8/13/2019 Golf Driving Range Practice

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8/13/2019 Golf Driving Range Practice

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TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK ISSUE 305ISSUE 305 TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK

RANGE SPECIAL

every shot. But according to Gary Casey,Academy Manager at Thorpe Wood GolfCourse and driving range in Peterborough,thats precisely why the range can do yourgame more harm than good.

Driving ranges ask a completely differentquestion of a golfer than the golf course, hetold TG. You never get a bumpy drivingrange, nor do you ever play a golf course thatscompletely at. So hitting balls on the rangeis unrealistic youre practising shots yourarely play on the course. Its no wonderpeople hit the ball great on the range andwonder why they play badly the next day.

Aside from the unrealistic setting a rangeprovides, the hitting surface poses its ownproblems. Having a perfect lie gives you the

opportunity to focus on your swing, which isne but how much should you read intohow well you strike the ball on them?

Range mats are made of a rm, non-sliprubber base with a durable layer of greennylon on top. As a result, theres not muchgive when the clubhead strikes the mat.This could easily lead you to believe yourestriking the ball much sweeter than youactually are. Casey agrees.

Hitting the ball off the mat is nothinglike hitting a ball off the grass. Off grass, ifyou hit the ground even just half-an-inchbehind the ball youll take a divot and theball will go nowhere. If you do the same orhit even further behind it on a mat, the strikewont be affected anywhere near as muchbecause the rubber underneath causes the

clubhead to bounce back up (picture 1,above) . So if youre hitting the ball well onthe range, it doesnt necessarily mean youregoing to hit it well on the course.

You need to replicate conditions on thecourse as closely as you can. Take tee height.Often when you go to the range the tee iseither too high or too low, says Gary, and

there arent any others available. So hover theclub if its too high, or place a tee inside or tothe side of the tee in the same hole to get theball teed up at your favourite height (2).

Higher handicap players are often put off

is about 80-90 per cent less than normalballs. Those with more worn dimples wonttravel as far as newer, pristine balls, either.Range balls also tend to be lighter thannormal balls, and therefore more likely to bebuffeted by the wind. So you need to take allthis into account when youre trying to hit an8-iron to the 150-yard marker...

Casey sees too many of us taking thewrong approach to their practice. Theproblem I see every day is golfers having toomany golf balls, hitting the balls too quickly,hitting the balls without a focus and hittingtoo many balls with the same club.

If you come straight to the range with abasket of 80 balls and hit 80 drivers in 20minutes, you rehearse a rhythm that iscompletely different to the one youre in onthe golf course (4). When you play golf, younever hit the same type of shot twice in a rowand youre hitting a ball only once every veminutes or so. If someone comes in for anhour practice session, Id recommend to themdivide it into three slots of 20 minutes.

Spend the rst 20 minutes on the puttinggreen hitting distance putts and then theshort, holing out putts from say ve feet.Spend the next 20 mins on the chippinggreen, playing chip-and-runs, bunker shots,maybe even a little hybrid shot. Then the last

by the tight lie of a range mat and opt to teethe ball up a big range no-no. This maystem from a lack of knowledge about howtheir irons need to strike the ball and whetherthey believe the club needs to hit the groundat all. Casey explains why this is sodetrimental to your game.

If youre hitting irons off a tee peg, the toehas a tendency to ip over and youre morelikely to pull or hook the ball (3). Secondly,youll generally strike the ball high on theclubface, causing you to lose distance and as aresult, youll tend to try and hit more up onthe ball, scooping it off the mat. This addsloft to the clubface and takes spin off, whichmeans the ball wont y very far. They thenstart playing the ball too far forward in their

stance and the problem escalates.So if you cant improve your ball striking,what about your ball ight? Range ballquality differs depending on their age anduse, but as a general rule, their performance

20 minutes is on the range with just 25 ballsstarting at 50 yards with a wedge, 100 yards,150 yards, ve with a rescue, ve with adriver. That way you use more clubs, have afocus, and replicate the rhythm youre in onthe course.

To get your scores down, you have topractice the shots youre asked to play on thecourse. So one other, more useful approach toyour range time, is to practice different typesof shots youd never considered before. As arule, you should be using more clubs andfewer balls placed in small groups. Hit veballs with one club then swap over.

