Driving range with a down draft?

[Keep It Simple]

I have never seen a range that used anything other than practice balls.   Here are the reasons why:

1.  Practice balls are designed to last longer.  

2.  Limited flight to prevent shots leaving the range.

3.  People are less likely to steal practice balls.

The Pro V1's on the good ranges are still practice balls.

[billchao]

23 hours ago, Shindig said:

Is this a thing?

Yup.

24 minutes ago, Keep It Simple said:

The Pro V1's on the good ranges are still practice balls.

They're Pro V1s with minor cosmetic defects in them. Titleist is not going to stamp Pro V1 on something that isn't a Pro V1.

What is the true difference between a Pro V1 and Pro V1 Practice - Golf Balls - Team Titleist

 

[David in FL]

43 minutes ago, Keep It Simple said:

I have never seen a range that used anything other than practice balls.   Here are the reasons why:

1.  Practice balls are designed to last longer.  

2.  Limited flight to prevent shots leaving the range.

3.  People are less likely to steal practice balls.

The Pro V1's on the good ranges are still practice balls.

There are high end clubs and resorts that use premium balls on their range.  

I’ve seen Titleist, Callaway, and TaylorMade practice balls.  While they’re designated “practice”, other than very minor flaws discovered during the manufacturing and quality control process, they’re virtually identical to the otherwise normal ball.

 

[Typhoon92]

On July 11, 2019 at 8:09 AM, boogielicious said:

I see weird flight at range all the time. But like you said, not with new balls. One grass range I go to have new, full-flight balls and they seem to fly OK although they are a bit harder than the Snells I play.

Yeah, if the dimples are worn down I get that f'ed up ball flight where the ball looks like an out of control drone.  I know it's the ball when u see flight like that.

[dennyjones]

3 hours ago, Keep It Simple said:

I have never seen a range that used anything other than practice balls.   Here are the reasons why:

1.  Practice balls are designed to last longer.  

2.  Limited flight to prevent shots leaving the range.

3.  People are less likely to steal practice balls.

The Pro V1's on the good ranges are still practice balls.

I believe I've stated this before but the course in Grand Blanc, MI where the Buick Open was played and the current Ally Challenge of the Champion League  uses original Pro V1.   They are a very high end, very exclusive (old money) course.   

[Vinsk]

2 hours ago, David in FL said:

There are high end clubs and resorts that use premium balls on their range.  

I’ve seen Titleist, Callaway, and TaylorMade practice balls.  While they’re designated “practice”, other than very minor flaws discovered during the manufacturing and quality control process, they’re virtually identical to the otherwise normal ball.

 

I’ve seen this. At Couer D’Alene resort in Idaho they had Titleist Practice balls for the range. Beautiful course btw.

 

[Keep It Simple]

Thanks for setting me straight on the Pro V1 practice balls.  Actually good to know.  One of my regular playing partners plays Pro V1 practice balls on the course as his stock ball.  I am a club longer than him thinking it was because of his ball.  I guess I just hit it better 😎

[DrMJG]

Most ranges use a harder ball, even if they are made by a major brand.  I have had to adjust my club choice n about a full cub when playing a round.  Really confused me for a bit as to why I was over shooting my well measured next shots.

[Lihu]

On 7/12/2019 at 4:37 PM, Shindig said:

Is this a thing? Other than tour stops where the pros get their preferred balls at the range, of course.  

Although now that you mention it, tour pros have to practice away from the tournaments too, and ... how do their home clubs handle this?  

Maybe I'm venturing off topic.

I’m sure the private clubs don’t have a down draft either!

[Buckeyebowman]

On 7/13/2019 at 8:40 PM, Typhoon92 said:

Yeah, if the dimples are worn down I get that f'ed up ball flight where the ball looks like an out of control drone.  I know it's the ball when u see flight like that.

There's a local upscale, daily fee course that is very nice, which also has a very nice practice range with grass tees. It opened, I think, 8-10 years ago. Unfortunately, the range balls are of the same vintage! Some of them come out of the bucket nearly as smooth as a ping pong ball! When you tee one of those up, you just know it's going to fly weird. 

