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Hitting your own balls at the range? Wow.


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Originally Posted by newtogolf

I hate for my last shot at the range to be a shank so I keep a bunch of old golf balls in my range bag to hit so I leave the range on a positive note.  I can't imagine cracking open a new box or even sleeve of Pro V1's to just donate to the range.



That's exactly what I do sometimes. Every so often that last shot just sucks so bad, I dig around for a scuffed up ball from my bag and give it a whollop.

Happiness is a long walk with a putter.

 
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I can see why... You get a new ball, you want to practice with it and see how it works for you.

Personally I'd just wait til I get on the course and take a few "for the hell of it" shots.

I coulda sworn I left the cart right here......

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I always play with two extra balls in my right pocket. It started from when I was little, my dad would have me carry extras in case I lost one to water or something, I could just drop out there and hit again (I know, not the rules, but I was a kid) and now I feel weird playing without the extras in my pocket. I even have to have them in there on the range. I once, out of habit, hit a range ball, reached into my pocket, teed up one of my balls and let her rip, and then did it again. I was not a happy camper when I got to the first tee and realized what I had done.

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I'll hit some shag balls--balls I've found on the course, sometimes nice but never in new condition--when on the range to get a feel for distance with an actual ball. Never would I buy a box, especially expensive balls, and start hitting them. You've got to be nuts, if you can afford that you should be playing at a country club with a free range!

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Originally Posted by sacm3bill

This. I have many balls that I either found on the course or bought used very cheaply, that I use for short game practice.  I'll often hit one or two of them to leave on a good note instead of buying a whole new bucket.

As far as finding brand new balls in the bucket with the range balls, I see that a lot but only at courses where there are holes adjacent to the range, and people are slicing/hooking their balls in.



yep, that's what i do...

In my Grom Stand bag:

 

Driver: Ping G20, 8.5 Tour Stiff
Wood/Hybrid: G20 3W, Raylor 19*, 22*
Irons: R9 5I - SW, TM CGB LW

Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi-Mid

Favorites: Old Ranch (Seal Beach), Ike/Babe (Industry Hills), Skylinks (Long Beach), Desert Willow (Palm Desert)

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My first thought was balls are coming in from adjacent holes but you say this is a stand-alone range.  That makes me think that perhaps the owners scavenge balls from local courses or buy from people who do.  Even if a few whacko's hit brand new titleists at the range, it cant be enough that you find one or 2 in every bucket.  There is a gas station near my local course that sells used balls for 50 cents each - they always have thousands and they are all scrounged from the course.  Lots are top-flites, etc, but there are always some good ones in there, too.  Perhaps your range owner is supplimenting his range balls with some of these since they are probably even cheaper than brand new range balls.

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I plan to do it with my TopFlite Gamers when I calibrate my wedges. I would find a quiet day and ask the range people if I could hit the balls sideways down the teeing area so I wouldn't have to adjust for shots going uphill or downhill. I would plan on picking up most of my balls, and not contributing them to the range's stock.

I calibrated with range balls last season with a different wedge mix. First couple of times I played, I was 30 feet past the flagstick on half and three-quarter shots. The range balls used in calibration just didn't go as far as my on-course balls.

Focus, connect and follow through!

  • Completed KBS Education Seminar (online, 2015)
  • GolfWorks Clubmaking AcademyFitting, Assembly & Repair School (2012)

Driver:  :touredge: EXS 10.5°, weights neutral   ||  FWs:  :callaway: Rogue 4W + 7W
Hybrid:  :callaway: Big Bertha OS 4H at 22°  ||  Irons:  :callaway: Mavrik MAX 5i-PW
Wedges:  :callaway: MD3: 48°, 54°... MD4: 58° ||  Putter:image.png.b6c3447dddf0df25e482bf21abf775ae.pngInertial NM SL-583F, 34"  
Ball:  image.png.f0ca9194546a61407ba38502672e5ecf.png QStar Tour - Divide  ||  Bag: :sunmountain: Three 5 stand bag

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I see nice balls at my range sometimes, but not as often as it sounds like some people here do.  My home range is to the right side of 18, which is a dogleg left par 5 where the range is straight down the fairway off the tee.  Though the range is well past the dogleg.  Maybe some pros could put a ball into the bottom of the net at the end of the range, but not into it.

But it's a short par 5 so lots of people technically have the length to go Driver-3w to the green.  I've always assumed the nice balls I found in the range buckets were from slices by people going for the 18th green in two.  Just unbelievable that anyone anywhere would bust open a few dozen brand new premium ball packs and donate them to the range!

Matt

Mid-Weight Heavy Putter
Cleveland Tour Action 60˚
Cleveland CG15 54˚
Nike Vapor Pro Combo, 4i-GW
Titleist 585h 19˚
Tour Edge Exotics XCG 15˚ 3 Wood
Taylormade R7 Quad 9.5˚

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When I swap out a worn ball during a round, I throw it in the bag. At the range, normally after finishing off the crap range balls (and they are crap), I'll pull 3 or 4 of the worn balls out of the bag and tee them up for the driver. I watch the flight and look for any signs of anything bad I've added to my swing (that the range balls hide).

Only once or twice have I pulled a brand new ball from the bag. Usually after seeing some really screwy ball flights with range balls and wondering if it was the ball or me.

