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Why Aren't There More Heated Ranges? (Minnesota)


ZANDER1994
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19 hours ago, ZANDER1994 said:

Why aren't these more common? Here in the Twin Cities we have a couple domes on the outskirts of the metro, but I find them to be a lot more useful for ball striking than much else. You can't see proper ball flight or accurately measure distance in a dome. We just got a TopGolf this year, but that's not really a practice facility a person could reasonably visit a few times a week in the winter.

Start a new business ;)

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2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Wow! @mvmac, you better start recruiting! Cali is slacking!

NY and NJ are near the bottom too. Probably has more to do with population size and distribution and real estate markets than with golf interest.

Speaking of heated stalls, NYC lost one of it's two ranges last year. All that's left is Chelsea Piers, which IMO is both a rip-off and a lousy range. There are no domes in the city either. Best you can do is go to some small indoor offices that have a few stalls and a simulator. They charge by the hour, usually around $60/hr.

 

 

 

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On 1/8/2019 at 3:21 PM, nevets88 said:

I'm not a fan of domes, but I'd take one any day over outdoors and heaters. I've never been to a Topgolf on a sub 32F day, but they do blast the heaters, I've always wondered how they fare during the coldest days. I've been there on a 40-45 degree day when it was not very busy and all the heaters were going full blast.

The thing about the domes is they are dark, there is that constant wind sound, the hourly charge is steep, like 35USD during peak hours. I'd rather have something like a Golftec setup where you just hit into a net and I can use my camera. If you look at equivalent places in northern Europe, they are so much better than the ones in the US. 

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19 hours ago, dennyjones said:

Going tomorrow with a high of 28° and a chill factor of 12°.    I'll let you know but I'm dressing warm because the wind seems to always be cold this time of year.

Several of the driving ranges near me have heaters.    I still prefer domes over outdoor ranges with heaters but it depends upon the wind.   Give me a day with no wind and the outdoor ranges work well for me.  

Well....

We went to Top Golf and had fun.   The wind was blowing about 25 mph and the wind chill was about 12°.   We were fortunate enough to be on the west wall of the second story which did block most of the wind.   The heaters didn't keep up with the wind chill.   The wind was the deterrent.   It was cold enough that they closed the first floor completely.   The cold must have scared off a lot of golfers because it wasn't too crowded even w/o the lower 34 bays.  

Several have wondered how it works with snow...Well enough...We don't have much snow but here's a pic..

 

top golf snow.jpg

Edited by dennyjones
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Did you notice a difference in ball flight yardages?

The worker when I went said the TopGolf balls will go like 80% as far as normal balls and are really low compression.

I noticed about a 10% difference compared to my normal yardage, but I was also on the 3rd floor so that probably made them go a bit further so it might have actually been closer to 80% if I was on ground level

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14 minutes ago, klineka said:

Did you notice a difference in ball flight yardages?

It's about 80%, yes.

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So the range off of 35W south of the metro (short of Cliff road exit) has always seemed to me to be perfectly set up to position a long row of heated launch bays. 

But this location isn't terribly busy ever, so likely even less so in the winter.

Bill - 

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19 minutes ago, klineka said:

Did you notice a difference in ball flight yardages?

The worker when I went said the TopGolf balls will go like 80% as far as normal balls and are really low compression.

I noticed about a 10% difference compared to my normal yardage, but I was also on the 3rd floor so that probably made them go a bit further so it might have actually been closer to 80% if I was on ground level

I have new clubs and haven't had the chance to hit them to get good distances.  I believe @iacas is correct with the 80%.

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9 hours ago, chspeed said:

NY and NJ are near the bottom too. Probably has more to do with population size and distribution and real estate markets than with golf interest.

Speaking of heated stalls, NYC lost one of it's two ranges last year. All that's left is Chelsea Piers, which IMO is both a rip-off and a lousy range. There are no domes in the city either. Best you can do is go to some small indoor offices that have a few stalls and a simulator. They charge by the hour, usually around $60/hr.

I rag on Chelsea Piers a lot, there's a lot of negatives about it, but it's right there in the city, at least you have the option, that's the big thing going for it.

The range at Randall's Island is no more, but a Drive Shack will take its place, think it's slated to be opened Spring 2019, haven't been there to see how much progress it's making though.

3 hours ago, dennyjones said:

 

Well....

We went to Top Golf and had fun.   The wind was blowing about 25 mph and the wind chill was about 12°.   We were fortunate enough to be on the west wall of the second story which did block most of the wind.   The heaters didn't keep up with the wind chill.   The wind was the deterrent.   It was cold enough that they closed the first floor completely.   The cold must have scared off a lot of golfers because it wasn't too crowded even w/o the lower 34 bays.  

Several have wondered how it works with snow...Well enough...We don't have much snow but here's a pic..

 

top golf snow.jpg

There is just no way you can have an outdoor range and negate the worst aspects of cold weather. Just cannot be done. Unless you invent a force field. Shields up!

