How to split your time
Putting and short game account for more than half the shots in a round. Don’t give all your time to the range.
A starting guide for a 60-minute session:
| Area | Time | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up (easy swings, any short iron) | 5 min | Wake up your body before you go hard |
| Short game (chips, pitches, bunkers) | 20 min | Highest bang for your buck |
| Putting (short putts first, then lag) | 15 min | No round is won by ball-striking alone |
| Full swings (7-iron first, then other clubs) | 15 min | Build your repeating motion |
| Play shots (random targets, simulate the course) | 5 min | Practise the way you’ll actually play |
⚠️ Watch-out: most beginners spend 80 % of their time on driver. Driver is the lowest-frequency club in your bag — you hit it once per par 4. Pick it up last.
Warm up properly
Start with easy half-swings or chips with a short iron. Let your body find the motion — don’t try to hit it perfectly on rep 1. Five minutes of easy swings beats hitting driver cold and grooving bad habits.
Blocked vs. random practice
Blocked (same club, same target, many reps in a row): good for drilling a specific movement or learning a new feel. A bucket of balls to the same flag is blocked practice.
Random / variable (different clubs, different targets, one shot then move on): trains how you’ll actually play. Pick a target, go through your routine, commit — then change club and target.
Both have a place:
- Start with blocked to groove a movement or fix a fault.
- End with random so your brain connects the drill to real golf.
⚠️ Watch-out: blocked practice feels great because you get on a streak. Random practice feels hard because every rep is different — that’s the point. The range streak won’t transfer to the course; the struggle will.
Always use a target
Pick something specific before every shot: a flag, a distance marker, a patch of grass. Committing to a target — even on the range — trains your pre-shot routine and forces you to evaluate the shot honestly.
Wide-target tip: if you miss the same way ten times in a row, your pattern is telling you something. Write it down and bring it to your next lesson.
Practise your scoring shots
Chips and putts inside 6 feet win or lose most rounds. If time is short, spend it here first, not on driver.
A simple short-game drill: drop five balls at five different spots around the green (different lies, different distances). Chip each one, putt out, and count your total score. Try to beat it next session.
End on a good rep
Finish your session — or each block of work — on a shot that feels right. This is what your brain takes home. If the last rep is a shank, chip a few easy ones first.
Short focused sessions beat long grind sessions
Three focused 30-minute sessions per week beats one 3-hour session of mindless ball-beating. Fatigue makes you practise bad habits. When your attention drops, stop.