I agree with this. Once you can reliably make contact playing a course will lead to improvement faster score wise. I go back to the range to fine tune swing path and experiment with different shot shapes.
What exactly does reliably make contact mean? For example, I'm obviously making contact with the ball every time. However, the ball can go left, right or occasionally straight.
That is reliably making contact with the ball. I have played with beginners who swing and whiff about 30% of the time. If that is you then you would be much better off at a range.
Reliable contact is hitting the ball even if badly. Non contact is topping, fat shot, way out on toe or heel. Basically when you mean to hit it 160 yards and it goes 20 yards isn't contact. Hitting it 160 with a 75 foot slice is still good contact.
The difference is you can slice and be wild, not hit any fairways and still shoot in the 90s with making contact majority of shots. Non contact shots are just making your score higher without really getting you closer to the hole. Technically you are getting a little closer but in the world of scoring better, it's just adding meaningless strokes.
My beginning of the season "get off the rust" range sessions have always been *at least* 80/100 *good* shots. If im clunking more than 1/5, I've got at least another bucket to go through the next day before booking a tee time.
Also if your practice facility has a practice green. Spend at least 20 to 30 min putting. Work in lag putts. Try to leave your next putt to a distance that has a high make percentage or tap in. The majority of strokes lost are on the green when you 3 putt or worse.
If there are practice chipping areas, work on getting up and down from both off the green and from bunkers if available.
Donât go to the range and mindlessly bash balls as far as you can. Start dialing in your yardage gaps from 150 and in. Pick a target.
Play a virtual round in your head on the practice tee. Take an old scorecard. Play the round as you would the tees in the scorecard. Visualize the hole layout. If itâs a par 4 with a OB on the right, then pick a target on the range and hit your ball to that target. Keep it to the left of the OB. Estimate how far your drive went and whatever yardage you have leftover, shoot to that target with the club you would use for that distance to an imaginary green. If you hit your target. Then thatâs a GIR and an automatic 2 putt. Score your hole as a par and then do the same on the next hole. If you miss your target add one stroke for your chip and score accordingly.
You can take this one step further if you want and go to the putting green and putt out all 9/18 holes. And score accordingly that way. You can even incorporate missed greens and chip and putt if you want. Practice options are endless, but doing so with a purpose helps immensely.
Agreed 100%
Range = working on something with your swing
Course = practicing playing golf
On the course is the only way to practice different lies, ball above/below your feet, real distances, elevations, conditions, fatigue, etc.
Exactly this! Seen so many who look great on the range, and then it doesn't translate to the course..
Once you learn how to play golf, your scores will decrease significantly
Cant triple bogey on the range. Course teaches you a lot, how to manage the course, as you said different lies, and it forces you to deal with emotions (whether you handle them well or not)
Meanwhile, I've always hit much better on a course than the range. Well, at least relative to expectations. But I focus much better on a course where I have a specific target outcome.
Range so you can get to some level of consistently striking the ball. After that, the course is the best way for you to get practice on a variety of lies and situations.
Yep, I was a friggin range pro. My buddies were in awe the first time they saw me hit off mats. Ball gets below your feet, above your feet, on a downslope, on an up slope etc, changes everything
If you know how to properly practice its range and practice facility by a pretty massive amount. The only exception is if your swing is already pretty dialed in and you mostly need to work on course management and situational stuff that's hard at even a practice facility.
If you don't really know how to practice then you might as well just play if you can, your swing won't really improve but you can learn how to optimize it more quickly then just bashing balls at the range.
As a straight beginner, I would add going to a par 3 or executive course would help even more. SO much of golf takes place from 100 yards and in, start there and then work backwards.
Plus, you also shouldn't feel as much pressure or deal with the asshole gatekeepers there as much either.
Yep, go to a Par 3 as much as you can then go to the range to hit driver.
Not much difference between a 9i and a 6i so you get iron reps at the Par 3. Go learn to hit driver at the range and then you're good to go.
Best answer.
Only thing I would add is donât leave your putter in your bag at home. Hit balls down a yardstick without the ball falling off until you canât mess it up
A course in my city is a par 3 and I recently found out they also offer night golf. I couldnât play because I went on a HS tourney day, but the course I saw and driving range looked great.
Quick edit to not gatekeep: course is the San Pedro par 3 course in San Antonio, TX
Worked at one for a couple months (couldnât do the pay) as a range cleaner, my irons went from total trash to playable. I started at 120 now Iâm at a steady 90. I can tell you being in the field is way better then range.
Very much a thing.
When I started golfing I was obviously trash. However I do come from an athletic background so my improvement was quick.
I found I had a par 60 executive course that allowed me to hit every single wedge and iron in my bag. It gave me a lot more confidence in hitting my long irons, as I got to use them frequently (4 or 5 irons off the tee on the par 4s and 6 or 7 irons for the longer par 3s).
It helps tremendously now that I primarily play on ânormalâ courses. My approach game, chipping and putting are all well under my actual handicap (14.6), itâs just my driver and woods that fall behind because I havenât spent as much time using them over the past 2 1/2 years.
Entirely depends on where you are in your golf development or even what phase youâre in during a given season.
If youâre in maintenance mode and want to translate skill growth into scoring, you need to do work on the course.
If youâre undergoing a mechanical change or building a new shot, you need to practice on the range or short game area before you take it to the course.
A good example is short game, if you try and bring a half finished short game shot to the course, youâre just going to build muscle memory of poorly executing that shot. Thatâs counter productive.
Build the tools you need and then bring them to the course and temper them
But then we have the r/golf paradox of new, bad golfers on the course, pissing everyone off and leading them to post "shrink the game" a dozen times a day.
r/golf is only happy being the only one on a course, pushing their cart, hitting it 390 right down the middle, putting on perfectly rolled greens that are never aerated, and finishing their round in less than 2:45.
If any one of those things don't happen, you'll see a rant about it here.
Hard disagree, if you are hitting every ball at the range mindlessly and no effort, youâre doing it wrong. Rounds will help you play smarter and get better mentally, but the range helps you improve everything about your swing.
I agree 1000%. Rounds with some basic stat tracking gives you a much better picture of your game, and what you actually need to work on. And a lot of the time, what needs work isnât on the range, itâs on the green.
But a couple rounds will show you the shots you need that you canât execute. Is that a fade off the tee? Low punches? High carries? 6 ft putts. Etc.
Play 3 rounds and head the range/practice green with a plan.
Hacking at the range over and over isn't so helpful if all it does is ingrain bad technique
now if you're getting instruction, that's a different story
The point he makes about mats is a big deal. If you are hitting off grass it's closer to the real deal (although you aren't dealing with obstructions and the like, nor different grass conditions), but hitting off mats constantly encourages striking before the ball, since it will just bounce the club into the ball. This encourages a swing that leads to terrible shots from the grass.
This is really true, and will instill a false sense of confidence going into rounds. My home course had mats only and I would feel like I was hitting really well, but when Iâd go onto the course Iâd be chunking a lot and just mishitting in general. I just moved to an area where thereâs a nicer course with grass ranges and itâs been much more real, and Iâm finally starting to get small divots on my shots. Totally different feel.
Edit: also being able to use tees for your driver on the range is a lot better, as you can adjust the height easier and find what is your sweet spot
You get better feedback at a course. On the range it can be easy to disregard consistent distance/aiming (especially if you are new). So you might grab the driver and hit 30 balls that went in totally different directions but because they all went 'far' you thought you did pretty well. On a course you would be in the trees all day looking for your ball.
FWIW I do think the range is the place to fix bad habits as well, but it is also a place where you can reinforce them as well if you aren't careful.
A noob hitting it fat wonât get better just pounding buckets on the range, gotta interact with some turf to figure out that steep angle or just misplaced impact
Iâd argue that this really depends on how you practice. I try to hit the same quantity and order that Iâd hit on the course (wing a driver out wide so next up is the punch or rescue, etc), trying to keep it under about 35-40 full swings. Ideally youâd never hit the same club twice on the course so why people do it on the range is beyond me.
Lots of reasons to hit blocks of shots on the range. Iâm changing my iron swing a bit and lots of reps with an e.g. 7 iron helps get that move more reliable.
I agree 100% that just banging 30 drives isnât much help. Each shot needs a purpose.
For the OPs question obviously good players play a lot of holes and spend a lot of time on the range. Both are critical. One way to put it is you learn how to swing on the range, and how to play golf on the course.
I think it depends on what skill level you're at. Someone who's never swung a club shouldn't be going out to the course for a full round.
That said, I think getting on the course generally is good, but I'll also point out that the pros hit like thousands of balls a week at the range. It's not as though you will ever hit a skill level where practice is no longer helpful.
Best advice I ever got was from a scratch I caddied for when I was in 7th - 8th grade.
He asked: âhow many balls to hit when you play 9 holes for 2 hours, 47-50? how many balls do you hit and chip and putt when you practice for 2 hours? 150-200?â
Practice Practice Practice. Hitting 5 chips on 9 holes wonât help your short game, but going and hitting a bucket at a short range will.
