot at a time with the same club.

I have a different kind of range time. I usually spend about 3hours to 5hours, hitting 300 to 500 balls. Sometimes, provided I have time during weekdays then at night time I would hit 100 to 200 balls. I would call it purposeful practice and just hit some balls. During the 100 to 200 balls session, my ball striking would be better and I would hit more mid and long clubs than short clubs as I do not need to plan my fatigue level to longer hours. During the 300 to 500 balls session, I would hit more short clubs to maximize my fatigue.

Have you guys thought about whether the way your practice at the range might depend on the current state of your game?

Although terms like "critical path", "low hanging fruit". "80/20" are often overused in the corporate world ... it does not mean that there isn't truth to it

I would imagine the range sessions for

a) a complete beginner picking up the club for the first time
b) a high handicap golfer who has been playing for many years but is only now taking lessons to improve
c) a low-mid handicapper who has issues scoring consistently
d) a single handicap player trying to get to the next level, i.e. "scratch"

would be completely different and I would argue, that if you were to make golfer (a) practice how golfer (d) practices, it is unlikely to help golfer (a) improve any faster.

And while I whole heartedly agree with the concept of "Practice with a Purpose", I would suggest that Purpose will mean different things to players at different stages of the game

Mate you are 100% correct, what i post is designed around my game and the areas i am trying to improve. But one thing is for sure when you go to the range no matter what your ability you must have a plan. Because going into robot mode doesnt do you any good at all no matter what your ability and level.

GolfMad62 wrote:

Mate you are 100% correct, what i post is designed around my game and the areas i am trying to improve. But one thing is for sure when you go to the range no matter what your ability you must have a plan. Because going into robot mode doesnt do you any good at all no matter what your ability and level.

Bro,

I thought most beginners go to range just to hit balls whereas more experience players go there to either fine tune game and also try to shape a bit more.

Mate im currently working on some weakenesses in my game to allow me to get down to scratch. The pros and cons of forums is we can all post something and there is good and bad in it. The good is we can all see what we are doing and how it is helping our individual games. The bad is it can be interepreted as advice or on line coaching. But i stand by no matter what your ability robot range golf improves no one. Just ask my wife, shes off 34.

Due to my limited hour at the range, i can only hit 50-100 balls.

I will try to spend 20-30 balls on my wedge, practicing 10-20-30-40-50m pitch

For the rest of the balls, i will practice 7i, 8i and 9i only ...

The purpose is to build confident in pitching, and try to get more consistency in my 7-9 irons.

My range sessions usually consist of a bucket of balls, talking with my friends about the swing and whatever else comes to mind, and then several beers. Since I am not playing for anything anymore it is more of a social call for me... 

I have two types of plans. One is an intensive training and the other just to keep the clubs hot.

Durin the weekdays, I just go to the range to make sure that my swing is in tact. Here's what it looks like:
30min - Putting: 5ft, 10ft, 20ft
15min - Chipping
1hr - Range time(about 30mins of full shots and 30mins of distance controlled pitch shots)

On weekends, I get intensive..
2hr - Putting
2hr - Chipping
3hr - Range time

Mostly I focus on drills, fixing whats broken instead of pounding balls. In 3 hours I probably only hit 200balls

My plan is to hit my driver 290m over the net of the range.... but I usually fall short of my plan. 

For me, the purpose is to improve my swing and repeatable.

I've come up with routine through the years and I've been sticking to it, more or less.

I'll usually buy 100 balls and start by warming up 20 balls with short half swing pitches using my PW to hone my feel, following by 5 balls each with 8i, 6i, 4i, hybrid, 3w, Driver, 5i, 7i, 9i. if at any time there's a shot that's not well struck the way I wanted it to, i'll add 5 more to that particular club.I'll then use the balance to work on my 100m, 80m, 70m, 60m and 50m.....

it's worked pretty well for me thus far.........

not sure if anybody has seen this yet, but maybe we can take a pointer from Luke Donald and this practice drill he does, haha.. watch it closely in case you miss what he does the first time you watch it, happens quick!

http://www.eighteenunderpar.com/luke-donald-accuracy-drill/

The habit I've picked up is to load my basket with one bucket of balls at a time. First bucket of balls is usually for my wedges. Have to get nice crispy contact with them. I start out with shorter distances first and it gradually gets longer towards the end of the bucket. Will take breaks in the beginning to stretch out and feel loose. Once bucket is finished, I will walk to the machine and reflect on what I've done. If I still feel that I need more work on the wedges, I will hit the next bucket with them. If not I move on to my favourite mid club. Do the same, hit shorter distances and get crispy contact and then gradually hit it to its max distance. My main goal throughout range sessions is to ensure solid contact of the ball and not feel like I've over exerted my self before mOving on to my metal woods and my driver. I usually avoid range sessions a day before I play out on the course. Those reflection times are important I feel as it prevents me from pounding balls aimlessly. I will usually end my session with a few shots with my wedges.

My plan when I go to the range is to find a bay behind a chio bu. Helps me to focus.

you all are hardcore! I barely go to the range, only if my irons or woods start to get messy on the course and needs to be retuned