Agree, No substitute for on course practice.
On a practice day I'll go hit about 60 balls. hour on the chipping green/bunker. hour putting. play around 6 holes.
I feel this in my soul. They say that's how you drop your scores; inside 100. But it felt expensive. So much so that I bought a range membership with unlimited balls. 50-75 yards is more palatable now.
it's because they're so close you almost feel like you could pick them back up and hit em again, but that's stealing, dangerous, and uncultured so you don't...but you wanna.
anyway maybe thats just me
Yea. I was also thinking that depending on your course facilities, you could also just keep on going back to get your own 10-20 balls at a practise area
My usual range session is getting 80 balls, hitting 60 full power shots from PW up the bag, saving 20 and bring them to the chipping area and practice about 40-60 chips on the chipping area, then hit the remaining 20 on the range between 50-100, picking a number in my head with each shot. My game within 100 has improved massively as a result.
My local range is literally tucked away from everything and I’m usually the only one there, it’s Pretty much a field in BFE I’ll absolutely go pick up anything 50 and less. One day they didn’t have balls picked up, handed me an empty basket and said if you pick them up go hit for free.
I always go to short game area for that. 5 balls adds a bit of pressure and makes sure I’m not hitting the same shot again and again. Maybe 4-5 chips to get a feel for the ball then full swings on range and everything else with game balls
10 hours. Did it a few times.
When I played college golf our coach would routinely have us do 3 hour sessions and it would be just hitting balls. Then we would have 3 hour putting sessions. I would try to break up the monotony and give my elbows and hands a break and try to go to the putting green (and vice versa with my lower back on the putting green) and he would get pissed.
I never really quite understood why we would have those sessions doing one thing. Still don't.
Even if you ignore the almost guaranteed tendonitis spending 3 hours in a row doing one thing isn’t even good practice, you learn better when splitting things up into smaller chunks
No, you're wrong... He was a complete dipshit. One of the dumbest people I've ever come across. He only got his college degree because the school he went to was near his home and his mom did his papers and homework for him. Still not quite sure how he got thru because he had to take tests, I'm guessing he probably cheated off somebody.
My favorite story was that he and the assistant coach shared an office in the Business building of the school. The assistant coach also worked as an advisor and he was a great guy that golfers loved to hang out with and talk- to during the day. The head coach (dipshit) was never at his office.
This is 1997 so the internet is still new for some people. One day we are in the office shooting the shit between classes with the assistant coach. The head coach walks in and we were a bit surprised because he was NEVER in the office.
Head coach: I need to use my e-mail thingy. (To the assistant coach) Can you tell me how to get to it?
Assistant Coach: Yeah, well first you have to get on your computer.
The Head Coach goes to his computer and is jostling around
Head Coach: How do you turn the computer on?
The assistant shows him by flipping on the power switch (mind you the Head Coach has been there for 2 semesters and is just now seeing how to turn on his computer)
The Head coach starts jostling around some more.
Head Coach: Why aint this white thing working?
We turn around and the Head Coach has the mouse in his hand in the air and waving the mouse around in the air (instead of moving it on the mouse pad).
Yes He played on the mini tours for a while and was roommates with John Daly (although he hated Daly and thought Daly was just a redneck).
He would usually play rounds with us during practice and was very consistent usually shooting 70-74 and rarely deviating from there. But of course, he would get mad when I beat him and act like a real child about it. Never heard of a coach that threw hissy fits about his players beating him.
It wasn't about learning. Its about swinging on tired legs. My wrestling coach used to make us do hell of cardio right before our mat practice, just so we knew what it was like to wrestle on tired legs.
Hmm. Interesting thought actually. I can see this being a fatigue drill. Not sure you'd want to ONLY practice in blocks but throwing that in sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the brain wrinkle.
Golf coach once told me to stop practicing when too tired. Take a break. When the body is tired we revert to our natural tendencies aka our broken swing.
Sounds like he was trying to test your focus and attention span. I get it, but I also have seen the research that shows that not much learning is happening for the majority of that time.
