Shane Lowry claims that he could never spend an entire day on the driving range.

But after an hour on this one, it seems like he was just getting started.

It’s a hot summer day when Lowry graciously agrees to meet me at Chris Cote’s Performance Center, a stunning green slice of rural Connecticut just down the road from TPC River Highlands, where he’s preparing for the Travelers Championship.

Prior to Lowry, our most recent episode of “Warming Up” featured Bryson DeChambeau, whose approach is boldly unconventional, proudly technical, and passionately range-centric, to the point that he seldom plays golf outside of tournament weeks. His strategy has also shown to be incredibly successful; after all, he recently won the US Open. Lowry recognizes all of this, but still.

“Obviously, that works for Bryson—he’s a pretty good player,” he explains with a smile. “But if I spent all of my time on the range, I believe I would be overthinking things. And when I start thinking about it, things go awry.

Lowry practices a lot; he enjoys golf but also considers it a job, therefore you can find him on the course or at the practice facility throughout most working hours. But the beauty of golf, and my favorite aspect of this series, is how differently these experts approach the same aim of getting the ball into the hole as efficiently as possible.

The session with DeChambeau was more about X’s and O’s. During the workout with Lowry, it seemed like the actual ball-hitting was secondary. Here are the ten things he taught me.

1. “He can’t roll from the car to the first tee like he used to,” Lowry admits, rolling his eyes.

“I do a bit, but it’s not a workout. Just anything with my physio, which I do for 20 minutes.”

In his mid-30s, he began to feel the affects of a life on the road, a rotational sport, and the reality of life, so he has built in some extra time during the last few years. So Lowry arrives at the course around an hour and a half before the round. He meets his caddie on the range 45 minutes before tee time. Then it’s go time.

2. He skips his odd irons, too Another former “Warming Up” guest, Brooks Koepka, admitted that he never practices with his odd clubs. Turns out Lowry’s the same way. He starts with his 50-degree wedge and then goes 8-iron, 6-iron, 4-iron. “Always evens. Never odds.” I find myself drawn to the 8-iron during warmups, too, and it feels logical to drop to the 6 from there — or the 4, if time is tight. But I’d never considered that this might be a universal preference. Or just a thing with Srixon players?

3. Setup is everything Lowry likes shaping shots in both directions, but his go-to shape is a small, left-to-right fade. How does he make that happen? “I actually play with my ball position quite a bit forward, and that encourages a fade,” he said, explaining that if he keeps the ball in front of him, his club will exit left, promoting a left-to-right shape for a right-hander “Probably the main thing I work on with my coach is setup stuff. As long as my alignment, posture, ball position, all that stuff is pretty similar to what it is, I’m going to

Play well. “And when I’m not playing well, that just comes off,” he says. “I had a pretty awful weekend at Memorial, and you felt so far away. I spent a couple of hours on the range with my instructor, mostly setting things up. I was shooting way too far left. I was hitting the ball too far back [in my stance] with my irons. I was getting a two-way miss, which spooked me because my iron play had been so fantastic this year. But it’s usually quite simple for us.”

What about amateurs? He maintains that setup is the best place to begin.

“I play a lot of pro-ams, and you see guys coming out with the wrong setup, but they’re working on something with the club back here,” he explains, demonstrating a sophisticated swing adjustment. “And I’m like, if we get your setup correct, you’ve got a better chance of hitting a good shot.”

4. Regarding pro-am partners: Shane has two messages.

“I wouldn’t be a good coach,” he admits. “Not very technically minded with the game.”

Still, he can deliver a quick, well-placed tip now and then.

“My favorite thing in the world to do is offer someone a fast suggestion and then they start playing well for the rest of the pro-am and then they believe you’re an incredible hero,” he explains.”

Those two messages both deal with expectation management.

“To be honest, I asked them how much golf they played. And they’ll say, “Oh, this is my second game this year.” And I’m thinking, yeah, I’d be s— if I just played twice a year,” he recalls, chuckling.

“I tell them that every day, I play golf with the world’s finest players. You’re not going to impress me, so don’t try,” he says. “I think that’s a good piece of advice because they’re generally very nervous. It’s an intimidating place.” For example, if you put me on a soccer field or something and asked me to do something in front of a large crowd, I’d most likely be nervous.”

5. He likes a driving-range drive-by chat Pros have all sorts of different game day personalities as they warm up before tournament rounds; Lowry says he’s a talker.

