When I go to my local range I like to practice as if I was actually playing a round. I work on my preshot routine, which involves breathing, target and club selection, proper setup and alignment, clearing my mind, and pulling the trigger. I always use alignment sticks when practicing, and I have earbuds on so I can hear tempo tones on my phone.

As a fairly new golfer, who hits the driving range during my lunch this advice was AWESOME!!! due to time constraints, I'd get the big bucket and hit as many as could "to better my game". I implemented the warm up, swing focus, target challenge and warm down and my game got a lot better, I'm now having 2 digit games (like I said I'm new with no lessons). GREAT ADVICE

@AdamSmith-yz1dx

5 ай бұрын

Of course you are buddy

Good advice. I recently worked on tempo a lot with a target in mind at the range and tried to get the tempo spot on for every club. Worked a treat. Good to have a purpose for the practice.

Thanks Matt, good tips. I seldom go to a driving range these days but when I do practice in the nets or golf club range after warming up with a couple of dozen shots I 'play a course' in my mind to make the rest of the session a bit more realistic and maybe less boring. It's all very well hitting half a dozen or so 7 irons, but you don't do that when playing a round of golf.

Good advice. There are definitely easy techniques to make driving range effective for producing better golf on-course. I used to hit 200 drives as hard as possible, when my purpose was just to hit balls and get some exercise. Now, I use the range to improve my on-course game, so a totally different use of driving range. Nowadays, one third of my 200 balls I spend warming up, starting with wedges, then the remainder of my balls I use doing top tracer driving challenge and approach challenge, and honing my on course skills and control. This has helped my on-course game immensely. I had trouble with transition from range to on-course. You could do another video just on tips for transferring range technique to on-course action. The range mats are more like no-grass fairway, and if you are using bounce, the range mats will hurt your on course game because on-course, the bounce travels under the ball whereas range mats will bounce up way too much, so you have to hit more downswing on the ball with irons. This is just one example of the difference between range and fairway.

Just keep going dude, can’t get enough of your work, even taught me a few things…..👍

Excellent video. I am back playing golf after 20 years away from the game. When I started again at the range I focused on my swing, once I had that almost dialled in, I worked on a drill I got taught years ago start with the shorter irons once you hit the target 5 time successfully in a row move up a club. Sense then I have now had a couple of lesson and have changed my approach. Now I do a warm up with the first 10 balls. Then I play a round in my head, aim for area that I determine is fairway, then a green.

I like to work into my range sessions hitting shots. As in visualize playing the course and hitting the shots you think you may hit based on the outcome you see each shot going. Immensely helpful.

This was a great video, earned a subscription from me!! Really loved Tips #2 and #4 especially!

Whole heartedly agree with your suggestions ..... Start slow and short and end the same way

Great advice, especially when people just go to smash the driver. After I warm up with some short chips of 50 yds, I will simulate my home course layout. I start with hole 1 and work my way thru the course, Tee shot, then approach, etc. If I miss the green, which are 100, 150 and 200, I will hit a chip shot. It looks a bit funny hitting every shot with a different club, but it has helped me be more consistent overall and it gives me a plan when I play. I also set aside 15-20 balls to practice recovery shots. I will hit a couple simulating bending around trees each direction, left, right and under and a couple for length, to the 100, 125 and 150 markers. From this practice I have a good idea that a 3/4 punch 8i is perfect for a 125 shot in the wind for me.

When I’m at the range, I’m usually trying to incorporate a swing change, but I also try to practice like I play. Do we rifle off shot after shot without a break on the course? NO! We’re either walking or driving a cart to the ball and usually waiting for others to hit. How long does that take? What’s happening to our body and our tempo during that break? I incorporate my pre-shot routine on the range just like I do on the course; target, alignment, grip, stance, posture, and then what ever it is I’m working on. I hit the shot then literally walk away from the mat for a minute or two and think about the result. I usually take three clubs and my putter to the range. At the end of my session, I’ll play imaginary holes. I’ll imagine a par 5 that I know and hit my driver/3 wood at the furthest target, a 5/6/7 iron at a medium target, and then a 9/PW to the closest target. If I don’t feel comfortable with some of those shots, I’ll step back and practice that club for a few shots and then go back to my imaginary par 5. …all while walking away from the mat and incorporating my pre-shot routine for every shot. Yup! People look at me funny, but then I see them rifling through shot after shot after shot…

I go and just practice the nick Faldo drill. P1 & swing through the irons. I then imagine I’m on the course. Driver, 8 iron. Or Driver 3 wood, wedge. I never hit the same club repeatedly unless I’m warming down with 15 balls with a wedge. The biggest for me getting down to 6 hcp was practicing short game more than my long game. Everyday I practice pitching, chipping & putting.

