---
title: "How to practise golf so it actually shows on your scorecard"
description: "Hitting a hundred balls in a row is not practice. How to split your time between range, short game and course, three timed sessions, and the ten-minute warm-up that prevents injuries."
url: https://www.teeup.es/en/blog/como-practicar-golf
lang: en
updated: 2026-09-23
---

# How to practise golf so it actually shows on your scorecard

Published: 2026-09-23 · Reading time: 6 min

## How to practise golf so it actually shows on your scorecard

The average amateur goes to the range, buys a hundred-ball bucket, hits ninety of them with the driver and leaves fifteen minutes later. Then wonders why the card never comes down.

That bucket was not a practice session: it was **physical exercise with a club in hand**. Practice is something else, and the difference comes down to three things: allocation, structure and measurement.

---

### Allocation: where the shots are lost

Start with the numbers. In a round of 90:

| Area of the game | Approximate shots | % of the round |
|---|---|---|
| Tee shots (driver and woods) | 14 | 16 % |
| Approaches (irons) | 20 | 22 % |
| Short game (inside 50 m) | 22 | 24 % |
| Putting | 34 | 38 % |

Now compare that with how most people split their practice time: **80 % full swings, 15 % putting, 5 % short game.**

The mismatch is obvious. Putting and the short game are 62 % of your shots and get 20 % of your time.

**The split you should be using:**

| Area | % of time |
|---|---|
| Putting | 30 % |
| Short game | 30 % |
| Mid and short irons | 25 % |
| Driver and woods | 15 % |

It will be hard, because hitting drivers is more fun. But that is the difference between practising and letting off steam.

---

### Structure: how to hit a bucket properly

**Never two balls in a row to the same target with the same club.**

It is the rule that most changes the value of a session. Hitting fifteen consecutive 7-irons to the same spot trains something that does not exist on the course: in a round you never repeat the same shot twice.

**Blocked vs random practice:**

- **Blocked** (all balls with one club in a row) feels good during the session and transfers badly to the course.
- **Random** (changing club and target every ball) feels worse during the session and transfers far better.

**Recommended structure for a 60-ball bucket:**

| Phase | Balls | How |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 10 | Wedges, half swings, building gradually |
| Blocked technical work | 15 | One single thing you are fixing. Conscious repetition |
| Random practice | 25 | Change club and target every ball. Full pre-shot routine |
| "Play a round" | 10 | Imagine 6 holes: driver, then the approach, then the wedge. Like on course |

Those last ten shots are the most valuable in the bucket, and almost nobody hits them.

---

### Measurement: no number, no progress

A session that ends in "I struck it well today" produced no information. One that ends in "8 out of 10 inside the fairway width" did.

**Always score something:**

- How many balls land inside an imaginary fairway width.
- How many chips finish within a metre and a half.
- How many 2-metre putts you hole out of ten.
- How many bunker shots get out first attempt.

Write the number down. Compare it next week. That is training.

In the **Teeup Academy** the drills come with scoring, targets by level and progress tracking, precisely so you don't have to carry a notebook.

---

### Three timed sessions

#### 30-minute session (weekday)

| Time | What |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Warm-up with wedges |
| 10 min | Short game: chips to a target, scored |
| 15 min | Putting: distance ladder and one-metre circle |

No driver at all. It is the session that saves the most shots per minute invested.

#### 60-minute session (the usual one)

| Time | What |
|---|---|
| 10 min | Warm-up and mobility |
| 15 min | Short game with scoring |
| 20 min | Range: blocked technical work plus random |
| 10 min | Simulating 6 holes |
| 5 min | Pressure putting: one from 5 metres until you hole it |

#### 90-minute session (weekend)

The 60-minute session plus 20 minutes of bunker work and 10 minutes from bad lies: rough, uphill, downhill, ball above your feet. Nobody practises this and it comes up in every round.

---

### Range or course: what each one trains

They are not interchangeable.

| | Range | Course |
|---|---|---|
| **Trains** | Technique, repetition, contact | Decisions, management, pressure |
| **Advantage** | Volume of shots, fast feedback | Total realism |
| **Limitation** | Perfect lies, no consequences | Few shots per hour |
| **When** | When fixing something specific | When you want to lower your score |

**The practical conclusion:** if you have spent months on the range and your card has not moved, the problem is probably not technical. It is decision-making, and that is only trained by playing. Developed in [how to lower your golf score without changing your swing](/en/blog/como-bajar-el-score-sin-tocar-tu-swing).

**And one underrated alternative:** play 9 holes alone, late in the afternoon, with two balls. You play every shot twice and see which would have been the better decision. It is the closest thing to a decision simulator that exists.

---

### The ten-minute warm-up

Skipping it is the number one cause of back injuries among amateur golfers. The swing is a violent rotational movement and, cold, your lower back pays for it.

| Minutes | What |
|---|---|
| 2 | Brisk walking or general mobility |
| 2 | Torso rotations with a club across the shoulders |
| 2 | Arm circles and shoulder mobility |
| 2 | Hip mobility: lunges with a turn |
| 2 | Ten easy swings with a wedge, building amplitude |

**Before a round**, if there is no time for the range: these ten minutes plus five putts on the practice green to calibrate green speed. Infinitely better than walking cold onto the 1st tee.

---

### Frequently asked questions

**How much should I practise per week?**
Two well-structured 45-60 minute sessions beat five unstructured hours. Quality over volume.

**Is it better to practise on the range or play the course?**
It depends on the goal. The range trains technique; the course trains decisions. If your card won't move despite lots of practice, you need more course time.

**How many balls should I hit per session?**
Fewer than you think. Sixty well-structured balls are worth more than a hundred and fifty in a row.

**What should I practise first if I'm short on time?**
Putting and short game. They are 62 % of your shots.

**Is practising at home worth it?**
For putting, very much. A rug and a glass are enough to work on pendulum rhythm. For the full swing, less so.

**How often should I take a lesson?**
One every three or four weeks keeps you on track without spending your life in correction mode. More frequently only makes sense if you are changing something structural.

---

Practising well is not practising more. It is putting the time where the shots are, changing club every ball, and writing a number down at the end.

The **Teeup Academy** has the drills with scoring and targets by level, and the app has the course network to check whether it is working.

**Download the Teeup app** and book your next round.
---

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