Anyone have any tips/advise on starting a driving range?

Question

Anyone have any tips/advise on starting a driving range?

Answer 1

i've hit balls on dozens of ranges and these are some of the things from those that i remember enjoying.  first and foremost, make sure you start with high quality grass.  theres nothing worse than hitting off of patchy grass, dirt, and rocky areas.  second, make sure to have at 25 to 30 yards of grass to move the hitting line forward and back on.  the more area you have for this the better the grass will recover from people hitting on it.  next, make sure that you have balls that are in good shape.  people will quit coming if even a small percentage of the balls have large scuffs and cuts in them.  also make sure that the range is deep enough.  this will ensure that you don't lose a lot of balls due to people hitting them over the net and you won't have to limit some days to irons only.  make sure that you have high quality mats available so that you won't have to close for as long after a heavy rain.  make sure you have a good ball washer.  i worked at a golf course for a while and it is a very time consuming and often overlooked aspect.  another thing to think about is comfort for the players.  implement a type of membership or discount system to keep people coming back and have a well stocked snack bar with plenty of beer.  finally, the most important thing.  be sure and have plenty of good visible targets with marked and accurate distances.  the reason they came was to whack golf balls at stuff and with innaccurate distances people won't improve.  also have a variety of targets.  have good visible greens, but there are a variety of other targets that make hitting balls a lot more fun.  good luck to you and i hope this helps.