Very good video. Interestingly enough, my "driving range" is Top Golf and with the targets at Top Golf, I practice doing what you suggest - picking targets, using the feedback from the tracer, etc.

@Mattfryergolf

6 ай бұрын

Keep it up

@NateEdwardsGolf

6 ай бұрын

​@@Mattfryergolfcheers mate thanks for the video and helping us lower our scores

Thanks for the reminder. Always good to have some common sense suggestions.

Great content Matt, something I’ve never really done is go to a driving range, would rather go and play, lucky to play at a course that never closes, but I know a lot of guys who just go and smash 100 balls in 30 mins and then go home

I usually play the course next up at the range! I pick out targets and distances similar to the fair ways and greens! Once finished I work on clubs I wasn’t satisfied with. Thanks

I do most of these... my new 1, use chalk lines on the mat, make them disappear on iron swings.. i also have a stretch routine before hand

Love your content Matt but just an observation, does having a plan etc with the 5 step process prepare any golfer for a round of golf on a course? I’m just talking from a personal perspective as when I go to the range I slow everything down , pick targets etc and hit consistent shots at the range and line I would hope, but not being a low handicap player I then go on the course and play a round with high hopes based on range progression and feel left deflated as obviously range play doesn’t cater for lie , course quality, slope , elevation etc etc, thus leaving me highly frustrated and wanting to give up on golf!

once I hit 10 or so balls and am warmed up, i pull out an old score card and "play" 18. I approach each shot from behind with a plan and target. I measure distances thenhit the next shot that I would hit on the course. if Iblow a shot into the rough I make certain that I hit recovery shots vs always going for the green. taking my time between shots as I would walking or carting the course.

This was an aha for me with regards to alignment aids. I keep folding alignment rods (like tent polls, super cool) in my bag but always say "well these are pointless, I just line up with the edge of the mat." Awesome video

@ra1der5

6 ай бұрын

Or… move the mat to align with the target.

Now is the time to practise on all the golf game you play, ready for new season around March time. So lessons are a good pointer for swing changes if needed or just a refresher lesson. Get rid of bad habits

Best saying I ever heard... "Practice makes permanent". No point repeating the wrong stuff. It just makes it harder to fix.

Just back into golf i try and play as if i am on a course driver 3or 5 then pitch and if they have grass i use it not the stalls

I’ve been asking on a couple videos lately how coaches/fitters/etc. reconcile the iron swing which takes divot, as we’re told to do, with hitting off a mat. No one has answered yet. This is ignored as if mats and turf are equal.

Great video

This season I took this approach more and it helped a lot with my game. I still suck, but slightly less😂

When I go to the range I always make sure I have fun over doing any meaningful practice.

The driving range has a purpose, and that is why I hit balls on the range a couple of times a week, and always a small bucket of balls. For someone who wants to take up golf, I always recommend beginning at the range to learn how to hit a golf ball, get some sense of how far you hit clubs, and your normal shot shape, and then play with someone who will teach you how to manage yourself around the course. There is nothing more frustrating for experienced golfers and beginning golfers than to go to the course with no clue of how to hit a ball or where it is going.

Proper alignment is the most important thing without doubt ,hitting full swing irons of the mat is a sure fire way to ruin your swing ,it has zero benefit and feedback .To practice with driver and 3 wood I take my own rubber tee’s with me that are cut down to the exact size that I use on the course so just missing the ground on the swing the ball is dead centre to the driver face ,makes a massive difference to strike ,everyone should do this, making do with most of the ball above the club face or too low is pointless ,sort your tee peg out with driver and you will see a difference .Driving range for driver is one thing that the range can help with as no ground /mat contact is used .

