# Range or 9 holes



## golfermatt91 (Jul 14, 2006)

If you have the option to go to the range or play 9 or 18 holes... Chose to play the holes because all though the driving range is lots of practice playing is the best practice you can get... just a tip... thats how you get better out on the course.


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## Foster4 (May 2, 2007)

I disagree...I think your concept of practice seems to fall inbetween the 2 choices of course and driving range. But why can't asking questions reading talking about golf etc not be practice. And its no ones call to say the course is better then the range. This has been a heated debate with golfers over all the years and still is. It depends on what kind of person you are and will determine which one you choose.

However i try to keep it very balanced. The practice range/putting green/chipping green is like a tune up for the course. I practice shots i wanna be able to hit on the course. I practive my fundamentals and my swing and make sure i have all the kinks out. 

After i am done I like to take it to the course and put what i practiced to play. Then my play will reflect what i need to do back on the range then i practice it again then put it back in play on the course. Its like a cycle, and something will always need work.

But yes i understand wat you mean. This is a debate about if on the spur of the moment wat would you choose. Probably playing 9 holes. But alot of ppl would say practice. I have try to condition myself so that if i know i need to work on a particular part of my game i will practice so yes its a split decision where as it use to be a no brainer. 

And with the world being so busy most ppl don't want to or can't be tied down for a 2 hr 9 hole round.


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## golfermatt91 (Jul 14, 2006)

This is a debate and I see your side of it to but the course is actual playing conditions that you encounter unlike the range where you dont have good yardage markers etc..


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## stevel1017 (Apr 30, 2007)

I think it is very much situation and player dependant. I'm one of those who actually likes hitting balls. If I need to work on something, I head to the range, and after I have worked on it, I like to take it to the course and see how well it took.
Last night was a good example. I went to the range for 2 hrs. I could have played, but felt my time would be better served working on my 3/4 wedges.
But I know lots of guys who don't like to hit balls, and they work their issues out on the course. What ever works best for you.


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## golf fanatic 57 (Apr 4, 2007)

I prefer the course to the range because I have a little slice. I have noticed that when I'm on the range, because of the open area, I tend to slice more. When I'm on the course, it is more narrow. Therefore, I am more focused on driving the ball down the fairway. Just my two cents.


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## KLBOWRX (Jun 21, 2007)

This is a very personalized situation, I was well work my issues out on the range and then take is out on the course, I dont see a reason to take my game out there if its weak. The range is to practice and fine tune your self, the course IMHO is a place to take what you have practice from the range and put it into action


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## beachbuzzard (Jun 14, 2007)

For me it's the course and 9 holes. I can go after work and play twilight and work on my game right out on the course. Many times I'm playing solo, so I can take extra time around greens to putt and chip. I have, since I started as a USGA rated member, never counted my 9 hole twilight "practice" rounds in my handicapping as I keep no score. Rather, I use these practice rounds to try different things and work out bugs, like many do at the range. I play differently in these rounds than in my full 18 hole rounds... I think more about swing mechanics, etc.


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## 65nlovenit (Dec 8, 2006)

If I could be first out in the morning or last guy in the evening, when I got nobody running up my butt, then definitely I’d prefer the 9 holes. I’d use the actual playing experience to find out my weakness’ and shots that I have to work on. Play two or three balls, to see if I can fix my problems myself or when I’m done, grab the club pro and head to the practice area to get it fixed. You may have notice that I said the “practice area”, not range, 90 % of the ranges I’ve come across are a total waste of time and effort. No targets, yard markers that are out to lunch, swing mats that do more damage then good, and tee’s that are either too small or a foot high. I could learn more about golf at a mini putt, at least there you have to use your brain box to figure out how to get the ball in the hole. The other thing that I see over and over is guys who can hit balls straight as an arrow on the range, then they move to the course their game goes to S**T, after two or three holes like this and any confidence they had in their game is GONE, so what did they accomplish by hitting tons of balls into an empty field. Practice area’s if your fortunate enough to find a course that has one is where you fix problems, course play is where you put the lessons into use.


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## cbwheeler (Apr 9, 2007)

Del said it best. There's no reason you can't practice on the course. Hell, you pay them enough to go out there on their patch of grass. Why not hit 3 or 4 balls trying to get the ball to end up in the same spot with 3 different shots. This is how you get really good.

Next time you're out on the course by yourself and no one is riding your tail, play a number of different shots and see where you end up. Try a fade into a green, and then a draw; same with driver. Pick a spot in the fairway and try to hit it there. You'll learn when and how to attack a hole, and when to play it safe.

