If only I had a drill to help me answer this question…
A driving range session can get boring and unproductive pretty fast if you don’t know what or why you’re practising. (We recommend a golf lesson to help!)
A good place to start with your long game is figuring out your path. When you know this you can predict what shot shape you’ll be most comfortable with on the course and what you need to work on in the range. Trackman is a handy tool that can tell a player what their most common path is, but unfortunately a lot of players don’t have this piece of equipment on standby – but we have
The next best way to figure out your path is by testing yourself.
What I like to do, and what Kenny Fahey usually challenges me with, is trying to hit hooks and slices. For a low handicapper, sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what shot shape you are struggling with. Therefore, trying to exaggerate the ball flight makes it easier to see which shot you find easier and which shot is harder to execute.
To start my range session, I like to hit a few shots to warm up, then I grab a mid-iron and 20 balls. I try to get the ball moving from right to left with the first ten balls, then I do the opposite with the next ten balls. Whichever shot I am struggling with will help me identify what my path is. In other words, if I can’t hit a fade, (which I am struggling with at this moment!), then my comfortable path is too much on the inside or too shallow. For the rest of my basket I would try to hit slices in order to help my path get closer to neutral. This isn’t to say that my swing will be neutral from then on, but this drill will help me compensate for the shallow path I’ve built up a habit with.
By having a path closer to neutral it’s easier to move the ball either way when you need to. It also helps with strike and direction as it’s easier to compress the ball better and start your shots online with a more neutral path. If you’re going out for a round right after your range session, this drill will highlight what shot shape you will most likely be hitting on the course and you can then compensate accordingly. This drill is a nice indicator for where you are at with your swing on the day and may be a good way of getting clear on what you would like to work on in your next golf lesson
