Finding Time to Practice

The driving range is notorious for being filled with people swinging like crazy and supposedly working on their game. The truth of the matter is that we cannot be sure of what progress everyone else is making on the range. The only thing that we can be certain of in this regard is our own progress based on goals that we have set for ourselves at one point or another.

My range practice sessions are narrowed down to 20 to 30 minutes nowadays. I focus on specific techniques. I spend a concentrated amount of time working on certain aspects of my game.

What I Do

I have been struggling with my approach shots going awry. I take to the range lately to work on mechanics for such shots, especially with my irons. I will get ahold of a 6 or 7 iron just to work on those shots that need me to focus my address and alignment to a target. For those shots at 100 yards or under, I’m looking at where the ball is at address in relationship to my feet. I use an 8 or 9 iron for such shots, and then I do similar work with a pitching wedge or a sand wedge.

What I Don’t Do

I don’t take my full bag to the driving range anymore.

I will grab 3 to 4 clubs and use only those for specific time allotted. i don’t need a full bag of hybrids, fairway woods, and a driver. I just need clubs that will help me work on the specific aspect of my game where I need more focus.

I won’t work on driving or hit the putting surface. When I work on my putts, I show up with just my putter and 4 balls. I focus on roll. I focus on contact. I focus on the feel. When I am working on my driver, I am focused on tee height and following through with a balanced stance. But that’s not every single time that I hit the range.

Am I There Yet?

Practice is a time-consuming venture. It takes time to match up your progress with your goals. It can get to you.

I’m going to keep things consistent. I’m going to keep working on my game. I’m still a work in progress.

Right When I’m Ready

I have oftentimes heard if you snooze you lose. And here it is in the first week of December just after a quiet Thanksgiving break and a short session to the driving range, and California as a whole is looking at massive shutdown and stay-at-home orders going into effect within the next 24 hours. I mean all of this right when I was ready to visit my local municipal course and give the course a whirl.

Think about it like this. Last week I had just posted on my driving range session prior to my play at a local charity golf tournament. I have visited the range multiple times since that session and tournament, but the feedback and support that I got both here and on YouTube, even Twitter, have helped reshape my approach to the range for my next session tomorrow. Brian Penn with All About Golf gave me some spot on pointers that have me engaging my core more than just swinging my shoulders and arms.

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I see the shutdown orders as another thing that will simply force me to do what many golfers dread and some others simply geek out about to no end. I am going to be forced to plan my play.

Plan Your Play

Working in the school system means that I get those extended breaks for winter and summer, even those week’ for Thanksgiving and Spring Break. Hey, I will take them all day long.

And this usually causes me to engage in planning my play. Scheduling includes which days I will make a run up to Oceanside and visit the LinkSoul shop for my Make Par Not War gear and play Pala Mesa Resort. Or, it might even entail my own personal version of two-a-days where I might play a par 3 course in the morning hours and work in a full 18 on a course like Cottonwood or Chula Vista which isn’t too long or drastic like Barona Creek or Eastlake Golf Course. Courses like Sycuan offer multiple hole layouts so you could replay and have the feel of a totally different course. Regardless of how I format it, such extended periods of time afford me the opportunity to plan my play much like the Grateful Golfer shared.

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Shutdown Means a Slight Adjustment

Outdoor recreation will adjust again. We will have to remain contactless and maintain social distancing with face coverings of course. It is in effect for 3 weeks, so that will put us right into the middle of my winter break. I could jam in a handful of rounds weather permitting… Oh, who am I kidding! It’s Southern California. Any bad weather is a welcome added challenge for the course.

In all honesty, I look forward to having to plan out my play. I got a few folks I need to try to catch up with on the course. It will give me a good target to take aim at as I do my indoor workouts daily in preparation for my next outing.

Tomorrow’s driving range session will be another chance for me to get the GoPro working and capture myself in full swing mode after all of that quality advice and feedback alongside the golf tips and videos that I researched and reviewed. I think it will be a bittersweet session since I have only played in a tournament since COVID-19 struck us with its massive effects on our daily lives. All I know is that next time, I am jumping out there and getting on the links when this thing opens up again (as long as the cases go down like the governor hopes).

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