Golf Practice Drill-The Range

With this golf practice drill… after you have hit your driver, put the driver down, and imagine that you are on an actual golf hole and you now have 180 yards to the pin.

O.K. so pick out a target of your scenario distance and get that golf club.

Do your pre shot routine and go after the target.

Then go back to the driver and pick out a different target line that gives you a different visual perspective.

Do this each time as part of your golf practice drill routine aiming for targets that are to the left of you natural line and to the right and so on.

The point here is to change targets and golf clubs frequently; get yourself comfortable and confident with going from a long shafted golf club to a shorter one and vise versa. As I just mentioned, changing your visual perspective of the target is important as well.

Tee boxes on golf courses aren’t so magnanimous that they align you perfectly with the fairway so you must get used to these visual changes that courses throw at you. You always here the expression of how a golf hole fits or doesn’t seem to fit a players eye. Golf course architects are like that.

I’ve mentioned your pre shot routine as a part of this golf practice drill a couple of times.

If you’re not sure you have one work on finding one that feels comfortable to you and use it before every shot.

This doesn’t (and shouldn’t) be some long and drawn out routine that adds another hour to your (and everybody else’s) round of golf. Keep it simple and easy to replicate and get into the habit of doing it.

Hopefully you’ve gotten the gist of this part of your golf practice drill routine.

You’ll note that I said ‘part’ of your practice routine. Certainly if you are just starting to learn the golf swing you will spend more time with just one club in your hand.

But as you advance in your swing and your game there may come a time when you begin to lament that you can’t seem to get your golf game from the range to the golf course. If this is the case then this golf practice drill will certainly help you get over that hump.

Golf Tips: Getting Your Game To The Course

At some point in your golfing learning curve there will come a time (and probably with mild to moderate frustration) that you will ponder the following conundrum: “how can it be that I hit the ball so well on the driving range, then a different golfer shows up on the tee.”

Yes it’s true… we practice golf at a 2 handicap and play at a 20.

You what the problem is because it’s so obvious… you continually leave your game at the practice tee.

It has become an all too familiar routine and you want to get your game to that next level. But to do so, and to ultimately play better golf, you have to get your driving range game to the first tee and beyond.

First of all, before we discuss possible solutions, one must understand that at least in part this is a natural progression to one’s game. Everyone goes through this phenomenon to some degree or another. Even accomplished golfers experience this when they work on a swing change or practice a new type of shot for them.

There is not any doubt that in order to successfully and consistently execute a fluent golf swing, you have to have paid your dues with practice time and many buckets of ball launched from the driving range.

Let’s fast forward a bit and assume that you have in fact improved the mechanics of your golf swing to the point where you make reasonably consistent contact and direction on the practice tee, but your swing takes a 180 degree turn for the worse when you get on the golf course.

When this happens, the natural evaluation most of us make is to examine what we are doing wrong on the golf course. The solution more often than not is not to critique and examine your on the golf course golf swing, rather you should take a look at how you practice your golf swing when you are on the driving range or practice tee.

Up next… let’s take a look at a practice drill for your golf game that will help you make the transition from the practice to the golf course.

Golf Tips: The Pre Round Routine

I want to discuss a topic that we haven’t touched upon to this point and incorporate it into our series on improving your golf game.

Needless to say so much focus and topical time is given to the golf swing and all the elements that surround and go into making and executing a golf swing.

Our series here is no exception, but we need to discuss an element of playing better that really does contribute a large part to the success of your golf game (or the lack of it) and that is getting yourself properly warmed up and prepared before you hit your first golf shot.

Last time we talked about the importance of our pre shot routine… now let’s talk about the importance of a good pre round routine.

First of warming up is essential if you are serious about getting your handicap down. Even if you’re the type that say’s “it only takes me a hole or two to get loosened up”, then how many strokes do you lose in the process? And don’t they all count? So don’t bemoan your score and your round if you are going to just toss caution to the wind on the first couple holes as you get loosened up.

