In this video, Neil Tappin and Katie Dawkins discus how to take your game from the range to the golf course.
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00:00 Now, one of the biggest areas that golfers often struggle with is how do you take your
00:06 golf game from the range with you out onto the golf course?
00:11 We've all been there before where you've hit it well on the range, preparing for a big
00:15 round of golf, and then you get onto the golf course and suddenly all those good shots suddenly
00:19 elude you and you play really poorly and it's very demoralizing.
00:22 So that's what this video is all about.
00:24 And we're going to offer some really simple and effective advice.
00:27 Now the tips come from Katie Dawkins.
00:29 She's one of the Golf Monthly Top 50 coaches and she'll offer you a framework for practice
00:34 and a way in which you can put that practice into play when you're on the golf course.
00:40 Now a lot of this is about information gathering.
00:42 And so that's why in this video we've partnered up with Garmin.
00:45 They've got a whole host of different technologies you can use both when you're on the range
00:49 and also when you're out on the golf course to help you gather all that information you
00:52 need to make smarter choices while you're on the golf course.
00:56 Right.
00:57 So we're going to split this video up into three sections.
00:59 Off the tee, ball striking and pitching.
01:02 And we're going to start right here on the range.
01:06 Okay, so we are going to start with the game off the tee.
01:17 And I guess the biggest difference between the range and the golf course is consequence.
01:22 When you're hitting balls on the range, you've got this big expanse to hit at.
01:25 Yeah.
01:26 There's no consequence.
01:27 It's just a matter of if you don't get it right, does it?
01:28 So how do you make sure that your range session then is as valuable to you as possible when
01:33 you're working through it?
01:34 So you have to keep it more in line with how you would play on the course.
01:37 And the way that I do that is I go through my pre-shot routine every single time.
01:41 So every shot I hit, I'll walk behind the ball and I'll prepare myself and rehearse
01:46 the swing.
01:47 Right.
01:48 And then I'll come in and hit the shot.
01:49 Exactly how I do in the course.
01:50 And that, so when you're on the golf course, that puts you in a more positive state of
01:53 mind, does it?
01:54 Yeah, because I've, I trust it.
01:56 I trust my routine.
01:57 It's almost like having a safety blanket.
01:59 That's interesting because I think a lot of people know they have to have a pre-shot
02:01 routine and it's something they use on the golf course.
02:03 But how many of you watching this use it on the range as well?
02:07 And Katie's talking about doing it on every single shot, which requires real discipline.
02:11 Okay, Katie, why don't you hit one for us?
02:14 We have the Garmin Approach R10, a portable launch monitor on the ground.
02:18 So that will give me some feedback on the app about where it's going.
02:21 You've got nowhere to hide.
02:22 Sorry about that.
02:23 That's fine.
02:24 Lovely shot.
02:30 Slight fade straight down the middle.
02:32 And that has gone.
02:34 It's carried 195.
02:35 It's gone to 12.
02:36 So a good shot, a nice shot.
02:38 But one of the first shots that we've actually hit this morning, I think as you, you know,
02:43 as you warm up, you'll probably start to hit it a bit further.
02:45 But the question is, how do you then prepare specifically for the game off the tee with
02:49 the different clubs that you'd be looking to hit?
02:51 What would be the way you'd do it?
02:53 So I'd be wanting to make sure I know my average carry with the driver, then perhaps with a
02:57 fairway wood.
02:58 Yeah.
02:59 So maybe my five wood I would pick just in case there's holes where this is just going
03:02 to go too far.
03:03 Yeah.
03:04 But also a rescue club as well off the tee.
03:05 Right.
03:06 I think it's important to have those three options in your bag.
03:09 But when you come across a hole that's got a lot of trouble halfway down it, perhaps.
03:13 Yeah.
03:14 Now that's a good question.
03:15 That is you hit that one fairly well.
03:16 I reckon you could probably hit them a bit better.
03:18 But what are you looking to gain as the yardage that you have in mind?
03:21 Is it your absolute best or is it somewhere in the middle?
03:24 No.
03:25 And I think this is the thing that people come a cropper with is that out on the golf
03:29 course, they're clubbing themselves with the very best shot they've ever hit with that
03:32 club.
03:33 And of course, that gets them into trouble because eight times out of 10, they'll come
03:35 up a bit short.
