Range form v course form

Brewster

Hi folks, im sure many of you have been here before, hitting the ball like a pro on range, but simply cannot bring this form to the course. I will flush any iron on the range, yet when Im on course I dont hit it as well and invariably I push it or hook it to the left....

Has anyone any tips that could help? I read that treating driving range like course might help, ie hit drive or wood, then 7 iron, then a short chip etc as if i was playing a hole rather than hitting same club repeatedly?

I have only started taking golf seriously in last year and its impeding my progress...

mag

as jim flick says - golf is 90% mental and the other 10% is mental too

Par72

I think you need to really look out for your alignment. In the range the mat helps you to line up consistently square. On the course, without the alignment aid it is easy to misalign your body and club face.

If you are hooking it out on the course it is possible your feet and body are lining up right of target whilst your club face is square or closed to the target, the opposite is the case if you are slicing it.

Pay careful attention to your alignment on the course, pick a spot a few inches ahead of the ball and set your club face square to that, make sure your feet and shoulders are parallel to the target line.

whatawaster

Par72 wrote: »

I think you need to really look out for your alignment. In the range the mat helps you to line up consistently square. On the course, without the alignment aid it is easy to misalign your body and club face.

If you are hooking it out on the course it is possible your feet and body are lining up right of target whilst your club face is square or closed to the target, the opposite is the case if you are slicing it.

Pay careful attention to your alignment on the course, pick a spot a few inches ahead of the ball and set your club face square to that, make sure your feet and shoulders are parallel to the target line.

+1.
I was suffering for the last couple of months with a major slice on my drives. I tried everything, even consciously turning over my hands through impact to try and square the face, but nothing worked.
Then at the range last week i decided to try an exaggerated closed stance. Voila. A draw. A little bit of tinkering later and i'm driving a lot straighter. My stance is now ever so slightly closed.

copacetic

it's worthwhile at the range to never aim straight down it. aim to the left and right and pick out targets to make it more realistic. When you are just hitting the ball down the range every shot seems good. Especially so when hitting driver.

Trampas

Also when on the range you are hitting ball after ball an awful lot quicker than you would on a course which helps also.

You can get your swing going

Mr. Larson

I'm the opposite. I can never hit a decent ball on the range. Some might argue that I can't hit a decent one on the course either but it's definitely better on the course than on the range. I can't control my tempo on the range can't resist the temptation of trying to boom it... because there are no real consequences if you mess it up. Would rather spend time working on chipping or putting technique tbh.

jimbling

Great way to hit at the range is picking different targets.

Don't just boom the driver out there... happy when it goes relatively straight. Pick a spot to aim for. Change it constantly.
i.e. when I'm driving at the range, I could be aiming far far left. Next drive I would be aiming far far right...then maybe down the middle.

This does a number of things. It firstly focuses the mind much more when hitting (Target orientated). Secondly, it means you don't just get into the rhythm of it as easily. Thirdly it removes the point made by Par72 about lining up to the mat.
Just my 2cents....

stringy

it's easy to think you're flushing them in the range, because there's is no relevance to the shots you're hitting, you need to pick specifics, like hit the 0 in the 200 sign, pick a post at the end of the range at try hit it, hit your irons to the greens that are dotted around.

also there is no pressure on any of the shots you're hitting, no variable lies and it's difficult to judge wind sometimes.

In any case scoring is done from 100 yards in and very few people practice that on the range, spend more time practicing that aspect and you'll find your course scores should reflect more about what you've done in the range

jimbling

stringy wrote: »

In any case scoring is done from 100 yards in and very few people practice that on the range, spend more time practicing that aspect and you'll find your course scores should reflect more about what you've done in the range

I reckon that only holds true once you go below maybe an 17/18 handicap. Not much point been good with your short game if you're out of contention from the drive.