Your pre golf round routine will return benefits in the form of strokes if you:

• Warm up. Take short walk to the driving range. Tell your buddies to go ahead if they are in the golf carts already. Or, leave the golf cart by the clubhouse and walk to the range. Even on a warm summer day your muscles need the circulation and they need to warm up. Taking a couple extra practice swings on the first tee doesn’t constitute warming up.

• Do some stretching.  Again, get some heat and circulation going in your muscles. If you are not worried about the strokes, at least do some golf stretches so you don’t injure yourself.
• Once you get to the driving range, hit a few golf balls. An entire bucket is not necessary; nor is breaking out every single club. Start with a short iron, the go to a mid iron or two, then a few drives. Hit some pitch shots and even some long chip type shots. Finish back with the short irons getting back to rhythm and feel and swing confidence.

• Then allow some time for the putting green. Start by knocking in some very short ‘gimme’ type of putts to get a good mind set. Then get yourself back a ways and get a feel for the speed. As an amateur, many of your approach shots will leave you a good distance from the pin; so it’s very important to have a good feel for your distance control in order to avoid the three (or four) putts.

• Know that warming up before a round of golf is not practice. It is not ‘working on something’ so, don’t try knew shots, swing keys, or anything else. Avoid this temptation. If your swing doesn’t feel quite right, now is not the time to go into repair mode. If this is the case work on one thing and one thing only – smooth rhythm and timing. Put all else out of your mind.

Understand during your warm up what your golf swing is trying to tell you. If you seem to be fading the ball and struggle to draw it (even though you usually do), don’t fight it; go with your fade for the day. Don’t fight with yourself. Be pragmatic.

Probably 90 plus percent of amateur golfers don’t bother with any type of pre round warm up, let alone any type of pre golf round routine. I’m hoping if you don’t; then you’ll soon make an effort to do better with this. If not, then you’re not really committed to playing better golf.

Committing to getting yourself warmed up and in touch with your swing before you stand over the golf ball on the first tee will take strokes off your game before you even hit that first one of the day. And certainly nobody wants to start the day with a double bogey or triple bogey.

Golf Practice Tips-The Range

One of the more frequently visited topics that comes up is how come I can go to the golf practice range and do so well, but when I go to the golf course to play a round a different golfer shows up?

If this somewhat describes you, don’t panic. It is a very common ailment among golfers.

Aside from keeping in mind that just on a daily basis alone your golf swing is going to produce different results and scenarios for you to overcome. Welcome to the wonderful game of golf!

But in all seriousness here in the next couple of articles, I’ll discuss a few golf practice tips and techniques that will help you get your golf game from the practice range to the golf course.

First of all, I make the assumption that you are practicing your golf game on a regular basis and not expecting your game to just miraculously ‘show up’ for you on the first tee.

With this in mind I think that most people should consider that how their golf practice affects their ‘on course’ behavior. Frequently, the resolution to the mysterious vanishing golf swing is in how you practice to get better.

Certainly to gain proficiency at golf one must hit a lot of golf balls. And there are certainly times when your practice routine is one of just focusing on getting your rhythm and timing going. But to get your game from the range to the course you have to focus on certain aspects.

As a part of your golf practice routine you should practice or emulate real golf. First of all (assuming you’ve properly warmed up) starting with driver, pick out your target and give yourself some fairway parameters. By that I mean that say… the flag to left from that flag to the right is the width of my fairway… outside of that I’m in the rough or even O.B.

Stand behind the ball and reaffirm your target line or what ever you pre shot routine may be. Knowing that you now have a target that you must hit and you have but one swing to hit it will add more focus and a certain amount of pressure to your golf swing.

This is what we want here.

If you only put your swing under this type of situation when you are on the golf course itself… well good luck. Good rounds can certainly happen by chance, but you’ll be forever developing any kind of consistency.

Up next let’s finish getting your golf practice swings and range game to the golf course.

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