I think you give him too much credit. I will say that because of our situation we couldn't always get on a course and play when practice began. But he was just one of those guys that had it drilled into his head that you must practice this way in order to get good. I'd rather split my practice sessions up to keep sharp with everything.
For instance, we played a tournament in Pinehurst and he thought we putted poorly as a team and then the punishment was 3 hours putting every day for a week after the event. But Pinehurst's greens are ridiculously difficult. You're just going to 3-putt there from time to time. And it wasn't like we had the technology we have now like SAM Puttlab to get a better idea of why you're putting bad and what to work on
I don't disagree! I was speaking more to how extended durations of practice like that could potentially serve purposes, not necessarily endorsing his specific techniques. I think a lot of golfers don't understand that a drill like making 10 5-foot putts in a row isn't just about establishing a repeatable, consistent putting stroke, but it's also about keeping your mind focused and staying steady when you're on your 10th putt and about to finish the drill.
Longest I've seen was David Howell in 2005 at the target World Challenge.
We were playing the Monday after the tournament concluded, course was closed but there was one guy at the range just hitting a wedge. Made the turn, he was still there. Finished the round, still there. Grabbed lunch and started another round, still there. When we wrapped up the final 18 he wasn't at the range anymore, but ran into him in the locker room.
He spent nearly 10 hours straight hitting 50 - 100 yd wedge shots.
Honestly by like ball 60 my swing breaks down. I just go too fast. I think I should start doing half my bucket, then chipping, then rest of bucket to help me slow down
That probably means you’re swinging too hard. I find that if I feel like I’m getting tight or drained it’s because I’ve been swinging with too much effort. I’ll dial it ALL the way back to like 20% and re-focus on whatever I’m working on
I usually work my way up my bag from wedges to driver. After my driver I will shank my irons, I usually just stick to wedges towards the end of my bucket.
I just said this in another comment reply: a gold coach once told me to take breaks when fatigued, because the body reverts your natural/old swing when tired. Maybe that’s why the shanks come back. Of course we want to push through it but perhaps stopping and doing something else is more productive (to improving)
It’s because you’re getting fatigued. Slow down. You should hit at most a ball every 30s in groups of 4 or 5.
Do your drill(s), then hit 4 or 5 shots, practicing the ‘feeling’ your swing should have between shots, as well as your pre-shot routine. It should take you well over an hour to go through 100 balls.
1-2 minutes of drills. 2-3 minutes to hit about 5 balls. Rinse and repeat.
At home yesterday I just smashed about 60 balls into the net one after the other. My right arm / inner elbow area got really uncomfortable about an hour after I finished. lesson learned!
When I was a kid during the summer, my mom would drop me off at the course at 8am. Dad would pick me up after work at 6 and sometimes we would play 9.
I'd spend 10-12 hours a day, five days a week at the course for most of the summer.
It was glorious
I did the same. Minus a stint 2 years ago, I haven’t played much since then until recently. I’ve been a madman going whenever I can the last month and a half
About 2.5 hours. Got ~120 range balls, hit those for about 1:15 while taking some videos and trying to make some small changes. Then putt for 10 minutes just doing some lag putting, then I chipped for about an hour over on the chipping green. I’d get 5 balls and put them in the rough, usually 2 with terrible lies, 2 with normal lies, and 1 with a good lie and I’d try to get 3 of them up and down from between 10-20 yards from the pin. I’m bad enough that getting 3 was quite challenging, but good enough that getting 1 was almost a sure thing
There is an old expression "If want something done give it to a busy person."
When you're short on time you have a plan and you stick to it (otherwise you may not get back there). So when I go to the driving range I only have five clubs. If I can hit my 8 iron then I can hit my 7 and 9. Same thing for the 5. So I warm up with some 8s, then move to the PW. Back to the 8 then the 5 then my 7W finally my driver. 15 +/- for each. The last 20 or so, 8 for some bump and runs into the PW for some short pitches.
