Making the most of practice: What range activity is best today?

Many players spend time on the practice tee, and what they are doing on the practice tee often determines how good of a player they are. There is a saying in golf: "The longest walk in golf is from the practice tee to the first tee." The physical distance may not be much at all, but the premise is that as good as you may strike the ball on the range, it does not translate easily to the golf course.

The three types of full-swing practice modes that I recommend are designed for players in different stages of their game; warming up prior to playing a round of golf constitutes the most familiar of the modes. Practicing in which players hit many balls with the same club over and over to groove or correct the swing is the second most popular. The third and least popular is round simulation or what I call "practicing with a purpose." Let's cover each of these in detail.

Most players arrive early for their scheduled tee time in order to warm up on the practice tee. This is a good idea, as with any athletic activity, the body should be prepared gradually for the activity whether it is stretching, jogging, swinging slowly, etc. This helps to prevent injury. (Yes, some players do get injured swinging a golf club.)

After stretching/prepping the body to swing, starting with shorter clubs and working to longer clubs is a good idea as the shorter clubs are easier to control. I like to think of warming up as simply finding the bottom of the swing for a range of clubs (shorter, mid and long).

Ball position can vary week to week or day to day. It is important to make adjustments to our ball position for the swing we brought to the golf course that day.

This is not the time to be making swing changes as more than likely the changes will not transfer to the golf course in such a short period of time. We should limit our swing keys to one or two thoughts (being specific or general) to take onto the golf course. The last few swings should be made with the club you will use on the first tee and a few swings with the anticipated approach club.

Practicing in its most simple form is just repetition. This is when we are making changes to our swing and trying to build muscle memory into the new motion. Using the same club for many swings in a row to build confidence in the changes is encouraged.

This is the mode most people find themselves in even if they are not making changes or "grooving a rhythm." This mode does not prepare a player for the golf course as we rarely play the same club on consecutive swings.

I advise students to simulate a round of golf on the practice tee as often as they can. This is called round simulation.

Many players struggle to find the time to get onto the golf course for four (sometimes more than five) hours but can more easily make time for practice. After "warming up" I encourage students to play a round of golf from the practice tee. Using a course they are familiar with or even a scorecard from their bag, choose a club for the tee shot on No. 1.

Then, depending on how well the shot was executed, select the next club based on the previous result. You would continue this procedure throughout the round including pitch or chip shots where you may have "missed the green."

The normal progression of club selection during a round of golf is what we rarely practice for: long club (driver) to short or middle club (9 iron or 5 iron) to a wedge (pitch or chip onto the green). The key is to work through your bag in manner you would on the golf course.

Accept your poor shots as such and select the next club/shot accordingly. You may notice that you struggle on the practice tee with the same shots/clubs as you do on the golf course. Make notes as you come across club/shot sequences that give you trouble. After the "round" you may want to work on some of the shot sequences to execute them better in your next round whether it is on the course or "simulated."

There is no easy way of taking the practice tee mentality to the golf course as there is no urgency to each swing, while on the golf course each shot matters (at the very least, not wanting to lose the golf ball regardless of any scoring issues involved). Our best option is to bring the "urgency" of each swing on the golf course to the practice tee. We may not lose any balls practicing, but basing our club and shot selections on the previous result can go a long way toward improving our performance on the actual golf course.

David Enyeart is tournament director and assistant golf professional at Boulder Creek Golf Club. He has been teaching golf for the past 10 years between here in Las Vegas and the coast of Maine. He can be reached in the golf shop at Boulder Creek Golf Club via phone 702-294-6534 or by email denyeart@bouldercreekgc.com.