Many players go to the range and only bring a tee clubs. I do supervised practice sessions at Impact Zone Golf for students of the academy and members of our range and indoor facility. I see many players only bringing a wedge a 7 iron and driver. They set up at the range and hit maybe twenty or so wedges in a row then do the same for their 7 iron. After that they then hit a few dozen with their driver and then they pack up and head out.
This is called block practice and is great to fine tune a specific skill. It also works well when you are trying to improve your center contact. But that’s where it ends. Most player who do this believe they are improving their Ball striking which will lower their scores.
They maybe improving their Ball striking if they are using face tape and checking impact on the face after every shot. But most don’t do this. They just hit balls in rapid fire and th no this is how to improve.
The best way to improve in your practice sessions is to do random practice. Bring your entire bag and use different clubs on every shot. It is fine to incorporate block practice along with it. Here is a example of the best way to improve your Ball striking and improve.
1. Warm up with stretching before your practice sessions. Do not hit balls to warm up. Stretch out for five minutes to get the muscles warm then you can begin to hit some balls.
2. Start with block practice but make sure you go through your pre shot routine before every shot. You can hit some wedges the move to a mid club then driver like you do normally.
3. Now is the time to begin random practice. Only hit one shot with different clubs and choose a target at various points on the range. Take breaks after a few shots like you do on the course.
Remember that when you play a round there are breaks between every shot. I know this is tough to do when you are at the range. You have a limited time. So let’s do it like These are the shots that your face during around so it’s important that you practice some.Ben Hogan used to do. He hit a maximum of 21 shots.Then he took a break. He would have a drink sitting for a few minutes. He would then go back and begin the session again.
4. Always do what you would before ever shot on the course. That means lining the shot up taking a pre-shot routine and taking a practice swing for you shoot to the target.
5. Make some of you shots chips and putts also if you have a practice green or short game area at your facility. This simulates a round of golf rather than just a range session. This also allows you to fine-tune touch and feel for those in between distances.
Don’t forget to do some putting also. Work on long and short putts. I like 40, 20 and 8 feet putts along with some 3 footers to finish off my session.
Now your practice sessions have purpose and allow you to improve on many shots you will face during a normal round. You will begin to see much better results and your handicap will drop.