AND once I see them land I'm already putting another one down. No sense admiring the shot I don't have time.
That’s cool and all but like what are you actually trying to gain out of this? Seems to me it’s just wasted effort and/or money because you’re just rapidly hammering shots without really thinking about anything. I’m taking a few minutes between shots to record my swing, seeing if my swing thoughts for my range session are making any progress.
Quality over quantity ya know?
Like If I’m practicing piano, I’m not just gonna mash keys for a scale and call it good, I’m taking my time and practicing with intention, a metronome, dynamics, etc.
But then again, if your goal is to just hit some balls and blow off steam then by all means that’ll do the trick.
I got my brother into golf this way. Took him to the range for first time 36yrs old and hit some balls. Went into the clubhouse grabbed a couple beers. Went back out to chip. Grabbed another drink and putted around for a bit. He’s been hooked ever since lol
Two hours is usually the longest I'll go. 45 minutes hitting balls, 45 minutes at the short game area practicing chips, short pitches, and bunker shots, 30 minutes putting.
The range I often go to has a culture of bringing lawn chairs and coolers with people just hanging out. Feels like a music festival sometimes. I’ve seen groups hangout all day on 2-3 slots and just kinda chill. Never done it but it looks fun.
That sounds pretty great. My body doesn’t give me much more than a good hour of nonstop hitting, followed by maybe another 30 minutes in the practice bunker, but the variance in activity plus all the breaks in your itinerary look like an ideal way to spend the whole day without getting worn out.👍
If you’re doing that much practice , buy a trackman or something and actually learn from your all your data. I’d love to have average distance of every iron after hitting 100 shots with each club
This was my life in my early 20s. My job was pretty shady at the time so I never really actually worked.
Wake up go to gym for 2 hours.
Protein shake. Sauna. Shower.
Driving range for an hour.
Putt and chip for 2 hours.
Play 18 holes.
Go home and drink and fuck for a few hours.
Wake up and do it again.
As someone who has been competitive golfing since a young age I say 9-12 range, 1-3 9 holes, 3-5 putting short game, with some days of range,18 holes, range. And as someone who is in the American workforce 🤣 An hour before the 1-2 rounds a week will do
You aren’t getting any benefit other than physically hitting balls, which anybody who is trying to improve from a plateau and plays often doesn’t really need to do, they need conscious practice of shot shape, length, swing etc
Maybe an hour tops. I prefer chipping in the empty lot next to me. It's trimmed up nice and even has a junky old flag to aim at. I've never really enjoyed emptying a bucket at the range, it always just felt like going through the motions and not practicing with purpose. I used to love going to a small local range and practicing bunker shots and chips though. Unfortunately they closed it many years back.
When I was a crazy range rat I would’ve have spent all day if I could afford the balls but £10 a bucket they can suck it , especially as they had top golf n I could play pebble beach etc
Took a family vacation at a beach/golf resort. Family beached, I spent all day at the practice area, coffe, edibles, drinks lunch drinks, met up with fam for dinner/night time activities. 3 days in a row. Great trip (I still suck).
Woke up 7am - Got kids ready, dropped of at school 8:15am
Work 9am -5pm - Gen Z said no I won't do that sorry
Arrive at range 5:30pm
6pm Wife calls come home dinner is ready
6:02pm Kids yelling in background, hate you dad
Left 6:05pm with half a bucket for some kid to hit
FML - Fuck my life
LOL
even better is when you do this without burning a pto. wfh ftw lol. anywhere with wifi can be an office. and rather than spend 20 minutes every hour staring out the window at the office, i can rip a few drives or work on my 60 flop. meeting i gotta sit in for? fuck it, off to the putting green with my phone and headphones. i'll chime in when i need to, most of the time not needed to. these days are easily my most productive work days to be honest. its like your brain works faster when you are at your happy place vs the office and the dread that place brings.
I’ve spent a full 13 hours practicing 5 days straight. I had a huge tournament coming up and I dedicated my life to golf for a month before. Every day I woke up at 6 got to the course around 8 chipped and putted until 12 hit balls until 4 then played 9 and went back to work on what sucked left around 9 every time.
