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IS THIS DOING YOU MORE HARM THAN GOOD?

W O R D S J O E L TA D M A N P I C T U r E s H O WA R D B O Y L A N

RANGE SPECIAL

Its almost pointless beating 85 balls at the range with no purpose. You need a plan so weve got one

ts Saturday morning, and the driving range is packed with people smashing balls into the giant eld in front of them. Theres the guy who has 120 balls and brought one club his driver. Theres another guy who feels hes puring it, yet his ball is landing 35 yards right of where hes actually aiming. And theres the guy whos hitting it dead straight with a 7-iron despite impacting the spongy mat half-an-inch behind the ball... Its not hard to see why a driving range appeals to golfers at this time of year. Theyre sheltered from the weather, baskets of balls are available on tap, theyre oodlit in the evening and you get a perfect lie for

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RANGE SPECIAL

RANGE GADGETS

These gadgets can be your very own launch monitor


n Swingbyte

...AND IF YOU ARE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT THE RANGE

every shot. But according to Gary Casey, Academy Manager at Thorpe Wood Golf Course and driving range in Peterborough, thats precisely why the range can do your game more harm than good. Driving ranges ask a completely different question of a golfer than the golf course, he told TG. You never get a bumpy driving range, nor do you ever play a golf course thats completely at. So hitting balls on the range is unrealistic youre practising shots you rarely play on the course. Its no wonder people hit the ball great on the range and wonder why they play badly the next day. Aside from the unrealistic setting a range provides, the hitting surface poses its own problems. Having a perfect lie gives you the opportunity to focus on your swing, which is ne but how much should you read into how well you strike the ball on them? Range mats are made of a rm, non-slip rubber base with a durable layer of green nylon on top. As a result, theres not much give when the clubhead strikes the mat. This could easily lead you to believe youre striking the ball much sweeter than you actually are. Casey agrees. Hitting the ball off the mat is nothing like hitting a ball off the grass. Off grass, if you hit the ground even just half-an-inch behind the ball youll take a divot and the ball will go nowhere. If you do the same or hit even further behind it on a mat, the strike wont be affected anywhere near as much because the rubber underneath causes the
IS SU E 3 05 TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K

If youre hitting the ball well on the range, that doesnt mean youll hit the ball well on the course
clubhead to bounce back up (picture 1, above). So if youre hitting the ball well on the range, it doesnt necessarily mean youre going to hit it well on the course. You need to replicate conditions on the course as closely as you can. Take tee height. Often when you go to the range the tee is either too high or too low, says Gary, and there arent any others available. So hover the club if its too high, or place a tee inside or to the side of the tee in the same hole to get the ball teed up at your favourite height (2). Higher handicap players are often put off

by the tight lie of a range mat and opt to tee the ball up a big range no-no. This may stem from a lack of knowledge about how their irons need to strike the ball and whether they believe the club needs to hit the ground at all. Casey explains why this is so detrimental to your game. If youre hitting irons off a tee peg, the toe has a tendency to ip over and youre more likely to pull or hook the ball (3). Secondly, youll generally strike the ball high on the clubface, causing you to lose distance and as a result, youll tend to try and hit more up on the ball, scooping it off the mat. This adds loft to the clubface and takes spin off, which means the ball wont y very far. They then start playing the ball too far forward in their stance and the problem escalates. So if you cant improve your ball striking, what about your ball ight? Range ball quality differs depending on their age and use, but as a general rule, their performance

is about 80-90 per cent less than normal balls. Those with more worn dimples wont travel as far as newer, pristine balls, either. Range balls also tend to be lighter than normal balls, and therefore more likely to be buffeted by the wind. So you need to take all this into account when youre trying to hit an 8-iron to the 150-yard marker... Casey sees too many of us taking the wrong approach to their practice. The problem I see every day is golfers having too many golf balls, hitting the balls too quickly, hitting the balls without a focus and hitting too many balls with the same club. If you come straight to the range with a basket of 80 balls and hit 80 drivers in 20 minutes, you rehearse a rhythm that is completely different to the one youre in on the golf course (4). When you play golf, you never hit the same type of shot twice in a row and youre hitting a ball only once every ve minutes or so. If someone comes in for an hour practice session, Id recommend to them divide it into three slots of 20 minutes. Spend the rst 20 minutes on the putting green hitting distance putts and then the short, holing out putts from say ve feet. Spend the next 20 mins on the chipping green, playing chip-and-runs, bunker shots, maybe even a little hybrid shot. Then the last

