Small bucket 38 balls for $9.00. Have i lost touch?

I have the day off, was heading to Lowe’s, decided to stop at a nearby range i used as a kid to hit a few balls w my ping eye 2s that i gave a total make over this winter. This range Has had some recent upgrades, all weather turf, reduced the overall size added more greens as targets, automated ball dispenser.

$9.00 for 38 balls, i think i now remember why i use my shag bag at the local baseball fields. Am i out of touch what it costs?

I don’t think so. I live in an expensive part of the country and haven’t seen a small bucket/bag cost that much.

What range and where is it?

$9 seems high but a small bucket ~40 balls at my local range had gone from $5 to $7 over the last few years. The grass section of the range is $9 for a small bucket and the grass is crap. So yeah, prices going up seems like the norm.

The course where I practice has small buckets for $4, medium $7 (2 smalls), large $9 (3 smalls). It uses an automated hopper that takes credit cards, so I never have to walk into the pro shop to practice. I've never counted the number of balls, but it seems like a reasonable amount.

No, you have not lost touch. That is expensive.

I'm with you,it does seem a little high. But,I had to do the grocery shopping for the first time in a while,and I was amazed at the increases. Inflation rate supposedly is 1.8%,but it sure seems to me that everything is up close to 10% ,if not more. Sign of the times ,I guess.

Remember this when you wonder why people think that golf is only for the wealthy. It's really, really, really hard to practice when doing so costs $10 a pop. It's hard to justify spending $10 to hit 30 balls with my feet together, or just little wristy swings, or doing the one-foot-forward drill...

Seems a bit high, my local range is around 7sm 9lg 11xl, not sure the numbers but I'd say the xl is around 100 balls. I understand the comment above though, if your experimenting in your swing and doing some drills ect. it becomes expensive if ya hit 2 buckets per sesh and go twice a week. I would love it if it was more of a pay 15-20 hit as many as you can type arrangement.

It seems like I live somewhere that is also out of the norm. At my local public course, a large bucket is $15 (about 75 balls). I honestly don't know what a small bucket costs, but I can't imagine it costs somewhere around $9, given that the small buckets are about 40 balls (this range only has small and large buckets).

Seems really high, but who knows in your market. And they would have to pay me to hit off anything but turf.

I have to pay NYC prices, and prime pricing is $15 for 130. Just raised from $13.25 for 120. Off peak is $15 for 150. Small bucket is $10 for 70 peak/90 off-peak.

> @MaineMariner said:

> Remember this when you wonder why people think that golf is only for the wealthy. It's really, really, really hard to practice when doing so costs $10 a pop. It's hard to justify spending $10 to hit 30 balls with my feet together, or just little wristy swings, or doing the one-foot-forward drill...

$7.00 for about 80 balls to hit off grass and I still can't stand to hit even 3/4 pitches or any drills, seems like a waste. I realize the 3/4 pitches and drills are no doubt more valuable than full swings but for me golf and logic don't mix.

Luckily the range is at a GC that has a couple flags in a mowed (mown?) area you can practice/hit up to about 110 yards. Conveniently close to the practice putting green. I take 6 balls and hit bunch of shots from 110 in, spend some time on the practice putting green then walk over to the range and hit a bucket. Takes a couple hours but I leave satisfied and I only pay for full swings.

The cost of range balls was one factor in my family deciding to join a CC a little over a year ago. Now, during the day time we get out there whenever we want and hit range balls all day if we like. We were spending a large sum of dough each month on range balls.

Seems like a lot, here it's 7$ or so where i go for a bucket of more balls than that. And that's in canadian dollars

Unless you live in San Jose or Vegas, in which case that's probably cheap

> @RayGorman said:

> I have to pay NYC prices, and prime pricing is $15 for 130. Just raised from $13.25 for 120. Off peak is $15 for 150. Small bucket is $10 for 70 peak/90 off-peak.

NYC as in Manhattan ? At a golf course ?

I haven't been back up there for about 6 years now. Used to hit balls at Eisenhower Park in Nassau County. About $.11 per ball.

Down here in South Florida, pretty much the retirement capital of the world, a local course, in the middle of the Summer, when there's almost NOBODY playing, wants $.18 per ball. Good luck with that.

So I do (almost) all my practicing at the lcoa PGA Tour Super Store. I'm a "member" there for about $100 a year and can hit all the balls I want, in air conditioned comfort AND with a simulator included. I get that it's not on real turf but it's still OK for practicing and trying to groove a swing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, not to mention I can hit any club I want.

