Taking Range Shots to the Course

I see a lot of folks practice shots on the range, but when they get on the course they don't hit those shots. Prime examples are pitches and chips. Folks will practice with 52/56/60 wedges on the practice green, chip with 7/8/9, and hit some good shots. But when they're on the course they use their putter to putt from 25 yards off the green, and make bogey or worse anyway. I ask them why they didn't use a wedge like they did on the practice range. Most often their response is "I'm not ready to hit that shot on the course".

So the question is when will those folks be "ready" to hit those shots on the course? What is the imaginary mental "partition" that separates the range from the course? Is it concern about today's score? They don't want to look stupid? Pride? They will lose money in a bet?

In reality, if those same folks played those shots on the course, they would shoot higher scores . But so what? The game is handicapped anyway and the revised handicap would better reflect their true ability to hit all the shots in comparison to the pro's, and/or help them to know if their practice sessions are working. So if someone is a 12.0 hcp, and they jump to 18.0, then that's their new baseline to work down from.

One obstacle is GHIN's application of a soft cap on hcp increases which impacts folks playing in net score stroke betting games. In the above example, the 12.0, who is now an 18.0, would only get 15.0 strokes in GHIN, thus they lose 3.0 strokes. So the GHIN cap is probably a factor. However, if betting games are stopping folks from bringing the range shots to the course to become a better overall player, then maybe opt out of those games for a while, or negotiate a higher handicap based on the real handicap. Maybe make a deal with the group to not to putt from 5 or more yards off the green in exchange for the higher cap. If there's no betting game, then why on Earth do people not hit range shots on the course?