By Fred Altvater
Ben Hogan famously found his secrets “in the dirt,” but you may not have time to spend hours on the range tinkering with a different grip, stance, posture, or alignment.
Do you have a plan for improvement, when you go to the range, or do you just beat golf balls into oblivion until you have a sore back?
Many golfers go to the range, grab their driver out of the bag and begin swinging for the fences, “Chicks and Golfers Dig the Long Ball.” If you want to lower your scores and have more fun on the course, that may not be the best course of action.
1: Warm Up & Stretch
Let’s prevent injury. Don’t jump out of the car, grab your sticks and start ripping drivers down the range. Do a few stretching exercises and lazily swing a couple of clubs before you begin taking hacks.
2: Start Your Practice Session with a Pitching Wedge
The wedge is the easiest club in the bag to hit. It helps a player develop a rhythm and gain confidence, when they see balls actually getting into the air. Stop killing innocent worms, and losing range balls by slicing them off into a neighboring corn field. The wedge is the shortest club in the bag, with the most loft, plus the swing is a shorter segment of the same swing you use for longer irons and woods.
Besides most shots are saved from 100 yards in on the course. Improve your wedge play and it will immediately lower your scores.
- Always Have a Target
On the golf course, golfers always hit a certain target. The pressure of trying to find the fairway, or green leads to missed shots. Why not visualize a specific target while on the range? Most practice ranges have stakes, yardage markers, or even old cars to bounce balls off. Use these targets to hone your accuracy. When you are on the course, visualize that yardage marker you were hitting to on the range and make that same swing on the course. It will alleviate pressure and you will hit more quality shots.
- Mix It UP
Don’t just grab one club out of your bag and mindlessly chop, top and shank the whole bucket with it. Never hit more than four or five shots with any one club. Start with your wedge and work you way up through the bag hitting a few shots with each.
- Problem Child
If you have a problem child in your bag, hit a few shots with another club that is more likely to produce positive results. Then go directly to the trouble club. Visualize you still have the ‘good club’ in your hands and make the same confident swing.
If that doesn’t work, put that problem child in time out in the deep dark recesses of your garage for a while. Chances are, you don’t need it anyway.
- Give Yourself a Grade
In school tests and quizzes monitor your progress and helped the teacher know if the students were learning anything.
Just like school, you can also give yourself a test. Hit five balls with a club and mark down how many acceptable shots you hit. If you only hit two good shots, that is a 40% rating, you are failing miserably. Consider spending more time on that club, or seek professional help, to get your grade up to a more acceptable 80%.
- Have a Lesson Plan
Speaking of teachers, they always have a lesson plan for every class. Why don’t you prepare a plan for your practice session? Write it down, don’t just keep it in your head. Allot times, or amount of balls that you will hit with each club. If you are struggling with a certain area of your game, give it more time.
- Don’t Forget Short Game
Maybe just banging balls on the range isn’t your best option for lower scores. In your lesson plan, make time for chipping and putting. Most shots are lost around the greens. If you improve your short chip shots, you will alleviate three putts and may even chip one in once in a while, just like the pros.
Hopefully these few tips will help you practice more efficiently, lower your scores and have more fun on the golf course.
Remember, we PLAY Golf, we don’t WORK Golf.
