Course practice facilites

[Simbo]

Anybody else feel their game is being held back by lack of proper practice facilites at their course? Over the last few seasons Iv been thinking this due to the fact that our practice facilities are rubbish, we don't have a dedicated short game area with a proper green and bunkers, or one that you can hit 70/80 yard shots into. Our putting green is decent but not brilliant. We don't have a chipping "green" with a couple bunkers but IMO it's pretty crap, nowhere near what a real green would be like so it's very difficult to judge what the ball will do in real time.
Money is mainly the issue as it's being spent on the course rather than the practice area which is fair enough I suppose. But as an avid practicer I feel my game is being held back a bit due to lack of good practice facilites. I can only really practice wedge carry distances and things like that
There's only really one course near me that offers good practice area but as all my mates play where I play and the other course is nearly double the money, moving courses isn't reallly a viable option right now.
Anybody else think the same?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Sorry but you would prefer money spent on the practise area over the course ?! Really ?

There is no better place to practise than on the course itself - if your aren't getting better it's not because of the facilities it's because of the person holding the club

 

[Capella]

I'm pretty happy with the practice facilities at our course (and most of the time I have a feeling I am the only one that uses the short game area regularly). We have a lage puttiing green with a lot of undulations which resembles the speed of our greens very well, a pitching/chipping area with two large bunkers and a lot of different lies around it, from fairway like grass to bare lies and very deep rough, as well as banks and slopes. The green itself is quite a bit slower than the greens on the course though (and usually riddled with pitchmarks, because no one really repairs their pitchmarks after practice), so roll on chipshots can be a bit different. One of the bunkers borders the driving range and can therefore also be used to practice fairway bunker shots (even though, technically you are not allowed to use range balls on the short game area, but as long as you don't leave them lying around all over the place afterwards, but hit them towards the range where they can be collected by the tractor, no one cares). Our driving rage is a bit worn down, the mats are a disaster and hitting off the grass is not allowed for most of the year, but I think there are plans to remodel the range next year and even build flood lights in, so that you can practice after dark, which would be great. Also, at the moment we have only four covered bays, I hope they will extend that a bit as well. We also have a six hole short course, which is a bit boring to actually play, because there are no bunkers, hazards or other obstacles, but it is perfect to dial in your iron distances. Many players also like to practice their chipping there, because the greens are a bit better and flatter than the actual chipping/pitching green.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Anybody else feel their game is being held back by lack of proper practice facilites at their course? Over the last few seasons Iv been thinking this due to the fact that our practice facilities are rubbish, we don't have a dedicated short game area with a proper green and bunkers, or one that you can hit 70/80 yard shots into. Our putting green is decent but not brilliant. We don't have a chipping "green" with a couple bunkers but IMO it's pretty crap, nowhere near what a real green would be like so it's very difficult to judge what the ball will do in real time.
Money is mainly the issue as it's being spent on the course rather than the practice area which is fair enough I suppose. But as an avid practicer I feel my game is being held back a bit due to lack of good practice facilites. I can only really practice wedge carry distances and things like that
There's only really one course near me that offers good practice area but as all my mates play where I play and the other course is nearly double the money, moving courses isn't reallly a viable option right now.
Anybody else think the same?

Is there nowhere else nearby that has good facilities you can use? A driving range with good practice green?

 

[patricks148]

You don't need perfect practice facilities to work on your short game with maybe the exception of bunker play.

The first club i was a member of up here did and still doesn't have anything. I used to chip in the back garden into a bucket or upturned umbrella. for longer shots i am lucky enough to have a very large garden and hit from one end to the other with a wedge but could have easily gone to the local park. Putting just used to practice short putts from 6 feet and in on the carpet.

 

[hovis]

Sorry but you would prefer money spent on the practise area over the course ?! Really ?

There is no better place to practise than on the course itself - if your aren't getting better it's not because of the facilities it's because of the person holding the club

i couldn't disagree more. practice for most people takes repetition. thats not possible on the course. I've recently been practicing high soft bunker shots. its not really practical to ask your pp' s to wait whilst you hit a few.

i think good practice areas are hugely important to improving.