I've just been finding lately that when my driver is acting up I get a huge number of scratches, but even when my short game is not great I still get decent scores. Perhaps it is the course I play too... very prone to a loss of golf balls.

whatawaster

jimbling wrote: »

I reckon that only holds true once you go below maybe an 17/18 handicap. Not much point been good with your short game if you're out of contention from the drive.

I've just been finding lately that when my driver is acting up I get a huge number of scratches, but even when my short game is not great I still get decent scores. Perhaps it is the course I play too... very prone to a loss of golf balls.

It's even more important for high handicappers. They take far more shots from within 100 yards so have more room for improvement
If you're still getting scratches when you feel your short game is good then i would suggest that either your short game isn't as good as you think it is or you're course management and strategy are all over the place.

jimbling

whatawaster wrote: »

It's even more important for high handicappers. They take far more shots from within 100 yards so have more room for improvement
If you're still getting scratches when you feel your short game is good then i would suggest that either your short game isn't as good as you think it is or you're course management and strategy are all over the place.

hmmm, interesting.

Well, I guess I'm only coming from my standpoint (I have playing handicap of 22, but realistically am about 18).....

If I put a drive down the middle or just off the fairway I would expect, and generally get, no less than a boggy. I very very very rarely scratch a hole when I hit a decent drive. But if I hit a really bad drive, then I'm up to about 70% chance of scratching the hole.
As I said in my first post, perhaps it is due to the fact the course is very unforgiving and wayward tee shots can be lost all too easily.

stringy

jimbling wrote: »

hmmm, interesting.

Well, I guess I'm only coming from my standpoint (I have playing handicap of 22, but realistically am about 18).....

If I put a drive down the middle or just off the fairway I would expect, and generally get, no less than a boggy. I very very very rarely scratch a hole when I hit a decent drive. But if I hit a really bad drive, then I'm up to about 70% chance of scratching the hole.
As I said in my first post, perhaps it is due to the fact the course is very unforgiving and wayward tee shots can be lost all too easily.

if you're driver is playing up, you don't use it, hit a 5 iron off the tee, then another one, and then you should be near the green, pitch and 2 putts gives you bogey (rely on short game)

short game is soooo important, most people can get near the green in 2/3 shots, you do the scoring if you're chipping, pitching and putting is good. Single putts are invaluable, you look at a pro who wins a tournament, he will have 24/5 putts, the fields will have 28-32 putts average.

the same can be said for amatuers of any standard, less putts are far more important than hitting driver down the middle

mag

jimbling wrote: »

hmmm, interesting.

Well, I guess I'm only coming from my standpoint (I have playing handicap of 22, but realistically am about 18).....

If I put a drive down the middle or just off the fairway I would expect, and generally get, no less than a boggy. I very very very rarely scratch a hole when I hit a decent drive. But if I hit a really bad drive, then I'm up to about 70% chance of scratching the hole.
As I said in my first post, perhaps it is due to the fact the course is very unforgiving and wayward tee shots can be lost all too easily.

do you 'take your medicine' if you hit a bad drive?
whatawaster's point is right, even if your driving is erattic, if you concentrate on getting your ball back into play (provided your not putting them ob or lost) then a good short game will save from scratches/disasters.

jimbling

mag wrote: »

do you 'take your medicine' if you hit a bad drive?
whatawaster's point is right, even if your driving is erattic, if you concentrate on getting your ball back into play (provided your not putting them ob or lost) then a good short game will save from scratches/disasters.

I do 'take your medicine' as you put it. That used to be a problem with me, but not so much anymore. OB or Lost is the main problem.
In saying that, I'm sure I could improve my course management which would save some shots, but not by as many shots as improving my driving in the first place.

I have a decentish short game... it's really come good the last few weeks. I still two put most of the time, but that's okay. I'm improving.
My main problem is that when I'm driving badly I'm out of the hole before I get to the short game.

whatawaster

jimbling wrote: »

I do 'take your medicine' as you put it. That used to be a problem with me, but not so much anymore. OB or Lost is the main problem.
In saying that, I'm sure I could improve my course management which would save some shots, but not by as many shots as improving my driving in the first place.

