Block practice means repeating the same shot over and over. Random practice means changing club, target or shape every ball. Both are useful. Using the wrong one at the wrong time is why range work often fails to show up on the course.
What block practice is for
Building a new movement. When you are changing something mechanical you need repetition close together so the body can find the pattern. This is the right moment to use a training aid, keep the same club, and hold everything else constant.
Block practice feels good, and that is part of the problem. Improvement within a block session overstates how much you have actually learned.
What random practice is for
Proving the movement survives. On the course you never hit the same shot twice in a row. Random practice is harder and feels worse, but it produces changes that hold.
The mistake almost everyone makes
Staying in block practice forever. You groove something on the range, feel great, then it collapses on the course because you never tested it under changing conditions.
A simple four week structure
- Weeks one and two: block. Same club, aid on, slow reps, then aid off.
- Week three: mixed. Ten block reps to warm the feel, then random.
- Week four onward: mostly random. Change club every ball, pick a specific target, full routine each time.
How to tell if it worked
Not by how it felt on the range. By whether the fault shows on video after a round, and whether your typical miss has changed. Those are the only two honest measures.
