Providence, R.I. - Practices facilities are becoming an increasingly popular aspect of golf, and golfers expect them to be more than the bare minimum of a driving range. Practices facilities are expected to serve all aspects of the game, allowing golfers to be able to use every club in their bags, according to David Oatis, regional director of the U.S. Golf Association. Oatis spoke about the topic at the eighth annual New England Regional Turfgrass Conference & Show in Providence, R.I., March 7-10.
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Oatis recommends golf course superintendents think big if they are proposing a new practice facility or renovating an existing one. He says to develop a plan, review the plan and shoot for one or two acres of usable teeing area.
“It’s not possible to build a practice range that’s too big,” he says.
Multiple tiers are needed sometimes because of severe topography, but they should be avoided if possible, and elevated tees are a waste of potentially usable area, he says.
When building a practice facility, consider these:
· Adequate teeing area
· Proper orientation
· Good traffic
· Proper irrigation
· Target greens
· Fake bunkers
· Open it on a limited basis the first year
· Purchase more golf balls
· Have limited ball retrieval
· Teach golfers to spread out divots
· Use perennial ryegrass
· Adequate staffing
· No maintenance during play.
Improvements of practice facilities, much like green speed, bunker consistency and other changes on the golf course, are being driven by golfers’ expectations; and it’s up to owners and superintendents to deliver a product that, sometimes, is more than just 18 holes of golf.
