When most golfers go to the range to practice, what they are really doing is raking golf ball after golf ball over and fidgeting with their swing.
They typically don’t have a target in mind and are simply trying different things and interpreting results by how things feel. I have talked about this before and have stated how this can be beneficial for the beginner and occasionally for the better player, but not all of the time.
The danger, of course, is coming away from these sessions with a sense of improvement, yet your play on the golf course is no better.
Training between rounds should be a quantifiable measure of the state of your game and makes the time on the range much more productive and realistic.
Pick a target, and I tell my students to use 10 balls and hit them to the target and judge how many are within a certain diametre.
Choose a smaller diametre for closer targets, and a larger one for farther targets based on your ability. This can always be adjusted as you improve.
The general rule is, you should be successful approximately 50 per cent of the time. By using 10 balls, it is easy to determine a percentage that you can track as a score to beat. If you are successful 30 per cent of the time or less, make your diametre larger.
If you are successful 70 per cent of the time or more, make your diametre smaller.
You can use different clubs to go to the same target or try hitting some with a higher or lower trajectory, etc.
The point is, you are working on results and not thinking about mechanics. This is certainly the way you want to play the game, and this type of training will produce better results on the course.
This can be done either summer or winter. With Trackman technology for indoor golf, there is the possibility of hitting to a fixed target or random targets set at a range of yardages set by you. The old days of just hitting balls into a net are long gone.
Trackman will even give you a score on each shot and an overall average for your 10 shots. Two people could do the same test if you want to build in a bit of competition, which again makes this time a lot more fun.
For instance, a circular 5,000-square-foot green would have a diameter of approximately 80 feet. Test yourself to know if you can hit it into this diameter 50 per cent of the time from 150 yards. If you can, then you would be putting half of the time.
Hopefully if your putting is good, you will be able to sink some of those putts for birdie. That makes for an enjoyable day on the golf course!
Technology is certainly available to everyone to improve their game. It is controllable and the best part about it is you can use it to identify the strengths and weaknesses in your game.
Tom Clark is the director of instruction at Timberwolf Academy and is Level 2 Trackman certified. Email him at timberwolfacademy.com, follow him on Twitter at @tomclarkgolfpro or phone him at 705-691-6019.
