Short Game Practice Facilities or Lack Of

Pitch & Putt
The Short Game

1st Article February 24, 2007

I’m a mediocre beginner golfer, been playing now for 5 years, nothing spectacular, but I’ve grown to love the game with a passion. I spend much of my spare time investigating golf web sites, searching for the hints and tips that will make me a better golfer. Aspirations for the PGA, LPGA, SPGA I have none, but I would like to think that at some future date I will be able to give a respectable accounting for 18 holes. Managed to break the 90 barrier at the close of the season, so I’ll be going out in search of 85 this summer.

Been doing a lot of reading since the weather has made it impossible to play, Dave Pelz “Putting Like the Pros” and his “Dave Pelz Short Game Bible”. Must admit there is a ton of good info in there for the novice golfer.

But the one thing that sticks out so predominantly in both of his books is that to improve your game you have to practice, practice, practice. I find in all of my web crawling, it’s the same thing, practice, practice, practice. All these people offering hints and tips, talk as if we’ve all got a golf course or driving range in our back yard. Most of the exercises they propose, require a hitting area of 50 to 150 yards. Have you got 50 to 150 extra yards in your back yard, manicured to golf course standards? I don’t think so. Okay then, there’s always the local driving range. Yeah sure.

What I’m going to say next does not apply to every driving range, or every user there of, probably about 85 % would be a realistic figure. I don’t hold the driving range owners entirely responsible either. Have you ever watched the typical user of a driving range. They purchase a bucket of balls, tee them up, swing as hard as they can, watching the balls slice, hook , dribble and occasionally go straight out from the tees. Ball after ball, whisking its way out into the vast openness of the range, and hoping by some miracle to cure the slice, the hook. What’s really so amazing is that for the hour or so it takes to hit the bucket of balls, they are practicing just 16% of the skills required for a round of golf. That’s right, the people who do the statistics for golf, have proven that of the total number of shots in a round, driving accounts for 16%. Putting accounts for 22% of the shots, that leaves 64% for shots 150 yards to the green. Why then do driving ranges not provide accurate yardage markers, targets for the golfer to aim at, dummy greens to practice pitch shots. Why then as users of the driving range are we not complaining to the owners to add these additions. At one time I contemplated building a driving range, so I posted the following on several golf forums to see what golfers would like to see in a driving range:

“If you were going to build a simple 1 tier, 30 cubicle driving range, what would you like to see included in the construction (Sand traps, Putting Greens, Accurate Yardage Markers, Elevated Greens with Flags, Targets etc.....) Any suggestions would be muchly appreciated” ..

Here are some of the replies……………

1. An area to practice your short game is a must, and remember to keep the driving range well kept and organized.

2. From a teaching standpoint, accurate distances from all tee positions to each target, a carefully cared-for putting green, a separate (if possible) chipping and putting green, sand trap (connected to the chipping green), and short-range targets.

3. How about putting a bunker at the end of the range to practice fairway bunker shots -

4. Bag racks nothing worse than laying your clubs on the cements.

5. Important things for me are a mix of mats and grass stations, actual greens to aim for and accurate distance markers

6. Install automated dispensers, nothing more frustrating than wanting to warm up for an early game but finding the range shut.

7. target greens with mounted windsocks, chip to cartons 20,30,50 yds out, accurate yardages, well separated stalls to accommodate flat swings

8. Also, it's way more fun to hit to a green (just anything shaped to look like a green) as opposed to markers, makes judging your shot a lot easier

9. Good range balls, not those ones that are rated at only 80% of the flight of a normal golf ball (Srixon's come to mind)10. Accurate Yardage markers. Meaning on your tee deck if it is deep enough the yardage could vary by 5-10 yards from front to back. So put your yardage markers at 50,75,100,125,150,175,200,225,250.11. If you have room a small bunker off to the side would be great, as long as it has good sand in it, with good drainage underneath. Plus a small green to chip too.
12. If it were me I'd just make a shot game / putting range. Pitching greens, chipping greens, putting greens and a number of green like targets placed 60 to 110 yards out. I can bang balls anywhere, but finding a place to work on your short game is difficult.

Are you getting the most for you buck? Do these suggestions sound like business breakers, too expensive to implement? Like to hear from you…..