The things I see at the driving range

[kekoa]

On 4/11/2023 at 9:37 AM, Warrior42111 said:

Is that a G400? .... I know that's my get out of trouble club, even with my Crap swing I can hit that thing all day.

G410.  Stupid easy to hit.  

[betarhoalphadelta]

22 hours ago, Long_Left said:

We have two of them at the range I use. I'm on a monthly fee so I have access to one large bucket every day, some weeks I'll be at the range 4 or 5 times and it's very rare that I finish a bucket. These two guys know me from seeing me enough (they adore the college team kids, they get unlimited buckets!) and once the balls are about half gone they will begin to walk by more and more frequently. I've yet to see them race each other for leftover balls but they both react quickly to a bag being picked up. I have never seen either on the golf course, both are middle aged men.

 

 

Yeah, I've got the same monthly fee deal. I'm making an effort to spend more time at the range practicing. I hit balls until I'm tired, or until I'm bored, or until I've gotten through whatever I think I need to get through that day, or until something's going wrong and I just realize I don't have it that day and it's stupid to keep hitting bad ones. Quite often whatever my limit for the day is, it's about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through the bucket. 

 

So as I pack up and leave I'll just tell whoever's next to me "you're more than welcome to those if you want more". 

 

I haven't quite noticed any stalkers trying to hunt them down yet, but maybe I'll get noticed by them as a "don't finish his bucket" kind of guy as I go more often lol...

 

The other day I was down by the end of the range working on my bucket and someone had left. An older lady went by to grab his leftovers and is telling me "I'll split 'em with you!" I declined. She can take them all lol.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

2 hours ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

Yeah, I've got the same monthly fee deal. I'm making an effort to spend more time at the range practicing. I hit balls until I'm tired, or until I'm bored, or until I've gotten through whatever I think I need to get through that day, or until something's going wrong and I just realize I don't have it that day and it's stupid to keep hitting bad ones. Quite often whatever my limit for the day is, it's about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through the bucket. 

 

So as I pack up and leave I'll just tell whoever's next to me "you're more than welcome to those if you want more". 

 

I haven't quite noticed any stalkers trying to hunt them down yet, but maybe I'll get noticed by them as a "don't finish his bucket" kind of guy as I go more often lol...

 

The other day I was down by the end of the range working on my bucket and someone had left. An older lady went by to grab his leftovers and is telling me "I'll split 'em with you!" I declined. She can take them all lol.

 

Shoot, I don't know when to quit. I can never seem to bring myself to leave golf balls behind and just go through the bucket regardless. I think that's a bad idea, especially since I do get tired and start inevitably hurting myself with bad swings and results because the swing has marginally changed. Maybe it's time I stop getting the Jumbo Buckets.... 🤣

 

On most days, I'll take extras if folks leave them, but I don't stalk folks. That's just silly. LOL

Edited September 22, 2023 by Mikey_HACKilroy

[Nels55]

On 9/21/2023 at 10:38 AM, Long_Left said:

We have two of them at the range I use. I'm on a monthly fee so I have access to one large bucket every day, some weeks I'll be at the range 4 or 5 times and it's very rare that I finish a bucket. These two guys know me from seeing me enough (they adore the college team kids, they get unlimited buckets!) and once the balls are about half gone they will begin to walk by more and more frequently. I've yet to see them race each other for leftover balls but they both react quickly to a bag being picked up. I have never seen either on the golf course, both are middle aged men.

 

I'll admit that I have, on occasion, done things which would indicate that I am finished (pack up the bag, take off the headphones, etc. only to change my mind and proceed to hit a few more. This is all in the name of psychiatric research, I'm trying to find out what compels a man to gather hundreds of beat up yellow spheres for no discernable personal benefit.

 

 

 

Sometimes when I am done with full swing shots and have some range balls left over I will hit some 10 to 40 yard pitch shots with the remainder.  Might not be something that you want to do but it would probably drive the range rats nuts!

