Everyone including the professionals have had those practice sessions before a round of golf where you hit every shot perfect. Then for some strange reason we can't take that same success on the golf course. The shots you hit on the range were all right on the money but for whatever reason you couldn't take it to the course.

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Why does this happen? That is a question that even baffles the best pros like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Quite often we will hear that Tiger hit every shot perfect on the driving range but then gets to the first tee and wipes way off to the right. Then proceeds to struggle the rest of the day off the tee. Even Tiger struggles with this so surely the rest of us do as well.

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Back in the mid 90s I learned some valuable lessons about practice. I took psychology lessons to help me improve my performance on the golf course, and perhaps the way I approached the game. Glen Albaugh taught playing professionals like Scott Mcarron, and I was fortunate enough to get a few lessons on how to practice like you play. You see most golfers do not have any purpose when they get to the range, which is a big mistake.

This reasoning goes along with other sports as well such as basketball and football where the coach simulates real game like playing sessions. The idea to practice like you play is to be able to seamlessly go from the driving range to the first tee without missing a beat. So how do you do this?

Here are a couple things you can do next time you are on the range practicing:

1. Picture the first few holes of your home course or the one you are about to play. Then actually hit the shots on the range you will have based on the result of your shot on the range. Make sense?

To elaborate. Pick an imaginary view on the range and pretend its the fairway on the first hole. Maybe try and hit your tee shot between the 150 marker and a tree you see in the background for example. Now go through your routine like you would on the first hole line up your shot and hit it. Now determine if you hit the fairway. Next determine what club you have left into the green, and hit that shot. Now move on to the next hole.

2. Don't hit at the same target more than a few times. Mix it up a little bit and change clubs. Take a 5 iron and try and play a draw to a target on the left side of the range. Then hit a shot at a target on the right side of the range, but this time hit a fade. Keep switching it up playing low, high, fades and draws. Use your imagination and get the feel you need to hit the shot at hand. Go through your on course routine before every shot. Its not the amount of balls you hit its the quality.

Just these two tips alone if practiced and taken seriously will help improve your performance on the golf course, and this is what we are all after.

Tips to Help You Take Your Driving Range Game to the Golf Course

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