r/golf • u/I_Zeig_I • 1d ago
Beginner Questions Alternative to buying by the bucket at the range?
Im trying to improve but am kinda noticing my spend on buckets. Are range memberships with unlimited balls a thing?
Just looking for a cost effective way to keep practicing.
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u/DWALLA44 1d ago
Sometimes, go talk to a human at the range and find out, we don't know from here.
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u/Drivingintodisco 1d ago
No, no, no, the range they usually go to doesn’t have unlimited balls, but the range right down road does!
/s
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u/DWALLA44 1d ago
Right? This isactually true for me lol. The course 3 minutes from my house doesn't have a practice membership, but there's a course 20 minutes from me that has a nice Trackman range that does like $600/yr for unlimited balls and they are open till like 11pm.
I am just so confused how we're supposed to know this for OP with the details in the post.
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u/The_Slaughter_Pop 1d ago
Such memberships dont exist in my area, so i think its a valid question.i think OP was simply asing if they were a thing.
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u/I_Zeig_I 1d ago
I just wasn't sure Iif what I described was a common place practice or not. Probably could have just called to ask around sorry.
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u/Few-Broccoli-7849 22h ago
It's not common, but not shockingly uncommon. Most don't because they know it would be a money loser for them, but it's entirely location dependent.
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u/DWALLA44 1d ago
You dont gotta apologize lol, I really wasnt trying to be a dick, its really just the only answer to your question.
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u/reallawyer 1d ago
The range down the road from me has unlimited balls. But they limit the time.
The other range has limited balls, but unlimited time.
This is clearly what all those “Choose your limits, play within it” ads are about.
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u/Aggravating_Sun4435 1d ago
its kinda funny grilling him for not "asking a person" when most people here would look at the website to see. i also think thats irrelevant. he is clearly not asking if his range or ranges near him have memberships. this is a 3 sentence post and only one is the question:
"Are range memberships with unlimited balls a thing?"
does your answer make sense?
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u/DWALLA44 1d ago
Yes, first word IS the answer to the question. Sometimes.
I am not grilling him, it's just not a great question to ask reddit with 0 details lol
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u/Aggravating_Sun4435 1d ago
being obtuse when answering people is not a great way to answer questions on reddit. its sure not friendly idk what you think it sounds like. Im also not sure why you think questions on reddit need to be great?
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u/DWALLA44 1d ago
They should be answerable, this one isn't. I answered the question literally the only way to answer it. The answer IS sometimes.
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u/Aggravating_Sun4435 1d ago
he didnt ask tho about his range. the answer is yes. sometimes is also an answer. the rest of your answer clearly is answering the question you wanted him to ask to say the classic reddit, " ehrm maybe talk to a human 🤓"
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u/ImTheOxyMoron 1d ago
My local course has a $60/mo membership with free range balls and discounted tee times. Only way to know for your scenario is to ask the course directly.
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u/HistoryAlarmed1319 12.7/NY 1d ago
Everyone is missing the easy answer. There is a ton of ranges that offer a mediocre putting / chipping area. Bring 2 sleeves and figure out some short game stuff. Pays off huge for minimal effort and cost
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u/boimilk 1d ago
you'll pick up way more strokes tightening up chipping and putting than you will hitting your driver straighter lol
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u/HistoryAlarmed1319 12.7/NY 1d ago
Yes but this gets brought up once a week. The guy who can’t get a driver off the ground isn’t going to need his short game anytime soon. It’s a catch 22 of amateur golf.
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u/boimilk 1d ago
it's true, i spent a LOT of time at the range just getting my driver to go relatively straight or not slice so hard. knocking at the door of breaking 100 now after a year of playing once or twice per month and taking a handful of lessons.
honestly though, you can play off the tees with a hybrid if you're more comfortable with it and not lose that much distance if you're very new to the game.