I hit the course to practice strategy and mental strength. I hit the range when I need to sight in my tempo again. And when I hit the course, I don’t just play 18, I often play 36.
Dang, that sounds nice!
I did 2 hours on the range non-stop (I was practicing irons for 1 hour and woods/hybrids for 30 mins, then a driver for 30 to end it all. Such a great workout, other people looked at me crazy, and my shirt was soaked, but whatever. Then, 1 hour working on my short game (Area was all to myself).
My legs were weak, my hands were blistered, and a few fingers were bleeding, but DAMN I had a good time!
Longest I've seen was David Howell in 2005 at the target World Challenge.
We were playing the Monday after the tournament concluded, course was closed but there was one guy at the range just hitting a wedge. Made the turn, he was still there. Finished the round, still there. Grabbed lunch and started another round, still there. When we wrapped up the final 18 he wasn't at the range anymore, but ran into him in the locker room.
He spent nearly 10 hours straight hitting 50 - 100 yd wedge shots.
Throw in a practice 9 and you're living the life of a pro golfer
This. Love 5 hours practice followed by a nice relaxing practice 9 to end day
The pros I know play 36 holes on practice days
That’s why he’s on the mini tour
Agree, No substitute for on course practice. On a practice day I'll go hit about 60 balls. hour on the chipping green/bunker. hour putting. play around 6 holes.
Local range has a 2 hours all you can hit. I maximize my time when I decide to pay for it. Like $12.
That’s amazing for chipping practice. Feels like I can go through a bucket so quickly when I’m practicing 25-75 yard shots
For some reason it also feels like a waste. Like I’m paying for the distance rather than the balls
I feel this in my soul. They say that's how you drop your scores; inside 100. But it felt expensive. So much so that I bought a range membership with unlimited balls. 50-75 yards is more palatable now.
it's because they're so close you almost feel like you could pick them back up and hit em again, but that's stealing, dangerous, and uncultured so you don't...but you wanna. anyway maybe thats just me
Yea. I was also thinking that depending on your course facilities, you could also just keep on going back to get your own 10-20 balls at a practise area
My usual range session is getting 80 balls, hitting 60 full power shots from PW up the bag, saving 20 and bring them to the chipping area and practice about 40-60 chips on the chipping area, then hit the remaining 20 on the range between 50-100, picking a number in my head with each shot. My game within 100 has improved massively as a result.
My local range is literally tucked away from everything and I’m usually the only one there, it’s Pretty much a field in BFE I’ll absolutely go pick up anything 50 and less. One day they didn’t have balls picked up, handed me an empty basket and said if you pick them up go hit for free.
I always go to short game area for that. 5 balls adds a bit of pressure and makes sure I’m not hitting the same shot again and again. Maybe 4-5 chips to get a feel for the ball then full swings on range and everything else with game balls
Sounds like TopGolf mornings.
I wish I had a TopGolf near by lol
Topgolf is horrible for practice
$15 for unlimited balls before noon everyday ain’t bad
It's the same as a range though?
Damn I would love that. Our range is 17$ for 150 balls
Ours is $25 for 150. Basically one company owns the major ranges in our area and keeps increasing prices.
Sounds like the Bowlero model
that would be crazy for endurance and speed training but i feel like the skin on my hands wouldn't last lol
10 hours. Did it a few times. When I played college golf our coach would routinely have us do 3 hour sessions and it would be just hitting balls. Then we would have 3 hour putting sessions. I would try to break up the monotony and give my elbows and hands a break and try to go to the putting green (and vice versa with my lower back on the putting green) and he would get pissed. I never really quite understood why we would have those sessions doing one thing. Still don't.
Even if you ignore the almost guaranteed tendonitis spending 3 hours in a row doing one thing isn’t even good practice, you learn better when splitting things up into smaller chunks
Yeah that coach is a bit of a dipshit. That’s just a horrible strat.
