Range Rant

[Fairway_CY]

This is just me venting, so... ignore it if you like.

I've spent the last three early afternoons at the driving ranges in my area. Twice at one, and today, I hit a different range that I hadn't been to in awhile. Now, over the course of the last few weeks... I've been to four different ranges in the area. Some of them have flags and posted yardages TO the flags... others have just markers with the yardages posted directly ON them (100, 150, 200, etc). I've been having a very difficult time figuring out my yardages recently... I thought I had them down, but then when I play last Sunday... my clubs seemed to be way off. I didn't know if I should have attributed that to how cold it was out (about 40 degrees) and how cold my BODY was... or if my yardages were really NOT what I thought they were based on the range. So, I was on a mission this week to determine what EXACTLY my yardages were, specifically with my irons.

The ranges I've visited are as follws:

Range #1 is about 7 minutes from my house. Nice facility with FAIRLY new balls. Problem is... if you are on the lower tier of the range... there is a BIT of a slope and anything hit beyond the final green (185+/-) is difficult to tell WHAT the yardage is. If you are on the UPPER tier... I think there's a false sense of distance, despite the marked yardages. Still... good target greens at 65, 75, 130, 160, 175 and 185. Sometimes the balls fly fairly well... other times, they appear to fall out of the sky. I'd say of ALL the ranges, this is the closest to my REAL yardages.

Range #2 is about 12 minutes from my house. Again, fairly new balls... but some old beat-up ones, too. Problem I have with THIS range is that there is a fence at the back. It's a short porch. It's listed at 245... and with Google Earth, that's pretty close (within 5 yards). When I go there... I'm able to hit the fence about half way up, on a fairly consistent basis. That would make my drives have a CARRY distance of about 260. All the other shots (irons, wedges) are pretty much on par with Range #1. I just don't TRUST that these balls there aren't juiced or something... because even though I CAN hit the ball pretty well at times... my AVERAGE is about 235 on good drives that find the fairway.

Range #3 is about 15 minutes from my house. It's tiny... it's old... the balls are old... but it has a 'grass tee' area. That's in quotes because there is more mud than grass... and it's pretty well sloped making it difficult to find a level area to practice from. The flags are literally sticking out of the grass... no greens... and there are two signs at the back at 200 and 265. Like Range #1, if you are on the grass tee area... it's kind of uphill and then downhill... so judging anything beyond the first hill (about 70 yards away) is difficult. You follow the flight of the ball until it disappears over the hill.

Range #4 is the one I visited today. I guess there is a pond or creek or SOMETHING beyond this range that, with all the melting snow and heavy rain we've had here recently... it's just gone UNDER water. Signs posted at 100, 150 and 200 yards... and a few flags sticking up from mounds that are supposed to ACT as greens. Problem was... beyond 60 yards, the entire range was under water. Still... it made it easy to determine the carry distance of shots. But, the balls were beat to hell. Old... cracked... falling apart and pretty much STICKING inside the grooves of my irons. My full 9 iron (typically 110-120) was struggling to reach the 100 yard signs. My fully 5 iron (typically about a 160 carry) never ONCE reached the 150 sign, and in fact FELL out of the sky several times about 10 yards shy of that. Full blown drivers, hit dead center... never cleared more than 210.

It's tough out here... because the GOOD ranges are some ways away. Probably 45+ minutes... minimum. No good grass tee areas. Target greens are non-existant, except at Range #1, and those are the crappy rock hard, you'll never hold them even with a ball dropped from a helicopter greens. Balls vary to a large degree from range to range. I just wish someone would put in a GOOD learning center in the area. Range #1 has the potential... but they cater more towards the high schools in the area. I need a TRUE putting green... not an indoor/outdoor carpet laid over concrete. I'd LOVE a practice bunker... but only Range #3 has that, and it's kind of hidden and not really worth visiting. I'm frustrated. I need the practice... and I'd be willing to pay a good amount of money to JOIN a close by, real range... but they're all beat up and just... nasty. Damn Jersey!

CY

[sean_miller]

If your swing is consistent, you try to could gauge your distances for the day while playing the first hole. Hit whatever you think will get you to the 150. IF you get there, hit what you think should get you to the centre of the green. How far those two distances are off (assuming you made solid contact) will tell you a little something about how you're hitting that day. If necessary, adjust your club selection accordingly.

[RIduffer]

I would never use any driving range for real distances...too many variables. I think you have to figure out your real carry distance on the course.

[jamo]

If you really want to know distances, bring a laser rangefinder if you have it. But that wont help you if the balls are likely restricted flight, because then you really won't know how far you hit them. Figuring out distances is probably best left to the actual course.

[enis750]

as mentioned from the above posters
the range is NOT the place to figure your distances out
it's more of a "can i strike the ball well today", "how is my alignment", "how is my ball flight"...etc...

range balls usually are beat up and will vary from ball to ball

get on the course when its slow and hit a few balls from a few different spots to gauge that way
your playing a better ball and the sprinkler heads will be closer than the range
OR
if you have cash.....invest in a GPS or laser rangefinder

[Fairway_CY]

All good points guys. I think what I'm most annoyed about is the differences between the balls and how inconsistent the listed yardages are.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I use a GPS on the course... I should probably invest in a laser rangefinder too... but then I'd feel like I was buying it JUST for the range.

CY