I've been doing it all wrong...Big Suprise

The weather was so nice when I was driving home from work yesterday, I decided to stop off for a medium bucket of balls at my local driving range. Once I got my little plastic bucket my range routine went as follows:

1. Tee up a range ball

2. Grab my driver and start pounding away

3. Scratch head about lack of consistency

4. Almost as an afterthought, I used about the last 1/3 of my balls to work down through the rest of the clubs in my bag

5. Spent a few minutes on the putting green

6. Went home

Since it was such a nice day outside I decided to roll down the windows and take the scenic route home. As I was driving home I started thinking about my time at the range. I have played hockey since I was 5 years old (oddly enough I play hockey lefty and golf righty, but that another story) and I realized that when I had a hockey practice we always followed a set routine. We would start off stretching, and then do several other drills to get warmed up. Our drills would focus on all of the fundamental skills that we needed to work on, not just on taking slapshots which was always the most fun. We had a good sweat going before the coach ever let us touch a puck. When I went to the range, I didn't stretch, I didn't follow a routine and I mostly worked on only one fundamental skill.  I came across an article by Teresa Justine Kelley which lays out a pretty good routine for the range.  She recommends that after stretching you should start hitting your sand wedge and your pitching wedge first, focusing on aim and making solid contact. Then go to your mid-irons (5,6,7) and hit a few balls with each.  After the mid-irons you move to the fairway woods and finally the driver-only swinging about 80% strength.  Finishing up on the putting green was about the only thing that I did right, and I should have mixed in some chipping as well.  I don't think that everyone should have the exact same routine at the range, but I think everyone should have a routine.  My next time at the range I will be sure to stretch and follow a routine that makes sense for me, working on all of the fundamentals of the game.

Driving Range Tips for Beginners | GolfLink.com