And while a "downdraft" is doubtful as @mcanadiens problem, I will mention this anyway. I've seen guys hit shots with a following wind, wind blowing from them to the target, expecting to gain additional yardage only to wind up short. One of those things that makes you go hmmmm. If you are playing under a high pressure system it will exert a force on the atmosphere called "subsidence". The wind not only blows in a compass direction, it also blows "down". And the harder it blows in a direction, the harder it blows down. It can force balls down prematurely. 

Ever look at the trees when storms are moving in? You see the undersides of the leaves. That indicates that the air is lifting, which is one of the things that helps storms to form. That kind of wind from behind will help the ball go farther unless the atmosphere gets too heavy and thick to cancel that kind of effect. 

We kind of take the air for granted, but it's a complex thing. This isn't really worth a damn on the range, but it might be something to keep in mind when playing for a score. 

[Double Mocha Man]

Dear Meteorologist Buckeye... love those ping pong range balls.  They fly like a pitcher's knuckleball... giving you no feedback for improvement.  The range owner should be ashamed of him/herself.

At my local course there's a bin of range balls... you fill your own basket.  I handpick balls with dimples.  Dimples are necessary for lift and practicing left or right curvature.

Edited July 17, 2019 by Double Mocha Man

[Buckeyebowman]

Wow, that's nice! Usually they just dump out of the machine into your bucket, and you get what you get! 

I remember reading an article many years ago where Nicklaus was presented with golf balls that had no dimples. They were made as smooth as ping pong balls. He would blast a Driver, and it would fall out of the air 175-180 yards from the tee. And God only knew where it was going!

As far as "meteorologist" goes, I thank you for that. I've been watching the sky since I was a kid because my Dad did. He grew up when there was no weather forecast to tell you what was going to happen, you had to foresee the weather for yourself. He was also a stargazer, and taught me a lot about astronomy.

[Double Mocha Man]

21 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Wow, that's nice! Usually they just dump out of the machine into your bucket, and you get what you get! 

I remember reading an article many years ago where Nicklaus was presented with golf balls that had no dimples. They were made as smooth as ping pong balls. He would blast a Driver, and it would fall out of the air 175-180 yards from the tee. And God only knew where it was going!

As far as "meteorologist" goes, I thank you for that. I've been watching the sky since I was a kid because my Dad did. He grew up when there was no weather forecast to tell you what was going to happen, you had to foresee the weather for yourself. He was also a stargazer, and taught me a lot about astronomy.

You are welcome.  Your Dad sounds like a guy who took things into his own hands.  One of my favorite courses in college was Climatology. 

Edited July 17, 2019 by Double Mocha Man

[Typhoon92]

What Buckeyebowman said about a hard trailing wind is correct.  It will take spin off a ball and take it down, not " riding the wind".  I was just hearing or reading that somewhere else.

[Buckeyebowman]

11 hours ago, Typhoon92 said:

What Buckeyebowman said about a hard trailing wind is correct.  It will take spin off a ball and take it down, not " riding the wind".  I was just hearing or reading that somewhere else.

Thank you. The same is true for a hard wind from the left or right. They will not only shove your ball in one direction or another, they will also scrub spin off of it and cause it to fall short as well. 

[DrvFrShow]

One range locally got a deal on some limited flight balls.... real turds. Only good for hitting wedge shots and... marginal for those. They didn't feel right. Srixon somethings. Felt like hitting rocks with a driver and they'd drop out of the air at about 140 yds. Sounded terrible. I wouldn't hit my driver. Hitting irons sounded like slapping the ball and they felt terrible. I stopped going to that range until they got different balls. I think business dropped off really bad, so they replaced them in a month.

[mcanadiens]

After reading enough of these responses, maybe it really is the balls after all.

I'm sure they aren't worried about me going yard, but some of the bigger hitters could probably cover the length. 

I'll try to take a closer look at the balls the next time I'm out there.

[Lihu]

On 7/18/2019 at 1:40 PM, mcanadiens said:

After reading enough of these responses, maybe it really is the balls after all.

I'm sure they aren't worried about me going yard, but some of the bigger hitters could probably cover the length. 

I'll try to take a closer look at the balls the next time I'm out there.

Yes, likely the balls, but they’re subtly different except the limited ones usually state it. Usually.