The Official Driving Range Session Thread

[War Eagle]

Thanks, I am going to do a thread at some point on my routine with a local pro that gave me some interesting info. It should be fun.

That would be a good read.

For me, yesterday hitting the practice green, short game area and the range was the first time in a long time I have putt such an emphasis on working on my game. I realized I need to do that much more often. Having a good routine to go through while on the range/practice area would be a nice thing to have.

 

[omikey]

My rant goes like this. Everytime I do work in the DC convention center the union finds some way of dragging arse. I can't stand it! It's like mud flowing up hill!!

and this has what to do with the driving range :act-up:
I did find it very amusing, Thanks for the smile this morning

 

[omikey]

gonna be a LONG time before I can put everything inside 10 feet
working on shots from 100 and in .... I hit those shots on the range every time I go out
I'm also fortunate enough that I can go to my club when I know it's not busy and play practice rounds by myself. On most of the holes I'll play 2-3 shots from 100 in .... it's starting to make a big difference in my gaming WHOOT

Going back to my roots. Over the last 2 years I have spent time working on a lot of things, but have gotten away from what I do best and that is work with my wedges. Both around the green and every single shot inside of 100 yards. Well my goals for the next 6 weeks is to get back to those basics and work heavily on getting those shots back to where they should be. Inside of 10 feet on everything are my goals and for 2 years I let that get away from me.

 

[omikey]

I let it go. I used to practice 20-30 balls a few days a week. Sometimes more even. I was to the point that I got my index down to .9 and I have never been a good driver of the golf ball. But I really let it go. Between wanting to spend more time with my family (wife) and working 14 hours a day, range time got away from me. Couple that with using different equipment every time out and it was a mess.

That is all going to change (not the equipment part really), but I have certain goals in all sections of my life and this is one of them.

You're inspiring JB, and an index of .9 WAHOOOOOO ! That is just AWESOME !

I like having goals, helps a person to be focused, and the rewards reaped from reaching the goals, well, PRICELESS. You've reminded me that I need to evaluate my goals, I think I'm short in a couple of areas that need some attention, Thanks.

 

[omikey]

OK, having read most of the postings in this thread I've come to realize that I 'lack focus' when I go to the range. I have in my mind 'ideas' of things that I want to achieve longer term, and thoughts about what I need to work on to get there.
What I really realize is that I have no organization to my approach. I need to put some focus on having a 'plan' when I go to the range, and sticking to that plan. I need to set some specific objectives for each range session, and make sure that I focus on those that day.

To me the plan has to have some flexibility in it, so as not to make it boring. There are a lot of things to work on, and we all know that you can not work on every aspect of the swing on every visit to the range .... at least I don't think that I can, maybe that's part of my problem(s) .... What do you think ?

 

[Damaikis]

When I go to the range, I almost always have something I want to focus on. Just keep one specific thing in mind and work on it.

 

[omikey]

OK, I'm on my way up to the club to practice for awhile .... on the way up there I'll decide exactly what I want to focus on for today. I'll report on my success upon my return

 

[Divebell]

I have been working on my wrist hinge these days. Experimenting with different clubs on the range and then playing imaginary holes has helped me take the range game to the course. I need a few more sessions to get this 'you need more wrist hinge' thing down.

 

[FrankA]

My happy place

Minus the finger - picture fail


Tapatalk

 

[FrankA]

I was hitting the ball well today. Working on keeping that qrip pressure light and getting those wrists in the right spot to release them. With a nice smooth swing I was hitting a consistent distance with a pretty good dispersion. I have to accept my distances instead of trying to crush them. They aren't really awful and if I play the right tees it would be pretty good golf. Plus I should expect a few more yards with a good ball.

 

[omikey]

OMG !!!! I am in SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH TROUBLE !!!!
Thanks to THP and this thread !! LOL


Just got home from practice. I don't think that I have EVER, NEVER, EVER put that kind of effort into my practice.

My membership includes the practice facilities, so I can hit balls all day long, or until I fall over, whichever comes first LOL

On the way to the club I decided that I was going to focus on a two tightly coupled things:
1) My turn - and staying 'connected'
2) Wrist cock/Club positioning

I'm sure you all know that just thinking about those two this alone is not possible, right ? Well, at least not for me it's not. So along with those came a couple of other things to focus on, like tempo and rhythm. However I did try my best to keep the other two as the PRIMARY focus of my practice .... here's how it went:

Summary:
Overall a good session, I hit about 180 balls and spent two hours doing so. Do you think that's a fast pace ? It didn't seem like I was rushing or just hitting and hitting.