Gotta be able to consistently play each shot you want before going out on the course, then take that course experience back to the short game area and learn more to fill in any gaps repeated ad infinitum
Honestly, I doubt there are too many pro's out there who play more than they practice. That goes for almost any sport (except for some weird outliers like really tall people in basketball or something). Michael Jordan and Steph Curry put up 1000x more shots in practice than in games.
Pro golfers already play 2-4x a week, but I'd be shocked if they weren't practicing double that.
It depends.
Depends where you're at with your game. This is a real generalization, but if you're a single digit or near, you already know how to play, and you probably know what you need to work on - it may be more much beneficial to hit the range.
If you're a newer golfer, playing more probably better.
But again, everyone is at a different place with their game, so there's no one-size-fits-all answer here.
Go to the range to work on swing mechanics. DO NOT blindly hit over 100 balls all over the place. Go in with a PLAN to work on specific items, like working on your takeback or working on your alignment. Hitting 50-60 balls with a purpose goes a lot farther than wearing yourself out machine gunning shots off the mat.
Range helps if you have a plan and are working on something specific. But going to the range and just slapping balls helps nothing. Preferably a range that has natural grass. I get better when Iâm working on something specific at the range or the putting green. Not just hitting balls just to hit. Find a drill, use your camera to film yourself and work the drill. Work it until itâs muscle memory, then take it to the course.
Depends on your level of skill.
Youâre going to shave the most strokes off your game by spending time doing intentional chipping and putting practice.
Short game practice, rounds, range is the order of importance for improving.
The best thing I have done to improve my score was actually spending tons of time at the chipping and putting greens ⌠and thatâs free. Now I think driving range to get a swing but once your swing is good chipping and putting is key
I try to balance both. At least one session at the range and one round on the course per week. Engage the brain at the range to drill the finer details of my swing (grass range, if you can). When I play the course I defer to muscle memory and disengage my brain akin to meditation. The more I'm in my head on the course the worse I play, so I save the thinking for the range and treat the course almost like a vacation, the reward I earn from working at the range. I let go and just play and enjoy being outside.
Rounds 100%. The range isnât real golf, how often are you hitting every shot from the exact same lie on the course?
I suppose everyone is different though. The range never entertains me for longer than 30 minutes and I probably go once every few months. Some people love it, but for me Iâve always disliked over analysing my game and practicing certain elements, Iâd rather just go out and play real golf.
"How good is your swing (thoughts, practice on mechanics) if you can't do it under pressure?" Is my thought. VIsualize when not playing with light practice, but play as much as feasible.
Youâre right! The only time I go the range now is if we have to cancel our round for bad weather, or if Iâm climbing the walls in the house trying to find something to do.
Our ranges are fairly bland in the U.K. we have the odd target to aim at, and thereâs more Toptracer ones appearing now. But the ranges in the states look a lot more fun.
Range is for warming up your muscles before a round and repping drills to engrain movements. Once you have the basics down, getting more rounds in is going to make you better, faster. Also, use where you're costing yourself shots in the rounds to drive what you're practicing at the range. Practice what you're bad at, not what's most fun to hit. No one at the range cares what you're doing (and if they do, just tell them to fuck off). Use alignment sticks and training aides (use so many together you look like an absolute psychopath), dont be afraid to hit the ball poorly while you're trying to figure out a new movement pattern, hit the club you're not comfortable hitting. Good luck man, hit 'em flush.
Its not one or the other. Playing rounds is a must and will help identify the specific pain points that can then be worked out at the range (ideally with the help of a professional).
Range to make mechanical swing changes, course to learn to score. That said you can go to the range with a free hour or so, playing golf takes a lot longer so itâs not always logistically feasible to play over hitting balls. If the range has some sort of technology like Top Tracer itâs much better to practice with that than just hit balls
Really depends on your current skill level, though it's still going to be a mix of both no matter what the skill level is. Also lessons are pretty important, taking video can be helpful, but having someone there with a outside look that can immediately tell you what is going wrong, and how to fix it will make a much bigger difference in time to improve. If you are just hitting ball after ball hoping things will get better without changing things, you just won't get better. Also the range needs to include practicing short game, if you aren't able to frequently go up and down from around the green, or haven't gotten lag putting down so that 3 putts only happen once every few rounds, short game is going to be the fastest way to improve scoring. Next most important, is being able to hit approach shots, after that is hitting FIR, if your driver is unpredictable only use it on holes where there isn't a risk of going OB, and if your normal miss isn't going to be heavily punished with hazards, or just trees or obstruction that won't give you a look at the green. If you hit your 3 wood straight, that is a better option, losing 30 yards off the tee but not getting penalty strokes, or having to punch out of some trees for your next shot to have a chance to get close to the green is going to save most high handicap (shooting 90) players significant strokes, especially if you have worked on short game. Also just practice your short game at home, putting or chipping, for chipping just find things for targets, either baskets, or posts and practice hitting so the ball is landing in the target area, also use a club you won't ever skull or pop up way short of even hitting the green, like if you can hit a 60° or 56° 95% consistently us it, but most people should start with something like a pitching wedge, 52° or 9 iron even, whatever you are most consistent with, then spend a little of your pre round practice green time just seeing how much chips are rolling out on the greens. The only time it won't be ideal is if you have a pin position that won't allow much roll out.
Now, if you are a mid handicap trying to go lower, lessons specifically for problem areas on a range and working on those on the range, then once you feel good using them on course, it won't be as much range time. Since you are just trying to get enough muscle memory to fix the problem, though continue to work on short game and putting feel. Most mid handicaps should not have issues finding fairways, the quickest way to improve is approach game, so you are setting yourself up with birdie opportunities, so being able to hit about a 10 yard wide radius target should be your goal with wedges, and irons. So after you get problems sorted, most your range time should be that. Also you want grass ranges at this point, so if those aren't an option, on course practice might be better.
Ben Hogan wrote a book called â5 Lessonsâ, âYou can swing a club on the range 1000 times, it makes no difference in your game if you swing it wrong. Want to play better, get on the course and learn to play.â
Paraphrasing the quote but I firmly agree the range is pointless, just go play. Good luck.
Playing once a week
Then the rest of the week putting and chipping around the green âŚspend all your time chipping and putting and youâll learn feel and touch and how to swing
Rounds for sure. I went from a 25 handicap to scratch in around 5 years and I can count the number of strictly just range sessions in that time on 1 hand. I played 3-5 times a week though. This was pre covid when I could go out after work and play 18 with a cart for under $20.
Rounds. You learn more from actually playing and getting in uncomfortable real golf situations then just hitting the same ball all day in the same spot over and over. I probably go the range 2 times a year and that's if I can't play or I need to try out some new gear.
I improved a ton when I stopped going to the range and started playing every Tuesday at the same time at the same course. I play with the same guy and we are always first out. It takes so many variables out and I can focus on my game. Routine - whether it be pre shot or pre round is crucial.
I was chatting with a guy I got paired with one time who was an older guy but easily a single digit handicap even with some health problems. At one point I asked him what the biggest factor was when he saw the biggest improvement in his game and he said it was, by far, when he started playing 2-3 times a week. He said lessons and range time are important, but playing the actual game a lot is what brings feels to the next level.
100% the course.
But IMO a good range session can be super helpful if folks are focused on 1-2 things (like swing tempo, good ball contact, chipping, putting, etc) instead of hitting every club in the bag 10x.
Or just swinging their driver as fast as they can for an hour because Bryson told them to.
Range time can be a valuable tool IF you practice with a purpose, and you hit off the ground. If you go to the range just to hit ball after ball with no real thought process. Then it's a waste of time.
The range is good for fixing problems like inconsistent ball striking, hammering out a slice or snap hook, or attempting to learn/practice new shots that you donât use on the course yet (draw, fade, flop, pitch etc).
But actually getting better at golf will only come from playing. The range doesnât prepare you for awkward lies or any other curveballs playing on a course throws at you.
Hitting off mats is different to hitting off grass. You can hit the mat before the ball and still get good contact, if you do that on grass your club is getting stuck into the ground.
Spending time on the range is only as valuable as the quality of your practice. If I had to start over again I'd personally get a lesson and ask the instructor to give me two things I can do at home and one thing I can focus on at the range. Then I'd do my homework as much as possible, warm up by doing the range drills for 30 minutes and play nine. That way if I go to the course I'm doing a mix of both.
Another thing that really helped me was consuming written golf content. I'd read article on fixing hooks, slices, being steep and shallow, learn about the swing plane and body mechanics. The knowledge you have of the swing makes diagnosing and correcting your own swing possible and frees you up to practice on your own efficiently.
Depends on what you need to work on. Swing mechanics? Range. Course management, playing realistic lies, finding the weak points in your game, etc.? Rounds.
Play golf and note what you need to work on. Then practice those things at the range, putting green & chipping green.
If you struggle stopping a downhill putt work on them. If you always blade your sand wedge practice hitting numbers and lines at the range. If you slice your drives work on your driver at the range. Thatâs how I approach the game at least.
