Driving Range Tips: What to Do and Practice!

Even if you haven’t played many rounds of golf, the chances are that you’ve visited a driving range.

They’re fun and perfect for beginners and recreational golfers, as the range provides the perfect opportunity to hone your skills.

But what can you expect from a trip to the driving range? And what types of shots can you work on?

Below, we explain everything you need to know about visiting this important place, so you can make the most of your experience and improve your golf game with our top-notch golf range tips for beginners!

What Do Golfers Do at the Driving Range?

You can practice your long and short game at the driving range, with many golfers focusing on their drives and long iron play, given how big the driving range area is, along with some short-yardage chipping.

The driving range is the perfect place for golfers of all abilities to work on various aspects of their game.

The beauty of driving ranges is that you don’t have to collect your balls after practicing, saving considerable time and effort.

Most driving ranges have marked distances marked and various targets you can play towards from the bays.

This provides you with the perfect opportunity to work on your distances, which helps you when you take your game back out onto the course.

Ultimately, it’s an excellent place to work on any part of your game if you have a driving range in your local area.

Below, we introduce some of our top tips for getting the most out of your visit to the driving range.

What Should a Beginner Do at a Driving Range?

Beginner golfers should use their time at a driving range to work on their ball striking. You can tee the ball up and work on your long game, starting with your irons and working your way up to your driver.

One of the best things about practicing on a driving range is that there’s no pressure. It doesn’t matter where your balls end up, as you don’t need to go out and collect them after you’ve practiced.

Therefore, if you shank, hook, or slice multiple shots, it doesn’t matter!

You can set about working on the mechanics of your swing and consistently practice your technique, which will help you improve all aspects of your game.

If you can, it’s helpful to mix visits to the driving range with pitching and putting, as you can’t practice the latter at the range.

If you exclusively visit the driving range, you will neglect your short game, which beginner golfers can’t afford!

How Do I Get Better at the Driving Range?

The key to getting better at the driving range is practice. Because there’s no pressure at the range, you can practice all aspects of your game without stress.

However, it’s helpful to set out a strategy when you’re practicing, as chopping and changing from club to club won’t do you any favors.

Most golfers find it helpful to start with one club – perhaps an eight or nine iron – before moving on to longer irons, fairway woods, and drivers.

You need to hit every club in your bag slightly differently, so the key to improving at the range is practicing each of the shots you need to use on the golf course.

Another thing to be aware of is that you need to be mindful of your swing speed when you’re at the driving range.

Too many beginner players try and swing the club too fast, which makes it difficult to control your ball striking.

What Order Do You Hit Clubs at a Driving Range?

It’s best to start with your shorter irons and work your way up instead of the other way around. So, when you get to the range, hit some looseners with your wedge before working your way from 9 downwards.

But if you want to, the good news is that you can hit golf clubs in any order you wish on the range.

Some golfers head to the range with only one or two clubs in the bag, which allows them to work on the specific technique required to execute the ideal shots with those specific clubs.

Remember, every golf club needs to be hit slightly differently, so you don’t necessarily need to keep changing between clubs during one practice session.

If there’s a particular club you want to work on at any given time, nothing is stopping you from practicing with one club only.

Do You Use a Tee at the Driving Range?

Yes, most driving range bays are equipped with artificial mats, many of which come with a rubber tee. Technology has advanced so much that you can adjust the height of the tees at the range with a button, which is perfect for practicing with the different clubs in your bag.

You can also practice your iron play and fairway woods directly from the mat if you don’t want to tee the ball up.

Remember that hitting the ball from the mat differs from hitting the ball from the tee.

Most players can hit the ball further from a mat, as there’s less resistance than when you play the ball from the grass.

This can be a little misleading when you’re working out your distances and often leads people to get carried away with their ability!

So, whether you want to practice your tee shots or iron play from the mat, you can do so at the driving range.

In other words, it’s the ideal place to practice various aspects of your game.

Can You Bring Your Own Golf Balls to a Driving Range?

No, you don’t need to bring your own golf balls at almost all driving ranges. When you arrive at the range, you typically have to purchase a bucket or basket of balls, which you then spend the next hour or so hitting.

Most driving ranges offer baskets with 50, 100, or 150 balls, but it depends on the location.

You can work through the balls at your own pace, and if you’re working through different clubs in your practice session, it’s a good idea to allocate a specific number of balls to each club.

When practicing at your local golf course, you must take your own balls with you.

This is particularly the case when you’re practicing your chipping and putting, as most courses don’t provide practice balls for you to use.

So, while you don’t need to take your own balls to a driving range, you will need to take them with you if you plan to use the practice facilities at your local golf course.

Do Range Balls Hurt Your Driver?

You don’t need to worry about damaging your driver by hitting range balls. Although range balls are slightly different from conventional golf balls, they are perfectly fine to hit with any of the clubs you have in the bag.

Rather than affecting your driver, they’re more likely to impact your ball striking.

This is because they feel different from typical balls and may lure you into a false sense of distance and control, mainly if you don’t practice with normal golf balls alongside your sessions at the range.

So, to make sure your game isn’t affected, it’s best to practice out on the range and at your local golf course with real balls from time to time.

Using range balls will ensure that your game isn’t negatively affected.

Conclusion

The driving range is the perfect place for golfers of all abilities to visit and practice different aspects of their games. 

Whether you want to improve the consistency of your driving or the accuracy of your long irons, the range is the perfect place to hone your skills. 

Hopefully, you know what to expect when you first visit the driving range and have a great time working on various aspects of your game with the Windtree Golf golf range tips.