When I go to the driving range I try to imagine a course I’ve played and so I start with a driver or driving iron and progress through to a pw or another wedge.

Last time I went to the practice range, the range was completely full with people smacking their drivers. I played the 3-hole par 3 course where you have a choice of three tees on each hole... played for two hours. Not a single other person ever came over there. And the par-three course is $5 for unlimited play! Just driver driver driver driver driver..... The vast majority of people I play with can't hit an iron or pitch shot to save their life.

4:56 that most definitely killed your hand especially with it being frosty out 🤣

One of my faults is hitting way to many shots at the range. Upwards of 150-200 shots every other day. I will over do it with my driver most times. I am 61 years old and have been hitting golf balls for basically 42 years. I am strong and athletic, but have trouble hitting the driver anymore than 215- 220 yards. I have an obsessive compulsive dis-order. I won't stop until I am totally drained. Also, use hitting golf balls as an anger release. It is a high for me as well that I feel I need. I know I am doing wrong by hitting so many driver shots but am desperate and obsessive in hitting my driver to 250 yards consistently. I know I am fully capable of it! I am hitting it wrong. I just can't seem to afford lessons. All the bills pile up with little to no extra cash for lessons. For me it boils down to understanding the parts involved in the basic golf swing. I am extremely right hand dominant. This causes me to turn my trail shoulder and come down steep on the ball many times when I am hitting and even when I do hit the ball crisply this way I know I am losing major distance. Even so, I get so frustrated and angry with myself that I will continue to hit until exhausted. I know I will have to find another view point or purpose in hitting golf balls on the range and why I am doing it and what I want to achieve. I love golf so much. Definitely more than the average golfer. Not sure you can help me, but I guess I need to sit down with someone who totally understands everything about the mechanics of the basic golf swing. Someone to show me there is another way to get better. It is stuff for me becuz of my obsessive compulsive dis-order. Thanks for listen to me everyone.

I love toptracer 30 and nearest the pin

Palace are always a difficult team to break down, and they have some really good players. I still think it's still not fair playing midweek, then having to play at 12.30 on Saturday. Congratulations to Salah on his 200th goal for Liverpool & hard fought win. Top of Premier league tonight😊 😊😊

I always get the course on tackman range up and try and hit the fairway. Look to hit 75%.

Being a ‘driver smasher’ is great stress relief though, one of the main reasons I go 😅

I wish there was a place around me for lessons if like to get an opinion and tips to improve

Sound advice, nice delivery, not preaching but 🤔 ‘wise mentor mode’

Well done matt I try to hit off grass I think mats give you a false strike 😊

I'll frequently hit balls like I'm actually playing, driver then a mid iron then a high loft wedge 52,56,

Brilliant video - all about smashing driver 😂

@Mattfryergolf

6 ай бұрын

is fun to be fair!!

Also, for the newer golfer struggling with the proper swing, get a coaching lesson first them immediately go out to the range and work on what the lesson taught

@Mattfryergolf

6 ай бұрын

Yep lesson are a huge help!

@cardi1978

6 ай бұрын

I’m a new golfer (July) and am having regular lessons and going to the range and going through the bag with the swing changes my pro is giving me now the weather has turned. The improvement in my game is marked. I appreciate this may not work for the more advanced golfer, however, for me I started with grip and am now up to working on contact with my swing being fairly decent. I feel that, as I can’t really play the course regularly right now, that if I don’t go to the range then I may well go backwards

Alignment sticks and aim practice is absolutely huge

@Mattfryergolf

6 ай бұрын

sure is!

I hit 40 balls, 4-5 balls each club, then an hour and a half on the chipping and putting greens.

The driver is the one club in my bag I hardly practice with. I suck at hitting it and I’m that guy who smacks the ball off the roof when I use my driver 😂. It gives me the fear 😂

Two things 1 the popular saying that you butchered is - fail to prepare - prepare to fail , also 2 should of mentioned proper warm ups for us fat middle aged men - currently bathing in tiger balm and necking ibuprofen after a well thought about but no warm up range session on Saturday

The range I go to has some great deals plus they have Top Golf video screens to just practice or play a round . For $100 a month I can go to the range and hit 100 balls every day ..I’d probably die if I tried that..🤪🤪

nice range you go to has a trackman in each bay..

