I don’t spend as much time on driving ranges these days but when I do I somewhat worry for the hard working, dedicated, misguided golfers trying to get better.
You see, standing on a range, hitting the same club over and over, to the same target over and over, from the same perfect lie over and over, is about as far from playing golf as we can get.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should never use the range, you should, if you are working on a specific technical change with your coach.
Perfecting a visually appealing swing !!
But standing on a driving range will not test your
– course strategy
– ability to adapt to a variety of lies
– ability to adapt to a variety of grass lengths
– ability to deal with pressure
– fitness, diet and nutrition
– short game
– putting
– decision making
– shot making
and many, many more facets of your game.
You don’t get lies like that on the driving range……
When you have reached a technical proficiency you feel you could play with, it’s time for the golf course. It’s time to learn the skill of scoring.
Golf is about adaptability. For the average golfer, simply understanding what shots they are capable of hitting is a starting point. You may only have one ball flight and that’s okay, but where you aim, how much of the trouble you take on and what club you choose to play are all within your control.
The process that works for me is built around
– assessing the shot you face
– exploring what options exist for youdownload full film Logan 2017
– choosing a shot you are capable of playing 7 out of 10 times
Too many players get the distance left to go (or guess it) and choose the club that they hit that distance and straight, once a few years ago. Many times a player will score better by laying-up even though they may have the strength and ability to hit to the green, it’s not something they will do 7 out of 10 times. Why not play to your strengths, hit a 9 iron twice rather than trying to hit a 4 iron and ending up with a difficult next shot.
You may be wondering where this fits with a PGA Professional who has been using high-speed video and TrackMan radar system during their coaching for the past number of years. Well, it fits quite comfortably with how I teach. I use these technologies to help my students understand the impact between club and ball. We then use these technologies to become proficient at creating impact to suit a variety of shots. We then take that skill to the golf course where we are thrust into situations that we could never dream up ourselves. This is the test ground of our learning, understanding and technique.
It’s not about pretty swings, it’s about the ability to score !!
