When going to the driving range/practice facility and you take a look around.  What is the most commonly used golf club?  That’s right…you guessed it…The Driver!  It is the longest club in the bag…It hits the ball far…it makes that great smash sound when you hit the ball…and best of all, the golf ball is teed up!  Of course, when we play it is important to hit the tee shot well.  However, there are several parts of the game that many golfers ignore at the practice facility.  This makes for poor preparation for the golf course that can result in higher scores.  Here are some things to keep in mind on your next practice session.

Short Game (Putting, Chipping, Pitching)

            The most important part of the game, yet the most neglected.  You should always spend the majority of your practice session on short game.  Let’s do the math…there are 18 holes on a golf course.  You will use your driver approximately 14 or more times to tee off.  Let’s say that you putt 2 times on each green.  That is 36 strokes taken with your putter.  If you happen to 3 or 4 putt, you could be taking 45 or more putts in a round.  This makes you wonder, why is it that the putting green is always empty, but the range tee is packed with people?  Shouldn’t this be reversed?  The answer is…yes!  If you keep track of your rounds, you will realize you will hit more shots around the green than  you do hitting tee shots.

The Ladder Drill | Distance Control – Click Here

Alignment with Full Swings

The driving range is set up in such a way that many golfers do not “aim” to a target.  Golfers simply just hit the ball straight away.  When you play a game of golf, you couldn’t be doing something further from.  Every shot we take on the golf course needs to aimed, and aimed correctly.  That being said, take aim at different targets on the range and use alignment sticks to ensure you are aimed correctly.

Spot  Alignment for Better Accuracy – Click Here (video features our friend Patrick Thornell)

Poker Playing Cards for Golf Course Preparation

            When on the golf course, you would seldom use the same club shot after shot.  On the driving range, many golfers hit 50 or more shots in a row with one club at times.  All this accomplished was that a shot can be hit the same club 50 or more times in a row.  Although repetition is good when working on a swing drill, this does not quite prepare you for the golf course.

Grab a set of playing cards and assign each card with a different golf club or type of golf shot.  Shuffle them and pick from the top.  This type of practice will get your creative juices flowing and you will need to focus on the shot at hand (which is what we do on the golf course).

Next time you are setting up a time to visit the practice facility, remember, you are practicing to play better golf from green to tee.  Happy Practicing!