Range routine after ten years off?

[NewbieJames]

So after ten years off, I am getting back into golf.  I have purchased my bag and am preparing to go to the range.

I want to start out right but not overdo it.

 

Any ideas on a good range routine?

 

I was thinking about starting off with wedges then moving up in the irons and then doing driver last or maybe not even at all for a few times as I get a feel for my irons and yardages dialed in.

 

Any thoughts or recommendations on a good routine?

[Naptime]

Personal opinion, have a specific purpose for your sessions rather than just going through the bag.  I would start with short irons and try to re-establish the bottom of my swing, but a lot depends on how good you were when you stopped playing.

Edited Sunday at 05:10 PM by Naptime

[NewbieJames]

2 hours ago, Naptime said:

Personal opinion, have a specific purpose for your sessions rather than just going through the bag.  I would start with short irons and try to re-establish the bottom of my swing, but a lot depends on how good you were when you stopped playing.

 

Seems reasonable. 

 

I went and just wanted to hit irons, take my time and not even think about driver.  I went with the large 80 ball bucket.  I started with my GW (50 degree).  Was horrible so i switched to 7 iron.  Was horrible until I remembered to put the handle and hands in front of the ball before takeaway and then it got much better immediately.  

 

I went GW, 7 iron for most of it, back to GW, 5 hybrid and then the last 5 balls i went driver.   

 

Driver I only hit 5 balls.  Pretty good contact throughout...last ball was great 250 plus dead straight. 

 

I found myself pulling my shots consistently (except Driver). 

 

Almost feels like my irons are too short but also I"m not good. 

 

Overall I was pretty happy with my contact.

 

Good first time out. 

 

[J-Blade]

Welcome back!

 

It's going to take time.. Be patient. I was off for two years up until about 8 months ago and I was rusty. It's coming back slowly. 

 

I've been golfing about 52 years now, minus my two years off. On the range, I've always started with my wedges.. It gets my feel back and try to hit targets and then move up through the bag. If I hit more than one iron badly, I'll go back to a wedge for feel and then back to whichever iron it was.

 

What did you put in your bag? My irons are 6-SW Ping ISIs. I recently switched to game improvement irons from my S-series Pings. 

 

One suggestion: If you can take a short lesson. They can help you work on things to improve, which is much easier than guessing yourself. 

 

Lastly.. Have fun! As the late Harvey Penick said, "You don't have to go play. You get to go play". 

[NewbieJames]

2 hours ago, J-Blade said:

Welcome back!

 

It's going to take time.. Be patient. I was off for two years up until about 8 months ago and I was rusty. It's coming back slowly. 

 

I've been golfing about 52 years now, minus my two years off. On the range, I've always started with my wedges.. It gets my feel back and try to hit targets and then move up through the bag. If I hit more than one iron badly, I'll go back to a wedge for feel and then back to whichever iron it was.

 

What did you put in your bag? My irons are 6-SW Ping ISIs. I recently switched to game improvement irons from my S-series Pings. 

 

One suggestion: If you can take a short lesson. They can help you work on things to improve, which is much easier than guessing yourself. 

 

Lastly.. Have fun! As the late Harvey Penick said, "You don't have to go play. You get to go play". 

I currently have Callaway wedges and Mizuno JPX EZ irons 7-GW and Mizuno JPXEX 4-6 hybrids.

 

Ive been browing youtube for a couple months learning things. 

 

I think the reason i was pulling my irons so much was because my grip was so strong. I'm going to experiment next time out with a more neutral grip and see if it helps. 

[J-Blade]

Those Mizunos are great irons. My cousin, a former D-1 player at USC plays those. 

 

Describe your average ball flight with your irons. Were you hitting it fat, topping the ball, left, right? "Terrible" doesn't tell us much, though I can relate at times 🙂 

[NewbieJames]

1 hour ago, J-Blade said:

Those Mizunos are great irons. My cousin, a former D-1 player at USC plays those. 

 

Describe your average ball flight with your irons. Were you hitting it fat, topping the ball, left, right? "Terrible" doesn't tell us much, though I can relate at times 🙂 

 

hosle (spelling?) or heely, straight pull

The ones i did hit pure, were still pulled 

 

Edited yesterday at 01:28 AM by NewbieJames

[J-Blade]

Ok.. That can be a grip that is too strong, but it could be something else. Your best bet is to get a lesson from a PGA teaching pro near you. There also is a section on here, https://forums.golfwrx.com/forum/16-instruction-academy/ . Specific swing questions should be posted there. Some of the guys there are pretty knowledgeable, though they can't see what you are doing, so that is why I suggest at least one lesson. 

 

Best of luck!

[uitar9]

I was reading the little red book. Mr P was talking about a range session with Tom Kite. He had him hitting all his irons to the same target

 

I thought that odd so started doing it at the range. Added a wedge as well. I picked a 75 yard target. Did it all winter.

 

Don't know why, but it added "feel" to all my shots. I t really helped  short game and getting out of trouble. 

[Dabetic]

I would do "9 to 3" drill (~half swings 9 to 3 on a clock) with short irons and wedges until you're sick of it

[bortass]

As mentioned above, practice something specific. 
 

I would work on something for 15-20 minutes, take a 5 minute break, and then work on something another 15-20 minutes. The reason for practicing 15-20 minutes and then taking a break is based on how our central nervous system works. Our mind starts to check out after 20 minutes and we tend to go on auto pilot which means our old habits take over. Old habits means we are not working on the change we want, therefore wasting time.@MonteScheinblum has talked about this at his clinics and in some of his videos. Adam Young touches on the science of this in his book The Practice Manual as well. 

[Scottbox]

Get an online lesson with @MonteScheinblum or @iteachgolf on the Skillest app (or if you're in SoCal, just go to Monte). Work on each thing they give you for at least a month. Aside from constantly making sure your setup and alignment are proper, don't do more than 30 minutes per session at the range when you work on something (I like the 15 min with a five min break in between). When you do work on an issue, do it very slowly for 4 balls, then do half-speed not thinking about it for another 4 balls. I'm talking 10-20% effort on your slow shots. Like, hit 90-yard 7 irons. Take lots of practice swings. You cannot make changes at full speed. Use video if possible at least once a week.

 

Then go work on your short game for another 30-40 min. For a while, you're gonna spray it everywhere on the course, so you might as well learn how to get up and down and save bogie or par. Plus, developing a good short game is ultimately fun and gratifying, IMO.

 

Lower your expectations for a few months, and don't compare yourself to the player you were a few years ago. I took off 10 years off, and when I returned to golf, I was in for a rude awakening. Different guy, different body (too much delicious pizza and cake). Good luck!

Edited 14 hours ago by Scottbox