The driving range is a place where most golfers are not spending enough time.
If you work hard on the driving range, it can have a major impact on your game and your ability to score.
However, there is a right way and a wrong way to do the range.
So many golfers make the mistake of grabbing their driver and heading to the driving range for an hour.
Without spoiling any of the surprises, we can tell you that this is a mistake.
Let’s take a look at the top six best golf clubs for the driving range and how you can start to change your practice routine so that it actually helps you on the golf course.
What Are The Best Clubs For The Driving Range?
The best golf clubs for the driving range are the pitching wedge, 7 iron, 5 iron, 5 wood, driver, and then a hybrid of some kind if you carry one.
By varying the clubs that you hit on the driving range, you will have the ability to take your game to the next level and enjoy some more success on the golf course.
When you don’t practice properly, how can you expect a different result on the golf course?
Let’s take a look at the best golf clubs for the driving range and which ones you will need to ensure you have.
1. Pitching Wedge
MAZEL WM-X1 Individual Men Golf Club Irons 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,Pitching Wedge,Approach Wedge,Sand Wedge with Graphite/Steel Shafts for Right & Left Handed Golfers
The pitching wedge is the most important golf club to take with you to the driving range.
Do yourself a favor and never take another trip to the range without your wedge.
The pitching wedge is not only a great tool to use as a warm-up, but it can also help you shoot much better scores on the golf course.
With the pitching wedge, you don’t have to start with a full golf swing as you can take a half swing and still see some really great benefits.
In fact, when most great players head to the range to start warming up, they will begin by hitting a few half shots with their pitching wedge.
Another great thing about getting comfortable with your pitching wedge at the range is the ability to use this club from several different distances on the course.
You can hit shots from 50 yards, 75 yards, and even 100 yards, all with the same club.
However, to learn distance control and be able to hit the shots you need, you must learn to control the pitching wedge.
Many golfers find that the pitching wedge helps them set their tempo for the day.
When your tempo feels good, you can take that with you as you work your way through the rest of the golf bag.
If you are struggling with your golf irons, make sure you get the pitching wedge down, and the rest of the bag will start to fall into place.
The club is slightly shorter than others in the bag, and more golfers have great success when practicing with the pitching wedge.
When your practice session is successful, the positive things this does for your game can be impactful.
2. 7 Iron
Callaway Golf Rogue ST MAX Individual Iron (Right Hand, Steel Shaft, Regular Flex, 7 Iron)
The next club we recommend working on at the driving range is a 7 iron.
With the 7 iron, you will basically be hitting with a club that is in the middle of your bag.
This is not a short iron, not a long iron, but instead right in the middle of the set as a mid iron.
The length of the 7 iron is standard, and many other clubs in your bag are based on this length.
You will find that the 7 iron has an average ball flight and the club has plenty of forgiveness built in.
Overall, players will use the 7 iron quite often throughout a round.
It is a very popular club to have in your hands when approaching a green and can also be used when you are laying up or approaching a par 5.
Many golf courses have at least one par 3 hole that will be about the distance you need to hit a 7 iron shot.
All of these things are important for golfers, and when you go to the driving range, it’s good to practice the shots that you will need to hit on the course.
The 7 iron helps you get this down and become a much better and more consistent golfer.
3. 5 Iron
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The 5 iron is typically not the favorite club of most golfers.
The 5 iron is the transition from the mid irons to the long irons, and this transition can be a problem for players who don’t have all that much swing speed.
It takes a decent amount of swing speed and a strike that is close to the center of the face to see the full benefits of a 5 iron.
With a 5 iron golf shot, you have to spend some time practicing to see the benefits on the golf course.
However, the main reason we suggest using a 5 iron on the golf course is that you can learn to hit different types of shots.
Some players will practice full swing 5 iron shots, which is fine.
However, if you can learn to hit knock-down shots, stingers, and even a high draw or a high fade with your 4 iron, you won’t believe the difference it will make in your game.
Golfers spend so much time worrying about hitting perfectly straight golf shots that fly high, but there are times when these other alternative types of shots are even more effective.
The 5 iron is a club that often gets a bad rap because of the difficulty to hit.
However, we can almost guarantee you that if you take your time and work on this club, the overall results will be quite impressive and give you a chance of becoming a great player.
Don’t leave the 5 iron in the bag because it’s hard to hit.
Take it out and get better.
4. 5 Wood
Callaway Golf 2019 Epic Flash Fairway Wood, 5 Wood, 18.0 Degrees, Right Hand, Stiff Flex , Black
So many golfers forget to practice their fairway woods on the range.
When we say it’s a good idea to bring your 5 wood, you can certainly replace this with a 3 wood if that is a better fit for you.
The bottom line is that you should be practicing with your fairway wood both from a tee and from the fairway.
The 5 wood helps players reach a par 5 in two or have an alternative to the driver on days when you may struggle on the course.
