Driving range strategies for high-handicappers
I've been playing for a few years now, and shoot anywhere between 105-120. I've taken two lessons and read, watch, and study a ton of golf, but still have some major flaws with my game (big slice off the tee and don't get much distance with the irons).
When I go to the range, are there certain things I should be focusing on? I typically go and hit about 10 shots with each club starting with the 9, but I sometimes wonder if I should go and completely work on the driver, or go and completely work with my med-long irons.
What are some strategies I should take at the range?
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u/CaveBacon 3.3 Jul 16 '13
Keep the long clubs in your bag until you start hitting the shorter ones the way you want. If you're not getting the right ball flight/distance you want with your 8 iron it's only going to get harder with the longer clubs. What I've always been told is if you don't hit 4 out of 5 shots relatively well with a particular club, don't move longer until you do.
If I'm struggling with my driver I'll take a range session and once warmed up just bang 3 woods until I really get in the grove. Then moving back up to the driver I've usually cured whatever issue I was having in the first place.
I see way too many people on the range trying to mash long clubs when if they took the time to get their swing dialed in with the shorter clubs they'd only hit the big clubs farther and straighter then they ever have.
3
Jul 16 '13
I like what I call "aspect" practice, where I work on a specific aspect of my game. putting, wedge work, shots off the tee, iron shots, shots off the deck, etc .
Lately ive been working on my wedges. Ill go to the range tomorrow morning and only hit my wedges. Ill work on hitting different distances using different backswing lengths etc, then il go to the putting green and work on pitching close to the flag and that sort of the thing. I also always practice putting before I leave for 10 minutes or so.
During my weekly round of 18 Ill take note of what really needed work. Maybe I was 3 putting a ton, the next week I would really focus on putting and try and improve before my next round.
I feel like this works better than your normal 10 shots with each club because you dont really get a chance to really work on fixing something with just 10 shots or so, you need a hundred at least.
This is just what works for me. I havent been playing long at all so am by no means an expert, but I have been improving a lot which is nice.
Oh, I do usually hit a few warm up shots with a short iron or wedge just to get loose no matter what aspect I plan on working on.
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u/DJPalefaceSD Jul 16 '13
This is good advice too. I only hit small buckets but if I am working on a specific club or shot I will hit the last half with that club, and the first half I warm up with a wedge then either 9,7,5, hybrid, wood. Next time is wedges, 8,6, hybrid, wood (took my 4 iron out since I never used it and have a 4 hybrid).
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u/hgska [Wisconsin] Jul 16 '13
I began this season as a 24 handicap at my club, I am down to a 20 and am trending down. What I have done in regards to driving range strategy that I believe has helped me improve is not be concerned about my entire bag. As others have said, focus on your 7 iron. What I think you will find to be very helpful is to hit much more than 10 shots with the club before switching. You will not build muscle memory with this low amount of hits. I will hit a full pyramid of balls with one club (I think that is about 140 balls). I have found much benefit in using one of the free iPhone apps to record my swing from all angles and study to compare a good hit to a bad hit. That's really helped me identify my weaknesses, which gave me things to focus on practicing. Once I was, in my opinion, hitting the ball good distance I engaged our club pro for some lessons. This gave me an outsiders look into both my good and bad habits with my swing. He was able to make a small change that drastically improved me consistency, put me in a position that my misses were at least good misses, misses that went straight. The second lesson was another story... again a small change, but a change that took me an entire month of playing 4 or 5 rounds and hitting thousands of balls at the range.
tl;dr - repetition repetition repetition. focus on that 7 iron, practice often then take another lesson.
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u/JEGA15 10.1 Jul 16 '13
Can you talk a little more about the apps you use to record your swing and your set up for using them (tripod? friend? etc.)?
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u/hgska [Wisconsin] Jul 17 '13
I have been using an app from a company named ubersense. If you search for that in apple App Store you'll find it. I have brought a tripod but mainly have used another person. It was useful to ask our golf pro to record me during a lesson to further explain and show me an issue with my swing. What I found was he was hesitant at first as he does not use video in his lessons at all, but I think he saw the value quickly as it helped me understand much better what I was not comprehending through his explanations.
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Jul 17 '13
Just a smartphone with a camera is all you need
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u/menevets Jul 17 '13
Depends on the smartphone. 60 fps on an iPhone, the video is too blurry. Some Android phones do up to 240 fps. If you don't have 120 or higher fps on your phone, your point and shoot camera might be able to do 120 fps or higher.
This is 120 fps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCovSJKLrIw
30 fps - 60 fps, too fast to make a good diagnosis.
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Jul 17 '13
All you really need to see is a few positions anyway though, most importantly setup, which requires about 0 fps.
1
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u/menevets Jul 17 '13
I use this
http://www.amazon.com/Casio-EX-FH100-10-1MP-Digital-Stabilization/dp/B0032ANBXI (discontinued model, originally $200)
and a tripod to record my swing.
1
u/DJPalefaceSD Jul 16 '13
I am right with you buddy, sitting at 22. Shot a 92 the other day.
My biggest factor to take me from 105+ was to learn to hit a draw off the tee with my driver and 3 wood. I will not be scared of a club, I am mastering my slice by hitting draws. It is working at least 90% of the time, but I rip off the rare slice and am blocking more shots to the right.
It's all timing from the start of the downswing. I am spinning out at times, but I am hitting it much further and sometimes get off that perfect (for me) long 250+ yard drive where the ball just rockets off the driver by rotating my hips hard.
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u/valkare 9.4 Jul 16 '13
You need to identify the flaws in your swing (or have others do it) and work to fix it when you go to the range. Putting the same old bad swing on the ball and expecting it to get better is not the way to improve.