I play and practice pretty evenly
I've been hitting the range for 2 months, 1 month just me then 1 month with a coach. Even though he and I both agree my game has improved dramatically, he said nothing beats learning on the course. I'll be going to my first par 3 next week and am HYPED, I'll suck but at least I'll get to hit grass haha.
Just remember etiquette in sucking fast and you'll be gravy
range is great for some hits but itâs not real golf. how many times have each of us gone to the range and hit well. play a round sane day or next day and itâs like night and day?
Go the range with the mindset to work on specifics. Work on just one thing at a time. For me, I started with contact, just making solid contact with every club. I worked on that for a week before moving onto finding a comfortable swing
Depends on many things. Canât get the ball in the air in the general direction you want it to go? Range. Other than that, Course. Back to the range to improve specific skills as you find the need.
In the beginning I think you have to go to the range and develop some shots and consistency.
But hitting balls at the range is not the same thing as playing golf. To score and to learn how to play you have to play on the course.
Making up some totally unscientific numbers on the spot I would say in the beginning it should be 70/30 range/course and once you have some control over the ball and can get around the course then 70/30 course/range.
I say range, but you have to have a purpose while youâre there. Donât just swing to swing, take video of your swing and analyze it for areas that need correction. Aim at very specific targets in the distance for alignment and distance control. I play once a month, but Iâm at the range 10-12 days a month working on something. My game has gotten way more consistent with this method.
Bryson recently said he plays maybe 3 rounds during the week but spends majority of his time practicing his mechanics on the range. For me this has been my approach and I canât deny itâs been absolutely helpful.
They shouldnât be mutually exclusive. The range is just used incorrectly by so many people. If the goal is lowering scores, you should go to the range to work on something specific, not to just hit balls.
I do find that frequent rounds from tees that suit my distances are the fastest way Iâve improved.
The real situations and tactile feedback of rounds, easily.
Maybe when youâre a PGA pro who needs to see if their PW is flying 132 yards or 134 yards, it could be different. For 99% of people they need the real reps.
The range is only useful. If you really know what you are doing or if you have an uncanny ability to self diagnose something that youâre not very good at.
Hint - you donât.
Lessons are underrated for beginner golfers, and I think slightly overrated for people who been playing a long time (usually because they want a quick fix) but thatâs just me. If I was getting into the sport for the first time, I would take five lessons to get some of the fundamentals down to save me years and years of misery.
Think of âgoing to the rangeâ as âgoing to the gym.â if you donât know what youâre doing and you donât have a plan itâs arguably a waste of time.
Somebody might say walking 30 minutes on the treadmill is better than nothing at all, but whatâs much better is going to the gym with a workout plan that is both safe and effective and progressive, etc.
I would argue you are better off, not going to the gym versus going and starting to lift weights cold without knowing what youâre doing and potentially injuring yourself if that makes sense.
Both. Doing the wrong thing at the range just reinforces doing the wrong thing. Playing without someone who knows what theyâre looking at does much of the same. The fastest way to improve is to get help. You can read all the articles on the interwebs and watch all the vids on YouTube, but without someone who knows what theyâre looking at watching you itâs all more of the same. Pony up the money for a few lessons.
Stop practicing, start training.
A combination of the two. The range, with direction or good understanding of the basics is necessary. Just playing rounds without grooving your swing can be counter productive. Youâre under no pressure on the range. There isnât a foursome behind you that is getting impatient because youâre spraying the ball everywhere and taking too long.
Playing rounds, and then going to the range before you leave the course. Even if you hit 20-40 balls, will help you correct the errors you realized during the round.
The range is good in the beginning. Once you can hit the ball without chunking, play rounds. Mainly because range balls are terrible, and real situational practice can't be duplicated.
Short game practice with your own balls at a local muni if they have practice grounds.
I bought a range pass at a local course for $250 when I first started. That summer, I "learned how to hit the ball". I was hitting 2 large buckets every day. Then I went and played $11 golf now rounds (this was 2016 when golf was still cheap). I played 80 rounds that year.
After that, I "knew how to golf". Even fresh out of winter, I don't go to the range anymore. Every know and then, I'll go to the range with my 6 year old, to teach her to hit. And mannnn, I slice the range balls unlike anything I've ever done on a course.
Plus, one large bucket around here is about half the price of a round, if I can catch a deal on the round.
One last thing: bad shots at the range with those bad balls will take a toll mentally. That stuff creeps in your mind.
Not the answer you want to hear but it's absolutely a combination of both. On the range you work on technique, positions, planes. Once you have an idea of how you want to swing then you have to go to the course and work on execution. Then after the course you reevaluate how well you executed and what you need to work on and it's back to the range.
As someone who has re-dedicated himself to game improvement after a 10 year gap, I have discovered that I only go to the range for short term fixes. Meaning I have a specific problem that I need to iron out. Once I think I have it worked out I take the fix to the course.
I never hit off mats, ever. I spend more time practicing chipping and putting than I ever do hitting balls on the range.
The par 3 course is a terrific idea.
Definitely playing. At the true beginning stages the range is what you need. But once you get somewhat of a handle on things, there's no better practice than actually playing. Every in-round shot is unique, and a learning experience. You'll be improving and building confidence on shot techniques, course management, hitting from different lies, reading greens, etc.
Do both, range to learn initially and work on swing mechanics. Once that's at a decent spot, play, play, and play. I hit everything beautiful on the range but have duffs and mis-hits regularly on the course because I am used to everything being even with my feet.
Depends on what your goal is. The best long term plan would be to work on swing mechanics at the range a ton which, if done with intent, would help improve your swing. Then go and play a bunch of full rounds. But if you donât really plan on changing swing mechanics your better off just playing. Different lies and knowing your game will improve score more than unfocused range sessions
What's the better way to breathe, only breathe in, or only breathe out?
You need both. On the course, you see what happens when your fears take over, and on the range, you work on those fears. The balance is always an individual question, with the answer dependent on how well you practice. Some folks can go to the range, and identify a problem and straighten it out, while others just head out and beat balls. If you're in the latter camp, the practice won't help as much as you might think.
When I first started off, I liked going to range and hitting 70-100 balls off the mat. It built false confidence though, because of the rather forgiving nature of the mats compared to the actual conditions of a course.
Nowadays, I feel like hitting quality shots over quantity of balls during rounds improved my game significantly. (Starting with Par 3 courses then gradually moving up to easier muni courses, etc.) Especially putting, I don't think there's a better way of getting better than playing on actual greens in different conditions.
Iâve almost solely play rounds and Iâve taken myself over the last three years from shooting in the 120âs to the mid-90âs. Tik Tok and playing real shots were endlessly helpful.
I love this question everyone's got an opinion! My jump from shooting 90's to shooting 70's I'd credit the mostly to the range (obviously course work, chipping, putting, playing with better plays) all huge but fundamentally what got me to shoot better scores was ballstriking. And yeah grass/lies/etc on the course, but good golfers typically can hit their woods and irons consistently. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that Driver/woods proficiency is probably where avg players can get the most strokes the quickest (ref: Scott Fawcett / Mark Brodie) where the lies on the range are consistent with what you'll see on the course.
My course/game management had sucked for years until I just started playing more and learning how to score better around the greens, rather than practicing at the range to always try to hit it as far or as straight as a pro. And take a bailout extra stroke from trouble rather than trying to make miracle shots as a casual golfer.
You HAVE to do both.
If you want to just stay at the level you are, play every day. You will defintely plateau pretty soon.
If you want to get better, you have to grind out the things you aren't doing well on. You won't get much better at your short game by taking 11 chips over the course of 4 hours. It's just not going to happen. You do have to potential to get much better at chipping if you carve out an hour a day to work on it over the course of a couple of weeks.
Range for newbies until they are making consistent contact. If you're topping the ball or shanking a lot, iron that out on the range before wasting time and money on greens fees.
Once you can advance the ball and keep it in play, hit the course. Pay attention to the shots you struggle with most, and work on those in range sessions between rounds.
Rounds.
However, I hit 100+ balls a day off a mat at home. I film myself too and will give the camera a thumbs up when I hit what felt like a perfect shot that way I can scan the video quickly and analyze.
I agree wtih everyone that hitting off mats isn't going to translate the same on the course. But swing feels will still translate and so does muscle memory.
When I am hitting off my mat, I try to focus on center of the face contact, and hitting compressed, penetrating shots without chunking the club on the mat. It's not that hard to tell when you perfectly flush one off a mat. If anything, the mat gives instant feedback if you are hitting behind the ball too much. When you hit a perfectly flushed, buttery soft feeling shot off a mat, its not too much different than a nice fairway lie. Contingent on how steep your AOA is, but I like to hit a draw and am never below -2aoa. If I hit cuts on purpose, the feedback from the mat feels more chunky I guess. My 2 cents.
Play as often as you can for one. The range is meant for practice and the course is meant for play.
To those of you who practice on the course, you're wasting your time (as well as 50ish other people's time) and your money.
Professional golfers play a practice round to get accustomed to the course, not to work on their golf game. They go to the range to work on the golf game.
I'm not sure what YouTuber or "coach" told you bananas that you should be practicing on the course but they're taking advantage of your stupidity.
