Driving range bitch...

[Slingblade61]

They suck.

I went to one of the 'better' ranges yesterday to try out the new irons and one of the first things I did was to shoot the yardage markers.

I have a Bushnell pinseeker, laser range finder...this thing is deadly accurate but that's another story.

ALL of the yardage markers were 15 to 20 yards off, that's a lot when you want to figure your yardage for a particular club.

The balls at this range are all the same, top flite range balls. Whether they are limited distance I can's say for sure but I believe they are.

These factors make it impossible to gauge your irons. The best that can be seen is whether or not you are hitting straight.

The two ranges closet to me have no pro shop......zilch.
It seems to me that if you run a range you want to sell some gear....one range about 30 minutes from here has a full loaded shop plus some simulator bays......this seems like a no brainer to me, throw in a bar and your a rich man!

My new clubs are seriously delofted and I have no way of knowing if my 8 iron is gonna do 150 or not. I have a tourney tomorrow and I guess it's trial by fire.

[MGP]

When you shot the range markers were they 15-20 yards too short?

The reason I ask is most range balls are "80%" balls, i.e. they are distance limited. It's possible that the range markers match up with what full flight balls would do. Wishful thinking probably.

Funny you made this post though, I realized this past week that unless you are at a PGA tour stop driving range hitting a pyramid of ProV1's, a range is almost worthless for working on distance with your clubs. Since you are not playing "your" ball (or even one that's anywhere close to it most times) the distance you get at the range won't have much bearing on what you'll do on the course.

I won't even get started on hitting off mats other than to say I won't do it anymore. If I can't hit off grass then I won't hit.

[Slingblade61]

They were short.

How is anyone to know? There is not sign talking about the limited flight balls and the adjusted markers.

I doubt the management is that smart anyway. I figure they just place the markers 'close enough' and leave it at that.

There MUST be a way to build a driving range where you pay by the hour and are able to use and recover your own balls.

Imagine that!

[ezra76]

I don't go by the range yardages much. I'd say just go mostly by your old yardages and swing a little easier.

I'd also like to add that I too am 100% done with range mats also. I've said it before but did it last night. Today I hit about 30% of my shots extremely thin and topped a friggen 8iron!! I literally have not topped a shot since about March 2005. Thin is bad enough, I never hit shots thin like that. It took me about 15 holes before my ballstriking came back and I stuck a 9iron to 6 feet with a nice big divot. Mats don't give up divots and I end up shallowing out my path to hit off them.

[warbirdlover]

I go to a driving range to work out swing issues. Trying to judge how far you hit the ball with a particular club is a wasted effort. You just HAVE to find out on a golf course.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Was this a grass range or a matt range?.

If it was grass then most likley the posted yardages are measured from the middle of the tee. Distance will vary depending on were they have you hitting from on the tee.

[JEFF4i]

What Canadian says. Most courses here don't post the adjusted ranges due to tee box movements.

[MGP]

Originally Posted by ezra76

I'd also like to add that I too am 100% done with range mats also. I've said it before but did it last night. Today I hit about 30% of my shots extremely thin and topped a friggen 8iron!! I literally have not topped a shot since about March 2005. Thin is bad enough, I never hit shots thin like that. It took me about 15 holes before my ballstriking came back and I stuck a 9iron to 6 feet with a nice big divot. Mats don't give up divots and I end up shallowing out my path to hit off them.

I am finally getting over some fairly bad tendonitis in my left elbow. I'm convinced that it was caused by hitting a lot of balls off range mats this past winter and early spring. I have never had tendonitis before and the only thing I could think of that would cause it was the stress of impact hitting off mats.

It also messed up my swing bad. I hit down fairly hard on the range mats just like my regular swing. Of course once I started playing this spring I was hitting everything fat. Then I over compensated and started hitting everthing thin, not to mention my elbow was messed up and hurting.

For the last couple weeks my swing has finally been getting back to normal and I'm hitting a nice high baby fade and taking a small divot. No more elbow pain either since I started only hitting off grass a couple months ago.

[ualtim]

Damn. With the title of the thread I thought I was going to get some soft core porn story. I am a bit disapointed , Sling.


Ranges are just about useless for distances. Even the ones with full flight golf balls are no good unless you are hitting the same balls on the course. The ranges I go to normally are about a club to a club and a half short of my normal course distances so I adjust accordingly.