Driving Ranges and Expectation

[Kyle Harris]

On Dan Hermann's Hidden Bunkers thread, the discussion has touched on the mindset of the golfer. Sean Arble pointed out that hidden hazards can cause the golfer anxiety on the tee.

I began to ask myself why and have a theory I feel worthy of discussion.

Have Driving Ranges caused golfers to feel an unrealistic expectation of return on time invested practicing?

On a range, the golfer is typically practicing toward a visible target with visible and immediate results. It is only naturally to feel that the golfer would then come to expect to simply be able to take that range practice out on the golf course. Don't hidden hazards, and blindness in general, work against that sort of mindset? Is the golfer, in the attempt to perfect the swing, ignoring the aspect of the game that deals with being prepared to improvise?

[Jaeger Kovich]

I think thats the difference between practice and the game with any sport.


... where is allen iverson?

[Mark Manuel]

In baseball they describe players as "5:00 Hitters" which translates to looking great during batting practice with no ability to take that swing and those results to a game.  In golf we call them Ranger Ricks.

On the range you hit a ball every minute, on the course not so often.  On the range there are no bad bounces, on the course there are plenty.  On the range there is no pressure, on the course there is plenty.

Someone quoted Brad Faxon recently "Putt like you don't care."  On the range you swing like you don't care and that makes it easier.  On the course you swing like you care and that may be the biggest difference of all.

[Stephen Brown]

Kyle:


I guess it depends on what and how one chooses to practice.  Practice can serve two purposes:  improving fundamentals and learning to "play" shots.

The latter being so much more fun.....I suggest "Every Shot Must Have a Purpose" as an example of how to make practice fun and increase your enjoyment of time spent playing.

I recognize not quite the answer you were looking for, but your question implies that all are practicing the same thing while on the practice range...

Steve

[Dan Boerger]

I think you bring up a good point Kyle. It's easy to stand at the range and bang away ... you'll get those pure shots that give (at least to me) a feeling of satisfaction. 20 minutes, 50 shots and you feel like you've put in a good session.

The more difficult thing to practice, however, is the short game. Although most shots occur from 80 yards and in, very few golfers practice this in proportion.

[Eric Franzen]

Interesting.

It is one thing to practice a certain shot on the range.
It's a complete different thing trying to execute that shot on the course.

The biggest difference between the two mentioned situations is the feeling of pressure, I guess.

So, yes. The majority of golfers don't practice with a clear purpose. We can sometimes fool ourself that we master a faded mw4 after half a bucket of balls on the practice tee. That creates high expectations. And of course, frustration shows it's ugly face when we can't live up to these when it is time to execute.

But I don't know. A visible hazard, like a pond in front of the green, still makes me grip the club a bit harder if I stand over a certain kind of shot. I am not sure, but sometimes it feels like it is easier to just let go and grip and rip it if I don't see the hazard. Hit and hope, you know. When I have everything in front of me there is no one left to blame but myself.  

[Jason Topp]

Kyle - you may be right - except in my experience people do not practice a whole lot.

Nonetheless, I remember working hard one winter on my swing and then really having difficulty bringing it to the course, particularly for iron shots.  I concluded that practicing off pure flat lies for a winter and then transitioning to our undulating fairways was a big transition that was a very signficant difference in the shots I was attempting. 

I also think that I give myself a break when hitting on a range.  I will play practice "rounds" on the range and I count any solid, straight shot as winding up in a good spot.  On the course, wind, elevation, poor alignment, misjudged distance or other stupid mistakes make that assumption a shaky one at best.  I suspect that for me the notion of hitting it better on the range is more myth than fact.

[RJ_Daley]

I used to be a very enthusiastic ball beater.  I love to go to the range and after warming up with 25-30 swings, begin to go through the bag alternating clubs every 2-3 balls and picking different targets on the range and try to shape shots.  But, I'd do that on off days when not actually playing.  I'd rather only take a warm-up of 20-30 balls before actually playing a round.  

Range design is very important, IMO.  The biggest thing about a range practice session in my view is the ranges that don't restrict you to just a specific teeing line and space.  I like to go to the side of the teeing line box and hit from side hill lies in rough, etc.  One range I use has a bad quirk that is not noticable but delliterious to one's game with repetitive practice.  that is that the teeing line is canted for drainage about 2 degrees forward.  The line is so big and deep, you don't quite see it.  But, if you go beat 100 or more balls there, you sort of groove in a stance that has too much weight on front foot, and then you play and you are off kilter in your stance weight balance.  (at least it is so for me and I have to watch that)

But, the range at the course you happen to be playing that day sets a tone as well.  I love the range and practice area at Wild Horse. Also, Bayside (also designed by Bunkerhill) has a good facility. The range at WH plays into the prevailing, the putting green is world class, and the short game green and bunkers are perfectly a preview of the course.  Whistling Straits also has a tremendous practice range, IMO.  

If I were designing a course, and had the luxuary of budget and space, I wouldn't skimp on a good range /practice design.

And as you probably know Kyle... the range is a great place to spray out excess tank mixes...