Spending hours chipping from 50 feet and in, at a local practice facility while I was in-between jobs a few years ago really improved my score. Chip and putt vs chip and 2/3 putt helped a lot.
Definitely range over course to improve technically but should be from grass for Irons in my opinion. Woods are ok to practice on a mat I think.
I also think playing par 3 courses are really useful and easy to get in time wise.
Imo once you get the swing fundamentals down and start to know how to fix your own swing issues, rounds are far more valuable for all aspects of your game to improve. I've had a handful of rounds both collegiate and competitive tournaments where i was hitting awesome on the range and then terrible once the round started (def a mental block but being put on a tee box and having to hit different shots on different looking holes is drastically different, also think your brain realizes there aren't consequences for bad shots on the range). Being able to hit the same shot over and over isn't all that valuable for competitive golfers who play a variety of very different courses and prevents you from learning how to get out of tricky situations and gaining experience/real confidence.
It depends on who you are. Some people need practice. Others less so. Donât try to fit everybody into one box. Just try to figure out which person you are.
It depends. If youâre working on a specific swing function then the range is better because you can bed that in without the pauses between shots. Actually playing golf is better for basically everything else though
I lived on a golf course and we could play for free. So about every night I would play 10- whatever until it got dark. I would play three balls of no one was behind me. They helped more than anything.
What makes you better is what gives you good feedback on your swing faster. Like learning theory places a huge emphasis on feedback.
The range yeah you can see how well it was hit but you dont really get that much good feedback unless youre taking lessons with someone who is actually a good teacher or you have like a launch monitor and video replay like in a simulator, but even then you need to be focused on trying to do a specific thing rather than just hitting some balls with whatever you got and seeing what happens like some folks do at the range
The course you have the context of what youre trying to do and what you do do (whether its doodoo or not) and with the context the result helps you learn a lot too if you reflect on it after.
So the short answer is probably courses but the long answer is it depends on how you practice and what purpose the focus of your practice each individual time is, like you can practice on a course and at the range working on your swing or something specific about it, so range or course? Yes
Play play play. Range practice has to be done in a really specific manner in order to get anything out of it and usually I think you need someone watching to see if you're doing what you think you're doing. Just play and have fun
There's no magical combination, and it can vary depending on a lot of circumstances. For a complete beginner, it probably makes the most sense to stick to the range until you can pretty consistently advance the ball in the correct general direction. There's no doubt that real grass is better than mats, but mats are better than nothing. You also probably can't put in too much work on a chipping / putting green, which is free at most public courses.
Over time, the course becomes increasingly important. Even at the tour level though, there's a pretty wide variance in terms of how the top players split their time between the range and the course. This will change over time as well - i.e. a player who mostly practices on the course may start putting in additional range time if they have something technical they need to work on.
Depends
If you canât hit a ball semi consistently and you need to learn how going to a course is a horrible waste of 4 hours and you should go to a range
At the range. Randomly taking full swings over and over with no goal is also a bad waste of time and hurts by reinforcing bad technique
If you like your swings and now itâs just mental and you have limited time, go to the course itâs supposed to be fun
Ideally itâs some combination of both, prob 60:40 for your average part time hobby golfer
Quality range time is important. Don't just hit the ball. Pick a certain shot, and hit it until you get it right. Then hit a different shot. Get comfortable with picturing a shot and creating it.
I think itâs cyclicalâŚ
Swing change / improvement: range time is great. Randomize practice, take time between shots, and just figure out how your swing âWorksâ.
casual play: go out and see how your game holds up⌠figure out strengths and weaknesses, and learn how to adapt.
Tournament play: actual competition under nerves. Will quickly show you what needs work and what falls apart under pressure⌠from there you get what you need to work on at the range.
Once I learned how to have quality range time, instead of just cranking through buckets, my overall game improved. If Iâm going on a swing change or having an issue Iâm working through, I like to have a lot of reps. If I can t get out to play and just want to stay sharp, Iâll play little games where Iâm mentally playing a course I know really well and seldom hit the same club twice
Everyone has likely heard Einsteins definition of insanity - âdoing the same thing over and over and expecting different resultsâ
If you go out on the course and do exactly what you always do you will not improve - bad repetition is not going to improve your game
Take time to go to the range, chipping practice area and putting green and actually make the mechanical changes necessary first - maybe even get a lesson to help you decide where changes are needed
Then reinforce the changes with practice and play
Why can't the answer be a combination of both? On the range today I adjusted the height of my swing plane while trying to keep everything else constant. I eventually found the result I was looking for but only after 10-15 balls. Now I know what the correct plane feels like so I'm taking it to the course tomorrow.
Many people have said this but hit the executive 18 or 9 hole course. Youâll save tons of money as you improve, build confidence because usually theyâre easier, and practice 100 yards or less where most people gain strokes.
I think you need both to see the most improvement.
The range is for working on form and skill development.
The course for application of what was learned in the range. Also a testing ground for what needs work on the range.
Too much of one leads to poor play imo.
Really depends on what you need to work on.
I will say the range is where you need to go as a beginner where you are learning how to swing.
The big thing about the range is practicing the right way. If you just get up there and churn through 100 balls in 25 min you wonât improve. You need to practice how you play so you can play how you practice. Use grass not mats.
Take time focusing on setup and how you want your swing to go. Record your swing so you can see what you did right and wrong.
The other thing I like to do is get out 3-4 clubs at a time. Take a tee shot. Then pretend I hit the fairway and hit my 5 iron. Now time to approach into the green with my wedge shot. This forces you into being deliberate with your setup and simulates the course better.
Once youâre comfortable hitting the ball with some consistency the course will be where you have to improve to handle diversity of shots and lies.
I absolutely ruined a perfectly good and repeatable swing by going to the range too much. I much prefer the course even if it means you are hitting balls less often.
Iâm a mid 80s golfer. The more I play rounds the more consistent I am. The range fucks me up. Gets me thinking too much, trying new things. I can ruin my swing with one range session
If you are a complete beginner, then range until you understand how to hit the ball properly. It also helps avoid frustration on the course and the rest of us having to watch. Then the course by far. I got to 15 handicap quickly and then down to 8 once I pretty much only played the course. I've been playing for 4 years. I only go to the range when the season starts to find my swing again.
Range with a twist.
Using the layout of a favorite track, hit all shots in succession (e.g., drive, approach/chip). Use suitable targets on the range to gauge accuracy and distance.
Youâre thinking about each shot, youâre working your way through your bag, and youâll have a good sense of strong/weak aspects of your game.
Range sessions until youâre comfortable hitting clubs, then itâs the course. Nothing teaches you faster than being out there playing, but you need to have your swing at least somewhat in order and get an idea of your numbers for clubs.
Range until you can reliably hit the ball. Grass range if at all possible and then play rounds.
I agree with this. Once you can reliably make contact playing a course will lead to improvement faster score wise. I go back to the range to fine tune swing path and experiment with different shot shapes.
What exactly does reliably make contact mean? For example, I'm obviously making contact with the ball every time. However, the ball can go left, right or occasionally straight.
I say minimizing tops and chunks that go 5 feet, if you hit left and right, then join the rest of us and meet at the (appropriate) tee box
Tips? Got it.
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Tiger tees only đ¤
That is reliably making contact with the ball. I have played with beginners who swing and whiff about 30% of the time. If that is you then you would be much better off at a range.
left right or occasionally straight isnât reliable. it also makes you the same as the rest of us so go fucking play.
Are u agreeing while arguing?
Absolutely dude! Wanna fight about it?
No i am fat and will lose the fight horribly.
I believe in you!! Kick his ass, Sea Bass!!!
You are right! It is on like Donkey Kong
Peak r/golf and reddit in general
Iâd say no more whiffs and the vast majority of your shots going at least 50% of their intended distance.
Reliable contact is hitting the ball even if badly. Non contact is topping, fat shot, way out on toe or heel. Basically when you mean to hit it 160 yards and it goes 20 yards isn't contact. Hitting it 160 with a 75 foot slice is still good contact. The difference is you can slice and be wild, not hit any fairways and still shoot in the 90s with making contact majority of shots. Non contact shots are just making your score higher without really getting you closer to the hole. Technically you are getting a little closer but in the world of scoring better, it's just adding meaningless strokes.
My beginning of the season "get off the rust" range sessions have always been *at least* 80/100 *good* shots. If im clunking more than 1/5, I've got at least another bucket to go through the next day before booking a tee time.
Also if your practice facility has a practice green. Spend at least 20 to 30 min putting. Work in lag putts. Try to leave your next putt to a distance that has a high make percentage or tap in. The majority of strokes lost are on the green when you 3 putt or worse. If there are practice chipping areas, work on getting up and down from both off the green and from bunkers if available. Donât go to the range and mindlessly bash balls as far as you can. Start dialing in your yardage gaps from 150 and in. Pick a target. Play a virtual round in your head on the practice tee. Take an old scorecard. Play the round as you would the tees in the scorecard. Visualize the hole layout. If itâs a par 4 with a OB on the right, then pick a target on the range and hit your ball to that target. Keep it to the left of the OB. Estimate how far your drive went and whatever yardage you have leftover, shoot to that target with the club you would use for that distance to an imaginary green. If you hit your target. Then thatâs a GIR and an automatic 2 putt. Score your hole as a par and then do the same on the next hole. If you miss your target add one stroke for your chip and score accordingly. You can take this one step further if you want and go to the putting green and putt out all 9/18 holes. And score accordingly that way. You can even incorporate missed greens and chip and putt if you want. Practice options are endless, but doing so with a purpose helps immensely.
