A Bucket of Balls

If it’s too wet to play, you’ll no doubt be spending a few sessions at the range to keep your swing in shape over the winter. When you do, be intelligent about it. Here are a few good ways to go through a bucket.

Use one club. Your 7-iron is a good choice. Your driver is the worst choice. When you hit the same club over and over, you can concentrate on making the same swing over and over. The only way to learn a repeating swing is to swing the same way repeatedly.

Gradually go through the bag. Hit three shots with your pitching wedge, then three with your 9-iron, three with your 8-iron, and so on through the driver. No do-overs allowed. This scheme makes sure you don’t neglect any one club or favor others.

Take a driver and a half set, say, your 9-, 7-, 5-, and 3-irons, and your wedges. Hit your driver, then an iron, and a pitch with one of the wedges. Start over with the driver, then a different iron, and a pitch with the other wedge. This scheme makes you hit a different club with every swing. The next time you go out, bring your even-numbered irons.

Pretend you are playing your favorite course. Tee off, hit the iron you usually hit your approach with to the first green. Play every hole using the clubs you normally do. Throw in a few pitches. If the range is close to the practice green, walk over, drop a ball at some distance from the hole and putt out. Go back to the range and “tee off” on the next hole.

The one thing not to do at the range is work on swing changes. Work those out at home using the drills the pro gave you. Use your time at the range to hit balls just like you would hit them on the course. Take each shot seriously and make every swing count.

See more at www.bettergolfbook.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.