 

[ger147]

i couldn't disagree more. practice for most people takes repetition. thats not possible on the course. I've recently been practicing high soft bunker shots. its not really practical to ask your pp' s to wait whilst you hit a few.

i think good practice areas are hugely important to improving.

Agree 100%

 

[Dasit]

I agree Simbo, my course has very poor practice facilities and it makes it difficult to work on my game.

All well and good for people saying just play on the course to get better, but that isn't always easy. A lot of the time I only have time for an hour or 2 of practice, and this is not practical at my busy course. And taking extra practice shots on my course is totally against the rules.

I have used practice facilities at other courses near me, after paying for the driving range I often then use their short game area with my own balls if it is empty, might be worth a try.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

i couldn't disagree more. practice for most people takes repetition. thats not possible on the course. I've recently been practicing high soft bunker shots. its not really practical to ask your pp' s to wait whilst you hit a few.

i think good practice areas are hugely important to improving.

Why not just practise it when you get in a bunker on a course , roll ups and friendly bounce games are perfect opportunity to practise

We don't have a decent practise area from the last time I looked and it hasn't held me back or any others that have improved

On the course is where you play the game - not on a range or in a practise area. Get out and play a couple of holes if you have an hour , actually practise the game as you are playing

Blaming facilities for not playing well and wanting money to be spend on that instead of the course is IMO ludicrous

 

[Garush34]

Facilities around me are a bit poor. At my club we have a practice bunker with no green to hit too, which makes it pointless. We have a chipping green that it just the normal grass cut a bit lower with some flags in it, again pointless for see how your shot ends up. The range is ok, but you can only really hit up to a 7/6 iron on it. We have a couple of nets which are good for everything else, but obviously you cant see ball flight.

The best is our practice green, has 4 holes and has most breaks available to practice, although it is not the biggest green, smaller than most of our actual greens.

The thing is I very rarely see anyone out in the practice areas at ours, so is it a case that the clubs do not invest in these facilities because no one uses them, or no one uses them because the clubs do not invest in them?

Where I get my lessons is great for practice, huge range and huge practice green. They have just installed a ball machine so you no longer have to take your own balls. Just a shame that you have to be a member there to actually use the range other than for lessons.

 

[NorfolkShaun]

We have the following

Chipping green with two bunkers

Putting green.

Grass driving range

Three hole practice course.

It is a really handy facility and great for short game practice as the practice course has small tricky greens. However i still like playing a round for practice

 

[Canary_Yellow]

For most people I would have thought having the time to practice is more of an impediment to improvement than the facilities available. That's certainly true for me, and I can assure you that isn't because our facilities are amazing!

 

[hovis]

Why not just practise it when you get in a bunker on a course , roll ups and friendly bounce games are perfect opportunity to practise

We don't have a decent practise area from the last time I looked and it hasn't held me back or any others that have improved

On the course is where you play the game - not on a range or in a practise area. Get out and play a couple of holes if you have an hour , actually practise the game as you are playing

Blaming facilities for not playing well and wanting money to be spend on that instead of the course is IMO ludicrous

because it's very rare i find a green side bunker so i go many rounds without seeing a single bunker.

woburns driving range isn't much but you're short game area is awesome. you don't think its decent? doesn't get much better imo.

 

[IanG]

Our club has recently spent money improving our practice area a lot. Previously we had simply a big field with distance markers and a few pins scattered about. A strip of astro turf to hit from but no covered bays. There was a large green with about a dozen holes and pins and three practice bunkers. Pretty good but only used by hardcore practicers.

Now we have a ball machine with decent practice balls which we don't have to collect, and a toilet/washroom/shelter (the practice area is mid-course and far from the clubhouse). New astroturf mats are going in as I type but you can also hit off the grass from the other end of the range. The upturn in usage since the ball machine went in 3 months ago is dramatic. All categories of players are now regularly down there from the young guns to the senior seniors. I'm sure we have a few really frail members who can't manage to walk round the course any longer but still like to go to the range for 30 mins on a sunny day to swing a club again - fantastic.

