I’m not new to golf but I am new-ish to being a true golfer.

I’d call myself a hack in the past: I played charity tourneys with friends and a social round here and there but despite growing up in a total golf family and living on a course (If you ever played Hatherly in Scituate, you may have sliced a ball right into our front yard on the second fairway), I never truly knew the game.

A little over a year ago, I caught the bug, and as a staunch believer in respecting whatever sport I play, I wanted to do it right. And golf? Boy does golf require – and deserve – respect.

So I dove into it full force: Good clubs, regular lessons, scheduled play and most of all, lots of time on the practice range.

I’m coming along well, and I think a big part of why is that last step: My teaching pro Dean Hajedemos of Crosswinds Golf Club has shown me the right way to use a practice/driving range.

The natural inclination for me before on the range was to grab a big bucket of balls and fire away, focusing on distance and hero shots.

I knew it was going to be different when Hajedemos said, “Listen. I want you to take at least 30 minutes for each small bucket of balls you hit out there. Take your time and make each shot count.”

He tells me I was far from alone in that misuse of the range.

“I see a lot of golfers on the range beating ball after ball with no intent or purpose to their practice, going through a large bucket of 90 golf balls in what seems like 15 minutes. When the driving range game doesn’t translate to the golf course it’s time to start changing up how you practice,” he said. “Slow down your practice, have a purpose to what you are working on, and try to replicate what you do on the course when you practice to help improve your game.”

Here’s how a practice/driving range session can go next-level for anyone, from a learner like me to a long-timer.

Pre-shot routine every time: When Hajedemos said “take your time,” and what he meant by that is take time to approach, consider and study every shot you practice out there.

I’m still building my pre-shot routine, and I practice and tweak it every shot on the range. While I’m not going to – nor should any of us – go full Nomar tapping all over or Rafa adjusting his wedgie pre-shot routine, I am developing a pattern.

For every practice shot I stand back and address the ball, step up and adjust my stance, take a moment to breathe and consider my goal, take a practice swing that feels right and then, only then, do I hit. (OK, it’s not a wedgie adjustment but I do confess to saying “that’s the one” quietly but out loud every time a practice shot feels right. Call me quirky!)

Hit with intent: Of course it’s fun to yank out that driver and let it rip, but that’s really the last thing to do consistently while practicing. A good range session has you focusing on details – things like distance and clubs, alignment and shot set-up.

Some good routines include taking multi-distance swings with a specific club as well as target-shooting with that club. I’m new enough that repetition is my best friend; working with my hybrid 6 to consistently hit a certain flag was a good solid chunk of my time the other day. I felt results out playing right away, and aiming for a specific target with varied clubs.

Play a hole: You know that one hole on your favorite course that seems to bite you every time? Play it on the range. Visualize the hole and choose each club you’d use for each shot, choosing new targets about the distance – and angle – you’d hit on that hole. Other than the putt, you can do it all, giving you a chance to practice over and over until you own that hole. Crazy dog leg right? You can work it without repercussions on the practice range.

Book the pro: The practice range goes up countless levels when you invest in some pro time out there with you. Not only do you get the benefit of real study (and resulting advice) of your game there, you, like me, develop a better understanding of how to make the practice range a true weapon in your game.

Head there regularly: Here’s my learning pattern: Full lesson every other week backed up by at least two (and three when possible) practice range sessions (some driving; others at chipping, sand and putting), and at least one played round a week. Were I to just take the lessons and play? There’s be little progress and lots of frustration. Plus – and this is a nice bonus – the investment into a range session is low. A few bucks for a bucket and you’re good to go.