I was VERY satisfied that I was able to stay 'focused' and not fall into just whacking balls down the range. I tried my best to take my time between shots to think about what I just did, how it felt, and what I thought I needed to adjust for the next shot, or how to repeat what I just did that was SPOT ON.

When I was finished, I felt 'rewarded' for the level of effort that I put out. I like hitting balls, some people tell me they don't, whatever floats yur boat. I really enjoyed the workout !

Details:
After some exercises to warm up and get loose I started with my 9I. I hit 50 balls. I was able to stay very focused on my practice objectives.
I found that I have a tendency to become 'disconnected' which, for me, is when my lower body stops turning and my arms take over. This results is a lot of pulled shots and hooks. This might also be the reason that I hit most of my shots between the sweet spot and the toe of the club.

As part of my tempo/rhytym practice one of the things that I TRY TO DO, is get to the other side and hold the finish in good balance, saying this phrase as I watch the ball flight: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow ... all the while trying to be aware of my overall body position, posture and balance.

Then went to the 7I and hit 80 balls, working on the same things ...
I was having some trouble with what I think was my lower body stopping, and a resulting dropping of the right shoulder, resulting in hitting fat.
So I decided to hit some balls with my feet 'together' to see if I could feel some better balance and turn better while staying connected. YEP, it worked well ! AND, you know what else I found out doing this, YEP, I OFTEN will take to large a back-swing, and that causes all kinds of problems, hit fat, over swing junk like that. So I hit about 12-15 shots with my feet together. Then I went back to full shots, only this time I only had my stance about 1/2 as wide as normal. This made a BIG difference in my ball striking. It was, cleaner, more crisp and had much more ENERGY transmitted to the ball. The ball flight was HIGHER, FASTER and more ON LINE..... WAHOOOOOOO


then I went back to the 9I and hit 'about' 30 or so balls.
I continued with the narrow stance and was VERY PLEASED with this part of the session, OH YEAH !

After that I felt that I was finished with my 'practice' and just wanted to hit some drivers. So I put out 20 balls. OMG, the first 5 shots had to be the BEST DRIVER SHOTS I've EVER hit !!! OMG ..... then I hit a high right slice, then hit a high right floater, another slice, then I started getting anxious. So I took a few minutes to gather myself and then hit 6 more that were center and moving right, sorta high and sorta floater and not the depth that I was getting. Then I got it dialed back in and hit 5 right down the middle, great trajectory but not max distance, good but not max. Ihad one last ball, it was PERFECT !! Not the longest of the day, but an 'A' shot just the same .... Lovely to finish on a great stroke !!

 

[Divebell]

OMG !!!! I am in SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH TROUBLE !!!!
Thanks to THP and this thread !! LOL


Summary:
Overall a good session, I hit about 180 balls and spent two hours doing so. Do you think that's a fast pace ? It didn't seem like I was rushing or just hitting and hitting.

For me, 180 balls in two hours would be a very fast pace. I guess it depends on what your preshot routine is. I have always been told to back away from the ball, pick your target and line, and then address the ball and hit it just as you would on the course. If you are picking out a target and playing shots, then I guess the pace for you would be good. Also, you were not changing clubs in-between shots, so you are going to be able to hit more balls in that time frame than someone who is mixing up their clubs during a practice session.

 

[omikey]

Thanks for the feedback !

yur right, I wasn't changing clubs. Every so often I did clean the club so I could better tell where I was hitting on the face.
I didn't have a 'target' on every shot ... I was however focused on DIRECTION and Trajectory.

you mention your routine:
"back away from the ball, pick your target and line, and then address the ball and hit it just as you would on the course"

that is my routine on the course, and 'most' of the time on the range also, but being a weak willed/minded individual who gives in to his desires to HIT AGAIN, I have to admit, I did not follow this routine on every shot .....

On my next practice session I WILL put more effort into sticking with the routine.

Thanks again !

 

[Nicklausfan]

Mike:

I agree that the pace you had was fairly quick. In another thread you mentioned that you would like to find that "go to" shot. While you're searching for this and having your sessions are you going through the same pre-shot routine with every ball? This is important as you'll start to learn more about yourself and start finding that "go to". Also, you mentioned focusing on the wrist cock/position. My advice is not to focus on the wrist cock....meaning don't force the issue. Wrist cock will happen naturally if you have soft hands. Positioning is okay though to focus on... find the slot... being connected like you're working on should help with that... just don't be too connected.

Alex

 

[BigK29]

Hit at Golfsmith today. Not the range, but got some swings in. Unfortunately, I did not have a good experience. As in another thread, things just didn't feel natural. It was disconcerting not being able to see my ball flight and I don't think I was getting optimal shots. Anyone else have this issue?

