Driving Ranges/Practice areas

[Jason Topp]

My ideal practice range can be found at Windsong Farm in Minnesota. Just copy that.

No luck with range pictures on website or Google search. What makes it special and why would you pay to practice there?

Different angles from which to practice the long game (including wind directions), large short game areas to practice different types of shots around the green (both from fairway height and deeper rough), several bunkers to practice both greenside and fairway bunker shots, multiple target greens and fairway areas to aim at, and ProV1s. The practice putting green is very large and features both relatively flat areas and some pronounced slopes, so you can practice most of the different putts you’re likely to face on the course.

Ironically - shovels will go in place shortly to alter our range.  Hopefully it will improve a bit although I think the primary motivation is to increase the size of our parking lot which fills up during events.


I have grown to love having Pro-V golf balls when I practice.  It seemed like a useless extravagance when I joined but I now really miss them when I am somewhere else. 


I have a number of particular additional things I like that may or may not be practical depending on the situation:


1.  Sufficient turf - really this consideration trumps everything else.  I like it when courses use the grass in front of the tee on wet days
2.  Ability to vary wind direction
3.  Ability to see the ball land
4.  Targets at regular distances - I do not need target greens, signs works fine.  I just want to know how far my shots are flying.  I tend to deceive myself otherwise.
5.  Ability to practice sidehill lies - I have not seen a range that does this well
6.  Wedge target with distances marked at 10 yard intervals - Not sure this is needed in the era of rangefinders but Windsong's range used to have this and I loved it.
7.  Mowing patterns to approximate a fairway for hitting driver
8.  Good Mats - I do not love hitting from them, but so much turf gets torn up on wet days that I think they are good to have even on ranges with plenty of turf.  I also like them when trying to do drills because you can hit from the same spot repeatedly.
9.  Drinking water available

[Garland Bayley]

...
other than the balls being stacked in pyramids that is....

I hate those pyramids.

[Buck Wolter]

Jeff's original post I saw as --what would you want in a stand-alone driving range?  You put Pro V-1's out on a public driving range you're going to have to charge $100/bucket for all the theft -- hell most public driving ranges I've been to I'd take dimples on the balls.

All the ideas are great but I watched a good friend go broke by building the driving range of his dreams complete with a massive putting green and enough turf tees that you'd never hit off mud. I just don't see 'normal' golfers paying what it costs to maintain a 'Club' Range (a lot of those costs are easily absorbed by normal maintenance at a full golf facility). Maybe its a market that just hasn't been tapped but I doubt it.

[Michael Felton]

I think about this from time to time. Some things that I would like to see are:


- A good short game area, where you can practice chipping, pitching, bunker play and shots from longer grass.
- A good putting green with some flat areas and some sloping areas.
- Plenty of yardage markers at a range of different distances including every 10 yards from 40 to 80.
- Pairs of yardage markers at 200+ where you know how far apart they are (widthwise, rather than lengthwise). i.e. something that you could figure out how many of your drives wind up in a 40 yard wide gap.
- Seconding the car on the range. Only problem is you hit 10 sensible shots and then spend the rest of the time with a 2 iron trying to hit stingers into the car.
- Either turf or good quality mats like true strike.
- Some kind of launch monitor system would be good, although heinously expensive I imagine.


Problem is finding somewhere that has sufficient people willing to spend to make it worth your while to do it. Places with lots of people, the land tends to be very expensive.

[jeffwarne]

:

- A good short game area, where you can practice chipping, pitching, bunker play and shots from longer grass.
- A good putting green with some flat areas and some sloping areas.
.
- Some kind of launch monitor system would be good, although heinously expensive I imagine.

I think the three of those would be cost prohibitive(a teacher/fitter might spring for the launch monitor).
Pitching and bunker shots to a fairway or tee height area would be a reasonable compromise


No money in selling putting green time and expensive to build and maintain


Your thoughts below are sensible-I'm no fan of fancy target greens/bunkers either


"- Plenty of yardage markers at a range of different distances including every 10 yards from 40 to 80.- Pairs of yardage markers at 200+ where you know how far apart they are (widthwise, rather than lengthwise). i.e. something that you could figure out how many of your drives wind up in a 40 yard wide gap.- Seconding the car on the range. Only problem is you hit 10 sensible shots and then spend the rest of the time with a 2 iron trying to hit stingers into the car. - Either turf or good quality mats like true strike

[Tom Birkert]

Bit of a sore point this one... We've just spent a lot of money on a new range and it has several issues (but that's a whole separate post).


Ideally I would like the following:


Good turf
Good mats (for bad weather)
Good golf balls
Ability to hit all clubs in the bag
Range of targets (50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250) - not all need to be greens but something of interest.
Separate short game area (love Winged Foot's one)
Double ended range
Trackman Range - an absolutely brilliant system
Benches to relax on
Cold drinks in a chest
Wooden tees

[Cob Carlson]

I second Kevin's reply. Having a mound/small green-like target that tilts back to front that allows you to see ball land (50 to 200 yds at 10 -15 yard intervals) is a terrific bonus at a range.

[Tal Oz]

Bit of a sore point this one... We've just spent a lot of money on a new range and it has several issues (but that's a whole separate post).


Ideally I would like the following:


Good turf
Good mats (for bad weather)
Good golf balls
Ability to hit all clubs in the bag
Range of targets (50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250) - not all need to be greens but something of interest.
Separate short game area (love Winged Foot's one)
Double ended range
Trackman Range - an absolutely brilliant system
Benches to relax on
Cold drinks in a chest
Wooden tees

Pretty much exactly this Tom. I loved the short game area at Winged Foot.
Madison Club was one that I thought nailed it too. Plenty of greens with multiple flags over bunkers, markers in 10y increments in the fairway, fairway 'corridors' for driver, rangefinders, nice new golf balls, alignment sticks, and a great bar/snack spot right in the middle. Of course all of this is way excessive, but that's pretty much what Madison Club is all about anyway.
https://imgur.com/a/YCelcHn

[Steve Kline]

Don't know how many of you know Scott Fawcett and his DECADE system, but I highly recommend it. I have purchased his app, which tracks all kinds of stats and gives you practice tips and drills. He is a former Tour player who now coaches all sorts of players on strategy.


The following videos show a little bit of how he recommends practicing. Start watching the second one at about the 4:15 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKo2kaa9l7s


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWCnnV9XWmo


Basically, you should do block practice. This means that you practice hitting to the same target over and over with every club until you have absolutely grooved in your setup so that every single time you set up to the ball your setup is perfect.


I've been doing this. It relates to this thread because I don't need any targets on a driving range anymore. I pick a tree in the distance to aim at. I set my stick down. I hit every shot at that tree whether its a wedge or a driver. So, a bunch of targets are actually a waste for truly effective practice of the long game.


What do I want in a range?


1. Good turf.
2. Good balls.
3. Drinking water.
4. Good mats that allow for varying tee height.
5. Covered hitting area with heaters for winter practice.
6. Short game area with roughly 40-yard fairway area, bunker, rough, and multiple holes on the green.