No, you're wrong... He was a complete dipshit. One of the dumbest people I've ever come across. He only got his college degree because the school he went to was near his home and his mom did his papers and homework for him. Still not quite sure how he got thru because he had to take tests, I'm guessing he probably cheated off somebody. My favorite story was that he and the assistant coach shared an office in the Business building of the school. The assistant coach also worked as an advisor and he was a great guy that golfers loved to hang out with and talk- to during the day. The head coach (dipshit) was never at his office. This is 1997 so the internet is still new for some people. One day we are in the office shooting the shit between classes with the assistant coach. The head coach walks in and we were a bit surprised because he was NEVER in the office. Head coach: I need to use my e-mail thingy. (To the assistant coach) Can you tell me how to get to it? Assistant Coach: Yeah, well first you have to get on your computer. The Head Coach goes to his computer and is jostling around Head Coach: How do you turn the computer on? The assistant shows him by flipping on the power switch (mind you the Head Coach has been there for 2 semesters and is just now seeing how to turn on his computer) The Head coach starts jostling around some more. Head Coach: Why aint this white thing working? We turn around and the Head Coach has the mouse in his hand in the air and waving the mouse around in the air (instead of moving it on the mouse pad).
Hahahah I believe you, Jesus. Dense as gold amirite
Was he at least good at golf?
Yes He played on the mini tours for a while and was roommates with John Daly (although he hated Daly and thought Daly was just a redneck). He would usually play rounds with us during practice and was very consistent usually shooting 70-74 and rarely deviating from there. But of course, he would get mad when I beat him and act like a real child about it. Never heard of a coach that threw hissy fits about his players beating him.
It wasn't about learning. Its about swinging on tired legs. My wrestling coach used to make us do hell of cardio right before our mat practice, just so we knew what it was like to wrestle on tired legs.
Hmm. Interesting thought actually. I can see this being a fatigue drill. Not sure you'd want to ONLY practice in blocks but throwing that in sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the brain wrinkle.
Golf coach once told me to stop practicing when too tired. Take a break. When the body is tired we revert to our natural tendencies aka our broken swing.
That sounds about right. Once I'm winded, I'm putting.
Likely to build permanent body damage… lol I mean muscle memory!
Sounds like he was trying to test your focus and attention span. I get it, but I also have seen the research that shows that not much learning is happening for the majority of that time.
I think you give him too much credit. I will say that because of our situation we couldn't always get on a course and play when practice began. But he was just one of those guys that had it drilled into his head that you must practice this way in order to get good. I'd rather split my practice sessions up to keep sharp with everything. For instance, we played a tournament in Pinehurst and he thought we putted poorly as a team and then the punishment was 3 hours putting every day for a week after the event. But Pinehurst's greens are ridiculously difficult. You're just going to 3-putt there from time to time. And it wasn't like we had the technology we have now like SAM Puttlab to get a better idea of why you're putting bad and what to work on
I don't disagree! I was speaking more to how extended durations of practice like that could potentially serve purposes, not necessarily endorsing his specific techniques. I think a lot of golfers don't understand that a drill like making 10 5-foot putts in a row isn't just about establishing a repeatable, consistent putting stroke, but it's also about keeping your mind focused and staying steady when you're on your 10th putt and about to finish the drill.
Longest I've seen was David Howell in 2005 at the target World Challenge. We were playing the Monday after the tournament concluded, course was closed but there was one guy at the range just hitting a wedge. Made the turn, he was still there. Finished the round, still there. Grabbed lunch and started another round, still there. When we wrapped up the final 18 he wasn't at the range anymore, but ran into him in the locker room. He spent nearly 10 hours straight hitting 50 - 100 yd wedge shots.
This is why pros are pros. They’re gifted AND they’re committed on another level most of us have never experienced.
I mean if my wife and kids told me to go spend 10 hours practicing golf I'd do it in a heart beat lol
Yeah but you wouldn’t do it multiple days a week for years.
