What Do You Need To Know In Owning A Driving Range?

Operating a driving range can be fun, time-consuming and be a profitable small business. Golf ranges are popular small businesses because the labor and overhead costs to operate are modest at best.  As the population of golfers continues to grow at a rapid pace, there is a need for more practice facilities.  A driving range is an area where golfers  can practice their golf swings.  When enough time for a full round of golf is not possible, it can become a physical activity for working out.  Working out at a driving range is one of the best ways to improve your golf swing mechanics, with or without the guidance and advice of a certified licensed golf professional.

Many golf courses do have a driving range attached to them or they can be found as stand-alone facilities. A driving range needs to be at least 400 yards long. It equals two acres of land or more, to accommodate sufficient numbers of golfers to make the facility profitable. The location needs to be chosen carefully. Your location needs to be in an area where sufficient population lives to support your facility. Visibility is another important concern. Your signage will be an important draw. A golf practice facility must be visible from busy streets or major highways, versus one that is hidden away.  Make sure the area you choose will allow you to have lights on the facility at night. A key advantage driving ranges have over the public and private golf courses is that they don’t close when the sun goes down.

Building a golf driving range can be as simple as buying a parcel of land and putting mats down to hit golf balls, or as difficult as building a multiplex hitting stations with target greens. Most preferences will be determined by the builder of the driving range, but there are certain basics that are necessary for the construction of any driving range. Therefore start up costs can be modestly low to being  exorbitant in their pricing ranges.  It all depends upon what your public is looking for in terms of being able to hit golf balls, and what finances you have available to service their demands.

Having artificial grass for the players to hit from is less expensive than installing and maintaining real turf grass. However, many golfers prefer the true feel of hitting golf balls off natural grass. Try providing both. Have a small hitting area of the range with real turf, and then a larger area with the artificial surface. Provide an area for short game practice. The best way to do this is to have a separate putting green and a green to hit pitch shots into. If you don’t want to incur that expense, then create slightly elevated areas 25 and 50 yards from the tee areas. Put flagsticks on them to indicate they are target greens.

Don’t skimp on the golf ball quality. The worst feeling is hitting cheap balls that feels like rocks, and there is no air time or distance to gauge how your far your hitting each golf club. Golfers spend a lot of time at the driving range to perfect their golf swings. The flight of the ball tells them whether they are making progress or not. Purchase high quality golf balls for your facility. If your customers feel like they are hitting rock hard golf balls, or the balls are damaged and cut, they won’t come back as repeat customers.

Make it a teaching facility. It’s preferable that your driving range has a certified licensed golf pro with experience that is available to give lessons several days a week. Having this service is another draw for your driving range. Junior golfers are a huge target market for giving golf instructions. Organized group lessons for youngsters after school, or during summer vacation is a great place to introduce the game of golf. For new beginners for both men and women, the driving range is the only place to start learning your golf swing mechanics. Spend enough time on the driving range to improve your stance, posture, grip and swing without having to worry about holding other golfers up from their own games. The driving range can also be a more relaxed atmosphere, taking away some of the competitive edge that you might find out on the golf course. Keep the food service simple. Consider just renting from vendor services, who offers snack items and soft drinks out of a vending machine.

For those builders who have the credit and finances, and are being supported as a commercial investment. You will need to do the following before you have a fully functional driving facility. I’m not considering the cost of supplies such as balls, flags, markers, mats, nets, etc.  The National Golf Foundation has publications and resources to help you design your driving range for maximum player enjoyment. The following is just an estimated construction costs of the foundation you will need on your site.

• The cost of at least two acres of land. (30k)
• Have the land zoned. Have the land zoned for commercial use and the development of a golf range. (10k)
• Union labor costs for leveling the land and getting rid of rocks. (It includes rental of a bulldozer.)(25k)
• Building a single level 40-50 bay driving range.(15k)
• Lighting (set up and construction every 50-100 feet.)(10k)
• Set up a parking lot of about 150 spaces.(60-70K).
• Build a pro shop that is convenient for golfers with a comfortable atmosphere.(75k-100k)
• Maintenance. Putting new turf in and laying the grass seeds.(10k)
• Balls are retrieved by a specialty cart with a brush and roller attachment that automatically picks up balls and a cage that protects the driver from incoming balls.(40K)
• Mowers,etc (15k)
• Other sports-related practice areas such as batting cages or miniature golf, for entertainment. Some driving ranges also offer areas for practice chip shots, bunker shots, and putting.(not part of this estimated cost examples)

As you can see having a driving range depends upon each individual owner, and what you can afford to do for the public your serving. It can very from a couple of thousand dollars to well over $300k+.  With the economy the way it’s today, owning your own small business is the only way to get ahead. Many entrepreneurs have taken great pride in investing and operating their own businesses to seek out that freedom and security of not having to rely on others for their livelihood. Getting into the golf industry is very profitable in the sense that people are looking to get into a hobby that will take their attention away from the every day grind of having to survive.

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