“I talk to people and walk down the range and say hello to people, and if there’s one of my friends, I’ll stop and watch them hit a couple, see how they’re doing.” Still, he’d prefer not to end up next to certain types of pros. “There’s some players, I won’t name any names, who can get quite talkative on the range … some people will talk to you through the whole warmup,” he says. “To each their own, but if their coach is with them and they’re working on something and you’re listening to what they’re working on, it’s quite off-putting.” Fair enough.

6. Genuine tour friendships are useful in numerous ways.
Lowry says he has a small group of pros with whom he is close, but he appreciates those friendships. There are European Ryder Cup pals, including as Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, and Tyrrell Hatton; McIlroy, in particular, has become a close buddy over the years.

“I’d say in the last five years, we’ve just become close. For example, our wives have developed a strong bond. They’re close as sisters, and because our children are the same age, they spend some time together,” he explains. The two partnered up for this year’s Zurich Classic, which they eventually won in a playoff. That is no coincidence.

“It’s great because like, I play a lot of golf with him and playing against one of the best players in the world, it drags you towards that level.”

There are also Jupiter neighbors, such as Erik van Rooyen.

“We live like 400 yards from each other,” he said.

And there are men from the same island, such as Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, and Darren Clarke. Regarding Harrington: “We are not that close in age. But we get along quite well—and we’re two very different people. But he’s wonderful for me. I really miss him on Tour. I enjoy having him around during major championship weeks, the PGA, and the Open.

7. The range may be a “dangerous place”
Lowry takes aim at the yellow flag. He doesn’t spend much time envisioning virtual holes or building fairways out here; instead, he aims at objectives.

“I’m just trying to get it to finish in on the yellow [flag],” he tells me. “This is why the range might be harmful at times. Because let’s assume I’m standing here with a 3-iron and miss my aim by about 10 yards on the range. That does not seem like a good shot. But on the golf course, it’s a fantastic stroke, especially if you’re playing in a tournament. You can almost strive to be overly accurate on the range.”

Lowry has had the same experience as any other golfer: a solid range workout does not always convert to the course. I liked how he phrased this bit.

“I had some of the finest warmups of my career and went out and shot 75. And I’ve been on the other end of the spectrum; I’ve hit the ball horribly, and it’s almost as if the tables were turned. When things aren’t going well, you’re more motivated to go out and attempt to shoot the best score possible. Whereas when you’re feeling well and hitting the ball well, I almost felt like you became complacent or something.”

8. What is his favorite element about professional golf? It’s anticipation.
Most professionals have their favorite tournament weeks. Lowry? He has favorite practice weeks.

“The week before the Masters is like, my favorite week of the year,” he tells me. “Because I live in Florida, I always go up the previous Monday and Tuesday and spend two days there. I return to my home in Florida. I just practice every day, going to bed early and taking it easy; I enjoy it. And then, the week before the Open, I’m in Ireland, where I play golf with my friends.

That’s most likely where Lowry is right now, enjoying his week and anticipating what might come next as he commemorates the fifth anniversary of his Open Championship victory at Royal Portrush.

“When you’re on an airplane to a competition, that’s it. As I always say, that’s why we do — that’s why we play golf.

9. If he wants to hit a shot, he pictures it in his thoughts.
How do you hit a particular shot shape and trajectory? Lowry explains that he alternates between low and high balls with his 3-iron.

“We do it so often, every day, that it has become instinctive. I’ll try to explain this to my friends who are good golfers as well. I have one friend, who I won’t name, but he doesn’t hit the ball very high, and all I try to get him to do is look in the window, look higher, and you’ll start to think higher, and he’ll naturally do everything he can to hit it higher.

“But he won’t listen to me.”

Lowry went on to describe the distinction between a negative tournament mindset, in which he tries to swing the club, and a positive mindset, in which he tries to hit the shots and enjoy golf. Simply put, believe in yourself and your intuition. Especially if you have Shane Lowry’s instincts.

10. He loves Diet Coke.
I mention that some golf fans have a caricatured image of him, believing that he’d complete each round and went for a few pints of Guinness. How accurate is this?

“I wouldn’t say it’s very accurate at all, but yeah, I’ll let people think what they think,” according to him. “I enjoy spending time with my friends when I have the opportunity, but you don’t get many of them these days. I’m married with two children now, and they take up more of my time.

“But one of my favorite things to do is sit there and drink Diet Coke. People believe I enjoy drinking a lot, and don’t get me wrong—I do. But sitting back with a Diet Coke, I’m a pretty happy man. I’m very content with Diet Coke in the nights and coffee in the mornings.

There’s a good spot to leave it; even if you can’t swing it like Shane, you can share part of his joy in the basic pleasures of life. Coffee in the morning, Diet Coke in the evening, or the rare drink with a friend? They do say that golf is a game of balance.