In the Bag

Ping i15 8* Diamana Whiteboard

Titleist 909f3 13.5* Aldila NV

Ping S57 3-PW KBS C-taper

Macgregor 52, 56, and 60 wedges

SC Newport 2.5

 

Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

 

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Originally Posted by MSU Fishing

I always play with two extra balls in my right pocket. It started from when I was little, my dad would have me carry extras in case I lost one to water or something, I could just drop out there and hit again (I know, not the rules, but I was a kid) and now I feel weird playing without the extras in my pocket. I even have to have them in there on the range. I once, out of habit, hit a range ball, reached into my pocket, teed up one of my balls and let her rip, and then did it again. I was not a happy camper when I got to the first tee and realized what I had done.



I case you lost one to water or something.....as in not being able to find one, take one out of your pocket, and play it as your original.  HAHA!!  Just messin with ya.  I have seen that way too many times, especially when I played in high school.

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I apparently need to pay better attention when I'm at the range.

Driver:  9088UL 10.5* draw, regular flex

Woods:  Speedline Fast10 3 & 5

Hybrids:  A7OS 4 & 5

Irons:  A7OS 6h, 7h, 8, 9, PW

Wedges:  Tom Watson Classics 52*, 56*, 60*

Putter: :ping: Craz-E G2i

Ball: :titleist: DT SoLo, :tmade: Burner

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I hate for my last shot at the range to be a shank so I keep a bunch of old golf balls in my range bag to hit so I leave the range on a positive note.  I can't imagine cracking open a new box or even sleeve of Pro V1's to just donate to the range.&bsp;

I do this also, I have plenty of shag balls so if I fnd pinnacles etc on the course I hit them away when frustrated and unwilling to go back for more. I wouldn't dream of hitting away my brand or high end balls. I don't remember where but at a high end amateur tournament, back in the day of balata balls,they stocked the range with new balls, Very few were left for the second day, guards were posted and the balls replenished.:-D

1W Cleveland LauncherComp 10.5, 3W Touredge Exotics 15 deg.,FY Wilson 19.5 degree
4 and 5H, 6I-GW Callaway Razr, SW, LW Cleveland Cg-14, Putter Taylor Made Suzuka, Ball, Srixon XV Yellow

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I always play with two extra balls in my right pocket. It started from when I was little, my dad would have me carry extras in case I lost one to water or something, I could just drop out there and hit again (I know, not the rules, but I was a kid) and now I feel weird playing without the extras in my pocket. I even have to have them in there on the range. I once, out of habit, hit a range ball, reached into my pocket, teed up one of my balls and let her rip, and then did it again. I was not a happy camper when I got to the first tee and realized what I had done.

Since I sometimes warm up chipping and putting with more than one ball I usually have extras in my pocket. I don't have a caddie, if I hit a ball in the water or OB why should everyone have to wait why I go dig a new ball out of my bag, especially when you ride this slows play down.

1W Cleveland LauncherComp 10.5, 3W Touredge Exotics 15 deg.,FY Wilson 19.5 degree
4 and 5H, 6I-GW Callaway Razr, SW, LW Cleveland Cg-14, Putter Taylor Made Suzuka, Ball, Srixon XV Yellow

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Never seen brand new balls get hit, but I don't think I've ever been to an ultra-swank course's driving range. I've hit my own balls at a range, but there were shag balls I'd found abandoned. And the only time I do that is when I really need to hit a few more balls than I bought or when I need to warm up but don't have time to buy and hit an entire bucket of balls. And in those circumstances I still don't hit balls I'd actually use on the course.

"Golf is an entire game built around making something that is naturally easy - putting a ball into a hole - as difficult as possible." - Scott Adams

Mid-priced ball reviews: Top Flight Gamer v2 | Bridgestone e5 ('10) | Titleist NXT Tour ('10) | Taylormade Burner TP LDP | Taylormade TP Black | Taylormade Burner Tour | Srixon Q-Star ('12)

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I personally don't understand why people hit their own balls either. Like a previous poster already said, I'll only hit my own balls on the range (if they're balls I don't care about) if I need one more shot to leave the range on a positive note.

But as someone who works as a cart attendant at a golf course, one of my tasks as an employee is to drive the tractor around the golf course picking up all of the range balls, cleaning them, and then putting them back in the ball dispensing machines. I cannot tell you how many times I have found perfectly fine Pro V1s sitting in the middle of the range. Not only Pro V1s, but other great  balls are guaranteed to be picked up when I drive around on the range. Over this past summer I acquired nearly 700 golf balls, about 100 of them being Pro V1s. The rest are Titleist, Bridgestone, Top Flite, Callaway, Nike, or Noodle/Maxfli balls that I would normally buy if I needed to actually buy golf balls. I found a lot of Slazenger, Dunlop, Wilson, and other lower-grade balls, but I prefer to not collect or play with them because I have the option of playing with better balls.

I guess it pays to work at a course that doesn't do anything with found golf balls on the range.

Driver Cleveland HiBORE XLS 9.5°

Hybrid 3I Adams A7

Irons 3-PW Wilson Air Power

Wedges Cleveland CG10 52° Chrome, Cleveland Reg. 588 56° Chrome, Cleveland Reg. 588 60° Gunmetal

Putter Cleveland Classic #3

Best Score 80 (+8) - July 22, 2011 @ Highland Woods Golf Course (Blue Tees - 71.7/122)

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If I am in a hurry to tee off and I have some scuffs in my bag (old cheapo balls I find in the woods that go into the shag bag), I may let a few rip off the driving range just to get loose.  Hitting new pro v1s on a range is asinine.

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