Seattle Area Practice Facility

[Shoey]

Any thoughts on the best practice facility around the Seattle Metro Area that isn't going to break the bank for range balls ect...Live in Seattle, but willing to drive an hour outside of town for a good full day of practice. Any suggestions?

[evanm]

Ya, nothing great in Seattle or even grass ranges. Courses that have awesome facilities off the top of my mind include the Home Course and Gold Mountain. My parents live at Lakeland Village in Allyn, spend a lot of time on the range there when I'm visiting. Dirt cheap, 2 grass ranges, nice practice green, real non-range balls. I've heard Newcastle has a cool set up but a bit spendy, I haven't checked it out yet.

[Shoey]

Ya it is slim pickings here. Tough to even find a grass range! Redmond ridge has a decent setup.

[thedilleyo]

New Castle is definitely the nicest. They have a great grass range, solid short game and bunker area, and putting green. It is $30/hr which is just out outrageously expensive for a practice area.

Willows run is also pretty decent, but only if they have the grass area open. Pretty good chipping and putting area as well.

I've heard good things about The Home Course and their practice facility (~1hr. drive from Seattle) but I've never been.

[jamie]

I practice my short game at Willows par 3 course chipping area. It can get crowded but when no one is there, you can hit 60 yd shots.
[quote name='thedilleyo' timestamp='1374527081' post='7516378']
New Castle is definitely the nicest. They have a great grass range, solid short game and bunker area, and putting green. It is $30/hr which is just out outrageously expensive for a practice area.

Willows run is also pretty decent, but only if they have the grass area open. Pretty good chipping and putting area as well.

I've heard good things about The Home Course and their practice facility (~1hr. drive from Seattle) but I've never been.
[/quote]

[snoopluther]

Carnation now called Blue Heron G.C. has a large grass range out in the Snoqualmie Valley

[bpark1210]

I'm partial to Interbay. It's right there between DT and Ballard. It has the nicest range balls out of any range in the state. Yes it has mats but they get changed out every year. The balls are Srixon and soft, they also get changed out 2X/year. Why spend a half hour + to drive out of the city when you have a facility right there?

The one big pet peeve about Willows is that they have really crappy mats and rock hard sandy range balls. I've heard great things of Newcastle but a bit pricey for the grass range. Puetz also has really crappy range balls and the annoying net dividers. Grass ranges are great like White Horse, Home Course, Salish, private clubs Mill Creek/Everett etc but really the balls are a huge detrament when they are sh*tty rock hard sandy balls that scratch up all your woods and irons.

I'd much rather hit off good mats w/ clean soft balls any day over a grass range w/ crap balls.

[drewtaylor21]

[quote name='bpark1210' timestamp='1391020469' post='8558965']
I'm partial to Interbay. It's right there between DT and Ballard. It has the nicest range balls out of any range in the state. Yes it has mats but they get changed out every year. The balls are Srixon and soft, they also get changed out 2X/year. Why spend a half hour + to drive out of the city when you have a facility right there?

The one big pet peeve about Willows is that they have really crappy mats and rock hard sandy range balls. I've heard great things of Newcastle but a bit pricey for the grass range. Puetz also has really crappy range balls and the annoying net dividers. Grass ranges are great like White Horse, Home Course, Salish, private clubs Mill Creek/Everett etc but really the balls are a huge detrament when they are sh*tty rock hard sandy balls that scratch up all your woods and irons.

I'd much rather hit off good mats w/ clean soft balls any day over a grass range w/ crap balls.
[/quote]

+1 on Interbay. I lived in Seattle for about 4 years and those were the years where I played the least by far. Seems like all the public facilities are pretty mediocre, both for practicing and playing. There are some great private courses, but I never found anything better than Interbay within an hour's drive of Seattle proper.

Interbay is always fun with the lights on at night too! I've always loved seeing ball flight under the lights at night....reminds me of my old baseball days I think.

[Tbcg12]

About the Home Course. Yes it does have a nice grass range but every time I have played there (6-8 times) the wind is so strong that it would be hard to have a good practice session there imho...

[FlyFish]

Newcastle also has a cheaper driving range (on mats) and they don't use limited flight balls which is a plus. Most places move to mats in the winter anyways.