Good course management takes out-of-bounds out of the equation.

Blunder

jimbling wrote: »

My main problem is that when I'm driving badly I'm out of the hole before I get to the short game.

Really you shouldn't be out of the hole. What positions do you find yourself in if you are driving poorly? Heavy rough? Water? OOB? In Trees?

A bogey/double bogey should never be out of the question on any hole if you are in bother off the tee. If you get into trouble off the tee and you cant reach the green with your 3rd shot make sure you position your ball in a place where you will have the easiest up and down. For example if you drive into heavy rough on the right and all you can do is pitch out sideways to the fairway but you are still 250 yards from the hole with the pin tucked in behind water and bunkers dont take out the 3 wood and have a lash at the pin. Hit 3 or 4 iron to a position which will give you a clear line (if possible) to the flag for your pitch/chip shot. Dont short side yourself.

Also your mindset has to be of the view that you can score on the hole after your bad drive not that the hole is gone because of the drive!

jimbling

whatawaster wrote: »

Good course management takes out-of-bounds out of the equation.

hmmm, I presume from this you mean to not play your driver if you don't have control over it? Use a 3 iron off the tee etc?

If so, that's a fair point all right.

whatawaster

jimbling wrote: »

hmmm, I presume from this you mean to not play your driver if you don't have control over it? Use a 3 iron off the tee etc?

If so, that's a fair point all right.

use an iron, aim away from the trouble, whatever it takes.

jimbling

Blunder wrote: »

Really you shouldn't be out of the hole. What positions do you find yourself in if you are driving poorly? Heavy rough? Water? OOB? In Trees?

A bogey/double bogey should never be out of the question on any hole if you are in bother off the tee. If you get into trouble off the tee and you cant reach the green with your 3rd shot make sure you position your ball in a place where you will have the easiest up and down. For example if you drive into heavy rough on the right and all you can do is pitch out sideways to the fairway but you are still 250 yards from the hole with the pin tucked in behind water and bunkers dont take out the 3 wood and have a lash at the pin. Hit 3 or 4 iron to a position which will give you a clear line (if possible) to the flag for your pitch/chip shot. Dont short side yourself.

Also your mindset has to be of the view that you can score on the hole after your bad drive not that the hole is gone because of the drive!

It's mainly lost balls off the tee I'm talking about. So you're teeing up again and only a par will do to save a point (presuming 18 handicapper). Makes it tough.

jimbling

whatawaster wrote: »

use an iron, aim away from the trouble, whatever it takes.

Lol, aim away from the trouble. You assume I have the accuracy to do so.


Seriously though... got your point...which is... don't use the driver off the tee if you can't hit the blooming thing :pac: :pac:

Problem is, when I'm swinging well my drive is a thing of beauty. When I'm swinging badly I would be better off with a 7 iron off the tee. :rolleyes:
Guess I just need to realise what sort of day it is early and just put it in the bag when it's not working.


Right... so, after all that. Short game is way more important!!!!! :pac: :pac:

whatawaster

jimbling wrote: »

Lol, aim away from the trouble. You assume I have the accuracy to do so.

I assume you are reasonably accurate. If you aim for left edge of fairway it's harder to hit it into the trees on the right.
Playing the percentages won't guarantee results. It'll just make them more achievable.

jimbling

whatawaster wrote: »

I assume you are reasonably accurate. If you aim for left edge of fairway it's harder to hit it into the trees on the right.
Playing the percentages won't guarantee results. It'll just make them more achievable.

When I hit the ball well I am. But when the driver isn't working it could go anywhere.
I need to get consistency off the tee. For that to happen I need time in the range. For that my short game practice will suffer a bit. But since it is not my short game that I am losing majority of shots I am okay with that.
Gone full circle.