> @BeerPerHole said:

> The cost of range balls was one factor in my family deciding to join a CC a little over a year ago. Now, during the day time we get out there whenever we want and hit range balls all day if we like. We were spending a large sum of dough each month on range balls.

Seriously? Lol that sounds like a joke

You mean you rationalized spending a ton a month 12 months a year.

Is a bit much but the upgrades mentioned aren't cheap...I think I pay a penny or two per ball at our local range but I live in a county of 30k and the range balls are from the local ball hunters that find balls as the local courses and sell em to the range since they don't have luck selling em to the golfers at said courses and the facility isn't much basically a mat range with a grass area that isn't really maintained for hitting balls...just mowed.

Range by me that was recently renovated and oddly enough, right by a Lowe's, is priced as follows:

Small 34 $9

Medium 68 $12

Large 102 $15

Some private equity guy bought the entire development, should be ashamed of these prices especially in a low COL city.

I retired last year and work a couple of mornings a week at the range. Our prices are small 45 balls for $8.50, medium 75 balls for $12.50 and large 110 balls for $14.50.

Most ranges I’ve been to in the LA area (not exactly the cheapest place in the world) charge about $10 or so for a large bucket

> @BB28403 said:

> > @BeerPerHole said:

> > The cost of range balls was one factor in my family deciding to join a CC a little over a year ago. Now, during the day time we get out there whenever we want and hit range balls all day if we like. We were spending a large sum of dough each month on range balls.

>

> Seriously? Lol that sounds like a joke

> You mean you rationalized spending a ton a month 12 months a year.

Read again. See the words "one factor".

Wow...

After reading all this, I feel kind of blessed my local range. It has an autofeeder system that takes a card you load up whenever you want, every bay has a doppler ball speed and range monitor, and when I load the card I get 600 balls for $50.

> @BeerPerHole said:

> > @BB28403 said:

> > > @BeerPerHole said:

> > > The cost of range balls was one factor in my family deciding to join a CC a little over a year ago. Now, during the day time we get out there whenever we want and hit range balls all day if we like. We were spending a large sum of dough each month on range balls.

> >

> > Seriously? Lol that sounds like a joke

> > You mean you rationalized spending a ton a month 12 months a year.

>

> Read again. See the words "one factor".

>

> Wow...

Sorry, it came off as a bit harsh. Just surprised me. I have noticed people do not stay on CC ranges very long.

> @Simpsonia said:

> After reading all this, I feel kind of blessed my local range. It has an autofeeder system that takes a card you load up whenever you want, every bay has a doppler ball speed and range monitor, and when I load the card I get 600 balls for $50.

Nice my range has crap balls , has cards and prob 700 balls are $70-80, I forget .

100 Balls is $17 or $14 with range membership.

40 Balls is $12 or $9 with range membership. Good ole California living....

> @fkim011 said:

> 100 Balls is $17 or $14 with range membership.

> 40 Balls is $12 or $9 with range membership. Good ole California living....

Oh, you been going to Oak Creek huh? lol

This is the worst range in my area:

$7 for 45 balls, the range is 200 yards long/ no woods allowed, old mats/ no grass, and most of the balls have no dimples/ cracked.

This is the best:

$8 for 40, range is up to 400 yards, tons of grass, always new balls.

Then there's Stadium Golf Center in San Diego:

$12 for 45 balls to hit off the grass.

Range time is expensive.

> @crapula said:

> This is the worst range in my area:

> $7 for 45 balls, the range is 200 yards long/ no woods allowed, old mats/ no grass, and most of the balls have no dimples/ cracked.

> This is the best:

> $8 for 40, range is up to 400 yards, tons of grass, always new balls.

>

> Range time is expensive.

>

Hence the name Crapula.

$9 for a small bucket is high here in SoCA. Ten to twelve dollars for medium, a bit higher for large. None of the ranges I frequent are automated, have maintained greens, or covered with artificial turf, all of which increases the retail price to cover capital expenditures.

> @kekoa said:

> > @fkim011 said:

> > 100 Balls is $17 or $14 with range membership.

> > 40 Balls is $12 or $9 with range membership. Good ole California living....

>

> Oh, you been going to Oak Creek huh? lol

>

>

Haha, yes sir!