[RangeBaller]

On 9/21/2023 at 3:16 PM, kekoa said:

G410.  Stupid easy to hit.  

Word.  Keeping my g410 until either it or my back gives out

[BIG STU]

On 4/24/2023 at 12:48 PM, North Butte said:

I was at the short-game practice area a couple weeks ago and saw a guy practicing the most awkward, funky, "what the heck???" chipping techinque ever. He was trying to bend over 90 degrees at the waist (like Michelle Wie used to putt) with the club sticking out horizontally and the toe up way up in the air. Then he'd take a tiny little backswing and flick the club onto the back of the ball, sending it scudding across the green. 

 

He kept at it for a good 20 minutes, dozens and dozens of chips, then finally gradually starting raising up a little at a time until he was more or less back up to a normal chipping posture and actually making contact. 

 

I have no idea what he was trying to do or who told him it was a good idea. I did see him and another guy out on the course later and he seemed to be chipping normally the two times I saw him chip. Hopefully he never tries that again. 

We had a couple like that around my club. Were not members never paid for balls and would sneak forward getting free balls in front of the tee. Never paid for rounds at the course or even buy anything in the snack bar. They would come straight from the parking lot behind the cart barn to the range. They ended up ticking off a couple of members so management watched them. They ended up running them off. What I think the final straw that broke the Camel's back was that they were retrieving balls when the range was closed due to flooding. Our range gets so wet if you hit balls they will plug thus a ball loss for the club, The big signs were up stating "Range Closed" and the owner saw them sneak in anyhow and pick up balls and start hitting them. He talked to several members and the next day he confronted the two "bums" and ran them off for good. 

[bobfoster]

First reaction: Gosh, a woman ignored practice advice from someone who's primary demonstrable skill - for all she knew - was the ability to make change and hand her a bucket of balls. I'm sure she went to the range thinking "My driver just isn't behaving, what I really need to do is to take it to the range, and get me a big heapin' dose of helpful mansplaining from some random dude". Then she doesn't even listen. Women. Go figure. 😂

 

There are a lot of subtle points of etiquette in golf, but a very few primary, fundamental, grossly obvious ones. Don't have a loud conversation on a tee box when someone is about to hit. Don't be a doofus and stomp all over someone's putting line. Rake the freaking trap. Things like that. IMO, right up there and close to the top of that list is never give unsolicited advice. Like, ever. 

 

Especially at a driving range for goodness sake. There's a dozen different reasons people go to them - from specific practice regimes, to just sneaking in a fun lunch hour. Third party judgements about whether someone is, or is not practicing "wrong" are just meaningless. 

 

When I started playing golf I did often go to the range with my full set of clubs. Was learning the game. At this point the only time I take a lot of clubs is when I have a new set I'm trying to get used to. The vast majority of my range time is hyper-focused, and usually to work out very specialized shots. I've done entire sessions with only two wedges, practicing only 1/2 - 3/4 swing shots ... to calibrate distance precision in my short game. Sessions with just mid irons, solely focused on hitting controlled draws. Etc. Over time, every session like this puts another shot in my arsenal. Hitting two full buckets with only a 3/4  gap wedge swing (playing around with stance open or closed, ball slightly forward or back, etc.) means that when I need that shot during a round, I stand over the ball with a lot of confidence. 

 

But that is how I practice - wouldn't remotely occur to me to tell a stranger on a range (who's game, level of development, or reasons for being on the range I'd be completely clueless about) it is how they ought to practice. Unless I was first asked for my opinion.

 

I did do a single club session earlier this year. My 3W. Had been fiddling with swing weight, and added +4g to the head of my TSR. Had played a few rounds with it. 4g doesn't sound like much, but it did at least slightly alter ball flight. I was getting a bit more distance, and contact felt a bit more solid, but it also had a tendency to fade even when I wasn't trying to hit a fade, and a couple of intentional draws almost turned into hooks. Concluded that I probably needed some slight adjustments to my swing to get the most benefits out of the added weight, and get the dispersion back under control. 

