Range practice

Running Bing

Just wondring whats the best way to practice at the range for a beginner. I usually just work my way down the clubs from sw to 9 to 7 to 6 to utility wood, 3 wood, driver allocating roughly equal time to each. Is this the best way to do it or should I be concentrating more on short game or long game.


Ps I play a fair bit of par 3 but am looking to start playing on proper courses. I feel my short game is above average but my driving is weak. This would suggest I should spend more time on driving right?

J.R.HARTLEY

babybing i'm not being smart but we are not equiped to tell you what you need to work on, if you need work on something then go to a pro get a lesson and then work on that for a few weeks,
if you're trying to figure something out yourself you'll never really do it, ben hogan called it a wrong good swing, it might work out ok but you'll be setting up incorrectly to compensate which will lead to all sorts of problems.
trust me go and get a lesson, even just one then go and practice

i used to think my short game was very good, then i started trying out new shots and realised i couldn't hit them because i was setting up incorrectly.

rick_fantastic

when im in the range i hit some warm up wedge shots to loosen up. then i hit driver, 3, 5, 7, 9 alternating which irons i hit. usually two balls with each club then change.

i have a lesson every month to make sure that im doing everything correctly. correct stance, i used to have a major problem that all my power was coming from my shoulders but im getting a nice turn into the ball now

Dman_15

Babybing wrote:

Ps I play a fair bit of par 3 but am looking to start playing on proper courses. I feel my short game is above average but my driving is weak. This would suggest I should spend more time on driving right?

I would suggest not bothering with a driver at all to start with. Generally they cause more harm than good to learners.

As for driving ranges, i dont particularly like them. Maybey its because I've snapped €1000 worth of drivers on those bloody mats

J.R is right. You should get some lessons instead of blindly thrashing balls on a range.

frink

Whenever im practising i wood get no more then 50 balls and hit a few wedges just to loosen out the body. hit 8 6 4 and 2. finish of with woods 3 and driver. For each shot go through your preset shot routine pick the smallest target in the distance etc.
i would definitely spend more time on your short game from less then 50 yards. getting up and down from there each time will slash your handicap.

If you cant hit your driver consistently use a 3w and if thats going well bring out the driver its all psychological

TheDoc

Use your 9 iron or p wedge jsut to losen up, you dont even need to hit balls just swinging.

Start with some half swings then full swings, then hit about ten balls.

If you are a beginner I'd adivise you work on your irons and short game. Get comfortable with your 7 iron so you hit in consistently. I sometimes go o the range with my 7 iron and jsut hit 100 balls with it. The 7 iron is really you club you should be hitting most often, and you can then easily hit a 6 or a 8 iron as they are similar.

Get confident with putting and chipping. Decide on a short club you feel comfortable with then use it all the time and develop your shots, high little flops, running the ball in.

You will hear people say, usually old golfers" o you new kids with your wedges, always hitting poor shots, i just use my 6 iron its the best way".

Golf is much of self opinion and what you do best, but tbh i find it nigh on immposbile to control and shot with a 6-8iron rolling it onto the green. Its basically a long putt, with feck all control. Get yourself confortable with a decent lofted club, and in time youll get good enough to even roll your wedge up to the hole and show up the 6 iron lovers =P

Driving is an easy concept really if you are a beginner. Dont rip it, take a nice smooth practice swing, and just hit the ball so that you get accuracy. Distance is a bonus i feel. I'm a player who prefers to be hitting the ball consitently into the fairway then have a massive long drive but regurly spray one left or right.

Best tip of all is its all about contact between the face and the ball, not how hard you are swinging.

css

Firstly, why don't you practice with 3 4 5 irons? My advice would be to come proficient with the irons before you go near woods. You will always have them then if you have a day you can't hit the wood out of your way. Not having confidence with the lower irons is not a good thing imho.. At least be able to hit them off a tee..

As for practicing, don't grip the clubs at the very end, maybe leave half an inch between the heel of your hand and the end of the club, you'll have much more control with every club doing that..

As for what to practice, well everyone does their own thing, but my advice would be to take your time, and focus on what you are doing. I was at the range one day and a guy came into the bay beside me, and in the space if time i hit about 20 balls, the guy must have thrashed 100 balls down the range, they were going everywhere... no good if you ask me.. Always have a target in your mind.. be it a flag, or two different targets to aim between as a 'virtual' fairway target..

GreeBo

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

i find it nigh on immposbile to control and shot with a 6-8iron rolling it onto the green. Its basically a long putt, with feck all control. Get yourself confortable with a decent lofted club, and in time youll get good enough to even roll your wedge up to the hole and show up the 6 iron lovers =P

Worst.
Advice.
Ever.
How much time to you devote to practicing this shot?
Would you rather putt or use a lob wedge from 5 feet?
When you are looking for accuracy you want the ball on the ground as soon as possible. The more a ball rolls the better chance it has of going in.
You will *never* be advised by any professional to lob the ball unless you have to. Its not the percentage shot, even if you dont make a balls of it it has to be 100% accurate to go in, direction and length, a rolling ball only has to be the right direction to have a chance.

css wrote:

Firstly, why don't you practice with 3 4 5 irons? My advice would be to come proficient with the irons before you go near woods.

