A driving range experience

I don’t go to driving ranges very often and yesterday I reminded myself why.

Things got off to a bad start when I wasn’t allowed to hit balls in the empty section of the range. I’ve got no idea why and was forced to hit shots from a crammed bay that wasn’t suited to a left hander. Then it got worse.

The golf balls were such terrible quality that any practice was useless. They had no dimples and the compression was long gone. Must say it was funny for two or three hits to see the ball wobble and then nosedive into the dirt. But my amusement didn’t last long. In the end I hit little pitch shots (a shot I don’t need to use a range) for 15 minutes and went home.

The experience got me thinking if driving ranges are actually the best place to learn golf. Sure, you can have some fun and kill time but they make learning hard.

There’s lots of distractions and most people were there to hit their driver as far as they could. Fun yes but learning no.

If you want to improve your golf you’re better off finding a nice quiet spot on the golf course. This is actually the place where it all matters. If hitting hundreds of balls is your thing and you want to improve your golf swing, then a golf net is ideal. You can work on your swing and not be distracted with where the ball ends up.

One thing is for sure, you won’t find me at a driving range anytime soon unless it’s to warm up before I play.