How many times have you seen someone at the driving range hitting ball after ball, frustrated and getting angry? Repeating bad swing after bad swing…does this sound like you?
Many people believe that they should go to the driving range, with the biggest bucket of balls they can carry out and stay there until every last ball is hit. While this may seem like the point of a driving range, does this really help your golf swing or golf game?
I have three specific uses for the driving range: use the driving range as a warm up prior to teeing off; use the driving range to work on a specific swing skill or drill; and use the driving range to practice like you are playing on the course (I will explain this more).
The driving range is a great place to go prior to any round just to simply warm up your body. You can hit a small number of balls and get a rhythm going. You do not need to hit a large number of balls (unless of course that is what you need to loosen up) at the range if just warming up. It’s a great way to get a feel for your body and swing prior to teeing off.
The time that you may want to spend a longer time on the range is when you have specific swing drill or skill that you are working on. Perhaps you just had a lesson with your PGA of Canada professional and they gave you a couple drills to work on. This would be a great use of your time on the range, rather than just randomly hitting ball after ball.
While this use of range time will likely last longer than your pre-round warm up, make sure you use this time with a purpose.
The third use of the range is one I refer to as practice how you want to play. It is very easy to head to the range and hit balls without a target or worry about where the ball ends up; the same isn’t said for on the course. Treat the driving range like it’s the first hole. Go through your pre-shot routine and imagine the driving range is the actual hole. Hit your tee shot and play the entire hole, on the driving range. You can play all 18 holes on the driving range just by imagining each hole and hitting different clubs.
Of course, the driving range can also be used to simply have fun, whether that be with family or friends. If you are looking at improving your game, try one of my “Three uses of the Driving Range” and see if you find an improvement.
For more information on how to better your game, contact your local PGA of Canada professional today.
