What should you be doing in your practice sessions?

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Let me guess what your typical range session looks like:

You buy a bucket of balls. Pull out your driver. Start launching balls without much thought.

Maybe you hit a few wedges at the end if you have balls left over.

You leave feeling like you "practised," but next time you play... nothing's improved.

Sound familiar?

Here's the problem: You're not practising. You're just hitting balls.

There's a massive difference between the two.

The Difference Between Practice and Ball Beating

Ball Beating:

• No structure or plan
• Hitting the same club over and over
• No target or specific goal
• Rushing through shots
• Focused on distance, not precision
• Rarely practice short game

Real Practice:

• Structured routine with purpose
• Variety of clubs and situations
• Specific targets for every shot
• Quality over quantity
• Focused on weaknesses, not strengths
• Short game gets equal time

The golfer who practices 30 minutes with purpose will improve faster than the golfer who beats balls for 2 hours.

My 30-Minute Practice Formula

I'm going to give you the exact routine I use myself and teach to all my students.

This is designed to fit into a busy schedule while maximising improvement.

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The 30-Minute Practice Plan

Equipment Needed:

• 1 bucket of balls (50-70 balls)
• Alignment sticks or clubs
• Your rangefinder or yardage markers
• Specific targets (flags, markers, landing zones)

STATION 1: Wedge Warm-Up (5 minutes)

Goal: Wake up your swing and establish tempo

What to do:

• Pick a target 50-75 yards out
• Hit 10-12 wedge shots (pitching or gap wedge)
• Focus on TEMPO and rhythm, not mechanics
• Make each swing smooth and controlled
• Don't worry about perfect contact yet

Mental focus: "Smooth tempo, soft hands"

Why this works: Wedges are the easiest to swing well. This gets your body loose without trying to crush drivers when you're cold. You're building rhythm before power.

STATION 2: Iron Scoring Zone (10 minutes)

Goal: Develop precision with your scoring clubs

What to do:

• Set up alignment sticks (target line and foot line)
• Choose 3 different targets between 100-150 yards
• Hit 5 balls to each target with different clubs:
  • 5 shots with 9-iron to Target A (125 yards)
  • 5 shots with 8-iron to Target B (140 yards)
  • 5 shots with 7-iron to Target C (155 yards)
• After each shot, rate it: Good (on target), OK (close), or Miss

Mental focus: Pick a specific target for EVERY shot. Not "somewhere out there." An actual flag or marker.

Why this works: This is where you score. These are the clubs you pull when you have a birdie chance or need to save par. You're training precision under structure, not just hoping.

Success metric: If you hit 10+ out of 15 shots rated "Good" or "OK," you're doing well.

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STATION 3: Driver Confidence (8 minutes)

Goal: Build consistency and find your fairway

What to do:

• Pick a specific fairway target (not just "straight")
• Imagine a fairway width (use two markers or flags as boundaries)
• Hit 10 drivers trying to land in your imaginary fairway
• Use your full pre-shot routine for each shot
• Track: How many fairways did you hit?

Mental focus: "Fairways, not bombs." Swing at 80-85% power, not 100%.

Why this works: Most golfers practice driver like it's long drive competition. On the course, you need fairways. This trains real-world driver success.

Pro tip: If you hit fewer than 6 out of 10 fairways, your driver needs work. Consider choking down or swinging easier until consistency improves.

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STATION 4: Short Game Reality (7 minutes)

Goal: Practice the shots that save strokes

What to do:

• Find the short game area (chipping green, fringe, rough)
• Create 5 different scenarios:
  • 2 uphill chips from fringe
  • 2 downhill chips from rough
  • 1 longer pitch shot (20-30 yards)
• Hit 2 balls from each scenario (10 shots total)
• Try to get each ball within 6 feet of the hole

Mental focus: "Land spot and roll." Pick where you want the ball to land, see it rolling to the hole.

Why this works: You'll face these shots multiple times per round. 10 minutes here saves more strokes than 30 minutes crushing driver.

Success metric: Getting 5+ balls inside 6 feet = you're saving pars. Under 3? Your short game needs dedicated work.

What Makes This Different

Structure Over Volume: You're not mindlessly hitting 100 balls. You're deliberately working on specific skills with clear goals.

Quality Over Quantity: 45 purposeful shots beat 150 random ones every single time.

Balanced Development: You're touching every part of your game in one session. No neglected areas.

Real-World Application: Every station mimics what you'll face on the course. You're practicing golf, not just golf swing.

Measurable Progress: You can track success (fairways hit, balls inside 6 feet, etc.) and see improvement week to week.

Your Assignment This Week

Do this exact routine 2-3 times this week:

After each session, track:

• Irons: ___ out of 15 rated "Good"
• Driver: ___ out of 10 fairways hit
• Short game: ___ out of 10 inside 6 feet

Watch your numbers improve from session 1 to session 3.

That's real, measurable practice.

The Bottom Line

You don't need more time at the range. You need better time at the range.

30 minutes of structured, purposeful practice will transform your game faster than hours of mindless ball beating.

This week: Try this routine twice. Track your numbers. See the difference.

I guarantee you'll leave the range knowing you actually practiced—and you'll see it show up in your scores.

See you at the range,

Mark Wood
PGA Professional/Golf Coach

P.S. - The golfers who practice like this are the ones who drop 5-10 strokes in a season. The ones who just beat balls? They stay the same. Which one will you be?

P.P.S. - Pro tip: Bring this email to the range on your phone and follow along your first time through. Once you've done it twice, it becomes automatic.