I’m A Scratch Golfer. This Is The 100-Ball Range Routine I’ve Used For Decades

This is a 100-ball range session built around one bucket, split into seven segments, with a specific target on every shot. It opens and closes with short wedges from 25, 50 and 75 yards, puts driver in the middle rather than at the end, and shifts from block practice to random practice at ball 71.

The routine at a glance

• Balls 1-15: five shots each to targets at 25, 50 and 75 yards, straight ahead.
• Balls 16-25: ten full pitching wedges to a target directly in front.
• Balls 26-45: ten shots to a target on the far left of the range, then ten to the far right, at 7-, 8- or 9-iron distance.
• Balls 46-55: about ten drivers, with longer rest between swings and a varied target line.
• Balls 56-70: fairway wood or hybrid plus 5- and 6-irons, varying trajectory including a few low stingers.
• Balls 71-85: random practice, changing club, target and distance on every shot.
• Balls 86-100: back down through 75, 50 and 25 yards, five shots each, as a cooldown.

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I’ve been using some version of this 100-ball range routine for decades.

It started when I was younger and would go to the range, pay for a bucket and get 100 balls. I knew how many balls I had so I started dividing them up and giving myself a routine to follow. Eventually, it just became how I practiced.

There are certainly days when I’m working on something specific and this routine gets changed. If I’m struggling with my driver or trying to work through something with my wedges, I’m not going to force myself to stick to a predetermined number of shots.

But if I’m heading to the range specifically to practice and there’s nothing major going on with my swing, this is still the 100-ball routine I like to use.

It gives me a mix of repetition and course-like practice. Every shot has a target and the session has a beginning, middle and end. I also just enjoy it. It’s familiar and structured, almost like following the same workout or bike ride you’ve done a hundred times.

I can’t tell you it’s the perfect practice routine. I can tell you I’m a scratch golfer, I’ve used it for a long time and it works well for the way I practice.

Balls 1-15: 25, 50, 75 yards

I start with five shots to a target about 25 yards away, five at 50 and five at 75. These are all directly in front of me and every shot is hit to a specific target.

This is probably more important to me than any other part of the routine because I feel like my golf swing is built from these smaller motions. If I can get the club moving correctly and make good contact on a 25 or 50-yard shot, it usually sets the tone for the rest of the session.

I’m also getting warmed up without immediately making full swings.

Balls 16-25: Full pitching wedge

Next, I move into a full pitching wedge and hit about 10 shots, again to a target directly in front of me.

At this point I’m starting to make full swings but I’m still keeping things pretty simple. I’m looking for solid contact, starting the ball where I’m looking and seeing what kind of swing I brought to the range that day.

After this, I start changing where I’m aiming.

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Balls 26-45: Aim at both sides of the range

I’ll find a target on the left side of the range, usually somewhere in my 7-, 8- or 9-iron distance, and hit about 10 shots. Then I’ll pick a target on the right side and hit another 10.

I think this is something a lot of amateur golfers miss at the range. It’s really easy to put your feet down, aim straight toward the middle and hit ball after ball from essentially the same setup.

Then you get on the golf course and suddenly the target is left of you, right of you or sitting at an angle that doesn’t look anything like the range. As soon as you start changing where your feet, shoulders and body are positioned relative to the mat or hitting area, it feels different.

That’s why I intentionally use targets on the far sides of the range. I want to get comfortable setting up somewhere other than straight ahead.

Balls 46-55: About 10 drivers

I usually hit about 10 drives during this part of the session. I’ll bump that to 15 if I feel like I need the extra work but I don’t automatically hit a large block of drivers every time I practice.

My pace changes here, too. The breaks between swings are a little longer with driver than they are when I’m hitting wedges or irons. I’m not interested in seeing how quickly I can get through 10 balls.

I’ll also vary the target instead of hitting every drive down the same line. If I’m working on something specific, I may try to hit a few fades or draws but shot shaping isn’t something I force into every session.

The goal is to hit drives the way I would on the course: pick a target, go through the routine, hit the shot and reset before the next one.

Balls 56-70: Fairway wood, hybrid and long irons

This section changes a little from one practice session to the next.

I’ll usually work with a fairway wood or hybrid rather than hitting both every time. I also make sure my 5- and 6-irons get some work here because those are clubs I don’t want to ignore just because they aren’t as easy to hit as a short iron.

I’m not only changing clubs. I’ll change trajectory, too.

I’ll hit some at a normal height, try to flight a few down and usually hit a couple of low stingers. Again, there’s always a target. I want to know where the shot would have gone, not just whether I made solid contact.

Balls 71-85: Make it more like golf

Once I’ve gotten through the more repetitive part of the session, I start mixing things up.

I might hit a wedge to a 50-yard target, switch to an 8-iron and try to hit the green on the left side of the range, hit a driver, then grab a 7-iron and aim toward something on the right. I’ll continue like that for around 15 balls.

This is where the practice changes from more traditional block practice into something that feels a little closer to playing golf. You don’t get to hit eight 7-irons in a row on the course until you find one you like. You get one swing and then you move on to something completely different.

I like having both styles of practice in the same range session. Early on, I get enough repetition to work on my motion. Later, I have to change clubs, targets and distances from shot to shot.

Balls 86-100: Back down from 75 To 25 yards

I always finish where I started: five shots from 75 yards, five from 50 and then five from 25.

There are two reasons I like doing this. First, these shots matter. I don’t want all of my wedge practice to happen during the first 15 balls of the session when I’m still warming up.

Second, it feels like a cooldown.

If my last shot of a range session is a full driver, it almost feels unfinished to me. There was no real beginning, middle and end. Working my way back down from 75 to 25 yards slows everything down and gives the session a natural stopping point.

From there, I’ll move over to the putting green.

Why this routine has stuck with me

The biggest reason I’ve kept doing this for so long is probably the structure. I don’t have to stand on the range wondering what club I should hit next but there’s still enough variation that I’m not mindlessly hitting balls.

Every shot has a target. I move my aim around the range. I get some block practice, some random practice, different trajectories, longer clubs, short-game work and a little course simulation.

More importantly, I like it.

Practice doesn’t have to be perfectly optimized every time you go to the range. Sometimes having a routine that clears your mind, keeps you focused and makes you want to practice is valuable in itself.

You’ll probably have to create your own version based on your game and what you need to work on. Use this as a starting point and see what you like and don’t like about it.