All golfers think that if only they could hit the ball like they did in practice, their scores would plummet.
They say they wish they could bring their range game to the course and wonder why they don't do it.
Actually, they do bring their range game to the course, and that's the problem.
The range game is not a game you can play with.
What you do on the range is refine your swing.
There are no targets to hit, no penalties for missing.
We experiment at the range.
If this swing idea doesn't work, we can try others until the bucket is empty.
We concentrate on our swing more than the results.
The mental habit all this creates is to get locked into mechanics and do-overs.
On the course, things are different.
There is only one chance to hit the shot right.
Under that kind of pressure, golfers will fall back on what they know, what they're used to, what they are comfortable with.
And if what the golfer is comfortable with is the range frame of mind, golf will be a struggle because the range is full of allowances while the course has none.
What needs to be brought from the range is the swing.
What needs to be left at the range is the kind of mental readiness for a shot that you fall into there.
When you take your complete range game to the course, the mental conflict between the do-over mentality at the range and the one-and-done reality of the course leaves the golfer with nowhere to turn.
Try this.
Play a practice round in which you tee off and when you get within striking range of the green, hit three iron shots into it: a long iron/hybrid, a mid-iron, and a short iron (one of which should be your tee ball).
Do this on every hole.
You will notice after a few holes that you have started to get more careful about how you get ready for each shot.
The stakes have become apparent.
You set up with more care, aim with more care, and all you want to do with your swing is make an easy pass at the ball instead of slugging it.
You've stopped thinking about mechanics and have adjusted to playing one shot at a time.
Now you're playing golf.
This new mental approach, which prepares your mind so that when you have that one chance to hit a shot, your best shot or something close to it will come out, is what needs to be developed.
If you do this exercise for nine holes, you will learn more about how to hit good iron shots on the course, when it counts, than you could in nine sessions (and that's no exaggeration) at the range.
You'll learn which part of your range game to take with you, which part to leave behind, and what to put in its place.
They say they wish they could bring their range game to the course and wonder why they don't do it.
Actually, they do bring their range game to the course, and that's the problem.
The range game is not a game you can play with.
What you do on the range is refine your swing.
There are no targets to hit, no penalties for missing.
We experiment at the range.
If this swing idea doesn't work, we can try others until the bucket is empty.
We concentrate on our swing more than the results.
The mental habit all this creates is to get locked into mechanics and do-overs.
On the course, things are different.
There is only one chance to hit the shot right.
Under that kind of pressure, golfers will fall back on what they know, what they're used to, what they are comfortable with.
And if what the golfer is comfortable with is the range frame of mind, golf will be a struggle because the range is full of allowances while the course has none.
What needs to be brought from the range is the swing.
What needs to be left at the range is the kind of mental readiness for a shot that you fall into there.
When you take your complete range game to the course, the mental conflict between the do-over mentality at the range and the one-and-done reality of the course leaves the golfer with nowhere to turn.
Try this.
Play a practice round in which you tee off and when you get within striking range of the green, hit three iron shots into it: a long iron/hybrid, a mid-iron, and a short iron (one of which should be your tee ball).
Do this on every hole.
You will notice after a few holes that you have started to get more careful about how you get ready for each shot.
The stakes have become apparent.
You set up with more care, aim with more care, and all you want to do with your swing is make an easy pass at the ball instead of slugging it.
You've stopped thinking about mechanics and have adjusted to playing one shot at a time.
Now you're playing golf.
This new mental approach, which prepares your mind so that when you have that one chance to hit a shot, your best shot or something close to it will come out, is what needs to be developed.
If you do this exercise for nine holes, you will learn more about how to hit good iron shots on the course, when it counts, than you could in nine sessions (and that's no exaggeration) at the range.
You'll learn which part of your range game to take with you, which part to leave behind, and what to put in its place.