Too many times I see amateurs trying to smash the driver as far as they can, when really its more of a weapon if you use it too as a precision club. The more you can control the longest club in your bag, the more deadly it becomes. If you just whale on it every time you swing it and have no idea where its going to end up, then its no better than hitting a 4 iron off the tee. This is one of the hardest lessons for anyone to learn. Even the big boys struggle with it sometimes.


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## Foster4 (May 2, 2007)

On the range ppl are not playing target golf ...they are basicially just hitting shot after shot. While on the course there trying to. Ppl who dont practice target golf on the range wont get anything out of practicing on the range. You should always have a target. Who said you had to limit your shots while on the range. Hit low hooks and fades high ones punch 100 yards etc who said you had to hit a full iron everytime or driver. You can learn shots on the range too just not on the course. most ranges you can probably find a side hill lie or 2 or some rough that you can hit off of. Use your imagination while on the range and dont limit yourself to wat you can and cant do.


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## 300Yards (Jan 23, 2007)

My opinion is, that the range is for FIXING PROBLEMS AND WARMING UP. The course is for PRACTICING SHOTS, and playing a round..yes,you can learn shots on the range, but in order to practice them, you have to be on the course.

I think Del pretty much already said that though..


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## golfermatt91 (Jul 14, 2006)

lots of good input here..


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## cbwheeler (Apr 9, 2007)

Yep I agree with 300. The ball reacts a lot differently when landing on a green than it does when landing on the range ground.


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## 65nlovenit (Dec 8, 2006)

Driving range - Definition of Driving Range on the Web:
(This is the practice area. The client needs to rent balls called Range Balls) Foster4 Let me first say I don’t want to start a Ping contest, I just have one problem with your philosophy, WHY should you have to “Find a side hill lie”, or “some rough you can hit off”, your paying for the use of a PRACTICE AREA. Where are the facilities to practice with, I hardly count an empty field with second rate golf balls a great practice area. A driving range costs money to establish, there’s the cost of the land, any clearing that may have to be done, platforms to be built, mats to be bought, balls to be bought, a machine to retrieve the balls, possibly catch nets to protect surrounding properties, a hut to house the controller and of course salaries for staff. Why then when the investor puts out the money to build a range, they provide minimal to non-existent practice facilities. How much is it going to cost the guy to put up a half dozen wooden targets, the same amount of flags, and accurate yardage markers. Put in a pitching greens, putting green, sand trap, things that a golfer can actually use to Practice his game. In my case I don’t mind paying for the use of their Practice Area, provided that’s what it is, providing me with a big empty field and expecting me to use my imagination just doesn’t cut it.


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## golfermatt91 (Jul 14, 2006)

that was well put


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## cbwheeler (Apr 9, 2007)

Yea, I can imagine a driving range would be a heck of an up front cost. I bet the highly trafficked ones do fairly well once everything is in place though.

There's a huge one 10 mins down the road from me. At any given time there are at least 25 people there and they probably have a 75 person capacity. They've got a great putting green and a pretty good pitching area as well, complete with a bunker with good, well-maintained sand. The balls are all pretty good too. This is the main thing I see that differs between ranges. Most of them have old worn out balls that won't go anywhere b/c they're dimples are gone, or they just use old shag balls and paint lines on them...

Anyway, people actually pay $600 a year to be members at this place. The PGA pro there charges $70 for a half hour lesson, and anytime I am there, he is there teaching. Guy must make a killing. I bet that place is a gold mine.


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## 65nlovenit (Dec 8, 2006)

I guess P T Barnum best stated it, regarding all us dough heads who have or do frequent these ranges "Theres one born every moment"


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

300Yards said:


> My opinion is, that the range is for FIXING PROBLEMS AND WARMING UP. The course is for PRACTICING SHOTSQUOTE]
> Agreed to a point, but I'll tell you what else the range is good for... emotional satisfaction of just plain old hitting golf balls.
> 
> This time of year, it rains almost every day in Miami at 3 PM. You can almost set your watch by it and the rain is so hard, the courses close for quite a few hours afterwards, if not for the rest of the day. The range does not close though.
> ...


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## 300Yards (Jan 23, 2007)

Yeah, I can respect that..It rains a lot over here too..in fact, it just got done raining a few minutes ago..I have those days too..where I want to just hit the range, but not play a round.


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