Driving Range Maintenance

[amishboy51]

I’m hoping someone here can answer some questions about “driving range maintenance.”

 

I went to a local public course today, hoping to get in some practice on the driving range; the sign says, “Driving range closes at 3:00 for weekly maintenance.”

 

• Okay, we have daylight here until about 8:30, so aside from wanna-be range rats, there’s still plenty of golfers who haven’t even started their rounds at 3:00, so this means no range practice for them. 
• And I get that the course management wants to give employees a break, and have all carts returned by a certain time, so I don’t expect employees to be present until dark.  But even if all employees are gone, including those in the pro shop, many of us pay for key fobs that enable us to get range balls on our own, so employees aren’t needed. 
• Finally, in terms of maintenance, the driving range has mats, so if the grass is getting chewed up, I assume they could just limit players to the mats and give the grass a few days to recover. 

So, if that’s the case, what sort of “maintenance” would be needed? And why would it take 3+ hours? Does any of this make sense to anyone?

[ Aside from doing the weekly maintenance on a Sunday, when it’s likely to be crowded; why not close the driving range for a few hours in the middle of the day on Monday?]

[iacas]

Mowing. Picking up all the balls from the edges of the range where the picker can't easily get to everything. Spraying/planting/repairs to the netting, etc.

[saevel25]

18 minutes ago, iacas said:

Mowing. Picking up all the balls from the edges of the range where the picker can't easily get to everything. Spraying/planting/repairs to the netting, etc.

This^ 

A range near me shut down early on a Wednesday because they were mowing the next day and they wanted to get all the balls off the range so the mower didn't hit them. 

[amishboy51]

Thank you; in retrospect, although it now seems obvious, I (obviously) had no idea that the range needed mowing and other care.

[Now what about the choice of Sunday?]

[Sandy Divot]

Our range closes early on Sunday to do a “clean pick”, and reopens at 11:30 on Monday. It is mowed early Monday. The course is closed until noon on Monday’s.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Sandy Divot

[mcanadiens]

My home course closes its range for maintenance Monday mornings or Tuesday if a holiday falls on the Monday. The sign indicates they re-open by 1 p.m.  That makes sense for them. It's always a busy course, but evening leagues are really big business.  Closing at 3 p.m. seems a bit odd to me, but if that suits the course's clientele, that's what they'll do.

11 hours ago, amishboy51 said:

Finally, in terms of maintenance, the driving range has mats, so if the grass is getting chewed up, I assume they could just limit players to the mats and give the grass a few days to recover. 

I hate mats.  We usually get stuck with the damn things after October. It is a much better thing that the course close the range for a brief period of time once a week and keep the turf up to snuff.

 

 

[amishboy51]

 

“Our range closes early on Sunday to do a “clean pick”, and reopens at 11:30 on Monday. It is mowed early Monday. The course is closed until noon on Monday’s.”
 

Yeah, it sounds like your course at least considers golfers who are playing, i.e., if the “early” closing on Sunday is at 4 or 5, not many still trying to squeeze in a round would be disadvantaged. And then reopening the range at 11:30 on Monday, when the course itself doesn’t reopen until noon, likewise shows consideration.

1 hour ago, mcanadiens said:

My home course closes its range for maintenance Monday mornings or Tuesday if a holiday falls on the Monday. The sign indicates they re-open by 1 p.m.  That makes sense for them. It's always a busy course, but evening leagues are really big business.  Closing at 3 p.m. seems a bit odd to me, but if that suits the course's clientele, that's what they'll do.

I hate mats.  We usually get stuck with the damn things after October. It is a much better thing that the course close the range for a brief period of time once a week and keep the turf up to snuff.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, mcanadiens said:

My home course closes its range for maintenance Monday mornings or Tuesday if a holiday falls on the Monday. The sign indicates they re-open by 1 p.m.  That makes sense for them. It's always a busy course, but evening leagues are really big business.  Closing at 3 p.m. seems a bit odd to me, but if that suits the course's clientele, that's what they'll do.

I hate mats.  We usually get stuck with the damn things after October. It is a much better thing that the course close the range for a brief period of time once a week and keep the turf up to snuff.

 

 

Agreed, closing the range on Monday or Tuesday morning (especially with a posted reopening time) makes way more sense (to me anyway) than closing at 3 on Sunday.