A side bonus is that the pro reports a surge in the amount of lessons they are delivering. I would never have predicted how successful this investment would be.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

We're lucky at my place as we have 2 pitching greens, & 2 chipping greens, one of which has 2 bunkers (including one which has wheelchair access), and a large field for the driving range.
Could your course look at funding to improve the facilities - to help junior or disabled golfers etc?
I may be wrong but I think we may have had a grant.

 

[hovis]

We're lucky at my place as we have 2 pitching greens, & 2 chipping greens, one of which has 2 bunkers (including one which has wheelchair access), and a large field for the driving range.
Could your course look at funding to improve the facilities - to help junior or disabled golfers etc?
I may be wrong but I think we may have had a grant.

a bunker with wheelchair access? if so, ive never seen wheelchair golf. genuinely, are they about?

 

[Reemul]

Sorry but you would prefer money spent on the practise area over the course ?! Really ?

There is no better place to practise than on the course itself - if your aren't getting better it's not because of the facilities it's because of the person holding the club

I totally disagree. At upwards of £1000 a year I want decent practice facilities. My two local courses have no driving range or short area at all just 1 net to warm up in a putting green. The other has a 150 yard driving range and a putting green, no short game area at all. That is why I won't be joining either. I have to practice at another local course that is just way out of my budget.

At present I pay and play at my local courses but it means I don't play as often and find myself frustrated at the lack of facilities to practice on.

 

[Deleted member 3432]

Sorry but you would prefer money spent on the practise area over the course ?! Really ?

There is no better place to practise than on the course itself - if your aren't getting better it's not because of the facilities it's because of the person holding the club

Not everyone has the time to play 3 rounds of golf a week for various reasons.

Using myself as an example, work means I have two weekends free in every five. I have a young child at home and therefore limited free time to play golf.

I have played 13 times this year and all these have been competition rounds. It's incredibly difficult to maintain a 4 handicap playing this little golf as you cannot keep your game ' Sharp' let alone try and improve but any free hour I have to spare I can at least nip up to the club and work on my swing or short game.

This at least gives me some faith that I have some idea of what I'm trying to do and decent practice facilities help no end.

I would love to play more golf and yes that would help my game but circumstances dictate I can't so the practice ground is a saviour.

I imagine plenty of our golfers are in the boat.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I totally disagree. At upwards of £1000 a year I want decent practice facilities. My two local courses have no driving range or short area at all just 1 net to warm up in a putting green. The other has a 150 yard driving range and a putting green, no short game area at all. That is why I won't be joining either. I have to practice at another local course that is just way out of my budget.

At present I pay and play at my local courses but it means I don't play as often and find myself frustrated at the lack of facilities to practice on.

Any golf club that diverts money away from the course to a practise area would be madness - people join the club to play golf and to be on the course - that's where the game is not on some range on your own , but on the course. A clubs course is what stands it out not the size of the practise green etc.

There is no better way for people to practise the game than on the actual course and being faced with the actual situation you get in a game

There seems to be a great deal of people who practise a lot yet don't seem to improve - because for me they should be out playing the game on the course - lesson after lesson , range session after range session but don't move forward. Go out and have a round or three holes or 9 holes - for me you will learn more and it will improve your game

 

[Garush34]

Our club has recently spent money improving our practice area a lot. Previously we had simply a big field with distance markers and a few pins scattered about. A strip of astro turf to hit from but no covered bays. There was a large green with about a dozen holes and pins and three practice bunkers. Pretty good but only used by hardcore practicers.

Now we have a ball machine with decent practice balls which we don't have to collect, and a toilet/washroom/shelter (the practice area is mid-course and far from the clubhouse). New astroturf mats are going in as I type but you can also hit off the grass from the other end of the range. The upturn in usage since the ball machine went in 3 months ago is dramatic. All categories of players are now regularly down there from the young guns to the senior seniors. I'm sure we have a few really frail members who can't manage to walk round the course any longer but still like to go to the range for 30 mins on a sunny day to swing a club again - fantastic.

A side bonus is that the pro reports a surge in the amount of lessons they are delivering. I would never have predicted how successful this investment would be.

I get my lessons with Marytn at your club, was last down in September but good to hear that there has been more improvements since I was last there. Need to get down again soon.