03:36 Right.
03:37 So it's important to have the average yardages and it's important to perhaps write them down
03:41 in a little notebook.
03:42 Yeah, have them to hand.
03:43 To have that in your bag.
03:44 So you can go, oh, it's that far.
03:46 If I hit it that far, I won't go in the heather.
03:48 Let's have a look and see what club does that for me.
03:50 The other question I was going to ask you was about your dispersion.
03:54 So this one has gone a little bit left.
03:56 It's gone 14 yards left of the centre line.
03:59 We would all, all of us have a tendency to miss either right or left.
04:03 What would be yours?
04:04 Mine would be, I would miss to the right.
04:07 So I'm aware of what trouble is up on the right hand side on a hole and I will pick
04:11 the safest route away from that.
04:13 So I'll often aim left up a hole to allow for that.
04:17 Okay, so there's some really good advice there about how to practice.
04:20 The question is, how do you then put that into play on the golf course?
04:24 Let's go and find out.
04:25 Okay, so you've done your homework on the range, you know, your carry distances for
04:28 your driver and your fairway woods, the other key driving clubs that you have in your bag.
04:33 Plus you've done some work on your pre-shot routine and that this is where all of that
04:37 should, should come to fruition and help you hit a good shot.
04:41 But there's some more important thinking to do, Katie, isn't there?
04:44 Tell us what do you need to do?
04:46 So I think the fact that we've been on the range and we've done a bit of homework, our
04:50 confidence should be much higher.
04:52 If you haven't prepared on the range, so you haven't had a good practice, you haven't seen
04:56 yourself hit those good shots, then chances are you can't visualize them.
05:00 So it's really important to have that in the bank before you then expect yourself to do
05:04 well out here.
05:05 Yes, exactly.
05:06 And then once you are stood here, a lot of it is about information gathering because
05:10 you need to develop a picture for exactly where you need to hit the ball, don't you?
05:14 Absolutely.
05:15 And also how far your clubs carry, because we know that that bunker on the right is about
05:19 140 and the bunker on the left about 174.
05:22 And I know that my five wood, for example, is going to carry both of those quite happily.
05:27 And I've suddenly devised myself a lovely safe plateau to land my ball on.
05:33 Yes.
05:34 The heather's about 200, isn't it?
05:35 The heather, well, the heather is actually 210.
05:37 It's 210, we know that because the...
05:39 Yeah, because the laser has told us that it's 210.
05:41 But importantly, you don't have to hit it 209, do you?
05:44 No, you don't.
05:45 And I think it's important to hit a club that you like.
05:48 And this is the thing, you look at your distances and go, well, my three wood goes this far,
05:52 so I must hit that.
05:53 Well, you don't have to.
05:55 You could be 10, 15 yards further back than that and probably be more likely to hit a
05:59 good shot because you like your five wood more than your three wood.
06:03 You've had more success rate with it.
06:05 Therefore, you're more likely to commit to the swing and finish it and be way more confident
06:08 with the way you hit the shot.
06:09 This is it.
06:10 And this is where, Katie, your concept of having a personal par really comes into play,
06:14 doesn't it?
06:15 It's something that we've talked about before, but explain to us what is a personal par and
06:19 how does it work in a scenario like this?
06:20 It's very easy for a golfer to stand on the tee, look at the scorecard and go, wow, this
06:24 is a par five.
06:25 I've got to get down the hole in five shots.
06:28 That's not the case.
06:29 You have a handicap for a reason.
06:31 That's the wonderful thing about golf is you're on a kind of fairly even keel with the people
06:34 you're playing because of your handicap.
06:36 So if you were playing off a handicap of 18, your personal par on this hole isn't five,
06:40 it's six because you get an extra shot in each hole.
06:43 So you would stand here thinking, well, actually, I've got another shot to play with.
06:47 So you can then start to devise yourself the safest route up that hole.
06:51 Yes.
06:52 Taking into account the shots, the shots you love to hit and the clubs that your favorites.
06:57 And I think you can sort of start to make a picture almost, especially using the course
07:01 planner on your watch.
07:02 Yes.
07:03 You can almost plot yourself a nice little safe route.
07:06 So the bunker on the right is 145 to carry.