@EvilDrDude

6 ай бұрын

no, its a top tracer, which is still good if you use it properly

Totally nothing wrong with going to the range and just smashing driver. If you're there to get better on a course, probably not the best approach, but if you're just at the range to have fun, you're allowed to be that person smashing driver all day!

Bought a large bucket last week and only hit half of them because I met my goals. No point in continuing to hit. With the remains time I practiced putting and chipping.

@Mattfryergolf

6 ай бұрын

good to hear you had a plan!!

@josephwirtz8352

6 ай бұрын

Thank you sir!

@therealbonj

6 ай бұрын

I often do that. Eliminates “last ball syndrome” as well

@therealbonj

6 ай бұрын

it winds me up though the odd gits who are so stingy they put the rest in their CAR to bring back and use next time!!

I tell people I teach all the time, hit 1/2 the amount of balls you normally do in twice the amount of time. Take your time, pay attention to what you’re doing, and work on what you learned in a lesson. It’s amazing how few people actually follow that advice and fall back into the habit of chainsawing through 100 balls in 20 minutes.

Go to the bar, not the range..Ron Chopper..

Unfortunately for us golfers living in cold countries, we have no options but driving ranges. The truth is the pros never in a million years practice of matt's. They know behond any doubt hitting of matt's especially with the irons actually very damaging for strike quality. But that's how it is.

Moe norman single pain golf is the answer, I tried lesson after lesson spent hundreds and went backwards , soon as I started hitting it like moe norman my game changed dramatically!! It's so easy it's hard to hit a bad shot once you have the hang of it !! Don't believe me ? Try it out .

@tbenedict6335

6 ай бұрын

It's a back saver as well.

I usually don't hit more than 3 driver shots from a bucket of 50 balls, at the end of the session. I find the balls and tees at the range really don't do any favours, and I dont hit it anywhere as goodlike I would on the course, the feedback is not there, so I don't waste too much time and effort.

I take my 14yr old to the range and we just go and wallop balls, have no interest in correcting issues, it's about having fun with our range sessions.

I hit balls to warm up to play and that's about it. Hit off mats? Great way to ruin your game.

Fail to plan, plan to fail but good effort mate

Some people just want to have fun

One thing ive mistakenly assumed about golfers is that most of them have played another sport before and should already understand the concept of purposeful practice. I couldn't imagine trying to pick up golf with no prior athletic experience 😮

My mistake is not hitting enough ,one bucket just shows me what I need to work on.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

The amount of pro's at the driving range I'm surprised anyone struggles with game

3:06 You forgot to look around to see if anybody was watching.

Day/video 15 half a month in I'm losing count lol it's hard to stay consistent lemme just get that Evnroll

Best tip for the driving range. Hit off grass. There are no mats on the course.

@Gazelle2802

6 ай бұрын

There is in Scotland in December when it's Minus below 😂

@maxsmart8954

6 ай бұрын

Mats are not an issue as long as you are properly compressing the ball.

@cmskinner3682

6 ай бұрын

@maxsmart8954 And can the ball be properly compressed when at the moment of impact with the Matt the club bounces up. Rather than going through the Matt. Like it would on the grass. Physics man. A Matt will always be harder than the ground. Matt's do not give the dose. It might only be a small amount, but it's still a difference.

@maxsmart8954

6 ай бұрын

@@cmskinner3682 not where I play in AZ it’s dry and hard very little grass. Ball is compressed with very little dirt divot. Either way I play to an 8 at 68 can’t complain. Learned and practice on matts for 30 years.

@cmskinner3682

6 ай бұрын

@maxsmart8954 I play in New York. That might be the difference. The ground here is generally pretty soft. There is this bounce after impact on a matt that is very minor, but it's there, and I can't get over it. I can see it being advantageous in a dryer climate. It's something to think about.

