Did the place you used to go
to practice that new driver suddenly close down
or put up a for sale sign? Didn't there seem
to be a lot more places to go hit? Maybe it's
just me but it seems like driving ranges are
vanishing. If golf's populaity is growing then
why does it seem like places to go practice
are turning into apartments or Wal Marts. Well
when they say the grass is green it's not Bermuda
or bentgrass green. It is money green. The fact
is driving ranges are getting pushed further
and further outside the cities.
I think most of us have taken
a lesson or two along the way and the teaching
pro showed us something new or corrected a problem
and at least for that moment we were convinced
that that little tip was going to help us break
80. The last words he said was practice practice
practice.. We left excited and vowing to work
on it everyday. Easier said than done. Sure
some people belong to Country Clubs with first
class facilites and have lots of free time to
practice and play. But for the majority of the
nine to fivers we hit and play where and when
we can.
The only way to actually get
better at golf , especially for the weekend
golfer is to practice and unless you are retired
you are probably juggling work and a family
and struggle to find time to get a couple of
rounds in a month and actually working on your
game can be nearly impossible to do..And if
you live in a metropolitan area now finding
a place to work on your game seems to be getting
harder and harder.
On a recent Saturday, I was
free from the kids, had a few hours and wanted
to go hit some balls. Okay where should I go?
At last count there were 145 golf facilites
in the Houston area, so finding a place to go
hit should be easy right? Not really. Inside
the 610 Loop in Houston there are two. Hermann
Park Golf Course and Memorial Park golf Course.
Memorial Park is a nice facility but usually
crowded and the parking lot is usually full
since it shares parking for the jogging track
and Hamburger joint. Sometimes you have to get
a bucket of balls and actually stand behind
someone and wait for a turn. And then while
you hit someone might be standing behind you
waiting..Feeling rushed doesn't help you work
on tempo. And Hermann Park driving range is
considerably smaller and more expensve and it
too has even more limited parking. So on this
particular saturday I decided to find somewhere
else. I generally remembered a big facility
about 10 minutes out west on Westheimer road
and headed that way..When I got to the place
I thought it used to be, there was a SuperTarget
and a Famous Footwear store. Oh well. Second
choice, In the last year I had been to a small
facility just south of the Reliant Park Astrodome
complex. So on I went..When I pulled up the
grass was overgrown and the shop was gone and
a big for sale sign was up attached to the light
poles that used to light the range. Well after
an hour and a half of driving and a quarter
tank of gas, I did finally find a place to hit.
but If hitting balls and releiving stress was
my original intent, It didn't happen.
I guess I started to notice
back in the 90's, Meyer Park driving range was
a beautiful driving range just off the southwest
corner of the 610 loop in Houston. It had an
elevated tee box area and bulkhead elevated
greens at various distances that were great
targets. Sand traps, a putting area and good
instructors. Great practice facility. I can't
remember exactly, but I don't think it was even
open for two years before it was sold. Today
there are 3 story luxury apartments and a Wal
Mart. It doesn't take a genius to figure out
what happened there. Real Estate is just becoming
too valuable to waste on a driving range. So
the Meyer Park range gone..The Westhemer range
gone. The South Main range gone.
And it's not just happening
here in Houston. In Austin I used to go hot
balls at a facility off Ben White and I-35.
It's gone. On highway 620 in Austin, Woodlands
Greens practice facility is still open, but
for sale. I looked up Austin driving ranges
on the web and listed with the names and numbers
was the driving distance..And it was in miles
not yards.
I know that there are still
plenty of places to go hit balls, but If I am
going to break 80 more often than not, I am
going to have to keep practicing. But when gas
was 3 bucks a gallon I know I didn't want to
have to drive 30 minutes to hit balls. And maybe
the ranges aren't dwindling but it sure seems
like it.
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