07:08 The bunker on the left is 174 to carry.
07:11 The heather to reach it is 210.
07:13 So this is a club that should deal with all of that really, isn't it?
07:16 It should do.
07:17 And I'm looking in the distance at that white post.
07:19 OK, so although that's in line with my lovely safe zone, it's way further than this is going
07:25 to go.
07:26 Yes, but it's important to pick a target beyond your landing area.
07:29 Why is that?
07:30 That's because you're visualizing then a good shot.
07:32 Also, by focusing on something in the distance, it helps all the hazards and all the trouble
07:37 you're trying to get over to sort of merge and blur away, if you like.
07:41 OK, Katie, so run through the routine that we've already talked about and hit it for
07:45 us.
07:46 So really important.
07:47 We're going to do one rehearsal.
07:48 Make sure we make decent contact with the turf.
07:50 I always do it looking down the hole.
07:52 So nice back and through.
07:54 Take a look at the turf.
07:56 Point my club at my target in the distance, the white post in this.
08:00 Pick a mini target and just try and recreate what I did on the range.
08:07 Oh, oh, straight on that white post.
08:14 It is.
08:15 It's very good.
08:16 And it's in a really it's in that safe spot.
08:17 It's in a perfect.
08:18 You're then able to go and attack the green.
08:20 You don't have to play perfect golf to get the ball round in a lower score.
08:24 But what you do need to do is you really need to think smart.
08:26 And if you can employ what Katie said there, it should make a big difference.
08:33 OK, so for the second part of our video, we're going to focus on one of the areas I think
08:40 a lot of players really struggle with when it comes to taking their game from the range
08:43 to the course, and that's ball striking, particularly with your eyes when the golf ball is on the
08:47 ground.
08:48 So I'm going to start by asking you for just a straight up tip.
08:51 Give us a drill.
08:52 Give us a tip that people can use while they're on the range to really help them with their
08:55 ball striking.
08:56 So I think, first of all, starting with what people don't do a lot of the time when they're
09:01 not striking it well.
09:03 They're not getting the ground under the ball, whether that's the grass, the teepeg,
09:07 whatever the ball's sat on, they're not making contact with it because they're almost trying
09:09 to lift the ball in the air.
09:11 So that's the first reason that sometimes it doesn't work.
09:14 So that's what we want to focus on on the range.
09:16 By placing something down just in front of the ball, whether it be a little teepeg, a
09:20 leaf, a feather, whatever you can find, you've got something that you're just aware of that's
09:25 after the ball.
09:26 What that's going to help you to do is going to help you to hit the ball first and be aware
09:29 you've got to collect that little mini target just after the ball as well.
09:33 So it helps you stay lower for longer.
09:35 So seven iron shot.
09:37 We've got the R10 running again.
09:42 Very nice.
09:43 Okay, so Katie, the carry distance for that was 140, total distance 148, five yards left
09:49 to the centre line.
09:50 Looked perfect to me.
09:51 It felt good.
09:52 Yeah, really good shot.
09:53 Now, obviously you want to spend some time on your ball striking to make sure that you
09:58 feel comfortable running through your routine as we've already talked about.
10:01 But you also need to gather some information in this session.
10:05 So what information are you trying to gather about your irons?
10:08 You're trying to gather your average carry with them.
10:11 Right, so it's very similar way we did with the driver.
10:14 Oh, absolutely.
10:15 100% so that you know when you're out on the golf course that your seven iron will carry
10:18 over the bunker just short of the green.
10:21 That kind of information.
10:22 Why is the total distance less important?
10:26 Well, because the conditions are going to vary.
10:28 So sometimes you're going to be landing the ball in the summer on quite hard ground.
10:32 Sometimes you're going to be landing the ball in the winter on soft ground.
10:35 The ball's not going to get any roll at all.
10:37 So it's important to know you're going to carry any trouble.
10:40 And this is also really important to say this is about developing your confidence so that
10:44 when you get to the golf course, you know what it feels like to have the ball coming
10:47 flush out the middle of the golf club from time after time by using that drill and then
10:52 gathering the data.
10:53 It can really help you.
10:54 OK, so with your iron play, this is all about good quality ball striking when you're on
10:59 the golf course.
11:00 Katie, you've given us a really good drill to use on the range to make sure you're getting
11:04 that ball first, ground second contact that we all need.
