Thanks for setting this up, Jon. Really cool idea. The worst part of my game — by far — is shots from 110 yards and in. I feel like I struggle to find effective practice at my local range because the range itself is sloped and the ground is really choppy (with yardage flags stuck directly into the ground) so it’s hard to get a sense of how far I’m hitting each wedge and how the ball would roll out with each swing/club. I also struggle with really chunky wedge shots on the course and since I’m hitting off a mat, it doesn’t seem like I’m getting that feedback when I practice either. Any advice?
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Thanks! I’m glad you brought up wedge practice because it’s an important part of improvement.
Check this article out - it shows my philosophy on wedge practice and some ideas on how to use your time effectively.
I sympathize with the problems of artificial turf. This towel drill is one of the most popular to help control your ground contact.
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So many ranges don’t offer enough targets to practice those important shots inside 100 yards. In your situation, one of the cheaper “launch monitors” might be best. It won’t be perfectly accurate to real flights, but it should be accurate in comparing shot to shot. Jon has some good deals on a few models too.
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I have this same argument at my course. We had one pin at about 60 yards, and they took it away!
There is always a cost factor, but I think more courses should have those tiny, circle-sized nets at various wedge yardages. The workaround as you said is one of the inexpensive launch monitors. While they are not 100% perfect, they will give you a pretty close yardage feedback.
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While the range can be useful for practicing the swing and specific techniques, you really can’t expect to get good data about your distances and spin when hitting range balls ESPECIALLY with the wedges. Range balls don’t act like normal balls and will be pretty inconsistent (meaning you can’t just add/subtract 10 yards and have your true distances or anything). My suggestion is out there focus specifically on technique and general flight, not the exact yardage or guessing at the roll. Take this technique out to the course and try to get a feel for distance. You can intentionally hit to those less than 110 yardages specifically for practice and maybe take a few extra shots as long as it doesn’t slow down the pace of play.
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There is definitely some truth to that. Range balls vary in quality. But, they are better than nothing and I’ve found that they are not that far off.
Here is a test I did to show what differences I saw:
I have really focused on my chipping and short pitch shots this year at the range by find my own targets (leaves, range ball, bare spot) These “found” targets could be 5 yards, 12 yards, up to 40 where there is a net. As far as turf, I shift my focus to the feel, speed, and length of the swing knowing that the striking surface will feel different on the course.
My short game has improved dramatically by just chipping/short pitching 10-15 balls at every trip to the range.
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The beauty of the short game is that every golfer has a chance to make big gains in a relatively short period of time.
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That towel drill seems like a great drill, I’ll have to put that one to use.
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Thanks Jon! Have read this piece and always try to gamify/randomize my practice sessions.
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My big problem is transfer to course. I have a really good practice area at my course and can hit the targets with several different clubs and consistency, but when I get to the course and a shit that “matters” I second guess myself. Usually end up deceling and hitting it chunky. When I trust myself, I tend to make good contact. I think a large part of this is the fact that I made so many mistakes and hosel rockets (nicknamed myself David Hoselhoff, hahahaha) early on that it’s still programmed in my subconscious. Starting to get a bit better. So the real cure for this problem, in my opinion isn’t a range thing but an actual playing thing. I have a golf coach and we go out on the course and usually play three balls from inside 150 to attempt to make me a better scorer. This is invaluable practice, especially if you’re keeping a score still, where three is par.
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I will add my two cents; I feel your pain with the artificial turf at the ranges. This what I have done which has been beneficial to me: I have 20 yards in my back yard that will do some work. Then I have a soccer field behind my house which is 120 yards where I can set up a traffic cone and work on my distances 100 yard in. Then I go to my home course in the evening when they are done assigning tee times and more times than not they let me go out and practice on the course. I also have a range finder and the rapsodo to assist as well.
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Thanks for all the feedback, everyone. It’s a huge help.
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I like the idea of practicing on the course with real conditions (uphill lie, in deep rough, tight lie). It’s fine to hit balls on the range, but then you go out to the course and hardly anything is flat. I like to go out early in the morning by myself and play a round with a couple of extra balls added to focus on what I need to work on.
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As a guy now in his 40’s that used to be scratch, and only gets to play about 25-35 rounds a year now, the half wedges were awful. So what I decided to do was simply go to the range one day and hit “my half swing” with my wedges and laser the distances. I figure we all have a “half swing” that we can reproduce fairly efficiently. Truthfully mine is more of a Three Quarter swing, but it is just whatever “less than full swing” feels good to you. Do not try to hit a certain yardage. Just make your half swing, and laser them. I was surprised at how repeatable this was. Now I have 4 full distances and 4 “half” distances with LW, SW, GW, PW.
And don’t worry if you have a 65 yard shot, and your half swing number is 60, or 70. Just hit it stock. Go ahead and take 5 steps across the floor - we would all be very happy with that result!
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As many others have said, I am no expert but here are a few suggestions. Practice half swing shots with your wedges. Figure out what you feel is a half swing, make it repeatable and then figure what yardage you hit each wedge and even your 7-9 irons. This gives you a base for various yardages. Find a local course or even a par course that is not very crowded and play practice rounds. Don’t worry about scoring. As you play the holes drop and hit some extra balls at whatever yardage your working on. I have played many practice rounds where I was just working on getting from tee to green and hit several tee shots, then hit those two or three balls all the way to the green. Then went to the next hole without even putting.
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This is exactly what I have done with my wedges too. Its amazing the confidence and commitment you can put on a shot when you know that a “half” PW will get you within 3 yards of your target carry distance. I have found that I do not need a green for this type of “distance calibration”. In fact it is more helpful to be hitting my balls into rough or the grass at my local park as the runout doesn’t muddy the distances.
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One thing you can do is create your own targets. Hit a short pitch, then try to hit the next one just a little bit further than the previous one. Repeat. You’ll be learning how to hit it lots of different distances. It doesn’t really matter how far those are. Once you get on the course just try and over time you’ll find you have a better idea of how far “that swing” goes. Then when you’re a bit further away or a bit closer you know how to make that adjustment from your range work.
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My local course also has a sloped range and mats. If I want to dial in distances I book the last tee time of the day and go to a hole with 200 yard stretch of flat fairway so I’m not peppering balls onto a green. I hit ten balls with whatever club I want distances for and then leave my bag next to where I hit the balls from and walk out to the balls with my laser rangefinder. After removing any outliers (thinned balls and so on) I zap my bag from the middle of my average ball.
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Tip for me that worked with chunky shots and wedges was to make sure sternum was right above ball or even pointed slightly ahead of it and to not ground the club at address but hover it slightly before takeaway.