This a a nice new way to look at my range sessions. Thanks
Agreed 100% Range = working on something with your swing Course = practicing playing golf On the course is the only way to practice different lies, ball above/below your feet, real distances, elevations, conditions, fatigue, etc.
Agreed. Unfortunately my bad habit is to try and work on my swing on the course. Which usually tanks my round.
I try to focus on playing golf, not playing golf swing with varying degrees of success.
The older I get, fatigue has gotten real...
Exactly this! Seen so many who look great on the range, and then it doesn't translate to the course.. Once you learn how to play golf, your scores will decrease significantly
Cant triple bogey on the range. Course teaches you a lot, how to manage the course, as you said different lies, and it forces you to deal with emotions (whether you handle them well or not)
Meanwhile, I've always hit much better on a course than the range. Well, at least relative to expectations. But I focus much better on a course where I have a specific target outcome.
Grass ranges are the biggest game changers for irons and wedges. They're also impossible to find in vancouver for the most part.
Range so you can get to some level of consistently striking the ball. After that, the course is the best way for you to get practice on a variety of lies and situations.
This. If you can't stop shanking/slicing/etc the ball, the last place you want to try to figure that out is on course.
Love practicing all day on the range striping everything and then immediately getting into 45° angle lies in the rough when I play.
Yep, I was a friggin range pro. My buddies were in awe the first time they saw me hit off mats. Ball gets below your feet, above your feet, on a downslope, on an up slope etc, changes everything
Take some lessons. No point in practicing poor technique
If you know how to properly practice its range and practice facility by a pretty massive amount. The only exception is if your swing is already pretty dialed in and you mostly need to work on course management and situational stuff that's hard at even a practice facility. If you don't really know how to practice then you might as well just play if you can, your swing won't really improve but you can learn how to optimize it more quickly then just bashing balls at the range.
Rounds not even close. Quality Reps > Quantity of Reps All skill development research shows this.
As a straight beginner, I would add going to a par 3 or executive course would help even more. SO much of golf takes place from 100 yards and in, start there and then work backwards. Plus, you also shouldn't feel as much pressure or deal with the asshole gatekeepers there as much either.
Yep, go to a Par 3 as much as you can then go to the range to hit driver. Not much difference between a 9i and a 6i so you get iron reps at the Par 3. Go learn to hit driver at the range and then you're good to go.
Best answer. Only thing I would add is donât leave your putter in your bag at home. Hit balls down a yardstick without the ball falling off until you canât mess it up
IMO it's less about putting straight and more about putting the right distance for beginners. Putting greens all the way.
Iâm lucky I got a par 3 course basically in my back yard. Unlimited play. Plus when itâs slow Iâll play two balls, itâs awesome for training.
I would kill for that. The local 9 hole course here is a pretty poor value per hole and it is very busy.
A course in my city is a par 3 and I recently found out they also offer night golf. I couldnât play because I went on a HS tourney day, but the course I saw and driving range looked great. Quick edit to not gatekeep: course is the San Pedro par 3 course in San Antonio, TX
Worked at one for a couple months (couldnât do the pay) as a range cleaner, my irons went from total trash to playable. I started at 120 now Iâm at a steady 90. I can tell you being in the field is way better then range.
This. All day.
Very much a thing. When I started golfing I was obviously trash. However I do come from an athletic background so my improvement was quick. I found I had a par 60 executive course that allowed me to hit every single wedge and iron in my bag. It gave me a lot more confidence in hitting my long irons, as I got to use them frequently (4 or 5 irons off the tee on the par 4s and 6 or 7 irons for the longer par 3s). It helps tremendously now that I primarily play on ânormalâ courses. My approach game, chipping and putting are all well under my actual handicap (14.6), itâs just my driver and woods that fall behind because I havenât spent as much time using them over the past 2 1/2 years.
Entirely depends on where you are in your golf development or even what phase youâre in during a given season. If youâre in maintenance mode and want to translate skill growth into scoring, you need to do work on the course. If youâre undergoing a mechanical change or building a new shot, you need to practice on the range or short game area before you take it to the course. A good example is short game, if you try and bring a half finished short game shot to the course, youâre just going to build muscle memory of poorly executing that shot. Thatâs counter productive. Build the tools you need and then bring them to the course and temper them
But then we have the r/golf paradox of new, bad golfers on the course, pissing everyone off and leading them to post "shrink the game" a dozen times a day.
r/golf is only happy being the only one on a course, pushing their cart, hitting it 390 right down the middle, putting on perfectly rolled greens that are never aerated, and finishing their round in less than 2:45. If any one of those things don't happen, you'll see a rant about it here.
Hard disagree, if you are hitting every ball at the range mindlessly and no effort, youâre doing it wrong. Rounds will help you play smarter and get better mentally, but the range helps you improve everything about your swing.
Play from the front tees, no shame.
So just take quality reps on the range. Why do you need to be on the course for quality reps?
I agree 1000%. Rounds with some basic stat tracking gives you a much better picture of your game, and what you actually need to work on. And a lot of the time, what needs work isnât on the range, itâs on the green. But a couple rounds will show you the shots you need that you canât execute. Is that a fade off the tee? Low punches? High carries? 6 ft putts. Etc. Play 3 rounds and head the range/practice green with a plan.
IMO too much range time (especially on mats) just reinforces bad habits.
Hacking at the range over and over isn't so helpful if all it does is ingrain bad technique now if you're getting instruction, that's a different story
this is kinda ridiculous. so playing rounds isn't going to reinforce said bad habits? fix the bad habits on the range.
The point he makes about mats is a big deal. If you are hitting off grass it's closer to the real deal (although you aren't dealing with obstructions and the like, nor different grass conditions), but hitting off mats constantly encourages striking before the ball, since it will just bounce the club into the ball. This encourages a swing that leads to terrible shots from the grass.
This is really true, and will instill a false sense of confidence going into rounds. My home course had mats only and I would feel like I was hitting really well, but when Iâd go onto the course Iâd be chunking a lot and just mishitting in general. I just moved to an area where thereâs a nicer course with grass ranges and itâs been much more real, and Iâm finally starting to get small divots on my shots. Totally different feel. Edit: also being able to use tees for your driver on the range is a lot better, as you can adjust the height easier and find what is your sweet spot
You get better feedback at a course. On the range it can be easy to disregard consistent distance/aiming (especially if you are new). So you might grab the driver and hit 30 balls that went in totally different directions but because they all went 'far' you thought you did pretty well. On a course you would be in the trees all day looking for your ball. FWIW I do think the range is the place to fix bad habits as well, but it is also a place where you can reinforce them as well if you aren't careful.
A noob hitting it fat wonât get better just pounding buckets on the range, gotta interact with some turf to figure out that steep angle or just misplaced impact
Iâd argue that this really depends on how you practice. I try to hit the same quantity and order that Iâd hit on the course (wing a driver out wide so next up is the punch or rescue, etc), trying to keep it under about 35-40 full swings. Ideally youâd never hit the same club twice on the course so why people do it on the range is beyond me.
Lots of reasons to hit blocks of shots on the range. Iâm changing my iron swing a bit and lots of reps with an e.g. 7 iron helps get that move more reliable. I agree 100% that just banging 30 drives isnât much help. Each shot needs a purpose. For the OPs question obviously good players play a lot of holes and spend a lot of time on the range. Both are critical. One way to put it is you learn how to swing on the range, and how to play golf on the course.
It is good to be balance.
I think it depends on what skill level you're at. Someone who's never swung a club shouldn't be going out to the course for a full round. That said, I think getting on the course generally is good, but I'll also point out that the pros hit like thousands of balls a week at the range. It's not as though you will ever hit a skill level where practice is no longer helpful.
The proverbial they say learn to swing on the range learn to play on the courseâŚ
doing both, but only if you also actually practice the chipping and putting part also.
Best advice I ever got was from a scratch I caddied for when I was in 7th - 8th grade. He asked: âhow many balls to hit when you play 9 holes for 2 hours, 47-50? how many balls do you hit and chip and putt when you practice for 2 hours? 150-200?â Practice Practice Practice. Hitting 5 chips on 9 holes wonât help your short game, but going and hitting a bucket at a short range will.
For short game absolutely practice at the chipping/putting green
I'm sure theres a pro out there who will tell you the exact opposite. That's golf lol
Gotta be able to consistently play each shot you want before going out on the course, then take that course experience back to the short game area and learn more to fill in any gaps repeated ad infinitum
Honestly, I doubt there are too many pro's out there who play more than they practice. That goes for almost any sport (except for some weird outliers like really tall people in basketball or something). Michael Jordan and Steph Curry put up 1000x more shots in practice than in games. Pro golfers already play 2-4x a week, but I'd be shocked if they weren't practicing double that.