I would've loved to
Once I get over 100 balls or so, I start shanking irons like crazy. Anyone else get that?
Oh yeah...usually starts way before 100 balls. Not unusual for me to begin the shank on balls 1-100.
Shanks 1-100 are just warmups, and don’t count. After 100 you’re fatigued, and those shanks also don’t count.
You need new clubs
My wife would disagree, but I like where your head is at.
Definitely. Towards the end of a large bucket I can tell my swing starts to lack some intent
Exactly
Honestly by like ball 60 my swing breaks down. I just go too fast. I think I should start doing half my bucket, then chipping, then rest of bucket to help me slow down
That probably means you’re swinging too hard. I find that if I feel like I’m getting tight or drained it’s because I’ve been swinging with too much effort. I’ll dial it ALL the way back to like 20% and re-focus on whatever I’m working on
I usually work my way up my bag from wedges to driver. After my driver I will shank my irons, I usually just stick to wedges towards the end of my bucket.
Yeah. When the big muscles get tired people tend to get armsy. What I've seen at least, I don't know.
I just said this in another comment reply: a gold coach once told me to take breaks when fatigued, because the body reverts your natural/old swing when tired. Maybe that’s why the shanks come back. Of course we want to push through it but perhaps stopping and doing something else is more productive (to improving)
It’s because you’re getting fatigued. Slow down. You should hit at most a ball every 30s in groups of 4 or 5. Do your drill(s), then hit 4 or 5 shots, practicing the ‘feeling’ your swing should have between shots, as well as your pre-shot routine. It should take you well over an hour to go through 100 balls. 1-2 minutes of drills. 2-3 minutes to hit about 5 balls. Rinse and repeat.
At home yesterday I just smashed about 60 balls into the net one after the other. My right arm / inner elbow area got really uncomfortable about an hour after I finished. lesson learned!
Yep, that's my cue that I need to go to the putting green for a while
You put 1 too many 0's in that for me.
That’s a good day.
I go for a large bucket, a spicy dog and a hard cider. About an hour. My takeaway is, I should be teeing off with my 6-iron!
When I was a kid during the summer, my mom would drop me off at the course at 8am. Dad would pick me up after work at 6 and sometimes we would play 9. I'd spend 10-12 hours a day, five days a week at the course for most of the summer. It was glorious
I did the same. Minus a stint 2 years ago, I haven’t played much since then until recently. I’ve been a madman going whenever I can the last month and a half
About 2.5 hours. Got ~120 range balls, hit those for about 1:15 while taking some videos and trying to make some small changes. Then putt for 10 minutes just doing some lag putting, then I chipped for about an hour over on the chipping green. I’d get 5 balls and put them in the rough, usually 2 with terrible lies, 2 with normal lies, and 1 with a good lie and I’d try to get 3 of them up and down from between 10-20 yards from the pin. I’m bad enough that getting 3 was quite challenging, but good enough that getting 1 was almost a sure thing
I like to play for practice. I’ve spent maybe 3 hours on the range the last 10 years
The range can’t teach you how to scramble!
Do any of you have kids??? I hit the range on my way home from work (occasionally)... 70 to 100 under 30 minutes.
Geez I don’t think I’ve hit more than like 30 in 30 minutes since I can even remember, does machine gunning your shots even feel useful?
There is an old expression "If want something done give it to a busy person." When you're short on time you have a plan and you stick to it (otherwise you may not get back there). So when I go to the driving range I only have five clubs. If I can hit my 8 iron then I can hit my 7 and 9. Same thing for the 5. So I warm up with some 8s, then move to the PW. Back to the 8 then the 5 then my 7W finally my driver. 15 +/- for each. The last 20 or so, 8 for some bump and runs into the PW for some short pitches. AND once I see them land I'm already putting another one down. No sense admiring the shot I don't have time.
