How to Make a Golf Practice Plan

Going to the driving range without a plan is like heading into a grocery store hungry and without a list - you’ll spend a lot of time and money but leave without what you actually need. Hitting a large bucket of balls might feel productive, but if those reps aren't tied to a specific goal, they rarely lead to lower scores on the course. This guide will walk you through a simple, step-by-step process to build a golf practice plan that actually works, transforming your range sessions from mindless ball-beating into purposeful training that shows up on your scorecard.

Why You Need a Practice Plan (and Why 'Just Hitting Balls' Fails)

There's a fundamental difference between just "practicing" and purposeful "training." Practice is hitting balls. Training is hitting balls with an objective for every single swing. When most golfers go to the range, they grab their driver and try to launch all one hundred balls as far as they can. While fun, this rarely helps them solve the reason they made a double bogey on the 7th hole last Saturday.

Think about it like going to the gym. You wouldn't walk in, randomly lift a few dumbbells, run for a minute, do one pull-up, and expect to see results. You follow a workout program designed to target specific muscle groups and achieve a specific goal, like building strength or improving endurance. Your golf game deserves the same level of intention.

A structured practice plan does three things:

• It forces you to confront the real weaknesses in your game, not just the parts you enjoy practicing.
• It makes every minute of your practice time count by tying every shot to a goal.
• It gives you a way to measure your progress, which builds confidence and keeps you motivated.

Moving from random reps to a structured plan is the single biggest change you can make to start seeing genuine, lasting improvement.

Step 1: Get Your Baseline - Where Is Your Game Right Now?

You can't create an effective roadmap if you don't know your starting point. Before you can build a plan to improve, you need an honest, objective look at where your game currently stands. This means tracking a few simple stats for your next 3-5 rounds. You don't need a fancy app, the notes app on your phone or a small pocket notebook will do just fine.

For each round, track the following:

• Fairways in Regulation (FIR): Did your tee shot on a par 4 or par 5 land in the fairway? Make a tick mark for yes or no after each hole.
• Greens in Regulation (GIR): Did your ball land on the putting surface in the prescribed number of strokes? (1 shot on a par 3, 2 shots on a par 4, 3 on a par 5).
• Number of Putts: Simply count the putts on each hole.
• Up-and-Downs: When you missed a green, did you get the ball in the hole in two shots or less (a chip/pitch plus one putt)? Track your successes versus your attempts.
• Penalty Strokes: How many shots did you add for hitting it out of bounds or into a water hazard?

After a few rounds, the numbers won't lie. You might *feel* like your driver is the problem, but the data might reveal you're averaging 40 putts per round with six three-putts. That's a huge insight. This data isn't meant to make you feel bad, it's meant to give you clarity. Your biggest weaknesses will become obvious, giving you a clear "why" for everything you'll do next.

Step 2: Set SMART Golf Goals

With your baseline stats in hand, you can move away from vague wishes like "I want to be a better putter" and start setting concrete goals. The best way to do this is by using the SMART framework: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

• Specific: What exactly do you want to accomplish? "Improve putting" isn't specific. "Eliminate three-putts" is.
• Measurable: How will you track progress? "Average 34 putts per round" is measurable. "Feel more confident on the greens" is not.
• Achievable: Is the goal realistic for your skill level and time commitment? Trying to shave 10 strokes in a month is probably not achievable. Aiming to cut 2-3 strokes is.
• Relevant: Does this goal align with what your stats are telling you? If your biggest weakness is penalty strokes off the tee, a goal focused on bunker play isn't the most relevant right now.
• Time-bound: When will you achieve this goal? "By the end of next month" creates a sense of urgency.

Let's turn a bad goal into a SMART one.

Vague Goal: "I want to stop losing so many balls."

SMART Goal: "Based on my stat tracking, I have an average of three penalty strokes per round from my driver. Over the next six weeks, I will reduce that to an average of one penalty stroke per round by focusing my range practice on finding the fairway."

Now you have a mission. Your practice sessions will be built around accomplishing this one clear, impactful goal.

Step 3: Structure Your Practice Time - The 60/40 Split

Here's where the plan starts to take shape. Your stats will tell you *what* to work on, and this simple rule will tell you *how* to divide your time. For most amateur golfers, the key to lower scores lies within 100 yards of the hole. For that reason, I recommend the 60/40 Split.

Spend 60% of your practice time on the short game (putting, chipping, pitching, and wedges) and 40% on the long game (mid-irons, hybrids, fairway woods, and driver).

This might feel backward to many, but it's where the scoring happens. You can hit a mediocre drive and still make par with a great short game, but a perfect drive followed by a chunked chip and a three-putt is always a bogey or worse.