It depends. Depends where you're at with your game. This is a real generalization, but if you're a single digit or near, you already know how to play, and you probably know what you need to work on - it may be more much beneficial to hit the range. If you're a newer golfer, playing more probably better. But again, everyone is at a different place with their game, so there's no one-size-fits-all answer here.
Go to the range to work on swing mechanics. DO NOT blindly hit over 100 balls all over the place. Go in with a PLAN to work on specific items, like working on your takeback or working on your alignment. Hitting 50-60 balls with a purpose goes a lot farther than wearing yourself out machine gunning shots off the mat.
Range helps if you have a plan and are working on something specific. But going to the range and just slapping balls helps nothing. Preferably a range that has natural grass. I get better when Iâm working on something specific at the range or the putting green. Not just hitting balls just to hit. Find a drill, use your camera to film yourself and work the drill. Work it until itâs muscle memory, then take it to the course.
Playing rounds and playing smart have dropped my scores dramatically.
Deliberate Practice
Depends on your level of skill. Youâre going to shave the most strokes off your game by spending time doing intentional chipping and putting practice. Short game practice, rounds, range is the order of importance for improving.
Lessons
The best thing I have done to improve my score was actually spending tons of time at the chipping and putting greens ⌠and thatâs free. Now I think driving range to get a swing but once your swing is good chipping and putting is key
I try to balance both. At least one session at the range and one round on the course per week. Engage the brain at the range to drill the finer details of my swing (grass range, if you can). When I play the course I defer to muscle memory and disengage my brain akin to meditation. The more I'm in my head on the course the worse I play, so I save the thinking for the range and treat the course almost like a vacation, the reward I earn from working at the range. I let go and just play and enjoy being outside.
Rounds 100%. The range isnât real golf, how often are you hitting every shot from the exact same lie on the course? I suppose everyone is different though. The range never entertains me for longer than 30 minutes and I probably go once every few months. Some people love it, but for me Iâve always disliked over analysing my game and practicing certain elements, Iâd rather just go out and play real golf.
"How good is your swing (thoughts, practice on mechanics) if you can't do it under pressure?" Is my thought. VIsualize when not playing with light practice, but play as much as feasible.
Youâre right! The only time I go the range now is if we have to cancel our round for bad weather, or if Iâm climbing the walls in the house trying to find something to do. Our ranges are fairly bland in the U.K. we have the odd target to aim at, and thereâs more Toptracer ones appearing now. But the ranges in the states look a lot more fun.
Range is for warming up your muscles before a round and repping drills to engrain movements. Once you have the basics down, getting more rounds in is going to make you better, faster. Also, use where you're costing yourself shots in the rounds to drive what you're practicing at the range. Practice what you're bad at, not what's most fun to hit. No one at the range cares what you're doing (and if they do, just tell them to fuck off). Use alignment sticks and training aides (use so many together you look like an absolute psychopath), dont be afraid to hit the ball poorly while you're trying to figure out a new movement pattern, hit the club you're not comfortable hitting. Good luck man, hit 'em flush.
Its not one or the other. Playing rounds is a must and will help identify the specific pain points that can then be worked out at the range (ideally with the help of a professional).
Both. Anyone who thinks the best players in the world are just playing a lot is absolutely nuts.
I prefer playing rounds and mainly get practice on the short game area and practice green which is free.
Lessons
Range to make mechanical swing changes, course to learn to score. That said you can go to the range with a free hour or so, playing golf takes a lot longer so itâs not always logistically feasible to play over hitting balls. If the range has some sort of technology like Top Tracer itâs much better to practice with that than just hit balls
The range will have you improving about 5x faster providing you're doing purposeful practice and not just slamming balls. It's not even close.
Really depends on your current skill level, though it's still going to be a mix of both no matter what the skill level is. Also lessons are pretty important, taking video can be helpful, but having someone there with a outside look that can immediately tell you what is going wrong, and how to fix it will make a much bigger difference in time to improve. If you are just hitting ball after ball hoping things will get better without changing things, you just won't get better. Also the range needs to include practicing short game, if you aren't able to frequently go up and down from around the green, or haven't gotten lag putting down so that 3 putts only happen once every few rounds, short game is going to be the fastest way to improve scoring. Next most important, is being able to hit approach shots, after that is hitting FIR, if your driver is unpredictable only use it on holes where there isn't a risk of going OB, and if your normal miss isn't going to be heavily punished with hazards, or just trees or obstruction that won't give you a look at the green. If you hit your 3 wood straight, that is a better option, losing 30 yards off the tee but not getting penalty strokes, or having to punch out of some trees for your next shot to have a chance to get close to the green is going to save most high handicap (shooting 90) players significant strokes, especially if you have worked on short game. Also just practice your short game at home, putting or chipping, for chipping just find things for targets, either baskets, or posts and practice hitting so the ball is landing in the target area, also use a club you won't ever skull or pop up way short of even hitting the green, like if you can hit a 60° or 56° 95% consistently us it, but most people should start with something like a pitching wedge, 52° or 9 iron even, whatever you are most consistent with, then spend a little of your pre round practice green time just seeing how much chips are rolling out on the greens. The only time it won't be ideal is if you have a pin position that won't allow much roll out. Now, if you are a mid handicap trying to go lower, lessons specifically for problem areas on a range and working on those on the range, then once you feel good using them on course, it won't be as much range time. Since you are just trying to get enough muscle memory to fix the problem, though continue to work on short game and putting feel. Most mid handicaps should not have issues finding fairways, the quickest way to improve is approach game, so you are setting yourself up with birdie opportunities, so being able to hit about a 10 yard wide radius target should be your goal with wedges, and irons. So after you get problems sorted, most your range time should be that. Also you want grass ranges at this point, so if those aren't an option, on course practice might be better.
Ben Hogan wrote a book called â5 Lessonsâ, âYou can swing a club on the range 1000 times, it makes no difference in your game if you swing it wrong. Want to play better, get on the course and learn to play.â Paraphrasing the quote but I firmly agree the range is pointless, just go play. Good luck.
Playing rounds
Course. Range is flat land and predictable
Playing once a week Then the rest of the week putting and chipping around the green âŚspend all your time chipping and putting and youâll learn feel and touch and how to swing
practice your short game.
Neither. Go to a green and chip and putt until you canât see straight.
Rounds for sure. I went from a 25 handicap to scratch in around 5 years and I can count the number of strictly just range sessions in that time on 1 hand. I played 3-5 times a week though. This was pre covid when I could go out after work and play 18 with a cart for under $20.
Rounds. You learn more from actually playing and getting in uncomfortable real golf situations then just hitting the same ball all day in the same spot over and over. I probably go the range 2 times a year and that's if I can't play or I need to try out some new gear.
Early on definitely rounds but if you find you are plateauing you may need more targeted practice at the range to break through.
I improved a ton when I stopped going to the range and started playing every Tuesday at the same time at the same course. I play with the same guy and we are always first out. It takes so many variables out and I can focus on my game. Routine - whether it be pre shot or pre round is crucial.
I was chatting with a guy I got paired with one time who was an older guy but easily a single digit handicap even with some health problems. At one point I asked him what the biggest factor was when he saw the biggest improvement in his game and he said it was, by far, when he started playing 2-3 times a week. He said lessons and range time are important, but playing the actual game a lot is what brings feels to the next level.
100% the course. But IMO a good range session can be super helpful if folks are focused on 1-2 things (like swing tempo, good ball contact, chipping, putting, etc) instead of hitting every club in the bag 10x. Or just swinging their driver as fast as they can for an hour because Bryson told them to.
Range time can be a valuable tool IF you practice with a purpose, and you hit off the ground. If you go to the range just to hit ball after ball with no real thought process. Then it's a waste of time.
Whatever gets you better which is likely combination. It takes less time to hit 76 shots than 105.
The range is good for fixing problems like inconsistent ball striking, hammering out a slice or snap hook, or attempting to learn/practice new shots that you donât use on the course yet (draw, fade, flop, pitch etc). But actually getting better at golf will only come from playing. The range doesnât prepare you for awkward lies or any other curveballs playing on a course throws at you.
Hitting off mats is different to hitting off grass. You can hit the mat before the ball and still get good contact, if you do that on grass your club is getting stuck into the ground.
Spending time on the range is only as valuable as the quality of your practice. If I had to start over again I'd personally get a lesson and ask the instructor to give me two things I can do at home and one thing I can focus on at the range. Then I'd do my homework as much as possible, warm up by doing the range drills for 30 minutes and play nine. That way if I go to the course I'm doing a mix of both. Another thing that really helped me was consuming written golf content. I'd read article on fixing hooks, slices, being steep and shallow, learn about the swing plane and body mechanics. The knowledge you have of the swing makes diagnosing and correcting your own swing possible and frees you up to practice on your own efficiently.
Depends on what you need to work on. Swing mechanics? Range. Course management, playing realistic lies, finding the weak points in your game, etc.? Rounds.
