Everytime I go to the driving range, I can’t help but look up and down the bays to observe other people’s swings. You might see one person out of 20 who hits it ok, the rest are just hacking away.

Case in point….just recently I was at sandy. Saw this 50 yr old bloke. Severely over weight, sweating like a pig. First shot shank, 2nd duck hook, 3rd a crass cutter, 4th went straight, 5th hit fat, 6th shank…etc etc. It was a car accident. In the bay next to him was his son. About 9 or 10 yrs old. He was using a cross handed baseball grip. Left hand at the bottom of the grip, right hand at the top…swinging away wildly. Hardly making contact on any shot. Spinning around almost falling off his feet. It made me wonder what advice dad has given him if any.

In the bay next to them was a young asian girl. She took about 3 mins to get into her setup which was actually not too bad. But when she swung, it was done in slow motion. She’d be shut going back, laid off at the top and then hit 50% of her shots fat. Her 3 wood was going about 140 metres.

Two bays down was an young guy. Obviously came straight from office during his lunch break. Rolled up his business shirt sleeves. Tie still on. Big bucket of balls, swinging very hard…he’d finish every shot with feet together standing towards the target. Grunting and groaning with every hit…shots going all over the place….clearly he wasn’t there to practice.

All of this is quite horrible to watch, but at the same time hard to avoid. There are moments where I wish I could offer some advice but part of me feels like I should leave people alone. It certainly does make you realise what a difficult task teaching pro’s have.

yeah you can’t help but sorry for them and want to help with some advice. but they will probably tell you to mind your own business if you offer to help.

the worst thing i find with the range is people not aiming at a target. how do you know if the ball is going where you want? lol

just concentrate on hitting it good yourself :)

Its always nice to get a crowd around you watching you hit!

lol

just much sure you dont stand next to anyone with a Mizuno
MX-560. You will need earplugs.

danz you are absolutely right
the range is truely a potpourri of varied swings
mostly bad some good

but i will go with style’s
mind your own business and
like he said: “just concentrate on hitting it good yourself :)”

I will really take notice if a fella next to me is continually shanking his shots and scrapping pass me….
that i’ll ve to take cover

i think People (at the range) who need help will ask for your advice,
there’s always a pro there to help anyways !

Yeah but then there’s the lean guy who’s about 1.7m tall and 65kg and he’ll be hitting 200m 3irons off the mat…..effortlessly. And then he pulls out his driver and hits the fence 300m away. Makes you want to find a hole and crawl in it.

i find the most annoying thing is a group admiring their friends 250m slice. i get tempted to have a go at them, but in the end i just smile, forget about and keep practicing.

You should stand next to my friend, he’s left handed and when we drives i can hear his club go past the back of my head! he stands very upright has a wild backswing, but it gets the job done.

hacker
it’s the swing that counts
not the size (of gender) of the person (in general)
i have learnt to accept it and live with it, mate.

btw Seven are you age 7 or handicap 7 or both ..jus curious,
u dont have to answer if you dont wanna :)
you are absolutely right about the lefty next to a righty swinging at full speed
as i m a lefty lol
just too dangerous man

hacker, you’re right about finding a hole when you’re standing next to a big hitter, but the thing i try to remember is big hits doesnt mean he’s any better than you are.

kyc, i wish i discovered this game at the age of 7, it would of made it alot easier. As for a handicap of 7, i can only dream. seven is mainly cause thats my favourite club, i never miss with a 7 iron for some reason, too bad i cant say that about all of my clubs.

Cheers 7
ha yes, my fav club is either the 6 or 8 irons (could have been the 7) but just like even no.s lol

guys guys
if the guy next to me hits it 300m..regardless of direction
and
If I can FLUSH it ~ 230-240m Straight on the Sweet Spot… CONSISTENTLY
I will proudly stand tall next to him mate
there is NO shame in ths GAme

there’s where maturity outshines ego !

Hey Tim, reckon you could have a few tales on this topic!? (or does professionalism prevent you blabbing!)

have been down at The Range when it has not even been safe to stand in the doorway – about 6-7 meters behind the bays!

Worst I have seen is a young asian lady trying to hit balls wearing large stiletto heels.

PT

When I started playing golf I hit nothing but worm burning slices – and got hooked.

It is not for us to question what possible satisfaction people might be getting out of their time at the range… maybe they never go near golf course and never want to, but just enjoy crudely bludgeoning the little buggers for $5 a throw.

Hate to think what a well conditioned touring pro would be thinking if he saw me practising…

1. Range is where you make silly mistakes and learn from them
so it’s OK to Hack :)

2. Bet the range pros fre not complaining becos 90% of the folks there (that pay the $$ to practise) are hacking away ….
no hackers no dough
thats the reality

so bottomline is:
‘just concentrate on hitting it good yourself’ (courtesy of styles)

the big hitters and small hackers are there for a reason

Everytime I go to the driving range, I can’t help but look up and down the bays to observe other people’s swings. You might see one person out of 20 who hits it ok, the rest are just hacking away.