Sample 1-Hour Practice Session Plan:

Here’s how you can apply the 60/40 split to a typical one-hour session at the range and putting green.

• First 10 Minutes: Warm-up & Feel
  Don't start by ripping your driver. Ease into it. Head to the chipping green and hit short, simple chip shots with your pitching wedge. This gets your body moving, activates your feel for contact, and prepares you for the session.
• Next 25 Minutes: The 60% (Short Game Training)
  This is where you attack your scoring weaknesses. Let's say your focus is on three-putting.
  - 15 mins, Putting: Focus entirely on lag putting. Pick a hole and try to putt three balls from 30, 40, and 50 feet. The goal isn't to make them, but to get them all inside a three-foot circle.
  - 10 mins, Chipping: Take one club (like a sand wedge) and drop 10 balls around the green. Try to get every chip to stop close to the same hole. Then, switch to a 9-iron and do the same, focusing on how the trajectory and rollout change.
• Next 20 Minutes: The 40% (Long Game Training)
  Now head to the range, but with a plan. Instead of hitting the same club over and over, simulate on-course play. Pick two poles on the range to be your "fairway." Hit your driver and see if you can land it between them. Then, grab the club you'd typically hit for your approach - say, a 7-iron - and aim for a specific yardage marker or green. Alternate clubs after every one or two shots to mimic the rhythm of a real round.
• Final 5 Minutes: The Pressure Shot
  End every session with a single, high-stakes shot. Stand behind the ball, go through your full pre-shot routine, and tell yourself, "This drive has to find the fairway to shoot my personal best." Or, "I need to get this 5-foot putt up-and-down to win the match." It trains your mind to perform when it matters.

Step 4: Use Drills and Games, Not Just Reps

Mindless repetition can ingrain bad habits if your swing or technique is off. The best way to practice is to turn your training into a series of games and drills. Games make practice more engaging, provide instant feedback, and simulate the pressure you feel over a must-make putt on the 18th hole.

Putting Game: The '3-Footer Gauntlet'

Place five balls in a circle around the hole, each three feet away. Your goal is to make all five in a row. If you miss one, you have to start over from the beginning. It seems simple, but when you get to the fourth and fifth putt, you’ll feel the pressure build. This is fantastic training for those knee-knocking short putts.

Chipping Game: 'Par 2 Challenge'

Go to the chipping green and throw down 9 balls in different locations and lies - some in the rough, some on the fringe. Your goal is to play each spot as a "Par 2." A chip and a one-putt earns you a par (0). A chip and a two-putt is a bogey (+1). Taking more than three shots is a double bogey (+2). Your goal is to finish the 9-hole course at even par or better. It connects your chipping and putting and forces you to focus on getting the ball close.

Range Game: 'Worst Ball Scramble'

This is a great game for working on consistency. Imagine you’re playing a hole on the range. Hit two drives. Whichever one is worse is the one you play from. Hit your two approach shots from there, and again, you have to play the worse of the two. It forces you to hit two good shots in a row and puts a penalty on the truly poor swings.

Step 5: Review and Adjust Your Plan

Your golf game is dynamic, as one area improves, another might start to show strain. Your practice plan should be a living document, not something set in stone. Every month or so, take a step back and review.

1. Track your stats again: Play another 3-5 rounds and record the same data. Did you meet your SMART goal? Have you reduced your average putts per round?
2. Identify new weaknesses: Maybe you've successfully cut out three-putts, but now you notice your GIR percentage is very low because of poor iron play.
3. Adjust your plan: It's time to set a new SMART goal focused on GIR. Your an practice might now shift to dedicarte more of the "long game" 40% to iron striking from 125-175 yards.

This creates a continuous cycle of improvement: Assess -> Plan -> Practice -> Review. As you repeat this process, you’ll systematically plug the leaks in your game, and the results will be undeniable.

Final Thoughts

Building a golf practice plan transforms your time at the range from a guessing game into a focused mission. By understanding your weaknesses through simple stat tracking, setting targeted goals, and using structured games, you give every ball you hit a purpose, which is the only way in order to see real, measurable improvement show up on the scorecard.

We know that the toughest part of this whole process is often that first step: honestly assessing your game to figure out what you should be working on. That’s why we built Caddie AI. It acts as both your on-course guide and a 24/7 personal coach, helping you make smarter decisions during a round and analyzing your performance to pinpoint the skills that are actually costing you the most strokes. You can get personalized advice and drill recommendations, taking all the guesswork out of how to practice and what to do next to improve your game.