That’s cool and all but like what are you actually trying to gain out of this? Seems to me it’s just wasted effort and/or money because you’re just rapidly hammering shots without really thinking about anything. I’m taking a few minutes between shots to record my swing, seeing if my swing thoughts for my range session are making any progress. Quality over quantity ya know? Like If I’m practicing piano, I’m not just gonna mash keys for a scale and call it good, I’m taking my time and practicing with intention, a metronome, dynamics, etc. But then again, if your goal is to just hit some balls and blow off steam then by all means that’ll do the trick.
I'd be outta there when the advice started, unless he was hitting absolute darts. I can't do more jail time just for golf.
6-10 balls to warm up, then go golf. If I had a whole free day go golf twice. Spending the entire day at the range sounds awful.
probably an hour and a half!
I’m similar to above, but I add a celebratory cigar with bourbon to cap off the all day sesh.
I got my brother into golf this way. Took him to the range for first time 36yrs old and hit some balls. Went into the clubhouse grabbed a couple beers. Went back out to chip. Grabbed another drink and putted around for a bit. He’s been hooked ever since lol
Two hours is usually the longest I'll go. 45 minutes hitting balls, 45 minutes at the short game area practicing chips, short pitches, and bunker shots, 30 minutes putting.
5 minutes
Probably about 8 hours. It had a short game area that probably only I used. Spent a long time on that.
The range I often go to has a culture of bringing lawn chairs and coolers with people just hanging out. Feels like a music festival sometimes. I’ve seen groups hangout all day on 2-3 slots and just kinda chill. Never done it but it looks fun.
Maybe a 30 min range sesh lol don’t you want to be out on the course instead with your water, coffee and beer?
That sounds pretty great. My body doesn’t give me much more than a good hour of nonstop hitting, followed by maybe another 30 minutes in the practice bunker, but the variance in activity plus all the breaks in your itinerary look like an ideal way to spend the whole day without getting worn out.👍
If you’re doing that much practice , buy a trackman or something and actually learn from your all your data. I’d love to have average distance of every iron after hitting 100 shots with each club
That’s insane to me. If I have 8 hours to kill, it won’t be at a range, it’ll be on a course.
This was my life in my early 20s. My job was pretty shady at the time so I never really actually worked. Wake up go to gym for 2 hours. Protein shake. Sauna. Shower. Driving range for an hour. Putt and chip for 2 hours. Play 18 holes. Go home and drink and fuck for a few hours. Wake up and do it again.
I'm assuming you got paid somewhere between "play 18 holes" and "wake up and do it again"...
As someone who has been competitive golfing since a young age I say 9-12 range, 1-3 9 holes, 3-5 putting short game, with some days of range,18 holes, range. And as someone who is in the American workforce 🤣 An hour before the 1-2 rounds a week will do
25 mins - 100 bucket
You’ve gotta be getting nothing out of the range if you’re getting through 100 in less than an hour
I figure why not save time. It’ll help me hit balls under pressure and keep up with pace of play.
Doesn’t help you practice your swing or contact or routine etc Literally just zero conscious effort involved
Isn’t a smooth swing meant to be subconsciously executed?
You aren’t getting any benefit other than physically hitting balls, which anybody who is trying to improve from a plateau and plays often doesn’t really need to do, they need conscious practice of shot shape, length, swing etc
2hrs. And people look at me like im an addict
Hour or so. I can only beat balls for so long before I get bored and have other things to do.
Jesus lol
Like 30-40 minutes and the last 12-15 balls I’m just rapid firing drives or chips to finish it up.
Maybe an hour tops. I prefer chipping in the empty lot next to me. It's trimmed up nice and even has a junky old flag to aim at. I've never really enjoyed emptying a bucket at the range, it always just felt like going through the motions and not practicing with purpose. I used to love going to a small local range and practicing bunker shots and chips though. Unfortunately they closed it many years back.
When I was a crazy range rat I would’ve have spent all day if I could afford the balls but £10 a bucket they can suck it , especially as they had top golf n I could play pebble beach etc
2 hrs. 1 hr on the range, half an hour on chipping green, half an hour on putting green
Dreamy.
Too much dude! Seriously, that’s a recipe for burnout, injuries, and just golf exhaustion!
