Look, most golfers hate going to the driving range with an actual plan, and would rather just whip out the driver and let the big dog eat as much as possible.
In my humble opinion, few things beat a sunny day on the range with a couple of beers, a few buddies, and a de facto long-drive competition with a bunch of Happy Gilmore swings. Unfortunately, if you’re actually trying to improve at golf, the aforementioned plan isn’t really the best strategy.
So how can you develop a pro-level practice plan on the driving range? The Rainmakers Golf Club crew asked PGA player Cameron Young, with the former Rookie of the Year giving his best golf tips.
Need Help on the Driving Range? Use Cameron Young’s Tips
Ask any golf instructor or great player how they spend their time at the driving range, and you’ll probably hear a common theme: Intent.
While most players (myself included), aren’t intentional with their golf practice, Young says that’s the first step in becoming a better golfer.
“A lot of the warm up should revolve around wedges, since that’s where you get your tempo and where you get confidence that your strikes are where you want them to be,” Young tells me.
It’s only after hitting some wedge shots that Young suggests moving to the driver — since that plays such a huge role in your overall scores. After all, if you don’t get the ball in play, your scorecard will likely balloon in a hurry.
By following the theme of an intentional golf practice, Young suggests having a go-to driver shot that allows you to feel comfortable no matter the situation off the tee.
”When you make big numbers [on the scorecard], it tends to start off the tee, so the main thing there is having a shot that you can go to,” Young adds. “The time you spend on the range before a round can be making sure that you have that shot, or realizing that it feels different that day and [coming up with adjustments] to make that shot happen.”
I then asked Young if he focuses more on his weaknesses than on his strengths on the driving range. While many would think he’d work more on the things he struggles with, he actually argued for as much balance as possible.
“If you only practice your weaknesses, I think you get worse at what you’re good at,” Young explains. “I used to never hit an off-speed driver, and would just hit them all hard and right-to-left. But I’ve now hit a lot more fairways having more than just that one tee shot.”
By utilizing a more focused and intentional driving range plan like Cameron Young does, you can give yourself more confidence to hit different types of shots during a round.
“It’s really important to give yourself as many tools as you can, and having the one or two things that you know you can go back to in a situation where you may be uncomfortable,” Young explains.
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