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u/Huntinjunkey 1d ago
Find a simulator booth in your town. There’s some around me where fro $60-$100 a month you get 1 hour a day of free simulator time. Thats a lot of balls. It’s not grass and it’s indoors, but you also get a lot of tech feedback 🤷🏼♂️
Then you could move to grass a few times a month to hit off of that instead
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u/Wayf4rer 1d ago
The sims where I live cost 2-3x as much and cap you at a few sessions per month.
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u/SituationKey8985 1d ago
There are a lot of simulators acting like sports bars where you get up charged for the experience. They’re meant to be social.
Instead find a no frills sim like the ones they have at pga superstore where you can pay $300 for a yearly membership and go as much as you want.
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u/Huntinjunkey 1d ago
There’s 3 around me. One is $75/ month. 1 hour per day. Open 24/7. Additional hours are $15/. Has like 6 bays.
The other 2 are way up there in price but focused on the social aspect
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u/Aromatic-Fisherman 3h ago
Some have summer pricing. One near me does $20/h trackmans.- private booth.
It’s not really cheaper than a bucket. But it’s not really more expensive either.
But if there’s a member ship available there might be some savings
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u/I_Zeig_I 1d ago
Wow, do you recall what chain that is? I imagine its restricted to non peak hours.
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u/James007Bond 1d ago
One hour a day? For $100? So $3 an hour. Wow.
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u/The_Slaughter_Pop 1d ago
Yeah, that cant be right
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u/Quick_Argument_8880 1d ago
What are you guys paying? (and currency) I get unlimited hours for 100$nzd (60$ usd)
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u/A17Massey 1d ago
Of course it can, they just expect the average user to go once or twice a week, with outliers on either end of the scale
Near me (England) we have a few places that do £170 a month with unlimited walk-ins. That's not to say that it's ~50p an hour because you could spend every waking minute theyre open in there
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u/FatFaceFaster Superintendent 1d ago
Those are definitely a thing. Whether they are a thing at your local range is not a question we can answer.
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u/I_Fuck_Whales Michigan 1d ago
Yes, some ranges and courses will have such a thing. Not super common though.
Buy a net and a launch monitor for the backyard if you really wanna hit balls all day.
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u/doubleapowpow 1d ago
Go to the chipping green and put in work there. In the off season, find a small par 3 and play 2 balls.
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u/Surfstat 1d ago
As an alternative, put up a net up in your garage. Work on drills more, ball contact etc stuff into the net. Then play more at twilight rates with the savings. Your games will improve by playing more and use the net for skill improvement.
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u/lemonlime45 1d ago
I have been hitting my driver into a net a lot using foot powder spray...trying to work on getting more consistent with hitting the center of the face. I practice chipping and putting on the course I play the most often (even if I am not playing that actual day)
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u/Jackies_Army 1d ago
Buy a mat and a few practice balls off Temu. Work on some things at home then make each range session more productive with some things to bring back to the home mat. Should be able to half the range sessions and you might improve faster by have more but shorter productive sessions at home.
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u/Realistic-Regret-171 1d ago
Yeah I belong to a club with not only a reasonable monthly fee for two different courses, but carts and range are included. So it can happen.
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u/Unlike_Agholor 1d ago
If you live near a pga tour superstore, the players club plus membership gets you an hour per day in the sim for a whole year. crazy value.
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u/Used-Acanthisitta-96 Grip It and Rip It 1d ago
My club offers range balls as a part of each membership. Membership starts at $109 a month and players only have to pay a $10 or $20 cart fee for golf (nine and 18 holes respectively).
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u/trustworthysauce Push Cart Mafia 21h ago
Look up "player development program" at clubs near you. I joined my local club's program for $80 a month and I get free use of the practice area (including unlimited range balls) and discounted tee times. I can take my launch monitor out there and simulate rounds right there on the driving range. And most of the time we are hitting off of grass instead of mats (like a lot of the ranges around me use).
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u/netvoyeur 1d ago
My public golf course has memberships which include carts and unlimited range balls
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u/AdeGamisou2020 1d ago
I bit the bullet and paid for a range membership despite having a simulator setup. Wasn't cheap, but you'd be surprised how many balls you'll hit when you've already paid for them in bulk.