20 minutes is on the range with just 25 balls starting at 50 yards with a wedge, 100 yards, 150 yards, ve with a rescue, ve with a driver. That way you use more clubs, have a focus, and replicate the rhythm youre in on the course. To get your scores down, you have to practice the shots youre asked to play on the course. So one other, more useful approach to your range time, is to practice different types of shots youd never considered before. As a rule, you should be using more clubs and fewer balls placed in small groups. Hit ve balls with one club then swap over. Set challenges, too, to break the monotony of beating balls. One day bring your odd number irons, the next bring your evens. Sometimes go to the left-hand side of the range, next time go to the right. Another way to spice things up is to use Golf Mission cards (5), which can provide you with challenges depending on your ability (from 8.50, www.playgolfmission.com). The main thing youre doing when hitting balls on the range is strengthening your golf muscles, creating a rhythm, engraining your swing and good habits, says Casey. As long as every ball has a purpose and you remember the range has its limitations. Turn over for Gary Caseys best range tips.

Swingbyte attaches just below the grip and pairs to your device via Bluetooth to capture various aspects of your swing, such as clubhead speed, angle of attack, swing direction and club path. The 3D graphics can be viewed from various angles. Interface is very user-friendly. RRP: 130. johnwatson@englandgolfcoaching.com

n GolfSense

GolfSense attaches to the back of your glove and connects to your device via Bluetooth to provide information about your golf swing in real time using a patented high-velocity motion engine. Provides the most data of all the devices and is easy to use. Glove not included! RRP: 119.99 www.golftechsystems.com/golfsense

The popularity of the driving range


4,200,000 3,600,000

3Bays Golf Swing Analyser ts into the top of the club and uses Bluetooth to record your swing consistency, clubhead speed, face angle, tempo and other parameters. You can review your swings in different forms, compare them and play them back at various speeds. Battery life is limited, but the analysis cant be faulted. RRP: 199 www.3baysgsa.com

n 3Bays GSA

Almost three million adults used a range at least once in 2011


Dwindling use You can see how, with the exception of 2009, range usage has seen a steady decline since 2006 but millions of golfers still use them. Data comes from the Sports Marketing Surveys Inc. 2011 GB Golf Participation Report.

n SwingSmart

60 60 GOLF: THE FUTURE OF DRIVING RANGES?


Theres a new idea being rolled out at ranges across the country which could revolutionise the way we all practise. 60 60 Golf adds fun and a competitive edge to the range experience. It gets its name from the fact a group of golfers can hit 60 shots in 60 minutes. The basic idea involves golfers earning points for hitting different targets. Using a free smartphone app, you can compete with friends or people over the country. There are 13 sites located across the UK. Visit www.6060golf.com

3,104,000

3,187,700

2,940,800

3,105,700

3,000,000

2,320,300

1,800,000 1,200,000 600,000 0

2001

2,218,100

2002

2,556,800

2,400,000

SwingSmart attaches to the underside of the shaft. 3D swing images are instantly created along with readings on tempo, swing speed, shaft lean and face angle. App comes with video tips from US coach Peter Kostis. The most accurate under testing. Comes with free case and putting aid. RRP: 199 www.swingsmart.com

3,339,600

3,467,800

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2,923,700
2011

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RANGE SPECIAL

RANGE TIPS
Gary Casey Gary is the Academy Director at Thorpe Wood Golf Course and driving range. Visit www.neneparkgolf. com for more info.

BALL ABOVE FEET

Try these on your next visit to add purpose and variety to your practice 1

Umbrella shot-shaping drill This drill enables you to attack every ag position on the greens. To help you picture the ball ight, stick an umbrella or cane 10 feet in front of you. From a pile of nine balls, hit three that start right of it and draw back to the target, three that start left and fade back to the target and three that go straight over it. Another way to make your practice more realistic is to place balls under the edge of the mat to replicate an ball-above-feet lie. Grip down the club and aim a little right as the ball will tend to curve more from right-to-left.

BAD LIE PRACTICE


Get the feeling This drill helps you experiment with what is required by your body and club to shape the ball different ways.

Take the rubber tee out and hit some balls from the hole it leaves. This sinks the ball down replicating one type of bad lie we get on the course. To hit it correctly, move the ball back in the stance and lean the shaft forward.

EXTRA BALL DRILL

ould Slicers sh e range as it th f ore left o m swing m makes the right, negating out to the ency. Hookers their tend o to the right should g e range. side of th

P QUICK TI go to the

Place an extra range ball about 18 inches behind the ball youre hitting. To avoid contact with this second ball, the club will have to come into the ball much steeper, improving your ball striking and stopping any scooping.

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