Driving ranges - good or bad ?

Reading the commet by Darren VW on the judging distance by sight post and after a recent visit to the range this got me thinking.  Are driving ranges counter productive ?

Yes it's a great way for some practice but does it give us a misguided view on distances and how far we hit the ball ?

We all know the majority of ranges offer sub standard 'range balls' to hit and the range I visited recently the Pro quoted as being '60% balls'.  For me it was fine as I was grooving out my swing but had to completely ignore the range distance markers as the 100 yard marker was clearly only 75 yards and the 250 yard marker at the end of the range was only 215 yards.

So whilst the practice was good it provided no value in terms of striking distance and judging distance.

Darren I totally agree. Driving ranges are ok if that's the only option available say if the weather is bad or you want to try something with your swing. There's no substitute for practice with 'proper' balls to guage distances. Lets also not forget that in this cold weather you need to club up also.

I rarely visit a range because of the balls. Its not just length that is affected but also spin. That gentle fade/draw you hit out on the course can look like a slice/hook on the range.

I'd much rather go on the practice ground with a bag full of used Pro-v's. They feel the same and fly the same as the balls I use out on the course.

I'm with you on this one gents, when I first took up the game, I found the range did more harm than good. There's no substitute for a practice round in my book. You'll inevitably hit more variety of shots than you ever would on the range. Something else that annoys me (sorry to go off topic), is when the practice greens are in poor condition or at a different speed to the real greens.

Bad- for injuries to elbows and lower back if playing off rubber mats. Most common way to injure yourself at this game , always play off grass if you can.

If you have access to take Brians advise it's more benificial and a lot cheaper.

If I do have to use the range I'm spoilt at my local one as the balls they use are always of very good quality . Next to the rubber mats there's a strip of deep pile artificial grass approx 300mm wide x25mm deep . I use this as using the rubber mat with my steep swing would be asking for trouble.

Depends what you want to use the range for.  At the one I use they have a practcie bunker that I usually spend a few minutes in first, then head out to the grassed area to just work on my ball striking.   I'm not particularly interested in distance, just target practice.  As there is normally a prevailing wind distance control can be a lottery anyway (even though they do have decent balls), so I just pick a target (loads to choose from), find the iron which is about right and can work from there.  I never use the rubber mats or auto loaders, and rarely hit more than 5 balls with my driver, even though it's 300+ yards.

Tim, that is where I made the mistake and didn't go to that range!

This is another reason I am looking to join a club, to use outdoor on course practice facilities.

I think the ranges are ok when the dark nights come or it's p!$$ing it down, who wants to be outside in that?

I only use them when trying to bed in new swing changes, I don't worry about distance etc.

Heard you the first time (as usual) Floody.

Darren - if you're talking about Trent Lock, you do know that their range is marked out in Metres, don't you?

The range is great.

Nights like tonight where it is my 5th anniversary with the misses what better to do than hit the range?

Its great for practicing your swing, not great for seeing how far you can whack balls. Also good as mentioned above for the winter months to make sure you can keep some kind of consistancy.