[JPsuff]

Originally Posted by GolfSavage

The concept of using the same ball for consistency's sake is one reason I really don't care to go to the range for practice. Most of the ranges here have a mish-mash of ball types, in various conditions, and figuring out real club distances, swing results, etc. can be frustrating.

I'd love to find a large athletic field I could use, take my own "shag bag" full of balls I like, and be able to hit from one end, go down and gather balls, and hit back the other way, even if the longest club I could use was a 7 iron. Unfortunately, public access to such a place around here is non-existent.

Man, do I hear that!


I used to do the schoolyard thing and I was so "dialed-in" I could actually think in terms of single yards when it came to club choices. Not only that, but schoolyards / athletic fields allowed me to try a variety of shots from a variety of lies and at one schoolyard I could practice significant uphill / downhill lies too.

But ever since the soccer boom and then the lacrosse boom, it's virtually impossible to find any room to hit golf balls at a schoolyard and most don't allow it anymore anyway. A driving range is OK for working on swing mechanics, shot shapes and heights, but the big drawback is not being able to really know your true distances - especially with the scoring clubs. I used to spend hours every night after work just hitting shots and checking distances and my 150-yard-in game was top shelf.


I miss those days.



-JP