How Many Balls To Hit At The Range? We Asked 7 Coaches (2024)

I don’t know about you but I used to go to the range and smack 100 balls one after another. I quickly realized that this probably wasn’t the best way to improve my game, so I decided to ask 7 different golf coaches and see how many balls they recommend hitting at the range.

On average, golf coaches recommends that you hit 50-60 golf balls at the driving range. Hitting fewer balls more times per week and focusing on a specific area of your game is the best way to improve your golf game.

One thing to also keep in mind is that the number of balls really depends on what type of practice you’re doing. 50-60 balls work well for general practice at the range, but if you’re practicing on the actual course, the numbers might change a bit.

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Have you improved your game a lot? In the comments below, let me know how many balls you hit at the range.

How Many Balls To Hit At The Driving Range

Most of the people I see at the range grab a big bucket of 100-120 balls, hit 10 balls a minute, and spend 80% of the time smashing the driver. I used to be the exact same, but if you really want to improve then this isn’t the right strategy.

The first time I had lessons, one of the things I took away was how to practice properly. I knew I wasn’t doing myself any favours so I asked the guy doing my lesson. Here’s what he said to focus on:

1. Consistency over quantity (fewer balls but go more often).
2. Take 3-5 practice swings for every ball you hit.
3. Figure out what you did wrong and right after each shot.

This has made a huge difference in my game, I end up spending less time at the range, and my wallet doesn’t hurt as bad. Anyways, what I was wondering was how many balls I should actually be hitting. I called 7 different golf coaches and this is what they recommended:

As you can see, most of them said between 50 and 60 balls is ideal. It’d be way better hitting 50 balls 3 times per week than going once and hitting 150 balls. Here are some tips they mentioned:

Just think about how you practice now. Do you really take the time to figure out what went wrong with your shot? Or do you just load up and smack another ball? Did you top the ball because you lifted your head or did you not fully complete your backswing?

It’s probably not the best idea to think about technique and positions on the course, but it’s something you should do at the range. You don’t need to hit a ball to really focus on the fundamentals. Take a couple of swings to get loosened up and make sure you’re in the right position at the top and bottom.

This is something I hadn’t been doing until recently, but it does really help. Pick an area of your game to work on and really concentrate on that. If your wedge game needs work, bring only your wedges and really focus on that.

This has really helped my game and it actually makes practice more fun. Bring a scorecard from your favorite course and pretend you’re playing it. Pick a spot in the fairway and try to get as close to it as possible with your driver. Missed the fairway? You might need to punch your second shot out.

How Many Balls To Hit At The Range Before A Round

The ideal number of golf balls to hit at the driving range before your round is 30 balls. This allows you to warm up the body by hitting each club twice, but won’t be enough to tire yourself out before you tee-off.

I also asked a few golf coaches about this and none of them said to hit more than 30 balls at the range. Hitting more than 30 full shots will most likely tire you out, and for me, it almost always impacts performance.

You could hit more balls if you want, but keep the majority of it to short chip shots and putts. Getting these two things dialed in is what’s going to help you shoot the best round. I’ve improved my game the most by working close to the practice greens and actually practicing shots on the course.

Most of the people I know either don’t practice before their round or they just putt and chip. It might not work for you at all, but I like to hit a couple of shots with each club, and most coaches would recommend doing that.

Warming up before your round will loosen up the arms and make your swing smoother and more passive.

Golf Coach 1

I don’t know about you, but I always feel a bit tight on the first hole and don’t normally take a confident swing. A good warmup makes all the difference for me, but for you, you’ll have to try and see.

How Many Range Balls Do Pros Hit A Day

On average, professional golfers hit around 500 balls per day when they’re not playing a tournament. The majority of these balls are hit either around the green or on the course, while only 50-100 would be hit at the driving range.

You probably work around 8 hours per day at your job and the same goes for professional golfers. Just think about how good you could be if you were able to golf for 8 hours a day.

I don’t know if it’s true but I heard Vijay Singh hits somewhere around 1200-1400 balls per day (probably in his prime). Tiger Woods might hit up to 1000 balls per day. The average seems to be at least 500 though.