The thing that I like about Interbay is that they're open until 11:00 PM in the summer. They do have limited flight balls but the ones that they use fly pretty close to a normal trajectory until about 180 yards where they drop. I wish that Interbay had a better short game practice area though...why is the mini golf course lit up at night but the putting green is not?

[bpark1210]

Anybody got updates on Jax's range opening?

I haven't been in the loop since I left my job at Ibay.

[Dr. Shankenstein]

[quote name='bpark1210' timestamp='1418085372' post='10564689']
Anybody got updates on Jax's range opening?

I haven't been in the loop since I left my job at Ibay.
[/quote]
Just there the other day and asked the folks in the pro shop the same question. What they told me was that they are planning on having the new range in operation by spring 2015.

[bpark1210]

[quote name='Dr. Shankenstein' timestamp='1418088740' post='10564947']
[quote name='bpark1210' timestamp='1418085372' post='10564689']
Anybody got updates on Jax's range opening?

I haven't been in the loop since I left my job at Ibay.
[/quote]
Just there the other day and asked the folks in the pro shop the same question. What they told me was that they are planning on having the new range in operation by spring 2015.
[/quote]

Thanks for the reply. I was at work and just so happened to walk in one of my buddies who works pro shop there. I'm hearing the same, 2015 opening. Apparently they have all the equip in place minus the bottom floor heaters. The issue they have is no lights past 175 yrds. Sounds like they need permits or something to hang lights up on the poles in a residential zone? I can't imagaine any houses being affected by having lights hung from the range net poles. So right now they only have flood lights off of the covered range area. No flood lights extended down range.

[bpark1210]

I heard Jax finally opened their driving range yesterday. Also heard they are charging more for buckets there than other PGC courses. $10 for a medium vs. $10 for a large elsewhere. I'll be hitting it up this weekend.

[Jwowzer]

As a UW range employee during my undergrad, we were stressed that we would lose the North Seattle rangers once Jackson opened up, but knowing that Jackson is charging 1/3 of round rate, I can sleep easily!

[SuperPapaBear]

[quote name='Jwowzer' timestamp='1420872053' post='10720449']
As a UW range employee during my undergrad, we were stressed that we would lose the North Seattle rangers once Jackson opened up, but knowing that Jackson is charging 1/3 of round rate, I can sleep easily!
[/quote]

It's only $3.75 more than UW. If you go within two hours of close you get double balls. That drops the price per ball below UW's and if you're a long hitter you can hit driver without worrying about sailing the back net. I spend extra for that fact alone.

[nwgolfr]

Thread has been around for a while, but I'm very picky about where I practice - so figured I would pitch in 2cents.

I'm pretty centrally located, so Jackson's range is by far the most convenient for me. But, it's very difficult to figure distances there - with bumps and blind rolls all over the place. The mats and balls are still in great shape however.

For grass tees - Harbour Pointe (most of the time), Newcastle for chipping/sand practice.

It is frustrating - between the weather, and course conditions, I just think it costs alot to maintain those sorts of facilities around here. Jackson would really make a killing if they added in a short game area with bunkers instead of the old crap Par 3 course. Maybe their pace of play would speed up a little bit too, giving their less experienced players a way to actually practice out of bunkers without being rushed through a hole.

[KJude36]

I wish they would turn Interbay in to a Top Golf! Easily the best range in the area though.

[Jamesmich16]

What is a top golf?[quote name='KJude36' timestamp='1450244883' post='12726326']
I wish they would turn Interbay in to a Top Golf! Easily the best range in the area though.
[/quote]
What is a top golf?

[mrfullwm]

[quote name='Jamesmich16' timestamp='1450325939' post='12730196']
What is a top golf?[quote name='KJude36' timestamp='1450244883' post='12726326']
I wish they would turn Interbay in to a Top Golf! Easily the best range in the area though.
[/quote]
What is a top golf?
[/quote]

I haven't been to one but they look awesome...

http://topgolf.com/us/

[jbucher]

Jax range is better off the upper level for seeing where your ball goes.I have heard they are going to put some shorter targets out for more short game practice. Josh the GM left at the end of last month. Let's see who premier puts in to replace Josh?

Jimmy B