Taking it to the course

I've read a few articles of late where Collin Morikawa, Mel Reid and Justin Thomas have all in a way, advocated to spend more time on the course and play golf as opposed to spending time on the range.

JT has stated unless you actually "play golf" on the range and by that he means changing targets and clubs every shot, then it loses it's purpose. He asks the question "when do you ever hit 20 7 irons on the bounce out on the course?".

CM is a firm believer his exceptional ball striking is down to playing numerous holes as a kid instead of hitting balls on the range. How many times per round do you hit off a perfectly flat lie?

That being said, yes you do need to spend time on the range working on a change but eventually you have to get out there and play golf.

On the range, your focus is on the process of the swing and no real thought to the outcome of the shot. By outcome I mean hitting the fairway, avoiding the water on the right, staying out of the trees. When you get to the course, it's vice versa and the outcome takes over from the process.

I'm not suggesting you don't spend time on the range but to spend more time playing the game and being in that playing environment.

Next time you go golfing, do exactly that and golf. Forget about where the ball ends up and just play. I wouldn't even score but instead count the number of solid strikes that you make and then try to beat that number next round.

Rehearse your set-up so it's repeatable and only have a couple of swing thoughts, one for the backswing and one for the downswing. After you've played, and using your rehearsed set-up and your two swing thoughts, film your swing and review it to see where you are at.

Thanks Tom. I have really enjoyed all aspects of your online school particularly this forum. It is great to have something to fall back on when you get lost in the forest.

@billpapania - There has been quite a bit of dialogue in the Forum on the topic of how to transport "Ranger Rick" to the golf course. We all experience that. All I can tell you is that it is part of the process, and if your practice mode is delivering consistently solid results then it's just a function of time in terms of when/how that will translate itself to the course. As confidence and trust in your swing grows you should find more and more that you are playing "golf" instead of "golf swing" on the course, at which point your mechanical thoughts will be reduced to one or two at the most (with the ultimate goal being closer to zero), and you will be nearly entirely focused on your target and not your swing.

An excellent book that may help you with your overall approach to the game and navigating through the hiccups is "Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game" by Dr. Gio Valiante. I’ve recommended it to many of your fellow online school members and have received excellent feedback from them. Another book that I like is "Play Your Best Golf Now" by Lynn Marriott & Pia Nilsson.

Beyond that, with specific regard to scoring when you're on the course, it’s a good idea to have a reliable “default swing” that you can dial up mid-round when you sense that you are beginning to leak some oil. Many members use the swing provided by Drill 2.8, which is actually the full swing minus some power accumulators. It will help you keep the ball in play with sufficient distance as you try to work through your issue!

As for the driver, perhaps you can post videos of your swing from face-on and down-the-line views in the Video Analysis Room section of the Forum so fellow members - many of whom are quite astute with their analysis skills - can review it and offer their thoughts.