Driving range yardage inaccuracies?

[slugger]

I've just measured the yardages at my local range and discovered that 75% of their yardage markers are wrong!

What chance have we got if we go to a range to sort out yardages only to work out you can hit a club shorter than you think?

50yd marker = 54yds
100yd = 100
150yd = 140
200yd = 170
250yd = 221

Is this a ploy to make you feel good about the distances you can whack a ball at the range so as you return again?

I think i'll ask for 2 years of money back on the basis of misrepresentation!

 

[Sneds]

My range is the same, the distances are inaccurate, but the pro knowingly admits to the distances not being correct.

Do you find that course yardages are usually quite accurate when you measure? Like 150 markers?

 

[slugger]

Now there's another point. I have measured a fair few holes out using the GPS at our course and know that at least 2 of the holes are out from the tees. The final hole is more than 30yds out from the medal tee!!!

Thankfully, any 150yd marker post i've measured is pretty spot on.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I know the yardage markers on my clubs practice ground are actually pretty accurate, maybe +/- 2 yards but I've never felt brave enough to walk out onto my nearest range and measure them although I'm pretty certain they are much shorter than they read. To be fair if I'm at any range I tend to be fairly cynical about the markers and so use them as a target point ro pick a couple of markers and use the width between the two as an imaginary green/fairway and just try and land my balls between the two points.

 

[Herbie]

Ive played a lot of courses and their yardage markers and references are nearly always spot on, why wouldn't they be, and why would members allow them to be inaccurate?

Perhaps following course alterations, perhaps a minor error from measuring points,or an oversight following additional tee introduction, but I have rarely come across big errors once you are aware of the points, from and to!
A good examle of this mistake by some golfers happens on holes with severe doglegs as the direct line is not the measured distance of the hole on the ground.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I agree that the majority of on course markers are fairly accurate but the OP is referring to yardages on the driving range. I would say of the 4 near me all are out and either way too short (100 yrds with a 56 degree) or way too long (can't hit 100 with a 9 iron). I'm guessing that many are inaccurate so I guess it begs the question are we wasting our time if we think/know/suspect the yardages to be false

 

[USER1999]

May be on your range the markers are seasonally adjusted to allow for rubbish range balls. So you would have gone 200 with a real ball and a 4i, so we will put the marker where the same club hits a range ball.

I never worry about distance at the range, it is more about grooving a swing.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

On my local ranges the markers have been there as long as I can remember and never move. To be fair I don't think the range ball equation comes into it although it is a very good point. At one in particular it almost seems as though they have stood on the range, looke back towards the bays and thought "thats about 150" and just plonked it down.

 

[slugger]

I never worry about distance at the range, it is more about grooving a swing.

If my swing is working well, i want to know how far i'm hitting each club, especially the scoring clubs from 8i down to the wedges.

I'm going to ask the lads at the range about this when i'm there later in the week.

Thing is though, this is also a Callaway authorised fitting centre so maybe the markers are there to make people think the new Callaway driver they're thinking about buying hits the ball a mile!

 

[Herbie]

I agree that ranges are never the best for accurate yardage and perhaps it may be a business practice to give encouragement. Myself I rarely use ranges and I am rarely bothered about yardage on them when I do, more concerned with how I hit rather than how far.

 

[justhitthething]

The biggest issue is the range balls. even good ones travel about 15% less than the ball youd use on the course.
Knowing that the rangemakers become irrelevant.

 

[Imurg]

I know I've hit a good drive at my local range when the ball at least carries to the back fence - if it clears the fence then I've nailed it! Most of the markers are so innacurate that I stopped looking at them years ago.

 

[viscount17]

Measuring the range markers is something I would like to do, though if they have to be adjusted for the range balls the 200 marker will be next to the shed.

I've asked why there isn't a range plan - never got an answer though.

Sometime when I have a chance of it being unoccupied (snow, rain, hail, dark of night) I might take GPS and compass in hand and give it a go

 

[Herbie]

Measuring the range markers is something I would like to do, though if they have to be adjusted for the range balls the 200 marker will be next to the shed.

I've asked why there isn't a range plan - never got an answer though.

Sometime when I have a chance of it being unoccupied (snow, rain, hail, dark of night) I might take GPS and compass in hand and give it a go

You will get done for Taking and measuring without the owners concent

 

[SimonC]

It's quite common for the yardage markers to be incorrect at driving ranges. Usually it's because range balls don't travel as far as a proper golf ball. The range I go to the 250 yard marker is at 220 yards because the range balls only travel 85-90% the distance of proper balls.

 

[SammmeBee]

Now there's another point. I have measured a fair few holes out using the GPS at our course and know that at least 2 of the holes are out from the tees. The final hole is more than 30yds out from the medal tee!!!

Thankfully, any 150yd marker post i've measured is pretty spot on.

Probably due to how holes are measured....I believe the correct way is to measure 250 yards off the tee to the middle of the fairway, then to the middle of the green....unless the hole is dead staright then there will be differences in going as the 'ball' flies......

 

[CliveW]

A bit of basic geometry. It is impossible to have more than one bay on a range at exactly the correct yardages. The bays would have to be arranged in a radius from the markers to be so.
I own a range and the distance markers are measured by laser from the central bay. These yardages have also been cross checked by GPS and are accurate, so let's not generalse.

 

[THJahar]

A bit of basic geometry. It is impossible to have more than one bay on a range at exactly the correct yardages. The bays would have to be arranged in a radius from the markers to be so.

You just beat me to it. I was going to explain that only a single bay is accurate.
Anyway, slightly OT here's my wish list for a golf range:
1) RFID balls connected to a personalised web page so everytime you hit a ball, its club, spread pattern and distance is recorded.
2) mirrored bay walls, and or video camera/phone mounts on each bay.
3) Real grass, maybe a 10" wide 6' Long tray that can be slotted in each bay (if you pay extra of course)
4)Automatic club head cleaners (I'm always lazy and forget to clean my clubs)
5)Monthly subscription (unlimited balls)

 

[Adrena1in]

Do driving ranges do that because the balls they provide are a bit crap and don't go as far as a decent course ball? Would hitting the 250-yard marker at the range, (actually 221 yards with a crap ball), roughly equate to 250-yards with a decent ball?!

 

[Imurg]

The range I use has bays that arc around and the distance boards are in the middle of the range so therefore the distance from all bays should be pretty similar - they're still rubbish mind...