11:07 But you're still on the golf course here.
11:09 You've got trouble in front of you.
11:11 You still need to focus on that good quality contact.
11:14 How do you do it when you're on the course?
11:15 So on the range, we put a little something rather a little mini target ahead of the ball
11:20 just to encourage ourselves to stay lower for longer.
11:23 But on the course, it's very easy to suddenly get result orientated.
11:27 You suddenly worry about the water, the bunkers.
11:31 What happens if it goes wrong?
11:33 What happens with that then is you come up on the ball.
11:35 Therefore, you don't get the grass underneath it.
11:38 Right.
11:39 Yes.
11:40 So just having an awareness of what's ahead of the ball helps you just to keep the club
11:43 a little bit lower.
11:44 Therefore, get little ball, then the big ball.
11:46 See, the last thing you need to be doing during a medal at your golf clubs is go, hang on,
11:50 everyone.
11:51 I'm just going to stick a little something or other just in front of the ball because
11:53 you can't touch your line of play.
11:55 So you can just have a look.
11:57 We're on the golf course.
11:58 It's a natural surface.
11:59 It's grass.
12:00 There's some little bits and pieces on the ground.
12:02 We've actually got a little twig just in front of our ball.
12:05 So when I stand behind my ball and go through that really important pre-shot routine and
12:09 I point the club at the target line, draw a line down, I'm going to pick something just
12:12 ahead of the ball on that.
12:14 That simple.
12:15 It's effective.
12:16 It's something we can all do.
12:17 The other part that we can all get do and get right is figuring out the yardages, the
12:21 work that we've done on the range to work out our carry yardages.
12:23 You need to now apply it.
12:24 So the shot that we've got here, the second shot into 16 here at West Hill, the back of
12:29 the green, the laser is telling me is 164, flag is 160.
12:33 To cover the bunker on the right is 152.
12:36 That's to carry that.
12:37 So what club are you going to play?
12:39 What's the key yardage of all of that that you're trying to take into account?
12:42 So I want to carry the bunker, but at the same time, it's a really good idea when you're
12:47 going for your approach shots to actually focus on hitting the middle of the green.
12:50 My watch says 153 to the centre, so I'm going to hit something I'm confident on average,
12:55 and it's really important that part on average goes 150 yards.
12:59 Right, Katie, so you're going to hit this for us.
13:01 Now it is quite dewy this morning.
13:03 You just gave me a very good tip in this scenario.
13:05 What is it?
13:06 So when there is dew on the ground, you can actually see where your club hits the world.
13:11 And that's important.
13:12 That gives you immediate feedback.
13:14 And for us, immediate feedback, if you've done a good swing, is real confidence booster.
13:19 So you would have picked a little mini target just ahead of the ball.
13:22 But then, so we know where we're aiming because we've got that spot.
13:26 Then you're going to set up level with the ball and you're going to do your practice
13:29 swing back and through.
13:31 Yeah, and you can see where you hit the ground.
13:33 And you can really see.
13:34 So I can see that my first point of contact would have been the ball.
13:37 After that, I've made a nice little neat divot mark ahead of that.
13:41 So I know that I'm collecting that mini target that we were using on the range.
13:45 I'm ticking that box, I've committed to the shot and I've hit under the ball.
13:50 Yes, and the dew really highlights.
13:52 Go for it.
13:55 Lovely.
13:56 Great strike.
13:57 Now, where's that going?
13:58 Middle of the green.
13:59 It's fine.
14:00 Very good.
14:01 It's a decent two-part.
14:02 I'd be happy with that.
14:03 Yes, indeed.
14:04 And it's just a really good way to think.
14:05 It doesn't need to take you an awful lot of time, but just having the awareness to think
14:06 about some of these factors while you're on the golf course should really help.
14:07 And I think that's a really good way to think.
14:08 And I think that's a really good way to think.
14:09 And I think that's a really good way to think.
14:10 And I think that's a really good way to think.
14:11 And I think that's a really good way to think.
14:18 Okay, so for the final part of our video, we're looking at pitching.
14:26 Now pitching, Katie, is one of those areas that coaches like you will tell amateurs like
14:30 me, you need to focus on this because it's the fastest way to save your shots out on
14:33 the golf course.