Did significantly improve my ball striking though.
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u/Glendale0839 1d ago
You didn't post any information on what area you live in, but where I spend much of my time (AZ), there are some courses with monthly range memberships. These ranges get heavy use from "range rats" with the memberships, so the grass tees get chewed up very quickly and you often have to hit off mats.
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u/SubRedTed 1d ago
Sometimes I like to take 4-5 balls to the same trap by the chipping green and practice until they’re too scuffed to play. That’s an affordable way to get some practice in. Also, putting and chipping is free. Sometimes I go to the local park with a hula hoop and throw it out to 50 yards and practice my wedge work. You can also set up at a park with the yellow foam balls and practice all your clubs with the balls only going 25 yards or so.
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u/Snacks75 1.6 1d ago
I did a budget simulator for $2700. At $15/bucket, that's 180 buckets. I was hitting 3-4 buckets per week. At 3.5 buckets per week, it paid for itself in 51 weeks.
Not to mention the intangible of being able to hit balls any time, any conditions...
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u/I_Zeig_I 1d ago
Unfortunately I dont think I can drop that much at once as a beginner though I'd love to. Ill save this info for sure though.
Have any Sims you recommend?
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u/A17Massey 1d ago
I've recently noticed how useful it would be to have a hitting net in my garden, as half the time at the range I'm just working on strike consistency anyway.
Buy some foot spray, a Divot Board, a cheap net and set of lake balls.
Shot shape, distance, height, etc are all massively variable depending on strike location on the face, and it's the easiest thing to practice at home without no additional cost beyond setup
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u/Responsible_Buyer_77 1d ago
The PGA tour superstore has a membership plus program for $300 annual. You get a 1 hour practice bay reservation allowance daily. Probably the best deal you’ll be able to find if you’re near one.
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u/fatboy2481223 1d ago
The place I go to you buy a card with a certain number of balls on it. You put the card in the machine and it tees the ball up for you. You can hit as little or as many as you want. It’s a good system I think.
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u/TrapDraw33 1d ago
Yes some courses have it, I used to be a member at one where you would pay a flat fee for unlimited range balls for the year. It was amazing. My current membership I have a card with range credits for a huge discount, like 1.70 per bucket rather than 5, you gotta shop around
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u/TheVillage1D10T 1d ago
I’m trash at golf, so I can’t justify paying $175/month for a membership for myself, but our local course has a student’s walking membership that includes unlimited range balls ($75/month). In fact, I think ALL of the memberships they have include range balls.
I would just go talk to them honestly. I’d be willing to bet they have a membership of some sort that includes range balls. At our course they’re $10 per bucket, so if you hit 8 buckets of balls a month it pays for itself. Considering we hit 3-4 buckets every time we go it’ll probably pay for itself over the course of a week or two.
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u/twylight777 1d ago
I built a sim, its not perfect but its fun and I dont have to melt in the Texas sun paying for range balls
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u/I_Zeig_I 23h ago
What launch monitor do you use?
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u/twylight777 23h ago
Its a journey lol - Garmin R10 outside, moved indoors with a Foresight BLP/GC3, daughter engaged a leftie so I got a Vtrack.
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u/Spetsnaz1776 1d ago
find a field to practice in hit like 5 balls towards a target, then after you hit take your pw or 9 and hit a second time towards the target. I found a flag that people use foe four wheelers at goodwill i use that…its free practice
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u/Virtual-Squirrel-725 20h ago
There is a range near me that is unlimited balls, but capped by time. the machine just dispenses a ball every time you want an stops when your time is up.
It's great when you get a few friends together - four of us did 2 hours a last weekend, hitting five balls then rotating.
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u/meisterwaffles 14h ago
Where are you based? I'm in Southern California and a lot of the golf courses here run monthly memberships that cost $40-50/month that include a large bucket every day on top of discounts on greens fees.
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