Driving range question

[CliveW]

It seems that a lot of you are using ranges with poor quality balls. It beggars the question "Why?" If the balls are of poor quality go elsewhere or complain to the owners. After all, if you were paying for any other service and the quality was sub standard you would.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

It seems that a lot of you are using ranges with poor quality balls. It beggars the question "Why?" If the balls are of poor quality go elsewhere or complain to the owners. After all, if you were paying for any other service and the quality was sub standard you would.

if you know of any ranges using new Pro V 1's, please feel free to give me a shout!

All range balls are sub-standard, that's why Trackman has a setting to allow for range balls, for fittings etc - after all, the range owners would be losing balls left & right if they gave out buckets full of proper balls.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

The balls on the range at present are wet. Unsurprisingly !
What effect is there in hitting the ball wet, even a range ball?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Surely distance work should be done on the practice area at your club - a range, with it's crap balls, isn't really the place.

Yes and no. At the moment our practice ground is under water and anything hit out plugs and is never seen again. I'd rather use Trackman and go somewhere like Silvermere which has decent quality Srixon range balls and do a practical session hitting at targets a specific distance away and get an understanding for the feel and mechanics involved. You could argue that even with a ProV, adjustments have to be made for wind, firmness of greens etc so no distance number is an absolute anyway.

 

[Jacko_G]

Yes and no. At the moment our practice ground is under water and anything hit out plugs and is never seen again. I'd rather use Trackman and go somewhere like Silvermere which has decent quality Srixon range balls and do a practical session hitting at targets a specific distance away and get an understanding for the feel and mechanics involved. You could argue that even with a ProV, adjustments have to be made for wind, firmness of greens etc so no distance number is an absolute anyway.

Do you use Srixon range balls on the course?

I suspect that you don't. As James R says, unless it's a premium ball or a ball that you play with on the course then the trackman/toptracer whatever will be out. As little as 5 yards can be the difference between clearing a hazard or going too long.

 

[Coffey]

Most ranges use 1 piece balls (for the srixon balls you can tell by the number of lines on the side of the ball). Cheaper, dont go as far and less will be stolen.

Practicing distance is pointless at the range unless the range is using quality 2 or 3 piece balls

Trackman will show the distance for the ball itself unless you have the normaliser turned on and this is the only time it is useful for distance control with range balls. But i am not sure how the normaliser works, I guess it is a calculation based on average distance loss with a range ball. But then this depends again on the quality of the ball that is being used. Or it could use club head data maybe? But then i dont think trackman measures strike location unless you have the dots etc? someone with more knowledge of trackman may have an idea

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Do you use Srixon range balls on the course?

I suspect that you don't. As James R says, unless it's a premium ball or a ball that you play with on the course then the trackman/toptracer whatever will be out. As little as 5 yards can be the difference between clearing a hazard or going too long.

What difference doe the ball on the course make. As I've said and you've chose to ignore, all I want to do is to hit at random targets and use Toptracer etc as a guide to how good I am. I'm switching between targets and just trying to hit different length targets. That is NO different to playing on the course where there will be no standard distance and allowances have to be made if the hole is downwind or into, the lie etc so the argument about using crap range balls seems lame to me. I'd rather go and do an hour hitting to targets less than 100 yards and trying different clubs etc than bashing a bucket of crap range balls with a driver or irons randomly

 

[Deleted member 1147]

What difference doe the ball on the course make. As I've said and you've chose to ignore, all I want to do is to hit at random targets and use Toptracer etc as a guide to how good I am. I'm switching between targets and just trying to hit different length targets. That is NO different to playing on the course where there will be no standard distance and allowances have to be made if the hole is downwind or into, the lie etc so the argument about using crap range balls seems lame to me. I'd rather go and do an hour hitting to targets less than 100 yards and trying different clubs etc than bashing a bucket of crap range balls with a driver or irons randomly

You know that random bashing of balls, with a driver or iron, isn't the only alternative to hitting to random targets within 100 yds?

At the range I don't care about distance, because it isn't realistic - I aim at targets, in specific directions, and try to hit certain lines, shapes and heights.
When I get into proper golf, post winter conditions, I'll then go to the practice area and hit at targets with nearly new pro V's, and work on distance then.

 

[Jacko_G]

What difference doe the ball on the course make. As I've said and you've chose to ignore, all I want to do is to hit at random targets and use Toptracer etc as a guide to how good I am. I'm switching between targets and just trying to hit different length targets. That is NO different to playing on the course where there will be no standard distance and allowances have to be made if the hole is downwind or into, the lie etc so the argument about using crap range balls seems lame to me. I'd rather go and do an hour hitting to targets less than 100 yards and trying different clubs etc than bashing a bucket of crap range balls with a driver or irons randomly

Sure precious.

?

 

[Swinglowandslow]

I go to the range in order to practice proper striking of the ball and hopefully build some "muscle memory".
I can usually tell if the ball I struck properly. The distance it goes is not important for reasons given by others.
It also gives me some exercise and surprisingly the swing does use more muscles than you would think.

 

[sunshine]

I go to the range in order to practice proper striking of the ball and hopefully build some "muscle memory".
I can usually tell if the ball I struck properly. The distance it goes is not important for reasons given by others.
It also gives me some exercise and surprisingly the swing does use more muscles than you would think.

The first time I've ever heard someone refer to the range as exercise. Clutching at straws