“I hit it great on the range, but it all disappears on the first tee.” If that sounds familiar, you’re in good company. It’s one of the most common complaints in golf, and coach Adam Young has a convincing explanation for it.
Blocked practice: good performance, poor retention
In his article “Top 10 Golf Practice Tips – #7”, Young describes what most of us do on the range as blocked practice: hitting a lot of shots from the same place, with the same club, to the same target.
He argues that this produces great performance in the moment but poor retention. That’s the “great on the range, lost on the course” feeling. He’s blunt about how common it is, estimating that the vast majority of golfers do almost all their practice this way.
Young points to motor learning science showing that adding variation and randomising your practice can improve learning and help you play better on the course. He covers the topic in depth in his book The Practice Manual, which explains ideas like variability and differential practice in a practical way.
All credit for these ideas goes to Adam Young.
Why random practice works
On the course, you never hit the same shot twice in a row. Every shot has a different club, target, lie and situation. Blocked practice lets you settle into a groove after a few balls, so you never practise the hardest part: getting it right first time.
Random practice forces you to reset for every shot, which is much closer to what happens on the course. It feels harder, and your results on the range may look worse. That’s the point.
Adam Young’s three-club game
Young offers a simple game to add randomisation. Here it is, as he describes it:
- Pick a target roughly 30 yards wide.
- Hit a wedge, then a driver, then a mid-iron, using your full routine for each shot. That’s one set.
- If all three finish in the target area, the set is complete.
- See how many attempts it takes to make five completed sets.
- Write the number down and try to beat it each week.
Make it harder over time
When you’re taking fewer than ten attempts to complete five sets, Young suggests making it tougher: add another club, so you need four good shots in a row, or shrink the target. He compares skill to muscle: it grows through progressively harder challenges.
Blocked practice still has a place
Young is clear that blocked practice has some benefits; the problem is when it’s the only thing you do. For example, when you’re working on a specific body movement, a few repetitions of the same swing can help you feel the change before you test it under random conditions.
Here’s how we’d combine the two in a 45-minute session:
Part 1: Technique block (15 minutes)
Work on one movement, such as hip sway or tempo, with the same club and the same target. Keep it short.
Part 2: Random game (20 minutes)
Play Young’s three-club game. Full routine on every shot.
Part 3: Review (10 minutes)
Look at whether your technique held up during the random game. If your tempo or posture slipped when you changed clubs, that’s useful information.
How DE-SHANK helps
The review step is where DE-SHANK earns its place. During the random game, your mind should be on the target, not your mechanics. DE-SHANK can keep score for you. Start a voice session, say “record” before each shot and you’ll get scores for tempo, head movement, hip sway and posture change, with a voice coach talking you through each swing.
Afterwards, compare your scores from the technique block with those from the random game. If your hip sway score was great in the block but dropped in the game, your change hasn’t fully transferred yet. Find out more about how it works.
DE-SHANK gives estimates from one camera view. It’s designed for practice feedback, to help you spot habits and track trends.
Common mistakes
- Raking ball after ball. Even in a technique block, take a moment between shots.
- Skipping your routine. Young’s game specifically asks for your full routine on every shot.
- Judging by range results. Random practice will make your range sessions look worse. Judge it by your rounds.
Our take
If your range form never seems to make it to the course, the problem may be how you practise rather than what you practise. Adam Young’s three-club game is a simple, honest way to change that. More drills are in our Coaching Tips.
Try DE-SHANK free
See whether your swing changes hold up when you mix it up. Try the free DE-SHANK beta. It’s free during the beta.
