Do you stay at the range longer on days you're hitting it solid?

[93tilInfinity]

I buy a bucket of 20 balls most days and hit through that checking video between each shot to ensure I'm hitting my checkpoints and my swing looks solid.

Most sessions are mixed, but there's the rare day when I pure every ball, my swing looks great, etc.

Is it best to leverage those great days as much as possible and hit infinity balls to attempt to ingrain that feeling, or does that not tend to matter over the long run?

I find it VERY tempting to just leave after 20 and bask in the glory of a perfect sesh 😄 but not if I'm missing out on a golden opportunity to accelerate my growth.

[Hawkeye77]

I'm going from memory and not looking it up, but after a round at The Masters where he didn't strike the ball well, Nicklaus went to the range, put down a ball, stared at it for quite some time and . . . left.  

 

It's all situational, but I'm never going to just beat balls into submission if things aren't going right and I'm absolutely not going to overdo it if things are going well.  Always try to leave on a good shot, kind of depends on what the goal was for being on the range. 

[Socrates]

If I am hitting it really well, I will usually hit a variety of clubs (only once) and then pack it in.  If I'm really enthused, I might go putt and chip.

[stryper]

Not normally.  If I’m crushing it on a given day I like to walk away while I’m on top.  Might hit a couple of extra drivers, but that’s about it…a good range session goes a long way toward setting up the rest of my day.   😎

[naj959]

The feeling of a flush shot is highly addictive. Once I start getting a blister or possibly injuring myself I walk away. Otherwise, I'll stay out there all night to my own detriment.

[Avidswampthing66]

Shorter, if I'm hitting it really well.  If the swing feels solid, I'm going to work on chipping/shortgame and hopefully go play!

[cgasucks]

If I'm flushing it most of the time, I'd leave and head to the course as I don't want to waste my good swings on the driving range.

[KD1]

The thing is the science says you have to make errors in order to que your brain to learn anything.

 

I'd take the opportunity to play games like imagine I'm playing my course, changing clubs everyshot. Or work on partial wedge distances.

 

[ferrispgm]

Sometimes I do but that's because when I'm striking it really well the feeling is so addicting and fun.  I'm not sure there is much of an actual benefit to it though.  

[johnrobison]

21 minutes ago, ferrispgm said:

Sometimes I do but that's because when I'm striking it really well the feeling is so addicting and fun.  I'm not sure there is much of an actual benefit to it though.  

I generally have a plan and timeframe that I stick to but do believe potential benefit might be in the engraining of good habits when you're able to consistently repeat what you're there to do. Not necessarily about hitting it solid (which can be done with old, bad habits) but about making the changes.

[tatertot]

I spend 15 minutes a year at the range whether I need it or not.

[johnrobison]

38 minutes ago, tatertot said:

I spend 15 minutes a year at the range whether I need it or not.

The self-discipline is admirable

[J13]

15 hours ago, 93tilInfinity said:

I buy a bucket of 20 balls most days and hit through that checking video between each shot to ensure I'm hitting my checkpoints and my swing looks solid.

Most sessions are mixed, but there's the rare day when I pure every ball, my swing looks great, etc.

Is it best to leverage those great days as much as possible and hit infinity balls to attempt to ingrain that feeling, or does that not tend to matter over the long run?

I find it VERY tempting to just leave after 20 and bask in the glory of a perfect sesh 😄 but not if I'm missing out on a golden opportunity to accelerate my growth.

 

On those days I get video to use as a reference.  Face on and DTL.  If you have access I'd also recommend getting numbers for comparison.

[Rosco1216]

No way. If I’m hitting it well I won’t practice on the range. On a day to day basis, i can only get worse if i continue to practice hitting balls when im already hitting it great. I just get loose and hit a couple and make sure it’s as expected and then just go practice elsewhere or play.  

[HGLucky13]

Never happens for me so not sure....usually I will hit a lg bucket when at the range. If it starts off well where I am hitting the first 20 or so real well I will start to play games with the rest of the balls instead of focus on striking. Maybe play out the first few holes of the course or pick random targets and try to hit them.

[stryper]

10 minutes ago, HGLucky13 said:

Never happens for me so not sure....usually I will hit a lg bucket when at the range. If it starts off well where I am hitting the first 20 or so real well I will start to play games with the rest of the balls instead of focus on striking. Maybe play out the first few holes of the course or pick random targets and try to hit them.

For some reason, I’m not good at playing those imaginary holes on the range.  Probably has to do with having no target to shoot at and no short game recovery shots to make.  Even something as simple as hitting into imaginary fairways does not compute with me.  Far better for me to head for the practice green when I’ve found my groove.  

[caniac6]

The only time I spend a lot of time at the range is if I’m working on something. If I’m hitting it good, I won’t be there long. Same for the putting green. 

[596]

What's this thing you are calling a "range"?

 

I really have to learn all these golf terms. 

[st1800e]

2 minutes ago, caniac6 said:

The only time I spend a lot of time at the range is if I’m working on something. If I’m hitting it good, I won’t be there long. Same for the putting green. 

This, don’t ruin a good thing.  I tend to lose interest after a run of good shots on the driving range. As was said then take it on the course.  Hitting good shots on the course will boost your confidence.  
 

And some use the term “muscle memory”.   Muscles don’t have brain cells. 

[Pepperturbo]

17 hours ago, 93tilInfinity said:

Is it best to leverage those great days as much as possible

Nope, not IME.

 

When I was hitting 1100–1400 balls per week, I'd spend more time practicing when my ball striking was off.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

In my experience, it is better to stop when things are going well after you get through a routine. Anything more is showing off, and that works out badly in the end. 😄 

[Socrates]

I don't want to give the wrong impression.  If I'm hitting really well, I don't spend much time hitting balls.  Not that I don't want to or need to, but because my body only has so much to give do to various injuries.  I'll save the pain for when the swing really needs the extra effort.

 

[Nard_S]

Yeah i do.

[johnrobison]

17 hours ago, st1800e said:

This, don’t ruin a good thing.  I tend to lose interest after a run of good shots on the driving range. As was said then take it on the course.  Hitting good shots on the course will boost your confidence.  
 

And some use the term “muscle memory”.   Muscles don’t have brain cells. 

Of course not - it's a kind of metaphor. When learning to play a particularly difficult piece of music, a musician plays it repeatedly even when they're playing it well so that when it's time to perform, they can play it without thinking or trying. It emanates from the subconscious. Same with the golf swing - for me, anyway.

[TheDeanAbides]

I don't hit balls at all now, but if I was hitting it really well and video showed me that I was doing that with good mechanics, I'd then use that to work on tough or specialist shots. So I'd play around with big curvatures, driver off the deck, and trying to hit stingers as low as possible. Always felt like that was the best way to make it count on the course.