14:34 But you've got to practice it, right?
14:37 And so the first question is, how do you practice your pitching?
14:40 Well, I think like you say, this is like your score zone.
14:43 So if you can get your wedges actually hitting the greens, you are going to save shots.
14:47 It's quite simple.
14:49 But a lot of people don't like doing the half shots, three-quarter shots.
14:52 So you need to know your wedge distances with a full swing first and foremost.
14:56 That's your first port of call.
14:57 Right.
14:58 And we can do that on the range.
14:59 Yes, you can.
15:00 And it helps to have a laser to identify how far the flags are.
15:03 So I've already done it.
15:04 The first flag is 71.
15:06 Second flag is 83.
15:08 And the third flag is 109.
15:10 So Katie, why don't you hit a full shot with your, which club is this?
15:14 This is my sand wedge, so it's 54 degrees.
15:15 Right, fine.
15:16 And we've got the Approach R10 on the floor as well, so I'll be able to get some feedback.
15:22 Okay.
15:23 Right.
15:24 Good shot, Katie.
15:25 Now that's carried 74.
15:26 And again, the carry yardages are what you're looking for.
15:28 You're looking at average carry yardages.
15:30 And I guess having a good understanding for how far a full wedge shot goes for each of
15:35 your wedges, maybe your nine-iron, et cetera, is going to be really useful to you.
15:38 But if you really want to get good at pitching, you need to add an extra dimension to everything.
15:44 What is that?
15:45 So the extra dimension that you need is to be able to control the length of your swing.
15:48 Because it's all very well knowing how far you hit a full shot, but we're not always
15:52 going to have a full shot out there.
15:54 And people try and manufacture that less length by slowing down and decelerating.
15:59 We all know what that results in.
16:00 Yeah, fat shots.
16:01 I've done that before.
16:02 Lovely big old fat shots.
16:03 And you think that was a lovely drive for water weight.
16:04 And so it's just a point of frustration for everybody.
16:08 So you can practice this.
16:09 And so how do you, what's the way that you think about it?
16:11 So one of the best visuals that I tend to use when I'm coaching is that your head is
16:14 12 o'clock and you're doing a length of swing that's almost nine, bang, through to three.
16:19 Okay.
16:20 So it's like a half swing.
16:21 Yeah.
16:22 And you would work on your averages, like we talked about before.
16:25 So the average distance that say you'd hit between seven and 10 balls, doing that length
16:29 swing with each of your clubs.
16:30 Yes.
16:31 Now you can get more in-depth in this.
16:33 You can do sort of 10 o'clock swings.
16:35 Yeah, you can lengthen it.
16:36 So we're suggesting in this instance, just to get a foothold in all of this, that nine
16:40 till three swing with each of your clubs through to, I guess, even up to seven, nine.
16:44 Yeah.
16:45 Even up to a seven or a six sign.
16:46 If you imagine you're playing links golf out by the seaside, you need to bump and run that
16:52 ball in.
16:53 You need to be able to control how far you carry it.
16:55 Yeah.
16:56 And obviously the result there on in.
16:57 Yeah.
16:58 So it's important to go all the way through your clubs, but initially just sort of four
17:01 wedges or so would be sufficient.
17:03 Would be a good start.
17:04 I'm now interested to find out how much a nine to three swing takes off your normal
17:09 full pitching swing shot, which was, as we know, carry distance 74.
17:14 So yeah, hit a full, sorry, hit a nine to three sandwich shot for us.
17:22 Lovely.
17:23 Okay.
17:25 And now that's interesting, Katie, because that's carried 60.
17:29 So there's a 14 yard carry distance gap between those two shots.
17:36 And I hit that pretty well.
17:37 You hit that.
17:38 Okay.
17:39 Probably one of my better wedge shots.
17:40 Right.
17:41 So I probably wouldn't take that probably more than I'd normally hit my nine to three
17:44 on average.
17:45 So that's an important point is not to take that's why it's so important to do the sort
17:49 of seven to 10 shots.
17:50 Shots.
17:51 Yes.
17:52 Okay, fine.
17:53 So once you've got that, that average for each of the shots, then you can do that with
17:56 each of the different clubs.
17:58 Yeah.
17:59 And that's a key point here is practice.