 

[omikey]

Mike:

I agree that the pace you had was fairly quick. In another thread you mentioned that you would like to find that "go to" shot. While you're searching for this and having your sessions are you going through the same pre-shot routine with every ball?
This is important as you'll start to learn more about yourself and start finding that "go to".

It has not been my habit on the range to go though my preshot routine on every ball, probably more like about 30% of the time I do that. I do understand what yall are saying to me regarding the importance of this. I will make that a part of my practice going forward.

Also, you mentioned focusing on the wrist cock/position. My advice is not to focus on the wrist cock....meaning don't force the issue. Wrist cock will happen naturally if you have soft hands.

Thanks for pointing that out to me, I have experienced that, perhaps a lil less focus will insure that I"m not trying to 'force' it into my swing, Thanks.

Positioning is okay though to focus on... find the slot... being connected like you're working on should help with that... just don't be too connected.

OK !

Alex

Alex, BIG Thanks for the feedback !!

 

[omikey]

Hit at Golfsmith today. Not the range, but got some swings in. Unfortunately, I did not have a good experience. As in another thread, things just didn't feel natural. It was disconcerting not being able to see my ball flight and I don't think I was getting optimal shots. Anyone else have this issue?

I think it would be disconcerting to me too. Nothing beats being outside hitting off the grass when practicing, IMO. However, when that's not available to ya, having other choices are better than no practice, Right

 

[SethO]

Spent a couple hours working on the swing. Here is a little driver video.

 

[Hanks]

Struggled mightily at the range today. Tried to Work on everything in my bag since I hadn't done that for awhile and it looks like it's going to be a long winter. About the only thing I could do with any consistency today is putt and chip. I think I need to completely overhaul everything from stance to grip to swing as I'm in a rut with my game and I can't seem to get out of it by myself like I usually can. I feel like I'm ingraining bad habits more and more and its affecting my enjoyment on the course/range.

I can't keep a driver straight no matter how smooth I try to swing. Everything has good distance but it's either a slice or power slice at this point and ball contact is near the heel no matter how close or far I stand to the ball

3w is a low line drive that is either thinned or off the heel in a bad way

Hybrids are either all thinned or high and to the right with no distance whatsoever

All my irons are middle of the club face and solidly struck and straight but everything is 10-15 yards right of the target line no matter where I aim

Wedges are either bladed or chunked and if they're not they're all high but short and to the right.

 

[Hawk]

Sorry to hear that, Hanks.

 

[One-T]

Sorry to hear that, Hanks.

I agree with Hawk. I think winter helps sometimes.

SethO....Nice swing buddy!

 

[pjcedog]

I know when I am missing and thinning, fatting or other contact issues it is usually because I am drifting during my swing, either rocking left to right and then back to the left or swaying front to back away from the ball even slightly. I just got over a case of the shanks and to be honest I am not sure how I cured it but I think it was because I was getting too flat with the downswing which caused me to kind of throw the club out at the ball slightly. This was causing a lot of problems with everything from an 8 iron down to LW on full swings only. Longer clubs I hit fine, no problem. For a while there the harder I tried to swing perfectly it seemed like the worse it got to the point where I didn't think I would ever be rid of the shanks. I had to go back to square one, grip, posture, stance, aim, everything as if I had never hit a golf ball before in order to fix it. Finally did after almost a month of shanking every 4th or 5th full wedge shot. Haven't hit one in the last 3 rounds so I think it is behind me.

 

[FrankA]

So I had my second lesson today at Finley Golf, the UNC course. I am taking a series of lessons and plan on having one every few weeks with a lot of practice in between. Worked a lot on released the first time with great results and today I wanted the once over with general pointers. Overall got me standing much closer to the ball and more upright. It seemed a little awkward at first but wow, what an improvement. After my 45 minute lesson I spent another hour or so on the driving range. Worked on tempo and found an extra gear with all of my clubs. Comfort level with the posture change went way up. Shot after shot off the sweet spot and with the improvement in everything else saw some nice high shots with about a club further distance. A real penetrating ball flight which felt awesome off my CB2s and new Scors.

Believe me if you are on the fence about lessons get off and go get lessons.

 

[One-T]

had an awesome range session today for lunch. as some of you know I have been fighting a slice like whoa. Well, today I decided I was gonna fix that by have a draw only range session. and thats exactly what I did. I was putting a good 10 yard draw on every iron. My last part of the session I tok 3 swings with each iron and chose my target. I wanted the ball to land just right of my "flags" I had picked ut so any roll would roll left to the target. it was working. I am so pleased with my session.

 

[Hawk]

Nice dude. I like those sessions when you can accomplish a goal like that.