Short Game area charges by time

I don't know of any public facility around here that charges for using the short game areas.  Not even sure how they could enforce this unless they hired monitors.  In any case I have never experienced this at a golf course. There are a few practice facilities with no course that you have to pay to use.  But that makes sense.

There is a practice facility in Cambridge that charges to use the chipping and sand areas as well, though it's nowhere near that expensive.  I think it was around $3 per hour or so.  For what that place charges I'd rather just find a cheap 9 hole course and just walk up to the greens and throw a bunch of balls in the traps.

my local range charges $5/hr for short game practice.  they have a nice area, and give you a shack bag w/ balls to use.   it always seemed reasonable to me to charge.  my local courses don't, but they get the additional revenue from the course itself.

A couple bucks an hour seems fair, but ~$10 an hour is absurd unless it's a fantastically nice facility, and even then I'll take my own shag bag and find a field to practice in.  Around here, the public courses almost all have free chipping / putting / bunkers for practice, although the quality is sometimes mediocre.  Biggest problem is that the proper putting greens usually don't allow chipping or pitching and the "greens" in the chipping areas are really just short fairway grass.   There's a nicer course (Angeles National) that's a bit too far for me to hit very often that has a really nice (and free) chipping green that is putting-quality.

I've never actually seen a course that charges for short game practice, but I can sort of understand the logic.

I'm more worried that an hour and a half costs more than one hour, plus one half hour.

Tower Tee, for decades the top driving range in St. Louis area, charges $1 to use the chipping and putting greens. It's worth it!

The Golf Center in Des Plaines, IL has a short game area... $6 is the fee and its good for the entire day. So I would go in morning and then go back late in the afternoon... well worth it.

Short Game Area Feature:

• 1½ acres of rolling hills
• Two large practice greens
• Multiple sand bunkers
• Ability to hit pitch shots up to 60 yards away
• Nominal daily fee
• Balls supplied
• Separate putting green

http://www.desplainesparks.org/golfcenter/short_game.htm

They charge $5 per half-hour, $2 each additional half-hour at the two driving ranges/short game areas near my house. Both have a locking door on the gate into the area, which opens with a code they give you after paying. The gate at both spots is directly next to the clubhouse, so I guess that's how they (somewhat) monitor it. Neither place allows a shag-bag, and one of the ranges has a 9-hole of all 3s that you can play for $13 so it doesn't make much sense to spend a lot of time there IMO.

one of the practice facilities in houston has a great short game area.  $20 all you can hit.  they send you out with a bucket of ProV1's and you can play around until the cows come home.