With a 5 wood, the timing and tempo will feel similar to a driver, and the strike is also on the upswing instead of the downswing.
This feel is slightly different than other clubs in the bag, and this makes it a good one to practice while on the golf course.
The 5 wood is typically a bit difficult to hit perfectly off of the fairway, so practicing this on the course will only make your time on the golf course that much more enjoyable.
5. Driver
Taylormade Stealth Driver 10.5 Righthanded
The driver is everyone’s favorite club to practice on the driving range.
This is the only place where you can swing the driver as hard as you want and have no consequences.
Many golfers struggle with their driver, and they practice it on the range over and over to become better players.
However, this is not necessarily the best way to fix the club or to go about this problem.
Instead, it makes more sense to work on your driver in pieces.
Alternate between the driver and the pitching wedge and hit several shots.
Then you can take the driver and learn how to swing it with a better tempo, release the club, and eventually start to hit it well on the golf course.
We would encourage you to focus more on hitting the ball straight on the driving range as opposed to hitting it far.
It’s great to hit the golf ball far, and we all need to do that, but hitting it straight can get you through any day on the golf course.
Hitting it far is a bit less important.
If you can practice the techniques on the driving range to hit your driver within a small area, the distance will come.
6. 4 Hybrid
Callaway X HOT 4 Hybrid, Regular Flex
The hybrid is another great golf club to bring to the driving range.
Of course, you don’t have to hit a 4 hybrid specifically, although this is one of the more popular options.
The 4 hybrid is a great club for saving you from trouble, a long par 3, or an approach shot on a longer par 4 hole.
With a 4 hybrid in your hands, you can get plenty of extra distance, an impressive overall feel, and lots of forgiveness.
The 4 hybrid is probably one of the most forgiving golf clubs in the bag, but you must still practice with it.
As great as the 4 hybrid is, it is not quite like an iron and not quite like a fairway wood.
This means that in order to hit the hybrid well, you must practice with it and learn from it.
Overall, the 4 hybrid is a very rewarding club to work with, and you will likely enjoy the results you get when you put this into play.
Can I Practice My Wedge Shots At The Driving Range?
Practicing wedge shots at the driving range can be very beneficial.
However, if you are going to practice chips and pitches, make sure that you have targets that are close enough for you to hit to.
If your targets are all 50 or more yards away, you don’t want to hit chips and pitches as you won’t be able to see how they are reacting and spinning on the green.
Instead, find a short game practice area to work on this part of your game.
One of the most important things to practice with your wedges on the driving range is distance control.
Golfers with impressive distance control can attack almost any pin on the golf course.
Take something like your pitching wedge or gap wedge and work on hitting a shot that goes 100 yards.
For the next swing, try to hit the ball 75 yards, then 50, then 25 if you have the proper targets in place.
Learning distance control like this can take your game to the next level and help you see how to transfer what you learn at the driving range onto the golf course.
Practicing wedge shots can only help you become a better player.
Just be sure that your facility for practicing encourages the right skill development.
Do I Need To Bring My Entire Bag To The Driving Range?
Some golfers like to have their golf bags with them on the driving range.
However, this does not mean they are hitting every single club.
Most golfers will bring their bags because it’s easier to keep the clubs in their protective holder, and they find that they have access to all of their gear as well.
If you have your golf bag with you, then you can take a look at your rangefinder or grab a tee or a glove.
The bag being on the cart or in the trunk of your car means you may not have all the gear you need to get through a practice session.
However, if you are a payer who likes to go to the range to just hit 25 or 30 golf balls, and a few clubs and a glove are all you need, that is completely acceptable.
Some golfers will purchase a Sunday golf bag just to use on the driving range.
The Sunday golf bag can only hold a few clubs, but it will help you stay organized and also save you from having to bring your entire bag with you.
Some players use their pushcart to get their entire bag to the range.
If you feel your bag is too heavy to bring with you, bringing just four or five clubs should be more than enough.
Unless you are a very low handicap player working on taking their game to a more professional level, spending a half-hour or so at the driving range is all you will need.
Most amateur golfers do not put in more than one hour of practice time on the driving range.
How Often Should I Go To The Driving Range?
Now that you have a better plan for practicing at the driving range, you may be wondering how often you should be heading to the range to work on your game.
The key here is that your practice habits should match your playing habits.
If you’re playing golf several times a week, you should also go to the driving range a few times per week.
Only playing golf and never practicing can lead to the development of some bad habits or swing flaws.
It also can be frustrating as you will be out there struggling with certain swing flaws and no real way to fix them.
For those who play golf just once per week, going to the driving range once per week should also be enough.
In addition, you will have to practice more often if you want to take your golf game to the next level.
It’s hard to fully commit to the time it takes to become a great golfer.
You will struggle with all the hours you have to put in, but being smart about your practice is just as important as the time you put in on the driving range.
Practice smarter, not harder.
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