It is really funny how golf driving ranges or practice facilities and the driving range equipment they use are so different even though they are trying to serve the same customer base. I will give you two distinct examples of a high-end practice facility and for a lack of a better term a lower-end driving range. Both of these facilities are within twenty minutes from my house. Keep in mind that both of these practice facilities are charging the basically same rates they are two totally different experiences.
The first driving range experience that we will walk through is the lower-end driving range. Even though the facility is located close to a busy retail area, you will pull up into their gravel parking lot. From there you proceed into their wooden building to purchase tokens for the range ball dispenser and as many rusted range ball baskets that you plan to use. I do not know how old their range ball dispenser is, but I would almost bet it was one of the first one ever made! HAHA
Once you have your golf practice balls, you then proceed to the golf mats. You may wonder how come at this point you do not proceed to the grass hitting area, well, you can. However, when you arrive at that part of the facility you better be ready to practice off of a golf tee as you will only find tufts of grass left to hit off of for the majority of the year.
While hitting your range balls, you will more than likely be interrupted by the loud farm tractor better known as the facility's driving range picker.
Once you are finished with your practice time, you can sit in your air conditioned car and enjoy a cold soda from the soda machine. I have learned correct change is better.
To enter the other driving range experience, you pull into their landscaped and paved parking lot. and we enter the literal club house that has a snack bar, meeting rooms and a golf shop full of new golf equipment. You pay for your range basket and fill it as full as you would like without extra range balls falling out.
You then walk out to the practice tee which is large enough and maintained through proper bag stand rotation and turf grass maintenances. There are additional practice areas for putting, chipping pitching, green-side bunkers and fairway bunkers. You can practice all of the different aspects of your golf game. In addition, this facility has PGA Teaching Professionals on staff and they have a very active clinic schedule and offer individual lessons as well.
After practicing, you can sit in the snack bar and be served a soda or adult beverage while watching their big screen tv. They have tables scattered throughout the area as well as some comfortable chairs and a couch to catch your breath in between practice sessions.
It is amazing to me that both of these facilities exist so close to each other while charging the about the same prices.