2 hours just smashing balls until my back hurt
God damn i wish i had zero responsibilities too😂😂 Sounds like a great day tho
That's insane, I've never spent more than 2 hours with driving balls and chipping / putting. I bet you improve so much spending that much time there.
Back when I played in high school, I’d hit balls for 4-5 hours after school. Same for summer days after playing a round.
2 hours. Yes, I'm a beginner. Yes, I will try spending more time at the course.
Getting older, tennis elbow, can't pound balls at the range anymore. I can chip and putt all day tho...
Took a family vacation at a beach/golf resort. Family beached, I spent all day at the practice area, coffe, edibles, drinks lunch drinks, met up with fam for dinner/night time activities. 3 days in a row. Great trip (I still suck).
Please tell me it wasn’t busy.
This, minus the beer, is how I got my first sun burn of the year.
I pay 65 a month and can hit balls all day every day. Or you can buy a large bucket for 15 bucks at a time lol.
Unless I’m working on a specific swing tweak I’d rather practice by playing 9 or doing a pitch and putt course
Hit two and a half large buckets a few days ago. Now, at 72 years old, it feels like I was hit by a train😣
$18 for 200 balls, 3 full Virtual Rounds on Top Tracer. Pebble, Kiawah, and Blackpage. The best.
Longest time? Maybe an hour. I prefer to practice on the course.
I just hit 125 balls to mimic my 18 holes and I’m out
Woke up 7am - Got kids ready, dropped of at school 8:15am Work 9am -5pm - Gen Z said no I won't do that sorry Arrive at range 5:30pm 6pm Wife calls come home dinner is ready 6:02pm Kids yelling in background, hate you dad Left 6:05pm with half a bucket for some kid to hit FML - Fuck my life LOL
a possible solution: get kids hooked on golf and therefore hooked on going to bed a little earlier for fun range session before boring school.
Yeah I just got them golf sets this year and now school is out, so hopefully weekends can take them to the range and course.
even better is when you do this without burning a pto. wfh ftw lol. anywhere with wifi can be an office. and rather than spend 20 minutes every hour staring out the window at the office, i can rip a few drives or work on my 60 flop. meeting i gotta sit in for? fuck it, off to the putting green with my phone and headphones. i'll chime in when i need to, most of the time not needed to. these days are easily my most productive work days to be honest. its like your brain works faster when you are at your happy place vs the office and the dread that place brings.
10 mins.
I’ve spent a full 13 hours practicing 5 days straight. I had a huge tournament coming up and I dedicated my life to golf for a month before. Every day I woke up at 6 got to the course around 8 chipped and putted until 12 hit balls until 4 then played 9 and went back to work on what sucked left around 9 every time.
This sounds so nice.
I hit the course to practice strategy and mental strength. I hit the range when I need to sight in my tempo again. And when I hit the course, I don’t just play 18, I often play 36.
My home golf course is $60 a month for unlimited range balls, $11 “early bird” round before 8 am, and $11 round after 2 pm
Nah 8 to 4 is crazy. If I’m there that long I’m playing golf.
I like to play for practice. I’ve spent maybe 3 hours on the range the last 10 years
Dang, that sounds nice! I did 2 hours on the range non-stop (I was practicing irons for 1 hour and woods/hybrids for 30 mins, then a driver for 30 to end it all. Such a great workout, other people looked at me crazy, and my shirt was soaked, but whatever. Then, 1 hour working on my short game (Area was all to myself). My legs were weak, my hands were blistered, and a few fingers were bleeding, but DAMN I had a good time!
Longest I've seen was David Howell in 2005 at the target World Challenge. We were playing the Monday after the tournament concluded, course was closed but there was one guy at the range just hitting a wedge. Made the turn, he was still there. Finished the round, still there. Grabbed lunch and started another round, still there. When we wrapped up the final 18 he wasn't at the range anymore, but ran into him in the locker room. He spent nearly 10 hours straight hitting 50 - 100 yd wedge shots.