All good points. Thinking about it more, it might be the lack of walking that gets to me as I feel pretty much the same about the range as I do playing golf in a cart. It’s better than most things I would be doing, but still just sort of meh. For me, the therapy, meditation, relaxation, focus, escape, joy vibes don’t come without movement.
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Plenty of movement on the range! You can try all different kinds of movement. Embrace and savor each ball as a learning opportunity. It’s one of my favorite cathartic escapes and I think it can be for anyone, as long as you’re not thinking of it as simply a “means to an end” of playing better golf. It’s a joy in and of itself!
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I don’t like the range either. Much rather do some on course practice at a quiet time. Typically I will ignore the ball I put into play off the tee once it gets into the scoring zone. I will drop another ball at 100 yards and play the hole as a par 3. Once I have holed out, I pace out 40 yards for a further par 2 challenge and use the inevitable short putt that’s left as a par 1. Over 9 holes That gives me statistics for Drive/T shots, approach to green, lag put and short putt.
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Great technique! I’ll give it a try sometime, nice balance between dropping a bunch of balls to practice shots and a scored game.
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I love the range. In fact, I sometimes think I could be happy on the range without ever playing on the course.
I think the range can be a useful tool, a good place to waste some time and a place to get easily frustrated… depends on what you are trying to do and how you approach it… I really like the Block vs Random approach discussions (Jon’s podcast talks about it, Sieckmann talks about it in his book)…
It’s easy for me to get into the BLOCK mindset, and just bang balls… it’s not particularly helpful to my game, but sometimes it’s a good way to kill 30 minutes…
@Adamyounggolf talks about trying to hit different shots on the range, and I’ve taken that advice to heart and try to hit the hosel and the toe, and figure out what that swing feels like… Once I get back to practicing, I’m going to spend some time doing the same thing with path.
I also tend to use block practice for wedge shots and trying to get the feel down of less than full shots… I think random practice is probably my next step, but my current range isn’t really designed to handle that.
I usually have the time to get to the range, but not always enough to play a round… I decided I was going to use that time productively, and have tried to make my range sessions “have value”… I don’t think they always do, and some of the time I’d be better off playing… but my swing was better than it has ever been this season.
If you are playing just for fun, I think it behooves you to use your time playing golf having fun… if time at the range isn’t fun and isn’t making you better, it seems like a waste of time.
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Love/hate! I find that working on the feel of shots and improving my swing/gaining muscle memory profitable! But the constant back and forth ball collecting at certain times very distracting, as well as the nearby cornhole tournament on the patio next to the driving range! That is a LOUD game. and often the ground in poor shape at the driving spots.
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Can’t think of anything that would give me the yips faster than betting on golf! To each their own… 
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@HennyPenny, I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic but if you’re not you are missing out on one of the best parts of golf. Betting adds so much to the game and strengthens the bonds with your golfing buddies.
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Not sarcastic, but I already fight the tendency to put too much pressure on myself, which louses up my game. Thinking about money would wreck my focus more!
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I think there are only 2 “ranges” in Adelaide a city of around 1 million people. Nearly all the courses have practice fairways. Ours goes up a hill with a variety of flags and distance markers. If big hitters hit driver it can go over the top of the hill and down to the 7th tee. I found a practice ball on the 14th. To get there you would have to fly the 7th, 8th and 10th then turn left and fly another 200m. I told the pro and he said some people hit 700m drives. He then said people stealing range balls and playing with them are doing themselves a disservice as range balls only go about 80% the distance of real balls.
@HennyPenny, have you tried betting or are you just assuming it would hurt your game? Sometimes having something to focus your mind on other than swing mechanics or fear of a bad shot can free your mind and let you perform to your potential. It might even help with the yips.
I would consider one of those explanations to be far more likely than the other
Curious about the “practice fairway” though. How many people are on it at the same time and do you only hit from a tee box up it or do you also play shots from the middle? If it has just one hitting area, I think we’d still just call all of those driving ranges over here.
Massive advocate of a home net and working on muscle memory and impact. Add some shoe spray and you can work on strike/face on day.
In Germany with the winters i did 15 mins every other day for 4 months, started playing again in Mar and by May, i went from 15 to 9 (2018).
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With 2 young kids, a trip to the range for an hour of peace and quiet is great (only topped by a full round!).
I’m not a big technical type of player, I’m about feel so getting to the range helps keep that feel going and keeps my tempo right. Plus who doesn’t love hitting at the ball picker (sorry for bringing up bad memories for some of you who used to do that)
It is about 30m wide and they lay down two ropes across it to hit from so to centralise the divots. A big sand box with a shovel so you can fill in your divots. They move the ropes every so often to give the grass time to regenerate. If you want to hit from 1/2 way up the hill you would make a great target for everyone else. When the pro gives a group lesson there can be up to 8 people at once. Normally no one or 1 or 2 people. I would class a driving range as not attached to a golf course and hitting from bays off mats. Pro was being sarcastic about 700m drives:) This practice area is on the right of the 18th hole and classed as out out bounds. If you do hit it out there you can retrieve your ball while dodging practice balls. Also people slice it from the practice area up onto 18th fairway so you have to keep your wits about you.
Admittedly, assuming! I’m also a cheapskate, LOL. Wondering if this is a guy thing also.
Try a $3 Nassau next time you play. See if the bet takes your mind off the swing.
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I used to love the range. It was generally empty and quiet and it was my “downtime” from work, meetings, etc. I had hardly been to the range the last 5 years mostly due to crazy work schedule, but had planned on hitting balls regularly this year. Covid really screwed that up. The range near work closed and he range near my home is constantly full so I haven’t been much. Glad I bought a Rukket Net just before Christmas. It’s not the same, but better than nothing.
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To me, the range is the only place you can work on changes to your swing. To do that effectively, you have to give up worrying about where the ball is going, and focus only on what you’re actually doing. Slow motion, drills, short swings, that’s the best way to get yourself to change mechanics.
But if you’re not working on change, I’m not sure the range is as critical. I went through a swing change a couple years back, and I worked really steadily on it. Now, I use the range with the same drills to continually remind myself of the right movements. I also like doing full speed swings, just concentrating on alignment and tempo. Its easy to gradually get off, a little time on the range helps me keep those little things right.
I’m with @jon on one thing, I don’t like to spend a ton of time on the range. If I stop focusing on specifics, it becomes exercise and not practice. I try to get to the club about twice a week after work for a little practice. I usually stop in the tavern and get a beer to take to the range. I’ll practice, taking an occasional sip of beer, until the beer is gone. When the beer is gone, practice is over. That usually takes 40 to 45 minutes.
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