Stop Beating Balls: How to Practice With a Purpose

This isn't practice; it's exercise. Beating balls without a plan is one of the biggest wastes of time in golf. It doesn't simulate the conditions you face on the course, it doesn't put you under any pressure, and it often just reinforces bad habits.

The old saying "practice makes perfect" is a lie. The truth is, purposeful practice makes you better. You need to have a plan and understand the difference between working on your swing mechanics and practicing how to actually play the game.

Phase 1: Block Practice (Working on a Swing Change)

Block practice is what most people think of as practice. It's hitting the same club to the same target over and over again.

• When to Use It: Block practice is for one thing and one thing only: working on a specific, technical swing change. If you've just had a lesson and you're trying to change your grip, your takeaway, or your downswing sequence, this is the time for block practice. The goal is to get a high volume of repetitions to start building a new motor pattern.
• How to Do It: Don't just hit balls. Slow down. Make three practice swings focusing only on the feeling of the new move, then hit one ball trying to replicate that feel. The result of the shot almost doesn't matter at this stage; the feeling is everything. Use alignment sticks to ensure your setup is perfect, and use feedback like impact spray on the face or videoing your swing to see if you're actually doing what you think you're doing.

Phase 2: Randomised practice. (Pretend to play a course on the range)

This is the most neglected, but most important, type of practice. Random practice is where you never hit the same shot twice in a row. This is what actually simulates playing a round of golf.

• When to Use It: Once you have a basic handle on a swing change, or for any practice session where you are not actively working on mechanics. This is how you train yourself to take your swing from the range to the course.
• How to Do It:
  • Play Your Home Course: Stand on the range and visualise your first tee shot. Hit driver. Now, figure out what club you'd have left. Grab that iron and hit your "approach" to a specific target. Then grab a wedge for your "pitch shot." Go through your entire pre-shot routine for every single shot.
  • Pick Different Clubs and Targets: Hit a 7-iron to the 150-metre green. Next shot, hit a 5-iron to the 200-metre sign. Next shot, a wedge to the 100-metre flag. The constant changing of clubs and targets forces your brain to adapt and recalibrate, just like it has to on the course.

Phase 3: Pressure Practice (Learning to Score)

You need to find a way to simulate the pressure of a real round. The best way to do this is to create games for yourself with consequences.

• The Up-and-Down Game: Go to the chipping green. Throw nine balls down in various spots—some in the rough, some on the fringe, some in easy spots, some in tough ones. Your goal is to get "up and down" (one chip, one putt) on at least five of them. You can't leave until you do.
• Consecutive Putts: Go to the putting green. You have to make 20 two-foot putts in a row. If you miss one, you go back to zero. It sounds easy, but when you get to number 18, you'll feel the pressure.
• Fairways in Regulation: Create a "fairway" on the range using two trees or signs as the boundaries. Hit 10 drives. Your goal is to hit 7 out of 10 in your fairway. This makes every shot count.

A good rule of thumb is to split your time. Spend 50% of your session on block practice for your mechanics, and the other 50% on random and pressure practice to learn how to play. Stop mindlessly beating balls and start practicing with a purpose. It's the fastest way to turn your range swing into on-course results.

Good Practice vs Ball Beating Recap

“Range therapy” feels great – until it doesn’t show up on the course. Good practice looks boring: same setup, clear intention, feedback on every swing.

• What good looks like
• Same routine every ball: face aim, feet parallel, ball distance to the lead‑heel reference for that club.
• Small sets focused on a single outcome: start line, contact, or window – not everything at once.
• Feedback loop: Watch start line and curvature; if they drift, check ball position first. Keep a note of stance width in centimeters for each club – remove guesswork.
• What “beating balls” looks like
  Random aims, moving the ball around, changing stance width because a shot failed. That creates false confidence and fragile timing. The whole point of practice is to measure it, improve it, trust it – not to gamble on timing that only works when you’re warm and lucky.