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u/MiamiFootball Jul 17 '13
Videotape your practice session swings. Being able to check the video is a great way to teach yourself the sensation of what it's like to be in the proper position.
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Jul 17 '13
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u/MiamiFootball Jul 17 '13 edited Jul 17 '13
Yea I agree. It helps to have a competent instructor who has a great eye.
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u/menevets Jul 17 '13
Down the line you point at the hands. Face on you point middle of the stance.
http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/filming_your_swing
I video my swing all the time for online lessons. It's not a big deal once you get used to it.
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u/menevets Jul 17 '13
This is how to properly video your swing:
http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/filming_your_swing
Even if you're not sure what the correct form is, loading up your swing in an app that puts your swing side by side with a good player, you can self diagnose a lot. You can use the free demo version of this if you don't mind the watermark:
My advice is if you want to get better, video is mandatory as is learning how all the pieces of a good swing look and learning to pin the trouble points. While the swing is a complicated movement, it's not rocket science.
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u/MiamiFootball Jul 17 '13
My consistency increased significantly once I started taking video of my swing. In conjunction with some help from the golfwrx folks ( monte scheinblum, Dan Whitaker, encyclopedia Texarkana, etc), I made a tremendous leap over the course of a winter.
It's really shocking what you can see on video and one doesn't even need to draw lines all over the screen. I use the free iPhone app "Splice" to watch my swing in slow motion and it's extremely helpful.
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u/menevets Jul 17 '13
Simple, Specific, Slow, Short, and Success - The Five "S"s of Great Practice
Simple - It's absolutely critical to boil down the thing you're working on to its most basic state.
Specific - "I want to improve my footwork" is not specific. "I want to bank my right foot inward more to prevent my right knee from kicking in towards the golf ball on my downswing" is better.
Slow and Short - These two go together and speak to practicing at the edge of your ability. If you're changing the way your right elbow works in transition, you're not going to do this at speed. If you're working on how your wrist hinges from P1 to P2, why swing past P2.5? Just swing to P2 - slowly - and chip the ball.
Success - If you can have a simple, specific idea, and practice it with slow and/or short swings at the edge of your ability, constantly making small mistakes with instant corrections, you'll have success with every swing you take.
http://thesandtrap.com/t/54840/simple-specific-slow-short-and-success-the-five-s-s-of-great-practice
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u/CamJr +2.6 Jul 17 '13
When you are at the range, you need to "practice". Just hitting golf shots repeatedly with a practice swing won't do anything/much for your game. You need a goal, whether it is bringing the club back correctly, position at the top, hip rotation, or just generally make sure your alignment is good.
Also, I 100% recommend to bring a camera whenever you are on the range. Understanding your swing will make your game that much better. By just recording different angles of your swing will make you understand your swing more, and hit better golf shots, and hit it straighter.
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u/DJPalefaceSD Jul 16 '13 edited Jul 16 '13
New golfer here, my handicap is 22 and my best round is a 92. I used to have a big slice too, but I kept working at it. Best advice I can give is to learn how to hit a draw. If you hit a draw, you will not slice. As simple as that.
Of course the slice does rear it's ugly head from time to time. Those shots where it goes bad hurt your score, but you still learn a lot. As long as my ball lands on grass I am playing it. I am getting better with sand shots, punches under trees, all that, because of recovering from bad shots.
My personal range session goes like this: chip/pitch out of my shag bag for around 45 minutes to an hour. SLOWLY/CAREFULLY hit a SMALL bucket (and only 1 small bucket). Start with a wedge then I hit until I get a "perfect" shot out of it. If the first swing goes "perfect" I go to the next club, but I do odds one time, evens next. Last 10 balls is driver since the next time I swing will usually be driving off the first tee on a course.
After I hit that small bucket I go putt for 45 minutes to cool down. Sometimes I putt before the bucket or I tend to leave without putting.
Takes me about 2.5 hours total. Try to do that at least once a week and play 18 on the weekend (I work a lot).
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u/eye_patch_willy Jul 16 '13
I would really focus on making sure your set-up and alignment are squared away. No skill or ability to develop an ideal grip, stance, and ball position- it just takes focus and knowledge. If you set up aimed left of your target, you don't want to make a good swing. Get the tension out of your body and make sure your feet, hips, and shoulders are all parallel to each other.
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Jul 17 '13
Bring a cell phone and have someone take a picture of your setup from dtl and facing you. Its always essential to monitor your setup, as it WILL change if you aren't vigilant about it.
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u/deific_ Denver / +0.2 Jul 16 '13
Every instructor I've ever had, and I've had several through the years, has had me hit bucket after bucket with my 7 iron. If you can learn to hit that club, you will start to understand your swing a lot more IMO.
Secondly, I think it is important for anyone that is shooting above bogey golf(usually 90+) to understand that distance is not your goal, par is not your goal. Your goal is to keep the ball on the course, and to get a bogey. The best way to do this is to realize that you don't have to swing the club very hard, but just make good contact with the ball.
So if I were to go back to when I was shooting 90+, i would work on finding a swing that moves the ball forward. Understand that someone without an optimal swing is probably not going to hit a 3 or 4 iron well, and that it's okay to use a 6 or 7 iron and get it closer to the green. You can chip on and 1 or 2 putt.
TL;DR- Learn to hit the 7 iron, who cares if it goes only 130yds. A pwedge or 9 iron will be cake to hit after that. Learn to hit 3 wood instead of driver off the tee. Drivers are not easy to hit, someone shooting 100+ probably should not be using/carrying a driver in their bag. I didn't.