Set challenges, too, to break the monotonyof beating balls. One day bring your oddnumber irons, the next bring your evens.Sometimes go to the left-hand side of therange, next time go to the right. Another wayto spice things up is to use Golf Mission cards(5), which can provide you with challengesdepending on your ability (from 8.50,www.playgolfmission.com).

The main thing youre doing when hittingballs on the range is strengthening your golfmuscles, creating a rhythm, engraining yourswing and good habits, says Casey. As longas every ball has a purpose and you rememberthe range has its limitations.Turn over for Gary Caseys best range tips.

Almost three million adults used a r ange at least once in 2011

The popularity of the driving range

If youre hitting the ball well on the range,that doesnt mean youll hit the ball well on the course

Dwindling use Youcanseehow,withtheexceptionof2009,rangeusagehasseenasteadydeclinesince2006butmillionsofgolfersstillusethem.DatacomesfromtheSportsMarketingSurveysInc.2011GBGolfParticipationReport.2001

4,200,000

3,600,000

3,000,000

2,400,000

1,800,000

1,200,000

600,000

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Theres a new idea beingrolled out at ranges acrossthe country which couldrevolutionise the way weall practise.

60 60 Golf adds fun anda competitive edge to therange experience. It gets itsname from the fact a groupof golfers can hit 60 shots

in 60 minutes. The basicidea involves golfers earningpoints for hitting differenttargets. Using a freesmartphone app, you cancompete with friends orpeople over the country.

There are 13 siteslocated across the UK.Visit www.6060golf.com

60 60 GOLF: THE FUTURE OF DRIVING RANGES?

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...AND IF YOU AREREALLY SERIOUSABOUT THE RANGEThese gadgets can be your very own launch monitor

RANGE GADGETS

SwingbyteSwingbyte attaches just below the grip andpairs to your device viaBluetooth to capturevarious aspects of yourswing,such asclubhead speed,angle of attack,swing

direction and club path.The 3D graphics canbe viewed from various angles. Interface isvery user-friendly. RRP: 130. johnwatson@englandgolfcoaching.com

GolfSenseGolfSense attaches tothe back of your gloveand connects to yourdevice via Bluetooth toprovide informationabout your golf swingin real time using a patented high-velocitymotion engine. Provides the most data of allthe devices and is easy to use.Glove notincluded!RRP: 119.99www.golftechsystems.com/golfsense

3Bays GSA3Bays Golf Swing Analyserts into the top of the cluband uses Bluetooth to recordyour swing consistency,clubhead speed,face angle,tempo and other parameters.You can review your swings in

different forms,compa rethem and play them back at various speeds.Battery life is limited,but the analysis cant befaulted. RRP: 199 www.3baysgsa.com

SwingSmartSwingSmart attaches tothe underside of the shaft.3D swing images areinstantly created along withreadings on tempo,swingspeed,shaft lean and faceangle.App comes withvideo tips from US coachPeter Kostis.The most accurate undertesting.Comes with free case and puttingaid.RRP: 199 www.swingsmart.com

8/13/2019 Golf Driving Range Practice

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RANGE SPECIAL

ISSUE 305 TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK

Get the feelingThis drill helps you

experiment withwhat is required byyour body and club

to shape the balldifferent ways.

RANGE TIPSTry these on your next visit to add

purpose and variety to your practice1 Umbrella shot-shaping drillThis drill enables you to attack every ag position on the

greens. To help you picture the ball ight, stick an umbrella orcane 10 feet in front of you. From a pile of nine balls, hit threethat start right of it and draw back to the target, three that startleft and fade back to the target and three that go straight over it.

2 Another way to make your practicemore realistic is to place ballsunder the edge of the mat to replicate anball-above-feet lie. Grip down the cluband aim a little right as the ball will tendto curve more from right-to-left.

BALL ABOVE FEET

3 Take the rubber tee out and hitsome balls from the hole it leaves.This sinks the ball down replicating onetype of bad lie we get on the course. Tohit it correctly, move the ball back in thestance and lean the shaft forward.

BAD LIE PRACTICE

4Place an extra range ball about 18

inches behind the ball yourehitting. To avoid contact with this secondball, the club will have to come into theball much steeper, improving your ballstriking and stopping any scooping.

EXTRA BALL DRILL

Gary CaseyGary is theAcademy Directorat Thorpe WoodGolf Course anddriving range. Visitwww.neneparkgolf.com for more info.

Q U I C K T I P

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