The top seven things to look for in the ideal practice facility

[Editor’s note: while these tips are for golfers, we believe they are also instructional for course owners and operators to know how to best cater to their clientele.]

When they’re productive, golf practice sessions can be amazingly helpful to your golf game. At a growing number of practice facilities today, that experience can deliver much, much more. With gamified and more efficient technology, better retails and, increasingly, great food and beverage options, many of today’s driving ranges are light years ahead of what they were a decade ago.

Getting better on the range means more than aimlessly slapping range balls until the bucket is empty, but rather thoughtfully hitting shots and taking swings with specific targets, swing functions and session goals in mind. To do that, you need to make sure you’re doing it in the right place for you. What to look for? Here are some tips:

1) A place where you can work on all aspects of your game. Even Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler practice both their long and short games. Every part of your game can use work, despite how great your driving or putting may have been in your last round. Look for a place with a good chipping and putting green. Ideally, you’ll find someplace that’s convenient, quiet and spacious enough to work on your drives right down to your chips and putts in each session. Somewhere to devote more time to your actual session rather than to commuting there and back. Targets are crucial, too. Having good quality targets so you can dial in a variety of yardages will help you use the feedback of seeing the ball land to the proper distance and ultimately make you a more accurate shot maker.

2) Using good-quality balls is paramount. If you’re hitting balls that are water-logged, cut or plain dead, it’s doing you no favors because you won’t get proper feedback on performance or feel. A live ball will travel much differently and more accurately than a dead one. Make sure the balls are blemish-free and fresh.

3) Friendly and knowledgeable staff who can teach good lessons and possibly do club fitting. This may be more important than you imagine. Once you get to know the staff at a golf facility, they may well just watch you hit some balls and offer a tip or two while passing by. But all the while, they will get to know your game, and you will get comfortable talking with them about it. And when it comes time to upgrade the clubs in your bag, you can trust that these same people have your…