It's easy to think that spending hours hitting balls on the driving range is the quickest route to better golf. But if your goal is to break 100, improve your handicap or simply become a more consistent player, practising smarter is far more important than practising longer.
In this Golfshake tuition video, PGA Professional Aaron Holtom explains why many golfers waste valuable practice time and shares a simple approach that helps your range sessions transfer onto the golf course where it matters most.
Rather than mindlessly hitting one club after another, Aaron's advice focuses on purposeful practice that develops every part of your game.
Stop Practising Without a Plan
One of the biggest mistakes recreational golfers make is practising without understanding where they actually lose shots.
Many players spend an hour hitting seven irons before finishing with a handful of drivers, despite the fact that those clubs represent only a small proportion of the shots they'll hit during a typical round.
Aaron's first piece of advice is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your game before deciding what to practise.
Using performance data through a stat-tracking app, such as the Golfshake App or any platform that provides strokes gained statistics, allows you to see whether you're losing shots with your driving, approach play, short game or putting.
Once you know where your weaknesses lie, your practice becomes far more targeted and productive.
Spend More Time on the Shots That Matter
Many golfers underestimate just how much of a round is played around the greens.
As Aaron highlights, approximately:
- Around 40% of all shots are putts
- Roughly 30% come from the short game, including chipping, pitching, bunker shots and recovery shots
That means around 70% of your golf is played without making a full swing.
If your practice consists almost entirely of full irons on the range, you're neglecting the parts of the game that have the biggest impact on your scorecard.
Developing your distance control, touch around the greens and confidence with scoring clubs will often deliver faster improvements than simply chasing extra distance.
The Golf Course Is Your Best Practice Ground
While driving ranges have an important place in your improvement, Aaron believes nothing replaces practising on the golf course itself.
Real golf presents situations you simply can't recreate from a perfectly flat driving range mat.
On the course you'll experience:
- Uneven lies
- Different types of rough
- Recovery shots
- Awkward stances
- Pitching and chipping from realistic situations
- Decision making under pressure
Even if you're not playing a full round, spending time dropping balls in different locations and experimenting with a variety of shots helps build the skills you'll actually need during competition.
This type of practice creates far greater transfer from the practice ground to the course.
Make Every Driving Range Session Count
When poor weather or limited time means the driving range is your only option, Aaron recommends dividing your practice into three clear sections.
1. Technical Practice
Begin by working on your golf swing.
This is the time to focus on mechanics such as:
- Alignment
- Grip
- Swing positions
- Backswing changes
- Any technical work you've discussed with your coach
Keep this section purposeful rather than simply hitting ball after ball.
2. Experiment and Be Creative
The second stage is all about learning how to control the golf ball.
Challenge yourself by trying to:
- Hit the ball high and low
- Shape fades and draws
- Play knockdown shots
- Experiment with different trajectories
The objective isn't perfect consistency. Instead, you're developing better club control and expanding the range of shots you're capable of playing on the course.
3. Test Your Performance
Finally, finish your session by creating pressure.
Aaron recommends using facilities such as Toptracer or TrackMan driving ranges to play games, complete skills challenges and keep score.
Treat every shot as if you're on the golf course by following your full pre-shot routine and aiming at specific targets.
This type of performance practice helps bridge the gap between the range and real golf while giving you measurable progress to beat on your next visit.
Key Takeaways From Aaron Holtom
If you want your practice to translate into lower scores, remember these simple principles:
- Track your performance to identify strengths and weaknesses.
- Spend more time practising putting and the short game.
- Get onto the golf course whenever possible to practise real-life situations.
- Divide range sessions into technical work, creativity and performance testing.
- Practise with purpose rather than simply hitting as many balls as possible.
- Measure your progress using games, challenges and performance statistics.
Watch the Full Lesson
In the video above, Aaron Holtom explains how a more structured approach to practice can help golfers improve faster and take their range performance onto the golf course.
Whether you're aiming to break 100, reduce your handicap or simply make better use of your practice time, these straightforward tips will help you train with greater purpose and see better results where it counts most.
About the Author
Aaron Holtom is an Advanced PGA Professional with an MSc in Sports Coaching and has been a full-time teaching professional at Morley Hayes Golf Club for more than 17 years. Working with golfers of all ages and abilities, Aaron combines expert coaching with industry-leading technology, including Trackman, BodiTrak pressure mats and 3D motion capture, to help players improve faster. Alongside individual coaching, he also runs his popular 'Golf Not Golf Swing' group coaching programme, focusing on practical skills, course management and lowering scores.
Find out more at www.golf-not-golf-swing.com.