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Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

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On 1/8/2019 at 4:56 PM, dennyjones said:
Golf Courses Per Capita
State Courses Population Per capita (Golf Wealth)
North Dakota 123 672,591 5,468
South Dakota 132 814,180 6,168
Iowa 441 3,046,355 6,908
Wyoming 70 493,782 7,054
Nebraska 249 1,826,341 7,335
Vermont 76 608,827 8,011
Montana 119 989,415 8,314
Maine 150 1,328,361 8,856
Minnesota 575 5,303,925 9,224
Wisconsin 604 5,686,986 9,416
Michigan 1,047 9,883,640 9,440
South Carolina 462 4,625,364 10,012
Kansas 273 2,853,118 10,451
New Hampshire 123 1,316,470 10,703
Florida 1,481 15,982,378 10,792
Indiana 527 6,483,802 12,303
Idaho 126 1,567,582 12,441
Ohio 901 11,536,504 12,804
Arkansas 223 2,915,918 13,076
Hawaii 104 1,360,301 13,080
Kentucky 315 4,339,367 13,776
West Virginia 133 1,852,994 13,932
North Carolina 664 9,535,483 14,361
Arizona 421 6,392,017 15,183
Alabama 311 4,779,736 15,369
Oklahoma 241 3,751,351 15,566
Pennsylvania 811 12,702,379 15,663
Mississippi 189 2,967,297 15,700
Massachusetts 408 6,547,629 16,048
Colorado 306 5,029,196 16,435
Illinois 777 12,830,632 16,513
Oregon 231 3,831,074 16,585
Delaware 53 900,877 16,998
Missouri 336 5,988,927 17,824
Rhode Island 59 1,052,567 17,840
Connecticut 200 3,574,097 17,870
Georgia 523 9,687,653 18,523
Tennessee 329 6,346,105 19,289
Virginia 414 8,001,024 19,326
New Mexico 106 2,059,179 19,426
New York 976 19,378,102 19,855
Nevada 133 2,700,551 20,305
Washington 327 6,724,540 20,564
Utah 134 2,763,885 20,626
Louisiana 194 4,533,372 23,368
Texas 1,041 25,145,561 24,155
New Jersey 360 8,791,894 24,422
Maryland 231 5,773,552 24,994
Alaska 25 710,231 28,409
California 1,140 37,253,956 32,679

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm moving to North Dakota.  A backup on the first tee of 5468 golfers suits me fine.

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6 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm moving to North Dakota.  A backup on the first tee of 5468 golfers suits me fine.

But that could be at one course!

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All of the heated ranges I've been to have been pretty disappointing. They never get as warm as I'd wish so I'm still wearing a sweater, and the golf balls are frozen solid. I'd much rather go indoors. 

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2 minutes ago, jamo said:

All of the heated ranges I've been to have been pretty disappointing. They never get as warm as I'd wish so I'm still wearing a sweater, and the golf balls are frozen solid. I'd much rather go indoors. 

At my course the temperatures get below freezing at night. And some days there is heavy rain, sleet, snow or frost but the range is always open.  They bring the baskets of balls in at night so they are warm when you hit them.  A few layers of warm, loose clothing and you are good to go. I'm warmed up by the time I've cycled through my wedges.

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On 1/8/2019 at 5:06 PM, nevets88 said:

If I remember correctly, the Golftec practice plan is not cheap. I think I paid 500USD for half a year or was it a year, I don't remember, and I got a break.

Is there a PGA Superstore nearby you? It should have indoor bays and the fee is way more reasonable.

In Canada so that store doesnt exist. I have heard what they offer though from online forums. 

We have Golftowns that offer 55 min bookings for about $24. They use the Foresight GC2 which online opinions seem to say is pretty decent.

Edited by cutchemist42
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11 minutes ago, cutchemist42 said:

In Canada so that store doesnt exist. I have heard what they offer though from online forums. 

We have Golftowns that offer 55 min bookings for about $24. They use the Foresight GC2 which online opinions seem to say is pretty decent.

That's more reasonable. Maybe there is a membership plan?

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

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On 1/8/2019 at 6:48 PM, Zengolfer said:

More golfers and golf courses per capita than any other state in Minnesota?  I find that hard to believe, especially when compared to Florida or Arizona.

Anywho, Id say the likely reason is that most people in cold states dont care about golf during the winter.  Who wants to hit golf balls when you can do things like snowmobiling, ice fishing, skiing or snowboarding.

Oh Minnesotans love golf!! Somewhere around 1 in 4 of them apparently. I can't really say "we" yet... my beloved Wisconsin has a different kind of love and the beer bellies to prove it 😄


According to the National Golf Foundation, Minnesota consistently ranks at or near the top in golfer participation in the U.S.
bullet.gif

Quick. name the only state to have hosted every one of the 17 championships conducted by the U.S. Golf Association. Surely a warm...

 

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8 hours ago, ZANDER1994 said:

Oh Minnesotans love golf!! Somewhere around 1 in 4 of them apparently. I can't really say "we" yet... my beloved Wisconsin has a different kind of love and the beer bellies to prove it 😄


According to the National Golf Foundation, Minnesota consistently ranks at or near the top in golfer participation in the U.S.
bullet.gif

Quick. name the only state to have hosted every one of the 17 championships conducted by the U.S. Golf Association. Surely a warm...

 

In that article from Golf.com they state:  

Quote

More people play golf in Minnesota per capita than any other state in the union. Approximately one resident of every five in the Gopher state hits the links each year.

but that article was back in 2007.   

From the land of perpetual cloudiness.   I'm Denny

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Note: This thread is 1925 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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