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Coaches Corner: Turning Practice Into Performance

27th October 2026

This edition of Coaches Corner discusses why spending more time on the range doesn't always lead to better scores on the course. Jordan Byrne explains how to bridge the gap from driving range practrice to the golf course with greater confidence. 

  • Golf

  • Golf At Goodwood

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In the previous edition of Coaches Corner, we explored one of the most frustrating experiences in golf: hitting the ball beautifully on the range, only to find that the same swing seems to disappear on the course.

The key takeaway was that the skill hasn't necessarily disappeared, rather that the environment has changed.

On the range, we control almost everything. We know the lie, we choose the club, we can hit another ball immediately and there is very little consequence attached to the shot. On the course, every shot has a different target, a decision and a consequence attached to it. 

If the course demands something different from the range, perhaps the answer isn't simply to hit more balls. The key is learning how to start practising effectively.

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Stop hitting the same shot repeatedly

One of the easiest ways to make practice more matched to the course is to introduce variability.

Rather than hitting ten 7-irons to the same target, change the target, club, distance or type of shot. Alternatively, change the yardage that you are hitting to, and try to hit the 7-iron to varying distances.

The purpose isn't to make practice harder. It is to train the brain to repeatedly switch between different problems, just as it has to on the course. On the golf course, we rarely hit the same shot twice in succession. Practice should reflect that.

Ask yourself, am you practising your golf swing, or are you practising playing golf?

Introduce consequence

The biggest difference between the range and the course is that shots on the course matter. A range ball that finishes 15-feet from the target doesn't really matter. A putt for a competition win does.

This doesn't mean every practice shot needs to become a high-pressure situation. But introducing some form of consequence can help create a more representative environment.

Try setting challenges such as:

  • Hit 5 approach shots and record how many finish inside your target zone.
  • Pick a specific fairway and give yourself one attempt with the driver.
  • Play a virtual hole on TrackMan and commit to every shot as though you were actually playing it.
  • Create a scoring system where poor decisions or missed targets have consequences.
  • Finish a practice session with a small number of 'one-ball' challenges.

The important part is that you don't get another attempt immediately. This changes the question from “how did I hit that?” to “what can I learn from that, and what do I do next?”. 

Practise your pre-shot routine  

Your routine is one of the simplest ways to connect range practice with course performance. On the range, golfers often stand over the ball, hit it, assess the result and immediately hit another.

On the course, there is a process between shots. You have to walk to the ball, assess the lie, establish a target, select a club, make a decision and then execute.

Practise this process.

Step away from the ball → Assess the situation → Choose your target → Visualise the shot → Commit to the decision → Step in and execute.

Once you are over the ball, the job is no longer to analyse the swing. The job is to play the shot. Technical work has its place, but there is a difference between a technical practice environment and a performance environment.

The range is where we develop skills, but learning to practice effectively is how we get better at learning how to use those skills.

So the next time you finish a great range session and wonder why it didn't transfer to the course, ask yourself a slightly different question:

“How well did I practise playing golf today?”

That might be the missing link between the range and the course.

  • Golf

  • Golf At Goodwood