As a PGA coach I have had a lot of experience over the last 25 years at different driving ranges and the landscape has changed massively.
From driving ranges that rarely saw anyone other than golfers honing their swing, to heaving bays with four people in each one madly competing against each other to kill as many pigs as possible in Angry Birds.
Is this a bad thing? I don’t believe so. Golf has changed and now offers a variety of different versions depending on what you want from the sport. Has this scared the once enthusiastic practice-mad golfers away? Maybe it’s fenced them into their private member clubs where they can practice without drum and base ringing in their ears and balls ricocheting everywhere.
Rock up to Iford Golf Centre on a Monday night (students night) and the place is buzzing. When we talk about growing the game there’s a sea of golfers under the age of 25 hitting their 100 balls for £5 and it’s amazing to see. In excess of 40,000 balls can be hit on one Monday and the majority will be golfers who’ve never set foot on a golf course. Again, this isn’t a bad thing, but it’s eye-opening. But if I was going to the golf range to focus on improving my game, perhaps I’d want a rather more sedate environment.
So I begin to ponder. Are ranges isolating the serious golfer who wants to improve their handicaps, or those wishing for a solitary peaceful hour? Can both social golf and serious golf coexist these days, or does something have to give?
I believe ranges that offer both time slots, as well as free-for-all bays will be ticking both boxes. You choose whether you wish to hit balls in the quiet zone or whether you want to enjoy some beers and compete in a longest drive competition.
Systems such as Inrange are definitely geared up for both. With an Inrange handicap you can improve on the screen, play BethPage Black, compete in tournaments worldwide or choose to blow stuff up with dynamite in one of the bay vs bay options.
There’s a need for ranges that cater for different types of golf. I also believe it’s ok to be a range geared up for loud and fun sociable golf rather than game improvement. You just need to know what you want from the game and where to go to get it.
Just because a range is really busy doesn’t mean it’s overcrowded or indeed dangerous. Range owners thrive on golfers that simply want to hit as many balls as fast as they can and for these ranges time allocated spots won’t work. They’d cost the range money.
These ranges are full of active youngsters who are hitting balls rather than loitering on street corners. They’re full of boyfriends showing their girlfriends how far they can hit it, then the girlfriends decide they’ll have a go and send rockets past their partner’s shots.
Making golf fun, which is what ranges have done, shouldn’t deter the more serious player. Perhaps they could embrace some of the challenges on these systems and use them as tools for improvement. Shrinking target on InRange is tough, making it perfect for practicing with consequence, mimicking on course golf.
There’s the chance to compete with players at other ranges across the globe. Crowds of students rarely use the system as it was designed. The responsibility to show how to utilise all the features on offer to both the casual whacker of dented drivers, as well as the 2-handicapper falls upon us, the coaches. Walk up and down the range and offer advice and training to show how screens can work for players.
This is the only way that coexistence can occur at a driving range. It is doable. Any growth in participation is brilliant, we just need to make sure the serious golfer isn’t missing out on how systems such as Trackman and Inrange can help improve their golf.
Are you a regular range goer? Have you noticed how driving ranges have changed for both the good and the bad? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment box below.