The driving range is only a small portion of practice for professionals. They normally start by doing cardio or weight training and then they’ll move to the range.

Most will spend 2-3 hours per day at the range. This is where they’ll work on technique and make any changes to their swing. They go for quality over quantity here.

After the range, they’ll head over to the course and work on different areas of their game. It could be putting, chipping, hitting from the rough, or whatever else they feel needs the most work. Most of their time will be spent here.

Are Driving Range Balls Bad For Your Clubs

Driving range balls are completely fine for your clubs and are made of the same material as the balls you’d use on the course. The only negative thing about range balls is that they won’t perform as well as higher-end balls.

Most of the ranges you’ll go to will have cheaper balls that probably won’t perform as well as the balls you’re used to. If you go to a range that’s on a higher-end course then they might have some better quality balls, but most won’t.

Driving range balls are pretty much identical to normal balls but they’ll usually be two-layer balls (maybe even a single layer). These balls will be much more durable, they won’t travel nearly as far, but they’re completely fine for your clubs.

How Much Shorter Are Driving Range Balls

On average, driving range balls are 6-10% shorter than premium balls and will likely spin a lot less. Distances will vary more with the wedges but will be a lot closer as you move to the driver.

Obviously, it all depends on the range you go to and what balls they’re using. If you go to a driving range that uses decent-looking Callaway or Taylormade balls, your distances will decrease by somewhere around 6% on average.

A lot of the ranges in my area use cheaper balls though, and that’s probably the case for you. These balls are either single or double layers and might be from Top Flite or one of the other lesser-known brands. With these balls, I find my distances are somewhere around 10% shorter.

The rubber core on the range balls is made a bit cheaper and the specs aren’t as exact as some of the higher-end balls. You could get balls from the same batch that go different distances.

The outer shell is also a bit thicker and firmer, which makes it last longer. This decreases the amount of speed the ball will produce and will take away distance and height.

Here are some of the differences between clubs:

As you can see, the difference between my wedge shots was quite a bit higher than my driver shots. Range balls decreased my wedge distance by about 12.5%, decreased my iron distance by 4.7%, and decreased my driver distance by 2.8%.

How Long Does It Take To Hit 100 Balls At The Range

On average, golfers who take their time and practice the right way should expect to hit 100 golf balls in just under 2 hours. The goal should be to hit 50-60 balls per hour, focus on your technique, and figure out what you did wrong or right.

I used to go to the range and get the biggest basket they had (usually 100-120 balls). I’d run through them in about an hour and then be on my way. I always wondered why my game wasn’t improving that much.

For most people, hitting 50-60 balls at the range should be the max. Any more than this and you probably won’t see much benefit. That’s why most golf coaches recommend hitting less than 60 balls on the range (can hit more on the practice green).

If you’re going to the range, you should take a few practice swings before each shot. After you hit the shot you’ll want to figure out what you did right or what you did wrong. This can take quite a bit of time and that’s why you only need 50 balls.

What Order To Hit Clubs At The Driving Range

The best order to hit your clubs at the range is by starting with half-swing wedge shots, moving to full swing wedge shots, and then working your way up through the bag. Hitting 4-5 balls per club is the perfect number for the most effective practice.

The thing about most people is that they usually do things backward. They’ll start with the driver, hit half of their balls, take a couple of iron shots, and then finish with the driver. Hate to break it to you, but that probably won’t be that helpful.

The thing that made the most difference for me was picking an area of my game to work on and only bringing those clubs. It could be my wedges, irons, or driver/woods.

If I’m working on my wedge game, I’d bring my sand wedge, gap wedge, and pitching wedge. I’d start with half swing chips to get loosened up and then I’d move to full shots. I always start with the shortest club and work my way up.

The same goes for if I’m working on my irons. I’ll start with my shortest iron, take some half-swing shots to make sure I’m making solid contact, and then work my way up.

If you aren’t able to make solid contact with your half-swing shots, chances are you won’t be able to on your full swings. Focus on the fundamentals, get yourself warmed up, and focus on one area of your game.

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