Case in point….just recently I was at sandy. Saw this 50 yr old bloke. Severely over weight, sweating like a pig. First shot shank, 2nd duck hook, 3rd a crass cutter, 4th went straight, 5th hit fat, 6th shank…etc etc. It was a car accident. In the bay next to him was his son. About 9 or 10 yrs old. He was using a cross handed baseball grip. Left hand at the bottom of the grip, right hand at the top…swinging away wildly. Hardly making contact on any shot. Spinning around almost falling off his feet. It made me wonder what advice dad has given him if any.

In the bay next to them was a young asian girl. She took about 3 mins to get into her setup which was actually not too bad. But when she swung, it was done in slow motion. She’d be shut going back, laid off at the top and then hit 50% of her shots fat. Her 3 wood was going about 140 metres.

Two bays down was an young guy. Obviously came straight from office during his lunch break. Rolled up his business shirt sleeves. Tie still on. Big bucket of balls, swinging very hard…he’d finish every shot with feet together standing towards the target. Grunting and groaning with every hit…shots going all over the place….clearly he wasn’t there to practice.

All of this is quite horrible to watch, but at the same time hard to avoid. There are moments where I wish I could offer some advice but part of me feels like I should leave people alone. It certainly does make you realise what a difficult task teaching pro’s have.

Former Top 10 on the PGA Tour ISG Money List.

so you always been a +handicapper at the range?

Yeah but then there’s the lean guy who’s about 1.7m tall and 65kg and he’ll be hitting 200m 3irons off the mat…..effortlessly. And then he pulls out his driver and hits the fence 300m away. Makes you want to find a hole and crawl in it.

In the bag:
Driver: Mizuno MX-500 9.5
Fairway Wood: Titleist 904F 15
Hybrid: Nickent 4DX IW 17
Irons: Hiro Honma CL-708 Professional 3-10
Wedge: Cleveland CG10 56
Putter: Ping G2 Anser
Ball: Titleist DT SoLo

Been watching me ??

Pity about my chipping issues

I see all ages on the range EVERY day where i work and I find it hard to believe how committed OZZIES are!!!!! on a good day in ireland we’re happily on the piss!!!!! :)......members spend say 10 dollars a day hitting a large bucket and if they only took a lesson a fortnight it could only but make a difference to their game…....
but they’re all minted and probably just happy to be away from the misses

sometimes it just takes 1 shot to make yur day
and u’r back the following 2 weeks looking for that same shot
that’s what keeps people coming back to the range

what about the guys that start slowing down when they get towards the end of the bucket…and when they get one out of the middle with four balls left, have a quick look around then throw the last few out on the grass lol!

I call them members of the “Must finish on a good one” club!!

hahahaha

Everytime I go to the driving range, I can’t help but look up and down the bays to observe other people’s swings. You might see one person out of 20 who hits it ok, the rest are just hacking away.

Case in point….just recently I was at sandy. Saw this 50 yr old bloke. Severely over weight, sweating like a pig. First shot shank, 2nd duck hook, 3rd a crass cutter, 4th went straight, 5th hit fat, 6th shank…etc etc. It was a car accident. In the bay next to him was his son. About 9 or 10 yrs old. He was using a cross handed baseball grip. Left hand at the bottom of the grip, right hand at the top…swinging away wildly. Hardly making contact on any shot. Spinning around almost falling off his feet. It made me wonder what advice dad has given him if any.

In the bay next to them was a young asian girl. She took about 3 mins to get into her setup which was actually not too bad. But when she swung, it was done in slow motion. She’d be shut going back, laid off at the top and then hit 50% of her shots fat. Her 3 wood was going about 140 metres.

Two bays down was an young guy. Obviously came straight from office during his lunch break. Rolled up his business shirt sleeves. Tie still on. Big bucket of balls, swinging very hard…he’d finish every shot with feet together standing towards the target. Grunting and groaning with every hit…shots going all over the place….clearly he wasn’t there to practice.

All of this is quite horrible to watch, but at the same time hard to avoid. There are moments where I wish I could offer some advice but part of me feels like I should leave people alone. It certainly does make you realise what a difficult task teaching pro’s have.

Former Top 10 on the PGA Tour ISG Money List.

I can think of many better places to “people watch” then a driving range. I recommend the local public beach or high traffic tourist trap. Scenery will probably be better too. :-P

You definitely get both extremes at the driving range I go to – but a lot of the “hackers” are just there to pound the ball every which way. Probably best to just ignore them or amuse yourself by imagining where their ball would end up on a golf course.

Scariest thing I’ve seen in a little girl (couldn’t be more than 5 years old) hitting the ball consistently around the 100 meter mark – and around the same spot. Her preshot routine was awesome. Only saw her take three shots and they were on the money!!! She’s probably been playing for 5 years! ;-)

but a lot of the “hackers” are just there to pound the ball every which way.

I’m sure lot of them want to hit the perfect shot….and in their own mind they think they can. Because after every shot gone wrong, they stare down at the matt, shake their head in disbelief and mumble some obscenity.

Ahhh the range. All these stories are makin me itchy. Think I’ll go hit a bucket at Sandringham or MGA today.

Albert park driving range is an awesome perve. Must be a guys fantasy to get it on with a hottie that can hit a ball. xxx

Went to the range today
being a long weekend the only HAcker therewas me :)