Focus on hitting to targets. When I go to the range which is not very often,, due to back issues. I work specifically on alignment, distances and tempo. When I pull a club out of my bag on the course I want to know pretty closely how far my ball is going to travel and the pattern. If my alignment, distances and tempo are good, it does not matter whether I am on the range or the course. Unless that little distance between my ears gets in my way, which does happen somedays. I only play M/W/F. Give my body time to rest and do not over-warmup when I play. Again working on alignment and tempo. How am I going to hit the ball that day? Short game is our killer. I play for the love and fun of the game at this time in my life (my goal in 2024). Hakuna matata.

Practicing with a purpose rather than just beating balls to beat balls will help transfer shots from the range to the course. Once I started practicing the shots I would be playing on the course I noticed my confidence on the course skyrocketed. This resulted in lower scores.

If you are practicing that much, you should be grooving your swing. When you get on the course, are you making bad swings, or making poor contact? Have you tried lessons?

The biggest differences between the range and a game are stress and expecting too much of yourself. There are zero penalties for hitting bad shots on the range unless you've got some kind of contraption rigged up to give you a 10kVA zap for every shank. Hit a bad driver on the range? Who cares? Reload and pump another one! Hit a bad driver on the first tee box? Everyone sees it (including the house that you just smoked) and you're now ostracizing yourself for the rest of the day over one mistake. On the course every shot counts, and whether or not you like it or not you are always aware of these implications either consciously or subconsciously.

There are hours and hours of podcasts and volumes of books devoted to mitigating stress and managing expectations - check out Jon Sherman's "The Sweet Spot" and his book "The Four Foundations of Golf". He dedicates a lot of time discussing these subjects with various guests and drives the point home well.

The bottom line is that you aren't as good as you think you are unless you're getting paid to play every weekend. Once you fully absorb and comprehend this fact, you can start appreciating your less than perfect shots as part of your game and hopefully play without soul crushing anxiety.

Mats are only good for warm up and working on mechanics. A mis-hit and the sole of the club will slide on a mat, as opposed to the grass where the leading edge will dig in. Wedges are the worst. That's why you never see a divot on the mats. You can hit the mat an inch behind the ball and still have a great shot. Next time you're at the range listen for the club/ball contact and work on that. If you hear or feel the club hit the mat first, don't be satisfied with the result. I actually like hitting off the mat when it is wet, because it will leave a visible contact mark. I used to shake my head at people who hit nothing but driver on the mats, until a guy told me it's the only shot he can get a true feeling for the hit.

It’s always easier to hit repetitive shots with the same club. I might suggest you do a range session that mimics a round of golf. Hit one driver, one mid iron, one short iron, and repeat. Focus on developing a repetitive pre-shot routine that you can carry to the course. Good luck and hope this helps.

It’s a mental thing unfortunately. On the range there’s no consequences so therefore no pressure compared to being on the course.

I do feel once you warmed up play like you would the course and not hit the same club over and over which you never do on the course so why practice it?

Hope this helps

I agree with everything said above. I would also add that playing on the course is using a different club for each shot (except for putting) and each time the lie is going to be a little different. Especially on mats, I think it is important to "play" a few holes. Use your imagination to create a hole(s) from tee to green. You won't be able to mimic a uneven lie, but you will get yourself used to having a different club/setup each swing. So play a "par 5" where you have to hit driver of the tee. If you land in the fairway you laid out, play a long iron to go for the green or maybe a mid iron that you follow up with a wedge. And go through your routine each shot. Try to replicate playing as much as possible.

We can all make the little adjustments to start striping the ball at the range if we are hitting the same club 10 or 15 times, but other than the putter we are rarely in a position to hit the same exact club/shot 2 times in a row on the course.

If you can, find a field where you can practice - I practice in an area with four baseball fields when no one is there (of course), I can hit up to a five iron, and I find that it's great to practice hitting to the pitchers mound. Makes you focus as well, because if I miss the diamond altogether it's prob a lost ball with the all of the fallen leaves (and I practice with ProV1Xs and ProV1s)

I started practicing like a real round. Hit driver, then mid iron and switching it up like that. Hitting the same club over and over will put you into a rhythm that doesn’t usually happen on the course. Practicing this way dramatically helped my consistency on the course. Hope this helps!!

A lot of great comments here, and I'd add a couple of resources/ideas to check out:
- To make practice mimic course play, check out the book "Golf Practice: How to Practice Golf and Take Your Range Game to the Course" -- my instructor shared a copy with me, it's a little older, but had a ton of great ideas and games to help sync things together.
- For the range mat part, there are a few aids like the Strike Board that you can place the ball in to get audible feedback, or I just use a flat towel behind the ball about a clubhead's width, and move it closer when I really want to practice ball-first contact. There's also the Dr. Scholl's footspray as well -- both for clubface, and if you can wipe off the mat at the end of your practice.

I like the idea of mimicking a round while at the range. Have the yardage of the 1st hole at your course in your head and hit driver, then your approach shot based on the previous driver swing and so on. But the real culprit here, as we all know, is in your head. Once you put the tee in the ground, there are no do-overs.We all get it because we've been there; you're on the first tee; lots of people around, including the other guys in your foursome.If you've got a significant wager going.....even worse. If you're hitting solid shots at the range, you're capable of doing the same between the tee markers. Clear your mind, thinking only of landing your drive in the fairway. It's amazing how clear and quiet your mind becomes when you focus on one thing, and block all "the noise".

Learning to get "out of your own way" is not easy, but you'll play better golf once you do.

Hope this helps.

You should have a purpose of your range sessions. Hitting 20 8 irons in a row means nothing but if you are trying to do something with those 8 irons then you are on to something. I am always trying to do something, a few high, a few low, a few cuts, a few draws. Also change your target and distance with the same club. Can you take something off that 8 iron to hit it shorter or add some speed for a few extra yards?

I also like to play range golf. My buddy Dale mentioned it, trying to mimic what you would do on the course. I will play 9 holes of a course I have played many times that I can picture the holes in my mind. From there I will build fairway between targets or greens or patches of grass. From there just play. I use the same clubs I would playing the actual course but it will allow me to have to tee off, hit second shots. I will also pitch or chip if I "miss" a green.

It keeps me a little more sharp than just hitting balls.

This is by far my biggest issue too. I second all the towel drill and contact drills to try at the range, but also try and see if there is a different grass range near you.

I’m going to try this next round but someone told me to take swing video while actually playing and compare them to range videos. They said I’ll be shocked how different they because on the course you get so concerned over scores.

Which is also a major hurdle I’m likewise struggling with because I want to get better given my practice and lessons but I’m not seeing it translate to the course

Besides not able to hit a fat shot from a mat, mats are level front to back and side to side. Not to mention equivalent to a tight lie. My teacher took me on course to hit from various uneven lies and provided me with a document on how to account for lies above and below your feet, etc It included chipping from the rough above and below the pin. Money well spent.