Id disagree, its "easier" to sweep a ball than it is to hit down on it, thats why most people have problems with long irons (and even proper contact with a short iron).
Hence the massive market for hybrids and lofted fairway woods.
Nowadays you technically dont need anything lower than a 5 iron, if even that.
When people like Woods start putting a fairway wood into their bag its probably time for the rest of us to take notice.

css

GreeBo wrote:

Id disagree, its "easier" to sweep a ball than it is to hit down on it, thats why most people have problems with long irons (and even proper contact with a short iron).
Hence the massive market for hybrids and lofted fairway woods.
Nowadays you technically dont need anything lower than a 5 iron, if even that.
When people like Woods start putting a fairway wood into their bag its probably time for the rest of us to take notice.

It's easier to hit an iron straight than a wood.... mis-hit a wood, and then mis-hit an iron the same way, and see which is more off target...

The difference with Woods is that he can hit a long iron if he wants.. He has to get out of stupidly long rough which we don't usually have to contend with on amateur courses..

J.R.HARTLEY

ha! you gotta love the fact that it censored the word mish!t

css

J.R.HARTLEY wrote:

ha! you gotta love the fact that it censored the word mish!t

sad or what!!

J.R.HARTLEY

ah man you need to lighten up and see the comedy gold in every day life, ireland is full of it.

css

True for ya!! still those profanity filters are kinda dumb in the first place.. :v:

Running Bing

css wrote:

Firstly, why don't you practice with 3 4 5 irons? My advice would be to come proficient with the irons before you go near woods.

I find it a lot easier to hit my utility wood /5 wood than low irons. Im way more consistent with the woods. I figured that first I'd get to a level where I can play the game reasonably well i.e. not embarass myself. I just want to be at a level where i enjoy the game and im not slicing every shot out of bounds then I could concentrate on my low irons and really improving my game etc. Is this the wrong attitude to take? As i said I have played a fair bit of par 3 so i at least feel confident about my short game(thats not to say i have a very good short game I just feel i have more control of where the ball goes) its the teeing off with the woods that im worried about.

TheDoc

So when you are say bout 40 fett from the pin, youd like to putt the ball and keep it low?

I'm sorry but personally i think its a poor choice. You have to read a green for 40 odd feet, the breaks and pace, I find it much much much easier to take my lob wedge and jsut attack hte pin getting some nice check. It is generally leaving me a 10ft or less putt, better then a 40 foot putt.

If you are around 5 foot from the pin on the fringe year putt, but anything over 20foot id take my lob wedge anyday.

And I have tried both, wedge and 8,7,6 irons, i jsut dont feel the shot with the irons, i find it more comfortable using the wedge.

Now if i play links golf like St.Annes where lots of green are flat and pacey, ill take the irons from distance or close for chipping and running.

css

Babybing wrote:

I find it a lot easier to hit my utility wood /5 wood than low irons. Im way more consistent with the woods. I figured that first I'd get to a level where I can play the game reasonably well i.e. not embarass myself. I just want to be at a level where i enjoy the game and im not slicing every shot out of bounds then I could concentrate on my low irons and really improving my game etc. Is this the wrong attitude to take? As i said I have played a fair bit of par 3 so i at least feel confident about my short game(thats not to say i have a very good short game I just feel i have more control of where the ball goes) its the teeing off with the woods that im worried about.

My point was that if you are playing badly, it's always good to have something to fall back on, i.e. a 3-4 iron off the tee. The flatter the face on the club, the more any mi**** shots will be exaggerated, so you have to be more and more accurate with your swing the lower the club lofts get.. Why don't you use your utility wood off the tee?

I used a 1 iron for years off the tee, and was out driving probably 90% of people i played with who used drivers.. But the difference was when i mi**** it, i was only in the semi-rough, if i mi**** a driver the same way, the ball was gone..

TheDoc

css you must been playing gainst kiddies to outdrive them wiht a 1iron =D

I'm pretty sure a solid player would outdrive you wiht driver.....maybe im wrong...

Dman_15

css wrote:

I used a 1 iron for years off the tee, and was out driving probably 90% of people i played with who used drivers.. But the difference was when i mi**** it, i was only in the semi-rough, if i mi**** a driver the same way, the ball was gone..

I used to do this aswell untill i turned to the darkside and bought a 14* rescue. I still look around to make sure no-one is looking before i take it out of my bag for a shot

Honestly theres less than 20 yards between it and my average drive but like CSS says, much less destructive when your not on your game

css

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

css you must been playing gainst kiddies to outdrive them wiht a 1iron =D

I'm pretty sure a solid player would outdrive you wiht driver.....maybe im wrong...

Well at the time i was averaging 270-290 yards with it... about 240 yards of carry.. It's not even in my bag anymore though, goes to show how your game evolves..

