Have you ever asked yourself the question of why can’t I take my range game to the golf course? This is one of the most common frustrations with golfers, so what’s the problem?
If I can hit all my clubs on the range why can’t I hit them on the golf course? It comes down to the way golfers practice which is generally quite different from the way they play golf.
A typical practice session may consist of grabbing a couple buckets and hitting a 7 iron over and over again for hours on end. At the end of these sessions we feel that we are confident in hitting a 7 iron, and move on to the same system with the other clubs in our bag. By the end of a couple weeks we feel we can hit all the clubs in our bag yet still struggle when we play a round on the
golf course. So I will ask this question; when was the last time on a golf course you hit twenty shots with the same club in succession?
Yet this is how the majority of players practice, which yields little success when we try and take this to the golf course. The point I am making is in order to play better golf we need to practice like we play. Instead of instinctively grabbing the 7 iron and hitting bucket after bucket try these few practice routines:
*Change your club, target, and shot shape for each shot you hit on the range while going thru your pre-shot routine.
*Try and picture a hole on your golf course and play the hole as you would in a round of golf. Example: hitting a driver picking a specific target on the range where the fairway would be. Then
picking an appropriate club for the second shot; while again picking a specific target where the green would be.
By doing these drills you will begin to practice golf just as we play golf. You may struggle at first (similar to struggles on a golf course) but this will improve with time, as should your play on
the golf course.
Every round of golf is different; every shot we hit on a golf course is different, so our practice should be structured towards this. Try this the next time you head to the range and you should be able to take your “range game” to the golf course.
Scott Anderson
Head Golf Professional, The Winston Golf Club
BA Psychology/Sociology University of Calgary
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