Down on the range: Get the most out of your session

Eight things you can do at your range to help improve your practice…

Going down the range in the winter months can, at times, seem about as appealing as a trip to a dentist who has shaking hands and a worryingly sadistic attitude towards patients.

As a result, all too often, many of us get 100 balls from the machine and fire through them with absolutely no plan of attack.

This slapdash method could be borne of a desire to get out of the cold as quickly as possible or from wanting to get home in time to watch the match. Here, The Bedford’s James Ridyard shows eight ways to make your time more useful.

	1. CHIP YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS A great way of either warming up – or even warming down – at the end of a session is to pick out your favourite wedge(s) and chip into a net.
	2. USE YOUR SMARTPHONE TO GOOD EFFECT You may think you’re doing everything right in your swing, but if the ball is disappearing to all parts of the range, there’s probably something wrong.
	3. CONE YOUR GAME Here is a great way to control a fade or a draw. If you hit a draw, set up a piece of rope from just in front of your ball to a tee peg 1-20 yards down the line.
	4. MAKE IT HARD TO HIT ‘FAIRWAYS’ It’s all too easy to stand there and pummel drives straight down a range which has no bunkers, water hazards or trees.
	5. ‘PLAY’ YOUR HOME COURSE Smashing the same club time after time limits the amount of benefit you get from your session – it’s too easy to get in the same rhythm which you never get on the course.
	6. DITCH THE DRIVER AND HIT YOUR 3-WOOD If you’re struggling to control your driver, maybe it’s time to rebuild confidence with the next longest club in the bag – the 3-wood.
	7. BEWARE THE MAT Playing off range mats serves a purpose, but it shouldn’t be a long-term practice policy. Mats, for the most part, are considerably easier to hit off than wet, sodden turf that we all have to endure at this time of the year.
	8. PRACTISE WHAT YOU NEED TO, NOT WHAT YOU WANT TO Let’s face it – it’s more fun to smash drivers down the range, especially if you’re hitting it well. The sound is fantastic and the sight of a golf ball hurtling towards the back of the range through the floodlit night air is a heartwarming sight.