Sorry, but I just can't bring myself to put away the Driver. I want.... nay... need to be able to confidently step up to the tee with it every time.

whatawaster

jimbling wrote: »

Sorry, but I just can't bring myself to put away the Driver. I want.... nay... need to be able to confidently step up to the tee with it every time.

then you'll never reach your potential as a golfer.

jimbling

whatawaster wrote: »

then you'll never reach your potential as a golfer.

Why?


PS: Sorry for this massive derailment OP

Brewster

No problem! Thanks for anyone who has provided tips. I am changing driving range now to one that has a number of greens on it and you can also play off grass rather than a mat...

whatawaster

jimbling wrote: »

Why?


PS: Sorry for this massive derailment OP

Because you want to hit Drivers all the time even though you are erratic with that club and apparantly regardless of the situation.
You might think it shows confidence to want to hit that club all the time, and we all know how important confidence is. But deep down, you know you aren't consistent with it, and i think this will cost you.

Sorry if i'm coming across as preachy, i'm not a particularly good player and it's very much a case of "do as i say, not as i do" because i'm inclined to go slightly mental after i hit bad shots myself and try to hit 5 irons out of thick rough. But i am trying to change.

jimbling

whatawaster wrote: »

Because you want to hit Drivers all the time even though you are erratic with that club and apparantly regardless of the situation.
You might think it shows confidence to want to hit that club all the time, and we all know how important confidence is. But deep down, you know you aren't consistent with it, and i think this will cost you.

Sorry if i'm coming across as preachy, i'm not a particularly good player and it's very much a case of "do as i say, not as i do" because i'm inclined to go slightly mental after i hit bad shots myself and try to hit 5 irons out of thick rough. But i am trying to change.

No worries, preach away

I have only started getting into golf. Have been a casual player for a few years, but have recently been trying very hard to improve.
When I started out about 2 months ago I got a 22 handicap and was getting 26/29points in a round. I'm now getting up to 45 points in a round.
I am putting in a lot of effort, a lot of practice and I do listen to good advice.

When I say I can't leave the driver in the bag, what I mean is that I cant allow myself to be happy to not have the ability to consistently hit a driver when it needs be*. Therefore it is the place I feel I need to practice most.

I also know I have the ability. I have gone entire rounds where I've hit or been just off 17 of the 18 fairways. That's pretty good for a 22 handicapper. I feel that in some rounds I just lose the swing. It doesn't feel right, thats when my inconsistency kicks in.
I reckon with enough practice I can push that relatively regular occurrence down to a very rare occurrence. I also reckon that it will be easier for me to do that, and more beneficial in the long run, than working mostly on my short game.


*Note, I am saying when it needs be. I am not going to hit a driver on a hole where it doesn't suit to hit a driver. Also, I'm not one of these players that gets all the golf satisfaction from a big drive. Quite the opposite. The most satisfaction I get is from a well hit wedge.

jimbling

Hit 60 balls at the driving range yesterday evening. Nothing but the driver. I think I have fixed the problem with my driver swing. I might be playing in a while, so I'll find out if I'm back to only hitting 2/3 very wayward drives instead of 16/17.
Here's hoping I can return to practising my short game again :pac:

PeterJamesDoyle

I tend to pick a target about 4 to 5 feet in front of me. I'll always walk into the shot with one hand on the club, placing it in front of the ball, lining it up with my intermediate target.
Picking something a few inches in front of the ball, can amplify the end result as the object may be a divot or something and you might be aiming slightly left of it or slightly right.
Something 4 to 5 feet out will allow you to see the pin or green in your peripheral vision so it will give you confirmation that your pointing the club the right way.
Step into it as mentioned and once the club is pointing at the target, get comfortable and try to keep parallel with you target line.
Somebody mentioned about 90% mental, and they're spot on. Don't want to become like Garcia with his putter. Forget about your range form, and don't beat yourself over it.
Finally, you might consider finding out whether the shafts in your irons or clubs were ever pured or spine aligned. Either will guarantee up to 50% more strikes out of the middle of the face every time. Good luck in your quest.:)