If you have any experience at all in the game of golf, you already know that the improvements you manage to make on the course are rooted in practice. If you don’t practice, you aren’t going to get better – it’s just that simple. The story is the same when it comes to learning how to string together good shots. In this section, we are going to offer some advice on how you can use your driving range time to work on the skills you will need to stay on a roll during an upcoming round.

Please review the techniques below and consider putting them into action in your next practice session.

• Take more time. The average golfer rushes through a bucket of range balls in a major hurry. One shot is sent down the range after the next, until the bucket is empty and the player is exhausted. This is a silly way to practice golf, of course, because golf is a slow game. You aren’t going to hit your shots rapidly on the course, so why practice this way? Ideally, you want your practice sessions to mirror your on-course experience as accurately as possible. To make your practice more realistic, try taking more time between each swing on the range. You don’t have to wait several minutes between shots, as you will do on the course, but you should at least walk a few steps back from the hitting area, reset, and then walk up to swing again. Not only will this help you get comfortable with taking a break between swings, but it will also allow you to focus on your technique. It’s easy to get sloppy when you rush through a bucket of range balls, and sloppy practice never helped anyone get better.
• Go back and forth between clubs. This is a big one. When most golfers practice, they pull a single club from the bag and swing it until they are happy with the result. Then, they move on to another club. Unfortunately, this method is unlikely to lead to satisfactory results. What’s wrong with this plan? Simple – you are never going to play that way on the course. For instance, if you hit 10 drivers in a row on the range, you are practicing something that will never happen on the course. During a round, you are going to hit one shot with your driver before switching to another club for the approach shot. You’ll be moving back and forth between clubs like this all day long. So, it only makes sense to practice as you are going to play. Change clubs frequently, forcing yourself to adapt to the new club and the swing needed to make it work. If you adopt this method as your standard practice plan, it is very likely that you will make improvements.
• Pick specific targets. When you find yourself practicing on a wide-open driving range, it is easy to fall into the trap of just swinging away without selecting a specific target. This temptation is particularly strong when you are using your longer clubs. Rather than having a target in mind for your practice drives, you may just swing away and watch the ball fly. As long as it flies relatively straight, you assume you’ve hit a good shot. But have you? Maybe, maybe not. You need to have a specific target in mind in order to evaluate your performance. Stringing together quality shots on the course is all about hitting your targets, so start on the range by aiming at something on each and every swing.

Good practice leads to solid performance on the course. If you are frustrated with your inability to lower your scores, there is a good chance you aren’t practicing properly. Review your current practice habits and see if you can find ways to improve them moving forward. Even small changes to your practice routine can benefit you game in the long run.