The driving range offers you a chance to hit a high volume of shots in a short period of time, unlike the golf course where you’ll hit 30-50 full shots in the course of 4 hours. However, how can you practice golf without a driving range?
Here we’ll cover driving range practice alternatives for when you don’t have access to a golf range. These will never fully replace hitting a high volume of shots at the range, but each has some great benefits for your golf game and long game when you can’t get to a driving range.
Driving range alternatives:
Golf Studio
The best alternative to the driving range is a golf studio, powered by a launch monitor like TrackMan or GC Quad. These can be expensive but give you great feedback on your shot outcome (carry distance, lateral error) and great information on what caused that shot (strike location, swing path and club face data).
Great practice games like the golf studio include the 30-ball approach play below, this is a great game for dialling in your approach play in a realistic setting, where you are sometimes hitting away from the flag.
On Course Practice
Some golf courses allow you to hit extra shots during a round, others are very strict so please check with your local course.
Hitting extra shots around the course is a great way to get more repetitions within the same time period, helping to accelerate your learning. If you’re a higher handicapper, you can hit two shots and take your best ball every time.
If you are a low or plus handicapper, you can hit two balls but take your worst shot. This game is very challenging but really tests you to become more consistent.
Short Game Practice
If you are looking for a golf range alternative you’ll likely not consider hitting shot game shots. However learning to control your strike, club path and club face on 30-50 yard pitch shots is a great way to improve your long game.
If you can master what your club head does for the 1 to 2 feet either side of impact, you can scale this feeling up as you hit longer and longer shots. To make this effective get really clear on if you want to hit straight golf shots, small fades or small draws. Then attempt to his this shot shape with your pitch shots – it’s really effective for developing your club face control (and becoming an exceptional pitcher is never a bad thing).
At Home Practice
Practice at home without a golf ball is never going to replace range practice. However, it can help you make progress on the days or weeks when the range is out of use.
Simple drills like this impact drill below will surprise you when you first try them. You’ll quickly realise you replicate your full swing impact position (open club face, too much loft etc.) even when you don’t have a golf ball to hit.
Feel free to give it a go next time you’re stuck at home.
Summary
We hope this article has given you some ideas of how you can practice golf without a driving range. It is tricky to fully replace a driving range – hence why they are so popular, but these ideas should help you make the most out of your practice time when you can’t get to a driving range.
For more practice drills and challenges, or if you want a personalised practice created for you every week, check out Break X Golf.
Happy practicing – Will @ Break X Golf