The average golfer (95 and higher) should be working on the full swing muscle memory. But the average golfer rarely hits ball outside the course. It’s a discipline that most never do. Hit 10 large buckets (3 weeks)with each club starting with the lob wedge. Take a quality lesson and in a few years you’ll be breaking 90 consistently. Unless you’re an exceptional athlete it’s gonna take time.🤠🤘

MAKE SURE it's quality over quantity, it's easy to say it and not do it. As a noob myself a piece of advice that might help you is instead of aiming for the ball aim for the ground right underneath the ball. Attack angle and balance are some of the most important things. Ready, aim, grip it and rip it bud! It's ok if you only hit 1 out of 10! Try to really feel it. We are a bunch of cavemen swinging clubs, let your inner caveman out!

Hitting from the mat is worst thing to do as you don't really improve. Hitting from mat ball always goes straight and not easy to see fat shot... Practices from turf is the correct way and easy to see your mistake when hitting fat shots

@Mattfryergolf

6 ай бұрын

turf is better but you can still get feedback from a poor struck shot.

@Gazelle2802

6 ай бұрын

Some of us don't stay in a 360 days a year sunshine 15°C and above country 😂. i e Scotland/UK 😂

@braga786

6 ай бұрын

​@@Gazelle2802😂yes I'm lucky here in South Africa we have all year round sunshine. Our winter is still warm warmer than autumn in Europe. Our course also never close

@Gazelle2802

6 ай бұрын

@braga786 I'm from Scotland. We can play links most of the year off the fairways and tee boxes and greens but no fun when it's hosing it down horizontally with 25mph winds 😂🤦

@braga786

6 ай бұрын

@@Gazelle2802 still on my bucket list to play a few rounds of golf there in Scotland

Just have purpose at the DR

why when you go to the driving range you hit all your balls great but on the course not

Hogan said he would rather hit 10 to 15 balls and aim at a target then hit a thousand balls and aim at nothing.

I'm deffo guilty of aligning to the mat

1 price 2 Matts 3 balls 4 tees 5 people who hit the roof of a high tee That's what ruined golf at golf range

Cant get consistent distances with range balls

£13 for 120 crappy range balls!!! what a rip off!

@mkemp01

6 ай бұрын

That’s good value for a toptracer bay.

@cduffy4018

6 ай бұрын

They're all srixon. They actually sell their used balls to other ranges once they renew them which they do very regularly so its a very good price!

The point is always practice with a purpose. Dont just whack balls

Sadly practice on a range mat is pretty pointless , except for clubs off a tee, maybe that’s why is called a driving range

@Gazelle2802

6 ай бұрын

Yep exactly. Even bad shots get away with it. Absolutely ZERO reaction to what a fairway would.

@danarcotta1283

6 ай бұрын

I NEVER practice off mats, there's no point unless your hitting driver

@jerome8670

6 ай бұрын

Nooooo it’s an event for golfers to get better! 💯 out in the course is totally different and not 1, 2 shots are the same. But golf is a game of swinging a club in an efficient way, where at some point there’s a ball in the way of that swing/club. I think the range is great for getting your own gyroscopic’s dialled in…. Where your feet are … where your chest is …. Your grip….. head …. Shoulders …. Sooooo much more than just the final part of hitting a golf ball?

@paulburton210

6 ай бұрын

Sorry i have to disagree on that

@sticky2290

6 ай бұрын

It might not be ideal but it’s not pointless

Hitting from may doesn’t translate to real turf.

If you fail to plan, you simply plan to fail.

Sure I have seen this before either by Matt or one of his friends.Need something fresh,it is starting to look like repeat on all the similar channels.

BS that's why tour player never use the driving range 😂😂

Pros get better hitting at the driving range because pros are privileged people. You and I are the scum of the earth. We hit off mats. Pros hit off grass.

Here’s one, stop going to the range. The range is pointless

@1976axerhand

6 ай бұрын

Damm right.

@C_E_0

6 ай бұрын

I kinda doubt that, but I definitely don’t want to be stuck playing behind someone who’s working on their swing while on the actual course

@simonshotter8960

6 ай бұрын

@@C_E_0 when did I say go to golf course with a bucket of balls, mate?

@SMG95x

6 ай бұрын

Why is it pointless?

@Norfolknoel

6 ай бұрын

I’m a complete a beginner 1 month playing the game…. Why is this bad? Why do they have them