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If you insist on going to the range to practice, then really practice golf. Golf is not 50 shots with a 7-iron at a single target -- nor is that good practice.

Jack Nicklaus knows how to practice. I watched him at the Canadian Open in 1975 after his round. He got a bag of about 25 balls. He picked out a target and then worked over that shot like it was the most important one of his life. He checked the wind, his lie and the target distance. When he felt he had all the information correct, he chose a club, lined up and focused on delivering the ball to the chosen target. He hit the best shot he was capable of hitting.

Then he went down the line of professionals on the range hitting balls and talked to Arnold Palmer for a couple of minutes. He came back to his spot, picked out another target and went through the same process as if this was the shot of the century. After that shot he went down the line and talked to Lee Trevino for a couple of minutes, then returned for another very important shot with a different club and a different target.

Nicklaus was actually practicing golf. He aimed at different targets, used different clubs and took about five minutes between shots. It's against the rules to play on the course between rounds, so Nicklaus was doing the next best thing. This is the best of "sterile" practice and is more than I can reasonably ask from my students.

Learn to "practice" by hitting no more than two shots per club, per target, per day. You may not hit all good practice shots, but you will be far better prepared to hit good shots during your round of golf. Practice making specific kinds of shots; draws, fades, high, low, low fades and high draws. You will actually be trying to make shots rather than simply trying to hit as many balls as possible in the allotted time.

When practicing, plan to end your session on a positive note – and that means leaving a few balls in the bucket. If you’ve just hit a good shot and there are five or six balls left, leave them for someone else or hit short wedge shots. It’s important to end your full shot practice with a very good shot.

The best practice for your golf game is on the course. Play lots of golf. You may even find that when the course is quiet in the middle of the afternoon you can go out by yourself. You may even be able to hit some extra shots when you have hit a bad one. Always take care of the course by replacing divots in the fairway and fixing ball marks on the green.

One way I practiced as I was preparing to play on the PGA Tour was as follows. While I was an assistant at the Philadelphia C. C., I frequently played by myself in the early evenings. I played four balls and was in a real competition with Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Tis true that I hit all the shots but the competition was my score against the best ball of the three greats. I did not always win. But sometimes I had a great day and caught them napping!

I wonder if my practice technique had anything to do with the fact that I played in competition with Gary Player ( I scored lower than Gary that day) and Jack Nicklaus ( Jack won the tournament that day and scored lower than I did).

Range practice ends up becoming “swing-fixing,” which hurts your swing and your game. Practice golf by playing golf on the course. Your game will improve as a result.

On the other hand, you can hit as many short shots around the green and on the green as you like. Practice your pitching from 40 yards and closer at many different targets for an hour each day.

Practice your putting for an hour every day. Use the following putting exercise. Put four balls around a cup at one foot. Make those and move to two foot putts, then to three foot putts on up to six foot putts. When you miss a putt, start over from one foot. The contest is to make all the putts from six feet -- then have lunch! Great diet.

For a change of pace take one ball, pitch it on the green and putt it in. Go to a different spot, pitch it on the green and putt it in. Get so good that you can get it up and down (one pitch, one putt) from anywhere. This is the type of practice that really pays off.

The bottom line is to play a lot of golf and use any leftover time to practice your short game. That's wise practice.

Enjoy the game and practice intentionally.