X-Calibre

In reply to the first poster, listen to JR and get a lesson or 2 before you start doing anything on the range. Its pointless going out and hitting 100 balls if your swing is wrong. Take what the pro teaches you and practice that on the range. Your best bet is to use your 7 iron while trying a new swing. When you have the 7 iron mastered, you'll easily be able to hit your woods. The driver swing is just an extension of your 7 iron swing.

But never practice a new swing with your driver. It just doesnt work.

On the topic of chipping, I think a bit of a chip and run never goes astray:) I dont really go as low as a 6 iron, but I think anywhere from 15 feet or more, a wedge or a 9 iron is alot more effective. It does depend whats in your way, but if you're on the fringe at the back of the green, and the pins at the front, take out you're 8 or 9 iron. As someone said, you can make only 2/3rds contact and it will still go most of the way, whereas with a lobwedge, any sort of duff will go nowhere. Doc, I think you should give the pitch and run a try. I used to take the lob wedge out staight away like you. I hated the idea of a pitch and run, but with a bit of practice, its a very handy shot. Give it a go:)

TheDoc

i tried it and i do use it dont get me wrong, i like to have shots in my locker, and when i play links events, or a relitivly flat course or somewhere with handy enough greens i do use the chip and run, im just saying i prefer using the wedge to attack a pin.

There is alot of things to be considered in a chip n run like breaks,pace, and you oculd hit an un expected hump.

With a wedge shot its just grab, few practice, catch the back of the bal land it stops near the hole.

I'm not denying though it is a useful shot....

css

Chip and runs are useful for wet soggy ground, where a wedge would just dig in and invariably end up mi****. Having said that I only use a PW for that shot, the short game is different for everyone, everyone plays shots differently..

J.R.HARTLEY

the only thing to remember with your short game is there are many different shots and at different holes on different days the right one will change around, from flop to chip to punch in and bite the arse to stop it. you need to make the right choice at the time, but there's always more than one way to skin a cat.you can't hit the same shot every time, but if the game was easy we'd all be on telly at the weekend.

stringy

css wrote:

Well at the time i was averaging 270-290 yards with it... about 240 yards of carry.. It's not even in my bag anymore though, goes to show how your game evolves..

Haha it's started, like every other golf board the dubiuos distance debacle. 1 iron 270-290 yards, man you'll have to start playin golf with JB Browne or Bubba Watson.

As for wedge shots instead of running shots, that's simply young golfers trying to show off, they're only fooling themself, look at any low handicap golfer, (5 or lower) and they'll never throw balls at the pin. Ask any pro how to chip and they'll advise, the quicker you can get the ball rolling on the green the better

css

stringy wrote:

Haha it's started, like every other golf board the dubiuos distance debacle. 1 iron 270-290 yards, man you'll have to start playin golf with JB Browne or Bubba Watson.

I never said it was 100% straight...

Anyhow it's irrelevant really, i've come to my senses since, it's not all about distance, and i used to overswing like a lunatic.. I have shortened my backswing a LOT since, and accuracy has gone way better. I'm still two irons less than 90% of people I play with though.. 8 iron 150m, 7 iron 160m, etc.. believe it or don't, i really couldn't care less.. :rolleyes:

J.R.HARTLEY

sure i used to get 240-250 outof a 3 iron i can easily see css getting that distance out of a 1 iron, just cause you can't do it, doesn't mean it can't be done.

stringy

Sorry dudes didnt mean to be smart, I'm a big hitter myself but am always amazed at people saying how far they hit, I'm no angel myself, I was walloping 5 irons 230 yards off the tee at one stage last summer. But you're right controlled swing with less distance generally means more consistency and thus better golf.

getting back to the whole range practice thing, a range is only good for loosening up or getting back into golf after being out for a while. the sh!te dead balls and the fact that your pretty much hitting into anywhere means its very difficult to learn anything worthwhile. For starter golfers, its obviously good as it gives them the opportunity to swing with no fear and develop some kind of swing

If there ever ends being a boards Soc, we should defo have a long drive comp!!!

J.R.HARTLEY

it's ok dude, i guess my post seems a bit agressive, sorry,:v:
i can't hit the three iron that far anymore, i changed my grip and swing(was over swinging as well as swinign around myself sometimes) over the next two years to get to where i am now, a 3 iron would get me no more than 220 yards, but it's dead straight, or if i want i can put a fairly good shape on it, i much prefer my game now, you're dead right about the range balls.
i only ever get about 30-50 balls becuase i spend more time practising my swing and what the pro told me in my last lesson, rather than hitting the ball, those stones don't fly at all

css

To be honest, i've only really started using the range this year, because i'm trying to get back into my game properly. I find that you really have to pick a target, and work on something. Without the target, you're wasting your time completely!

No problem stringy, I've had auld fellas all my life telling me that 'you hit that ball too hard'.. etc.. But my swing is my swing, and it's my natural tempo, so i simply can't change it, and don't really want to either tbh..