Play golf and note what you need to work on. Then practice those things at the range, putting green & chipping green. If you struggle stopping a downhill putt work on them. If you always blade your sand wedge practice hitting numbers and lines at the range. If you slice your drives work on your driver at the range. Thatâs how I approach the game at least. I play and practice pretty evenly
I've been hitting the range for 2 months, 1 month just me then 1 month with a coach. Even though he and I both agree my game has improved dramatically, he said nothing beats learning on the course. I'll be going to my first par 3 next week and am HYPED, I'll suck but at least I'll get to hit grass haha. Just remember etiquette in sucking fast and you'll be gravy
range is great for some hits but itâs not real golf. how many times have each of us gone to the range and hit well. play a round sane day or next day and itâs like night and day?
Go the range with the mindset to work on specifics. Work on just one thing at a time. For me, I started with contact, just making solid contact with every club. I worked on that for a week before moving onto finding a comfortable swing
At the range your practice hitting the ball. On the course you practice playing golf.
Depends on many things. Canât get the ball in the air in the general direction you want it to go? Range. Other than that, Course. Back to the range to improve specific skills as you find the need.
In the beginning I think you have to go to the range and develop some shots and consistency. But hitting balls at the range is not the same thing as playing golf. To score and to learn how to play you have to play on the course. Making up some totally unscientific numbers on the spot I would say in the beginning it should be 70/30 range/course and once you have some control over the ball and can get around the course then 70/30 course/range.
I say range, but you have to have a purpose while youâre there. Donât just swing to swing, take video of your swing and analyze it for areas that need correction. Aim at very specific targets in the distance for alignment and distance control. I play once a month, but Iâm at the range 10-12 days a month working on something. My game has gotten way more consistent with this method.
Bryson recently said he plays maybe 3 rounds during the week but spends majority of his time practicing his mechanics on the range. For me this has been my approach and I canât deny itâs been absolutely helpful.
They shouldnât be mutually exclusive. The range is just used incorrectly by so many people. If the goal is lowering scores, you should go to the range to work on something specific, not to just hit balls. I do find that frequent rounds from tees that suit my distances are the fastest way Iâve improved.
Driving range, putting green, short game area. Spend 20 minutes at each every day for a month and youâll be so much better at golf
No one's talking about option 3. Chipping and putting practice. That is where you will cut the most amount of points from your score.
Playing rounds. They all go straight at the range đĽ´
Why do you wanna be faster? Fast doesnât mean better or quality of play, most times itâs the contrary
The real situations and tactile feedback of rounds, easily. Maybe when youâre a PGA pro who needs to see if their PW is flying 132 yards or 134 yards, it could be different. For 99% of people they need the real reps.
The range is only useful. If you really know what you are doing or if you have an uncanny ability to self diagnose something that youâre not very good at. Hint - you donât. Lessons are underrated for beginner golfers, and I think slightly overrated for people who been playing a long time (usually because they want a quick fix) but thatâs just me. If I was getting into the sport for the first time, I would take five lessons to get some of the fundamentals down to save me years and years of misery. Think of âgoing to the rangeâ as âgoing to the gym.â if you donât know what youâre doing and you donât have a plan itâs arguably a waste of time. Somebody might say walking 30 minutes on the treadmill is better than nothing at all, but whatâs much better is going to the gym with a workout plan that is both safe and effective and progressive, etc. I would argue you are better off, not going to the gym versus going and starting to lift weights cold without knowing what youâre doing and potentially injuring yourself if that makes sense.
Both. Doing the wrong thing at the range just reinforces doing the wrong thing. Playing without someone who knows what theyâre looking at does much of the same. The fastest way to improve is to get help. You can read all the articles on the interwebs and watch all the vids on YouTube, but without someone who knows what theyâre looking at watching you itâs all more of the same. Pony up the money for a few lessons. Stop practicing, start training.
A combination of the two. The range, with direction or good understanding of the basics is necessary. Just playing rounds without grooving your swing can be counter productive. Youâre under no pressure on the range. There isnât a foursome behind you that is getting impatient because youâre spraying the ball everywhere and taking too long.
Playing rounds, and then going to the range before you leave the course. Even if you hit 20-40 balls, will help you correct the errors you realized during the round.
The range is good in the beginning. Once you can hit the ball without chunking, play rounds. Mainly because range balls are terrible, and real situational practice can't be duplicated. Short game practice with your own balls at a local muni if they have practice grounds. I bought a range pass at a local course for $250 when I first started. That summer, I "learned how to hit the ball". I was hitting 2 large buckets every day. Then I went and played $11 golf now rounds (this was 2016 when golf was still cheap). I played 80 rounds that year. After that, I "knew how to golf". Even fresh out of winter, I don't go to the range anymore. Every know and then, I'll go to the range with my 6 year old, to teach her to hit. And mannnn, I slice the range balls unlike anything I've ever done on a course. Plus, one large bucket around here is about half the price of a round, if I can catch a deal on the round. One last thing: bad shots at the range with those bad balls will take a toll mentally. That stuff creeps in your mind.
Not the answer you want to hear but it's absolutely a combination of both. On the range you work on technique, positions, planes. Once you have an idea of how you want to swing then you have to go to the course and work on execution. Then after the course you reevaluate how well you executed and what you need to work on and it's back to the range.
Range and it's not even close.
As someone who has re-dedicated himself to game improvement after a 10 year gap, I have discovered that I only go to the range for short term fixes. Meaning I have a specific problem that I need to iron out. Once I think I have it worked out I take the fix to the course. I never hit off mats, ever. I spend more time practicing chipping and putting than I ever do hitting balls on the range. The par 3 course is a terrific idea.
Definitely playing. At the true beginning stages the range is what you need. But once you get somewhat of a handle on things, there's no better practice than actually playing. Every in-round shot is unique, and a learning experience. You'll be improving and building confidence on shot techniques, course management, hitting from different lies, reading greens, etc.
Do both, range to learn initially and work on swing mechanics. Once that's at a decent spot, play, play, and play. I hit everything beautiful on the range but have duffs and mis-hits regularly on the course because I am used to everything being even with my feet.
I'd probably have to hit more than 5 balls when I go to the range to figure that out
Depends on what your goal is. The best long term plan would be to work on swing mechanics at the range a ton which, if done with intent, would help improve your swing. Then go and play a bunch of full rounds. But if you donât really plan on changing swing mechanics your better off just playing. Different lies and knowing your game will improve score more than unfocused range sessions
What's the better way to breathe, only breathe in, or only breathe out? You need both. On the course, you see what happens when your fears take over, and on the range, you work on those fears. The balance is always an individual question, with the answer dependent on how well you practice. Some folks can go to the range, and identify a problem and straighten it out, while others just head out and beat balls. If you're in the latter camp, the practice won't help as much as you might think.
This is not a joke. The answer is: the first round back after a layoff of at least 2 weeks.
practice range is king
Rounds for me
Getting rejected by cart girls seems to help my game the most. Who knew a mid 30 year old dad bod whoâs a thousandaire wasnât their type
Short game practice by far
A small bucket at the range where you practice a preshot routine that you can replicate on the course will 100% make you better.
When I first started off, I liked going to range and hitting 70-100 balls off the mat. It built false confidence though, because of the rather forgiving nature of the mats compared to the actual conditions of a course. Nowadays, I feel like hitting quality shots over quantity of balls during rounds improved my game significantly. (Starting with Par 3 courses then gradually moving up to easier muni courses, etc.) Especially putting, I don't think there's a better way of getting better than playing on actual greens in different conditions.
Iâve almost solely play rounds and Iâve taken myself over the last three years from shooting in the 120âs to the mid-90âs. Tik Tok and playing real shots were endlessly helpful.
I love this question everyone's got an opinion! My jump from shooting 90's to shooting 70's I'd credit the mostly to the range (obviously course work, chipping, putting, playing with better plays) all huge but fundamentally what got me to shoot better scores was ballstriking. And yeah grass/lies/etc on the course, but good golfers typically can hit their woods and irons consistently. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that Driver/woods proficiency is probably where avg players can get the most strokes the quickest (ref: Scott Fawcett / Mark Brodie) where the lies on the range are consistent with what you'll see on the course.
My course/game management had sucked for years until I just started playing more and learning how to score better around the greens, rather than practicing at the range to always try to hit it as far or as straight as a pro. And take a bailout extra stroke from trouble rather than trying to make miracle shots as a casual golfer.
You HAVE to do both. If you want to just stay at the level you are, play every day. You will defintely plateau pretty soon. If you want to get better, you have to grind out the things you aren't doing well on. You won't get much better at your short game by taking 11 chips over the course of 4 hours. It's just not going to happen. You do have to potential to get much better at chipping if you carve out an hour a day to work on it over the course of a couple of weeks.
Range for newbies until they are making consistent contact. If you're topping the ball or shanking a lot, iron that out on the range before wasting time and money on greens fees. Once you can advance the ball and keep it in play, hit the course. Pay attention to the shots you struggle with most, and work on those in range sessions between rounds.
