I’m not a golfer, but I understand the game and know plenty of people who play. When they go to the driving range, they say “I went to practice.” None of them would describe it as playing golf. Practicing? Sure. Playing? No.

Most golfers practice at the driving range because you can hit as many shots with as many clubs as you want. It removes the time between shots, and it’s cheaper than playing on a course.

Ironically, it removes most everything that makes golf, golf.

That’s ok, because, like most things about golf, it’s not very practical and it’s incredibly difficult. Going to the range to practice in between playing is likely one of the most effective ways to become a better golfer — mainly because of the dynamics of the game.

Golf requires a lot of space and time.

Professional golfers also have practice rounds where they play on the course. But it doesn’t count because they’re practicing. The practice rounds are closer to ‘game like’ and resemble the actual game except they don’t count. My bet is that they take a lot more shots at the range than on practice rounds, and even less in a tournament where it all counts.

Practicing at the range is effective if the dynamics are impractical and hard to recreate.

Practicing on the course where practice resembles the game is even more effective.

Where are you settling for the range when you could be practicing on the course?