Hitting the same shot twice in a row from the same lie doesn’t say much about your ball-striking — it says something about repetition. On a flat range mat, grooving a swing by repeating it until it feels automatic is called practice. On the course, you get one lie and one shot, with no do-over if it’s off. A “good range session” and “good ball-striking under real conditions” feel identical in the moment, but they’re testing two different things.
Frank hits a solid 7-iron, then steps up and hits nearly the same shot again — same distance, same shape. He nods, calls it “a productive session,” and moves to the next club. What he’s actually tested is whether he can repeat a swing under zero pressure, from a perfect lie, with no consequence for a miss. That’s not nothing — but it isn’t golf either. On the course he won’t get a flat lie or a second try, and the swing that felt automatic on the range will meet a situation it’s never seen before.
Repeating a good shot at the range proves you can repeat it at the range.