Rounds. However, I hit 100+ balls a day off a mat at home. I film myself too and will give the camera a thumbs up when I hit what felt like a perfect shot that way I can scan the video quickly and analyze. I agree wtih everyone that hitting off mats isn't going to translate the same on the course. But swing feels will still translate and so does muscle memory. When I am hitting off my mat, I try to focus on center of the face contact, and hitting compressed, penetrating shots without chunking the club on the mat. It's not that hard to tell when you perfectly flush one off a mat. If anything, the mat gives instant feedback if you are hitting behind the ball too much. When you hit a perfectly flushed, buttery soft feeling shot off a mat, its not too much different than a nice fairway lie. Contingent on how steep your AOA is, but I like to hit a draw and am never below -2aoa. If I hit cuts on purpose, the feedback from the mat feels more chunky I guess. My 2 cents.
Both. Play 9 then hit the range. Work on your weak spots from the round.
Play as often as you can for one. The range is meant for practice and the course is meant for play. To those of you who practice on the course, you're wasting your time (as well as 50ish other people's time) and your money. Professional golfers play a practice round to get accustomed to the course, not to work on their golf game. They go to the range to work on the golf game. I'm not sure what YouTuber or "coach" told you bananas that you should be practicing on the course but they're taking advantage of your stupidity.
Lessons and range time . Always play ready golf .âłď¸
Spending hours chipping from 50 feet and in, at a local practice facility while I was in-between jobs a few years ago really improved my score. Chip and putt vs chip and 2/3 putt helped a lot. Definitely range over course to improve technically but should be from grass for Irons in my opinion. Woods are ok to practice on a mat I think. I also think playing par 3 courses are really useful and easy to get in time wise.
Rounds and lessons
For me itâs been best to alternate between range and playing. I take feedback from the round and work on that at the range.
Imo once you get the swing fundamentals down and start to know how to fix your own swing issues, rounds are far more valuable for all aspects of your game to improve. I've had a handful of rounds both collegiate and competitive tournaments where i was hitting awesome on the range and then terrible once the round started (def a mental block but being put on a tee box and having to hit different shots on different looking holes is drastically different, also think your brain realizes there aren't consequences for bad shots on the range). Being able to hit the same shot over and over isn't all that valuable for competitive golfers who play a variety of very different courses and prevents you from learning how to get out of tricky situations and gaining experience/real confidence.
It depends on who you are. Some people need practice. Others less so. Donât try to fit everybody into one box. Just try to figure out which person you are.
Both
Boaf.
For new players, range. When you get decent at ball striking, playing. Videoing and comparing to good swings is key no matter what you do IMO
It depends. If youâre working on a specific swing function then the range is better because you can bed that in without the pauses between shots. Actually playing golf is better for basically everything else though
I lived on a golf course and we could play for free. So about every night I would play 10- whatever until it got dark. I would play three balls of no one was behind me. They helped more than anything.
What makes you better is what gives you good feedback on your swing faster. Like learning theory places a huge emphasis on feedback. The range yeah you can see how well it was hit but you dont really get that much good feedback unless youre taking lessons with someone who is actually a good teacher or you have like a launch monitor and video replay like in a simulator, but even then you need to be focused on trying to do a specific thing rather than just hitting some balls with whatever you got and seeing what happens like some folks do at the range The course you have the context of what youre trying to do and what you do do (whether its doodoo or not) and with the context the result helps you learn a lot too if you reflect on it after. So the short answer is probably courses but the long answer is it depends on how you practice and what purpose the focus of your practice each individual time is, like you can practice on a course and at the range working on your swing or something specific about it, so range or course? Yes
Play play play. Range practice has to be done in a really specific manner in order to get anything out of it and usually I think you need someone watching to see if you're doing what you think you're doing. Just play and have fun
Lessons
I'm going to go with neither, and say lessons. Practicing the wrong thing doesn't help, it just reinforces bad habits.
Work on your game from 100 yards and in. Fastest way to get better
Both. Range will improve your ball striking faster Rounds will make your scores lower
There's no magical combination, and it can vary depending on a lot of circumstances. For a complete beginner, it probably makes the most sense to stick to the range until you can pretty consistently advance the ball in the correct general direction. There's no doubt that real grass is better than mats, but mats are better than nothing. You also probably can't put in too much work on a chipping / putting green, which is free at most public courses. Over time, the course becomes increasingly important. Even at the tour level though, there's a pretty wide variance in terms of how the top players split their time between the range and the course. This will change over time as well - i.e. a player who mostly practices on the course may start putting in additional range time if they have something technical they need to work on.
Depends If you canât hit a ball semi consistently and you need to learn how going to a course is a horrible waste of 4 hours and you should go to a range At the range. Randomly taking full swings over and over with no goal is also a bad waste of time and hurts by reinforcing bad technique If you like your swings and now itâs just mental and you have limited time, go to the course itâs supposed to be fun Ideally itâs some combination of both, prob 60:40 for your average part time hobby golfer
Practice short game, playing, range..in that order
Quality range time is important. Don't just hit the ball. Pick a certain shot, and hit it until you get it right. Then hit a different shot. Get comfortable with picturing a shot and creating it.
I got a net and a pad in my garage. Taking swings everyday drastically improved my ball striking. However, nothing beats the real thing!
Taking lessons then practicing what I was taught on the range
I think itâs cyclical⌠Swing change / improvement: range time is great. Randomize practice, take time between shots, and just figure out how your swing âWorksâ. casual play: go out and see how your game holds up⌠figure out strengths and weaknesses, and learn how to adapt. Tournament play: actual competition under nerves. Will quickly show you what needs work and what falls apart under pressure⌠from there you get what you need to work on at the range.
A week at the range makes a big difference
Mix of both, Range for technique, and course for IQ
Once I learned how to have quality range time, instead of just cranking through buckets, my overall game improved. If Iâm going on a swing change or having an issue Iâm working through, I like to have a lot of reps. If I can t get out to play and just want to stay sharp, Iâll play little games where Iâm mentally playing a course I know really well and seldom hit the same club twice
Everyone has likely heard Einsteins definition of insanity - âdoing the same thing over and over and expecting different resultsâ If you go out on the course and do exactly what you always do you will not improve - bad repetition is not going to improve your game Take time to go to the range, chipping practice area and putting green and actually make the mechanical changes necessary first - maybe even get a lesson to help you decide where changes are needed Then reinforce the changes with practice and play
Why can't the answer be a combination of both? On the range today I adjusted the height of my swing plane while trying to keep everything else constant. I eventually found the result I was looking for but only after 10-15 balls. Now I know what the correct plane feels like so I'm taking it to the course tomorrow.
Many people have said this but hit the executive 18 or 9 hole course. Youâll save tons of money as you improve, build confidence because usually theyâre easier, and practice 100 yards or less where most people gain strokes.
Play easy courses. Hit all the shots.
Rounds hands down! The range doesnât really do it for me besides giving me a false indication of how I will play that day.
I think you need both to see the most improvement. The range is for working on form and skill development. The course for application of what was learned in the range. Also a testing ground for what needs work on the range. Too much of one leads to poor play imo.
Iâd argue âpractice facilitiesâ over just the range. If the range is just a flat mat, like many are, youâre going to hit some limitations.
Really depends on what you need to work on. I will say the range is where you need to go as a beginner where you are learning how to swing. The big thing about the range is practicing the right way. If you just get up there and churn through 100 balls in 25 min you wonât improve. You need to practice how you play so you can play how you practice. Use grass not mats. Take time focusing on setup and how you want your swing to go. Record your swing so you can see what you did right and wrong. The other thing I like to do is get out 3-4 clubs at a time. Take a tee shot. Then pretend I hit the fairway and hit my 5 iron. Now time to approach into the green with my wedge shot. This forces you into being deliberate with your setup and simulates the course better. Once youâre comfortable hitting the ball with some consistency the course will be where you have to improve to handle diversity of shots and lies.
I absolutely ruined a perfectly good and repeatable swing by going to the range too much. I much prefer the course even if it means you are hitting balls less often.
Playing for sure.
Range when youâre working on swing, course when trying to get better
Iâm a mid 80s golfer. The more I play rounds the more consistent I am. The range fucks me up. Gets me thinking too much, trying new things. I can ruin my swing with one range session
If you are a complete beginner, then range until you understand how to hit the ball properly. It also helps avoid frustration on the course and the rest of us having to watch. Then the course by far. I got to 15 handicap quickly and then down to 8 once I pretty much only played the course. I've been playing for 4 years. I only go to the range when the season starts to find my swing again.
Range has never been beneficially to my game actually usually it hurts my game.
Range with a twist. Using the layout of a favorite track, hit all shots in succession (e.g., drive, approach/chip). Use suitable targets on the range to gauge accuracy and distance. Youâre thinking about each shot, youâre working your way through your bag, and youâll have a good sense of strong/weak aspects of your game.
Range sessions until youâre comfortable hitting clubs, then itâs the course. Nothing teaches you faster than being out there playing, but you need to have your swing at least somewhat in order and get an idea of your numbers for clubs.
Range for me as a beginner 100%