18:00 Just the repetition of being comfortable hitting those hard shots.
18:03 Yeah.
18:04 And when you're going through your routine on the course, you're rehearsing, you've got
18:07 a definite place to go.
18:09 That nine o'clock is a really good kind of band of distance to swing that club back and
18:13 through.
18:15 And obviously if you've written it down, you look at, you look at the yardage on the course
18:18 and you go, what's that?
18:19 Oh, that's my nine o'clock pitching wedge.
18:21 Yeah.
18:22 My nine o'clock.
18:23 And the other great thing about this is that when you get to the golf course, this process
18:27 gives you options as you're about to find out.
18:29 Okay.
18:30 So you've done all of that work on your pitching.
18:32 You should have some confidence in hitting the numbers that you're trying to hit.
18:36 But again, you need to be smart while you're out on the golf course.
18:39 Now Katie, the flag, I've lasered the flag.
18:42 It's 80 to the flag.
18:43 What is it to the back?
18:44 What is it to the middle?
18:45 So you've got 71 to the middle of the green.
18:47 And like we mentioned, we've mentioned before, the middle of the green is just safe place.
18:51 Yes.
18:52 Safe option.
18:53 So 71 to the middle, uphill a little bit.
18:55 So we're going to take that into account, but it's 83 to the back.
18:57 So hit one for us then Katie.
18:59 This is a, this will be a full sand wedge shot for you, but we've got two clubs because
19:03 we're going to, I'm going to ask you to play it in two different ways because this is the
19:05 beauty of really getting to know your pitching distances.
19:09 You can play these shots in different ways.
19:11 Yeah.
19:12 So I'm going to hit my full sand wedge first of all.
19:16 Lovely.
19:19 That's good.
19:20 Do you know, that's actually, I think that's pin high.
19:24 What did you say?
19:25 Yeah, that's pretty good.
19:26 Literally my full sand wedge will go about 75, 80 yards.
19:30 Perfect.
19:31 So my watch, you know, said 72 and actually we went for the backyard just so it's perfect.
19:36 Yeah.
19:37 So we're going to play the same shot again, but with a nine iron using that nine to three
19:41 action and hopefully the ball will go to the similar sort of distance.
19:45 Yeah.
19:46 And the reason this is quite a good idea as well is there's no trouble in between us and
19:49 the flag.
19:50 So you can bump and run it in if you like.
19:53 And a shorter swing is a lot safer.
19:55 Yeah.
19:56 A lot of golfers would stand there with a full sand wedge.
19:59 That's a lot of golf swing if you catch it skinny.
20:01 Yeah.
20:02 And you can hit big pulls or pushes as with any other part of your game.
20:05 So maybe this is the most consistent way of doing it.
20:07 Absolutely.
20:08 It's the safest way of doing it.
20:12 Yeah.
20:14 And I'm from where I'm stood, it's so interesting because it's a lot more of a driven ball flight.
20:20 It's a lot lower.
20:21 And it's half a swing.
20:22 It's run once it's gone onto the green, it's run probably a yard or two further than the
20:26 first one, but not a huge amount.
20:28 No.
20:29 And probably the most important thing is if I hadn't quite caught that, say I had caught
20:33 it a little bit skinny, there's not enough swing there to send me into a lot of trouble.
20:37 I may be at the back of the green, but I'm not going to be really in a pickle.
20:41 Yeah.
20:42 So as I said before, this might feel like a really kind of advanced technique, but you
20:45 can see from Katie's, the way that Katie's played it, it's actually really simple, but
20:49 it does require that time on the range to make sure that you know what you're doing.
20:53 Because once you become comfortable with shots like this, they can really, really help you
20:57 out on the course.
20:59 So there you have it.
21:00 That's our look at how you take your game from the range to the golf course.
21:04 Yeah.
21:05 And I think it's not just about what you do on the golf course.
21:09 It's about building good habits when you're practicing so that you are in fact practicing
21:13 the same game here as you play out there.
21:16 Yeah.
21:17 So simple piece of advice, but it requires real discipline and real thought to make sure
21:22 that you get it right.
21:23 Hopefully Katie's tips today will make a big difference.
21:25 But that's it for now.
21:27 Thanks very much for watching.
21:28 We'll see you next time.
21:29 [Music]