Last Updated on June 19, 2024 by Britt Olizarowicz
The driving range is a great place to practice and learn the game. To be honest, the driving range can also be great therapy. You’ll be surprised what it can do for your head. However, when you do go to the driving range, you may as well make the time you spend there worthwhile. Here are 7 driving range habits that actually hurt your game. Stop doing these today!
Not Using Alignment Sticks
Practice with alignment sticks every single time you go to the range. You will be shocked by how many of your problems in your golf game were caused by poor alignment and aim.
Inconsistent alignment leads to poor shot accuracy. You’ll leave a driving range session feeling like you accomplished something and know what you need to do the next time you go to the course.
Pro Tip: Place alignment sticks on the ground one by your toes, another on the opposite side of the ball so you have a clear path for the clubhead and your hips, shoulders and feet.
Placing Golf Balls Too Close
Keeping golf balls too close to you is a bad habit.
What happens is that you make a bad swing, and instead of learning something and trying to correct it for the next one, you just reach over and hit another one.
Your body and your mind need a little recovery time between swings. When you first learn this, you may want to leave the bucket of golf balls a few feet away.
As you become better at practicing, you can leave them close; just make sure to use your pre-shot routine each time.
Pro Tip: Start trying to play each shot as if you were on the course, look at a target and truly try to hit it. Put pressure on yourself and try to hit a target 2, 3, 4 times etc.
Only Playing Your Good Shots
Are you a driving range hero?
Be honest.
You go to the driving range and pull out your wedge, 7-iron, and maybe even the driver. Standing out there, you look like a 6 handicap, hitting everything straight and long.
The problem is that the 5 iron and 3 wood are the two clubs that will make you look like a 35-handicap player.
Don’t go to the driving range to hit your best shots; go there to hit your worst shots. Challenge yourself to take the worst club out of the bag and work it until it’s your new favorite. If you want to see a change in your game, it has to get ugly for a little bit.
Not Winding Down Properly
Do you hit one last 300-yard drive and then walk off the range feeling like your session is complete?
Don’t do this.
Not only do you leave yourself prone to injury, but you are also not reinforcing good swing mechanics by starting and ending with the driver.
Before you walk off the range, hit some short iron or wedge shots. Make sure you feel a great tempo and that crispness of contact you should always look for in your game.
Ignoring Your Pre-Shot Routine
The pre-shot routine is something many amateur golfers skip even when they play on the course.
Watch any golf professional, and they will do a pre-shot routine before each swing. The routine helps with visualization and ensures your mind is in the right place before you swing.
Practice your pre-shot routine on the range, use it, and perfect it.
Neglecting Short Game Distance Control Practice
Short game distance control practice is important to work on while at the range. Most amateur players can’t hit 40, 50, 60, and 70-yard shots with any consistency.
You’ll need these distances when you miss a green on a par 4 or are trying to make an easy birdie on a par 5.
Start practicing them and paying very close attention to the adjustments you make to subtract and add distance. For some players, there are stance and setup adjustments, and others use slightly faster speeds. The key is to have a plan for each yardage.
Looking at The Other Golfers
Finally, stop looking at other golfers.
If you really want to examine a golfer, record your own swing and compare it to that of a professional. I can promise you that some of the things that may look like they are working for someone else will likely not work for you.
The guy down on the end who looks like he is swinging so easily is probably going after the ball with a good amount of speed. The guy in front of you who keeps his wrist completely bowed in the backswing – is making an action with his legs to make this possible.
If you don’t understand these things and know that they are going on, you can make some really big mistakes in your game that have you leave the range with more problems than you came with.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, letting go of these 7 poor driving range habits can help you feel like you are progressing. Getting time out on the range is great; start using it correctly!