 

So it made perfect sense to go to the range with that club (only that one club) and hit a few dozen balls. Quite like the woman, who was apparently having trouble with her driver, and just wanted to work on her driver on that particular day. Almost can't imagine how I'd react if a guy -  that to all outward appearances looked like a retiree making minimum wage at a counter -  started asking me questions about why only one club, and began commenting on the lessons I'd gotten from a teaching pro. I'd likely be polite (as that woman was, and as many golfers are), but in my head I'd be thinking "who the heck are you, and why in the world would you think I'd want to hear about your insights on practice - could you just give me my bucket please"? 

 

The golf world is full of such retirees ... working or volunteering as rangers, starters, pro shop clerks, either because they are bored and just want to get out of the house, or they want to supplement SS or get free rounds. Not saying there is anything at all wrong with that. In fact, someday I might very well (and happily) be that. I personally really like the atmosphere of golf. Were I to retire and have a bunch of leisure time, hanging out at my club, even filling in for a starter now and then or something, would often likely seem quite preferable to just butt planting alone at home on a couch in front of a TV all day long.

 

I have friends that fit exactly that picture. Don't think any of them, however, would walk around volunteering advice to people they didn't know (though a couple of them were actually quite amazing in their day, and could probably give quite helpful advice to many). Because you just don't do that. 

 

 

[Lobby]

A good golfer hitting balls in the stall next to me. Pretty much striping them all

 

He joined me in the outdoor patio area afterwards. We were watching two high school girls practicing. 
 

both had good swings but a little handsy. 
 

he goes up to them and starts giving advice. 
 

I ran away. Giving unsolicited advice is a major etiquette fail, in my opinion.  

[dashanks]

12 hours ago, Lobby said:

A good golfer hitting balls in the stall next to me. Pretty much striping them all

 

He joined me in the outdoor patio area afterwards. We were watching two high school girls practicing. 
 

both had good swings but a little handsy. 
 

he goes up to them and starts giving advice. 
 

I ran away. Giving unsolicited advice is a major etiquette fail, in my opinion.  

Smart move.   Approaching a couple of high school girls, even with the best of intentions, is probably an even bigger fail.   I would have beat feet also.

[GolfTurkey]

Slightly weird day at the range today. First was the guy in the dark shades who kept walking forwards "to retrieve his tee", then kept on walking 30 or 40 yards into the range and casually helped himself to 4 or 5 balls at a time while others had to stop hitting.

 

I was struggling with contact so I started doing a drill where I try to hit one off the toe, shank the next one and hit the third one in the middle, rinse and repeat.

 

After a little while, I noticed the old guy next stall down would put his hand on his hips and stare at me for about a minute every time I shanked one. I got creeped out and went to the chipping green \_(ツ)_/¯

[Lobby]

And a more wholesome story:

 

Driving range is pretty packed, but there’s space available next to some kids   A 7-8 year old and her 3 year old brother. 
 

I ask her if I can take the neighboring space. 
 

“Of course you may, sir. By the way, isn’t it a beautiful day?”

 

so well spoken and polite

 

Then she takes a swing   And stripes a wood off the mat. 
 

I may see her on tv in a few years

[Warrior42111]

On 11/23/2023 at 7:33 AM, GolfTurkey said:

Slightly weird day at the range today. First was the guy in the dark shades who kept walking forwards "to retrieve his tee", then kept on walking 30 or 40 yards into the range and casually helped himself to 4 or 5 balls at a time while others had to stop hitting.

 

I was struggling with contact so I started doing a drill where I try to hit one off the toe, shank the next one and hit the third one in the middle, rinse and repeat.

 

After a little while, I noticed the old guy next stall down would put his hand on his hips and stare at me for about a minute every time I shanked one. I got creeped out and went to the chipping green \_(ツ)_/¯

But do you really have to stop hitting haha