You're Correct!

There is no greater reward than transferring driving range form to the golf course. However, everyone that has been to the driving range and played superbly has not always been able to transfer it on to the golf course. Equally, those golfers who have been to the local range and played badly can still play well on the course.

It is vitally important that your practise sessions can be replicated to the golf course, providing it has been a good session.

Whilst practising, it is important to keep changing targets so that you arent stuck hitting ball after ball to the same place with the same club because this can leads you into a false sense of security about your game. It may take 4, 5, 6 or more shots to hit the one you want to hit.

Changing targets means a constant change of alignment and adjustment in set up. It means that for every shot you need to re-check your ball position, width of stance, grip, shoulder alignment and posture.

If you can use an outdoor driving range off grass then you can also try some sloping lies because not all shots on the golf course are kind enough to be perfectly flat. During the session you should also try and play some mock holes where you give yourself a fairway width to hit the driver, then maybe make it narrower for a hybrid second shot, followed by a pin approximately 100 yards away and then chip around 10-20 yards. This will allow you to use all aspects of your game from the big bombing driver to the delicate little finesse shot around the green but more importantly to put pressure on you to execute them first time.

These practise drills will give you the confidence to use them on the golf course and be confident with every club in your bag.

The worst thing a player can do whilst practising is set up to the same target and repeatedly hit balls there, especially if they are playing well. If you are working on something specific then thats what is necessary but when hitting the ball well and feeling confident you should constantly change your alignment and targets.

One thing primarily overlooked at the driving range is the weather conditions because we are not too worried if a target is missed or if the shot distance is right as we tend to mis-judge or forget about wind conditions or the outside temperature, especially in covered driving ranges. Try to consider these factors so you can adapt well on the course.

One thing we certainly cannot do and in most cases do not want to do is take the driving range balls on to the course. Most balls from the driving range have been hit hundreds or thousands of times and have lost their quality. Some driving ranges do not use 100% golf balls. They may only use balls that are designed to travel 85% of the distance and this is not what you want for the course!