My Current Range Routine

In my quest to improve I plan to address every element of my game and how I practice it. Here I will go through how I currently practice my long game in order to analyse how I can improve my practice.

When I get to the range I always spend around 5 minutes stretching and for me the most important stretches to do are ones for my thoracic spine. Before I started doing these I was always stiff for the first few shots of my practice session which I am sure only increased my chance of injury. Now I am almost ready to go straight from the first shot.

I usually start hitting with an 8 iron and for the first 2 or 3 shots I pay very little attention to the result. Regardless of how loose I feel my first shots are never going to be my best so I almost completely disregard the result of these shots. Also, for this reason I always make sure I hit at least a few shots before I go out to play. Following a few shots with my 8 iron I move into a 6 iron and begin to pay more attention to the results. After a few shots with a 6 iron, I hit a few shots with one of my hybrids, then a few shots with my driver.

I am now fully warmed up and am ready to begin the real part of my practice session. What I work on depends on if I am trying to make a swing change, get ready for a competition, or just generally sharpen my game. I try to hit as many different clubs as I can. I have never been one for spending hours using just a 6 iron to make a change because I have found I learn more quickly if I hit as many different shots as possible. If I am trying to just sharpen my game I try to hit as many different shots as possible. I find it has helped my skill level incredibly since I have started hitting draws, fades, high shots, and low shots on the range. To do this I generally do not generally focus too much on technique. I just check my setup is how I want it to be and let my body work out how to get the ball to the target in the way I want to. If I am getting ready for a competition I will often try to hit the shots I know I will need in the event. For example, if I am play a short course I may practice more with my hybrids because I know I will not always need a driver off the tee. Or if I know it is likely to be windy for the event I will practice hitting more low shots than normal.

For me, part of the point of this post is to be able to look back in one year's time and see how my routine has changed. I will be very interested to see how my practice changes as my handicap drops.