4 ways a Trackman driving range can boost your winter practice

The golf season is coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean your golf clubs need to go away. If you’re serious about improving your game ahead of next season, this is the perfect time to hit the driving range.

Knowing how to use your local facility effectively can be a huge help when it comes to working on your game. We’ve all gone along to the range and started mindlessly hitting balls, but that’s going to have little to no impact on how well you hit the ball come spring.

Thankfully, lots of driving ranges are equipped with technology that can focus the mind during your sessions. One of these systems is Trackman, and there’s some pretty handy features that allow you to get the most from your winter sessions.

With the help of Great Western Golf in Glasgow, we’ve picked out four practice modes that can get you firing on all cylinders when the season comes around.

Find my Distance

Ask any amateur golfer how far they hit each club, and chances are they won’t know, or their answer will be wrong. Fixing this is a simple way to lower your scores.

Therefore, Trackman’s Find My Distance tool is a great place to start your winter sessions. The first thing you want to do is save every club in your virtual bag, which you can do on Trackman’s free app, which allows you to track your progress throughout each session.

• This golf gear change is the most important thing I’ve changed in my game

Then, you’ll be able to hit six shots with all your clubs, and Trackman will give you an average with each. Once you’ve done this with every club in the bag, you’ll have a clear guide on your stock yardages.

The ability to convert your shots in this feature is crucial. While it might be cold and wet at your range, Trackman allows you to calculate distances based on if you were playing in 25° with a premium golf ball.

On-course Practice

While you might be standing in a driving range bay, Trackman allows you to put yourself in a situation you’ll find yourself in on the golf course.

For example, you might struggle when there’s a water hazard on one side of the green, or trouble on one side of the fairway. In the On Course Practice mode, you can select from a huge range of scenarios to put yourself in, and work on a specific shot.

Simply pick a target on the range as your aiming point, and the simulator will do the rest.

The best part is, you can hit as many shots as you like, from the same spot, until you start to feel more comfortable with it.

Range Practice

This is the ideal mode to get warmed up before you get into more strenuous work on your game.

And even though you might be using it with range balls on a cold evening, the convert feature allows you to get yardages based on a premium ball in the summer.

• What tee should you play from? This formula gives the answer

Rather than just beating balls without any intention, this is the perfect mode to test your skills and try out different things in your swing.

For example, pick two targets that are around 20 yards apart, and set aside ten balls. With your driver, see how many of the ten you can get to land between the two targets. If you can improve on this number in each session, then your driver will be more accurate when it comes to the real thing.

Hit it!

We all love a long drive competition. While they can be fun, hitting the ball further is a sure fire way to lower your scores on the course, too.

Trackman’s Hit it! Feature is the perfect tool to see how far you’re hitting the ball, and to track your progress if you’re trying to gain yards over the winter. On the Trackman app, you’ll find your average drive distance, as well as your longest. If you see these numbers going up over the winter, you’re on the right track.

Lewis Fraser As bunkered’s Performance Editor, Lewis oversees the content that’s designed to make you a better player. From the latest gear to tuition, nutrition, strategy and more, he’s the man. A graduate of the University of Stirling, Lewis joined bunkered in 2021. Formerly a caddie at Castle Stuart Golf Links, he is a member of Bathgate Golf Club where he plays off four.

Performance Editor