Masters 2025 practice range secrets: Who hit the most balls at Augusta – and who hit the fewest?

Bryson DeChambeau hit more range balls than anyone else during the 2025 Masters.

Augusta National’s new Practice Range Tracker reveals surprising insights into players’ preparation routines at the 2025 Masters. From Bryson DeChambeau’s marathon sessions to Josele Ballester’s minimalistic approach, discover how the pros fine-tune their game for golf’s biggest stage.​

This year, Augusta National introduced a groundbreaking feature: the Practice Range Tracker, allowing fans to monitor every shot hit by players during their practice sessions. The data offers a fascinating glimpse into the diverse preparation strategies of the world’s top golfers.​

I’ve delved through all the shots tracked to highlight golfers who can’t get enough of shelling eggs, those who barely bother to warm up at all, and to spot some interesting trends that might change the way you practice and warm up.

The biggest grinder

I’m not really a gambling man, but I’d have placed a decent wager that Bryson DeChambeau would have hit more balls than anyone else on the range at Augusta. And I’d have made bank.

On Tuesday, the man who finished a career-best T6 at Augusta last year hit a whopping 393 practice balls. And, just so we’re clear, that does not include putts, chips, or bunker shots.

DeChambeau’s mammoth session put him almost 150 balls clear of Tuesday’s second most ardent grinder, Max Homa, who hit 247 balls on the practice round day.

DeChambeau’s session was meticulously structured, focusing on various shot distances to fine-tune his equipment and swing mechanics, testing numerous driver heads and marking them with a red Sharpie.

Wednesday is the Masters Par 3 Contest at Augusta, but most players will still spend a good amount of time on the range.

DeChambeau had an easier day, only hitting 156 balls, while Adam Scott showed that his textbook golf swing takes work, hitting the day’s high of 231 balls.

Jose Maria Olazabal put in an impressive stint for a man who’ll turn 60 next year, hitting 236 range balls on Tuesday and a further 171 on Wednesday. Even after missing the cut, he stuck around to hit another 270 balls on Saturday.

That’ll do for today

On the other end of the spectrum fell Josele Ballester, with the amateur hitting just 14 balls on the range on Tuesday.

Not bothering to practice much before your first Masters might seem like a pretty ballsy move, but what else would you expect from a man who took a leak into Rae’s Creek during the first round?

To be fair to Ballester – on his practice volume, rather than his excretion location choices – he hit 106 balls in practice on Wednesday. He hit just 38 before his tee time on Thursday, and 29 before Friday’s second round.

What about tournament day warm-up sessions?

Golfers take very different approaches to their pre-round tune-ups, with some opting to hit over 100 balls while others are happy to start one of golf’s toughest challenges with fewer than a dozen shots under their belt.

For the first round warm-up, DeChambeau again took the crown, hitting 210 balls before getting his Masters campaign underway.

Sergio Garcia had the most minimalist Thursday warm-up, hitting just 23 balls, but he may have been late after a shift at one of the world’s biggest fast-food chains.

Patrick Cantlay clearly wasn’t happy after his opening round 74, as he hit a Friday-high of 161 balls before starting his second round. It worked, with a two-shot improvement seeing him shoot level par to make the cut at +2.

Cameron Davis hit just 11 balls before starting his Friday round and might wish he’d hit a few more as he followed that brief warm-up with a 79 to miss the cut.

DeChambeau had an easy session by his standards, hitting just 65 balls in his warm-up before shooting a 68 to put himself right in contention for a first Green Jacket.

Masters practice ball totals

Key takeaways

• The average number of balls hit in pre-round warm-ups on Thursday was 42.
• This was considerably lower than the number hit in practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. This just goes to show that your pre-round warm-up is different from a practice session and should be treated as such.
• Players start their warm-ups hitting short shots that average 82 yards. If you’re that guy who hits a full-send driver straight out of the car park, you might want to stop doing that (or get a chiropractor on speed dial).
• On average, pros hit seven different clubs during their warm-ups. This supports the notion that a good warm-up involves starting with a wedge and working your way up the bag but missing every other club. Many players do the odd-numbered irons one day and the evens the next.
• 39% of shots tracked traveled further than 200 yards, with players ensuring their long games are ready to tackle the myriad challenges presented by Augusta National.

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