Why your practice isn’t lowering your scores (and how to practice effectively)
Plus: what I do when I only have 45 minutes.
When I got “back into golf” back in 2021, I started practicing a lot. Two or three range sessions a week on good weeks, 70 to 100 balls each time, working through the bag. On good days, I would leave feeling like something “clicked” – super encouraged and excited to hit the course. Then I’d go play that weekend and shoot the exact same number I always shot.
This went on for well over a year. I was logging the time, doing the thing you’re supposed to do. While I felt like my ball striking was getting better, my scoring improvement quickly hit a lull.
Eventually I started paying attention to what was actually happening on the range versus what was happening on the course. The gap was bigger than I expected. I’m sharing a few options below.
The comfort trap
When you hit balls on the range, every condition is stacked in your favor. Flat mat or perfect lie (or, in some cases, a consistently uneven lie). Same club for 20 shots in a row. No penalty for the bad one, just tee up another – not from the rough or woods, but from another perfect lie! No score on the line. No trees, no water, no skins on the line.
The good thing in a practice session like this is you build a groove (which is real) however it’s a groove built under conditions that don’t exist on a golf course.
What I learned is that this is called “blocked practice” where you use the same movement, same club, same target, repeated. It feels productive because you can see improvement within a single session (on good days if you actually know what is causing your problem). The problem is it having things transfer to the course. Motor learning research is pretty consistent on this: blocked practice builds short-term performance in that environment. Random practice, however (varied clubs, varied targets, varied lies) builds retention and transfer to new conditions.
The range is blocked by design. The golf course is random by design. You’re essentially training for a test that’s different from the one you’re going to take.
The consequence problem
There’s no cost to a bad shot on the range. You just hit another one. That sounds obvious, but think about what it means. Every shot on the course carries a consequence… Miss the fairway and you’re punching out. Three-putt and bogey plus. Mistakes compound sometimes and you get more and more tight. The nervous system is engaged in a completely different way when something is on the line.
What I have tried mixing in on occasion? One ball, one shot. Pick a target, commit to a club, hit it. No mulligans. No “that was a warmup.” One shot, one result, move on.
It’s uncomfortable. You hit a wild one and just have to live with it. But that discomfort is the point. You actually pick a target. You start practicing the mental process, not just the swing mechanics. It’s difficult to quantify how much this has actually helped, but no doubt it’s a good practice to feel like there is something “on the line” even when at the range.
Where scoring actually happens
On a par 72, you have around 14 full tee shots. You have maybe around 17 approach shots. For someone who’s around a 5 handicap, that leaves over 45 putts, chips, pitches, and bunker shots.
Most amateurs’ practice time goes to driver and full irons. Most shots lost in a round happen from 100 yards in.
In looking at my own data, in rounds where I broke 75, my wedge game was generally strong (i.e., no systemic pulls which tends to be my big issue) and I generally averaged less than 32 putts. That’s not a swing issue. That’s a short game issue, and most golfers never practice enough on their short game because standing at a chipping green feels less satisfying than striping driver on the range.
Now I recognize that not everyone will have access to a short game practice area. In that case, using a significant portion of your bucket to pitches and chips, and practicing putting on a putting mat at home, can pay huge dividends for your scoring average.
My 45-minute practice session
This is what I actually do when time is tight. The ratio will feel wrong if you’re used to range-heavy sessions.
- 15 minutes: Putting. I start with 3-footers around a hole for about 5-7 minutes. Then I spend a few minutes on 10 to 15 footers, focusing more on speed and start line (not caring about what goes in). I finish with a few long putts (30+ feet) to calibrate feel for distance. In fact, this last area is something I know I should be doing more of.
- 2 minutes: Warmup / stretching. My goal is just to not pull something on my first real swing (which sadly has happened more than once).
- 10 minutes: Wedges and short irons. If I am hitting a small bucket (generally what I will have time for in a 45-minute session, 15 shots will be with wedges and short irons (generally gap wedge and 9 iron).
- 15 minutes: Mid-irons, woods (generally I a couple 5-woods), and driver (5 shots assuming no major issue needing recalibrating).
Notice what’s not in this session: 30 minutes of driver. A bucket of irons. Hitting until it “feels right.” Those sessions have their place when you’re actively working on a swing change. But as a default practice routine for a working golfer trying to lower their scores, in my opinion this is a better use of 45 minutes. I generally try to really focus on a target and not worry too much about swing mechanics. Note that chipping / pitching are also missing. Since I don’t have time for both, if I am able to squeeze in two sessions in a week one day I’ll swap out chipping / pitching for putting practice.
Parting thoughts
If you’re stuck at the same handicap despite practicing regularly, it’s worth asking what kind of practice you’re actually doing. Range sessions where you hit the same club 30 times and leave feeling good are not moving the needle. They’re probably just comfortable and making you feel like you’re accomplishing something.
The practice that actually transfers feels harder and can actually be done with less time (in my opinion). More inconsistent within the session. Less satisfying in the moment. You’re not building comfort but you’re building adaptability, which is what the course actually demands.
And in the best case scenario, if time permits I think skipping the range entirely and playing 9 holes is a great way to practice. It enables you to make more decisions, manage more situations, and execute more shots under actual conditions than any bucket of balls will give. One of the biggest challenges for me as someone who is working full-time is not being able to play enough actual golf and maintain the feel required to go out and perform in real-course conditions. Perhaps I’ll share another post on how to optimize for limited playing time in the future.
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