5 Things to Do at the Range to Improve How You Practice

Improving your game is as much about the quality of practice as it is about the quantity. Here are five essential actions to incorporate into your training sessions, designed to link directly to the goal of optimizing your performance and, ultimately, lowering your score on the course.

1. Start with Objective Feedback

Reflect on your time at the range: Is it about seeking a temporary sense of achievement, or are you aiming to fundamentally evolve as a player?

We believe that the cornerstone of more effective practice begins with gathering objective feedback on your current on-course performance. By integrating Circles, you leverage a critical decision-making tool that not only informs but also shapes your actions, allowing your actual performance to set your practice objectives.

Adopting technology enables you to measure within areas of opportunity in need of precise improvement. This measured approach facilitates the monitoring of your progress over time, and can lead to increased self awareness, motivation, whilst ensuring that each practice session is focused, carefully tailored to address your unique developmental needs.

2. Identify and Prioritize Your Strengths

Knowing and leveraging your strengths can significantly enhance your confidence and performance. Use the objective feedback to pinpoint what aspects of your game are strongest—your super power. Dedicating time to further develop these strengths ensures they become even more reliable under pressure, giving you a competitive edge.

3. Bridge Your Skill Gaps

Equally important to recognizing your strengths is identifying areas of opportunity. At Circles, we suggest focusing on the 2-3 specific areas that will have the largest improvement on overall scoring. We identify the 2-3 specific areas to focus on, suggest some specific actions for each, and provide your team with a timeline for the actions / interventions. It is important that the level of improvement targeted is realistic and achievable.  We consider it realistic for an elite player to seek to improve a particular skill area to Tour average.

Setting precise, measurable goals for these areas directs your practice efforts, ensuring that you're not just practicing more, but practicing smarter. This focused approach helps bridge the gap between where your game is now and where you want it to be.

4. Communicate with Your Coach

Progress is rarely achieved alone. Regularly updating your coach and team about your performance (including your range, practice sessions, and tournament outcomes), accomplishments, and obstacles can significantly impact your development. At Circles, we streamline communication with your coach. Our platform fosters a player-enabled, coach-driven environment. By empowering players to supply coaches with essential information, we facilitate a collaborative atmosphere. This approach enables coaches to provide customized guidance directly aligned with your immediate needs, resulting in more productive practice sessions and impactful lessons.

5. Embrace Outcome-Based Practice

Transition your practice sessions from being merely time-based to outcome-based. Rather than spending a set amount of time at the range, focus on achieving specific, predetermined goals during each session. These goals should be directly linked to the skill gaps you've identified and your broader objectives for improvement. This shift ensures that every minute spent practicing has a purpose and directly contributes to your development. At Circles, we facilitate this transition through your bespoke practice plan, automating the process to ensure that your efforts are always targeted and effective.

Closing Comment

Integrating these five strategies into your range sessions can significantly enhance your journey towards improving your game. As a beneficial byproduct, you'll experience heightened self-awareness, boosted motivation, increased confidence, and ultimately, lower scores.

Written by

Craig Dixon

Founder, Circles.

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