Ranking the ranges

Sports Illustrated senior writer John Garrity was a 42-year-old 8 handicapper when he suddenly lost his swing. Since December 1989 he has been looking for it -- a modern-day Odysseus adrift on the troubled waters of swing theory. As Garrity travels the world reporting on golf, he visits as many driving ranges as he can, avoiding the dreaded "mats only" ranges that prevent him from teeing it up.

Tuesday, Dec. 18

DALLAS -- My final round of the year, a delightful 18 holes with PGA Tour veteran Joel Edwards at the TPC at Las Colinas, ended in storybook fashion -- at dusk, with a birdie on the 18th hole. My storybook is weird, of course. Playing from the championship tee, I hit a terrible drive, a snap hook that left me behind a line of trees. My second shot was a nice 6-iron over the trees that reached a grassy swale in front of the green. I then conjured up a perfect pitch from about 30 yards that rolled right into the hole. "I know some pros who would like that finish at the Byron Nelson," said Edwards, who got up and down from a bunker for a mere par. He added, "I know some pros who would like to finish at the Byron Nelson." (Joel has never made the cut in 12 tries at his hometown venue, proving that aging sportswriters are not the only golfers with bad wiring between the ears.)

My last range session of 2001 was less delightful. It had rained heavily for two days, so the TPC's grass practice tees were too soupy for use. "I'm afraid you'll have to hit off mats today," a bag boy told me when I arrived. I assured him this was no problem. (After he had helped me up, dusted me off, and handed me a tissue to dry my tears.) But it was a problem. Hitting from heavy green mats on a concrete walkway aligned 45 degrees left of the target field, I quickly lost my bearings and hit a series of miserable skulls and fat shots. Edwards, when he arrived, took one look at the mats and decided to forego a warm-up. "I won't hit off those things," he said. "They make my wrists ache."

Fortunately, the year produced more ranges that pleased than ranges that teased. Without further ado, here are my 10 favorite practice ranges of 2001:

1) Hallbrook Country Club, Leawood, Kan. Architect Tom Fazio recently upgraded the range at this posh private club, and now many of the members prefer practicing to playing. The range is double-ended and plays uphill from the clubhouse side or downhill from the west. Either tee provides wonderful turf and an array of natural-looking target greens. There is also a superb short-game practice area at the west end. This range is so good that I wish I had remembered to become a millionaire so I could join the club.

2) Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif. The clubhouse end of this sun-drenched oasis is nice enough -- it's where the women touring pros practice during the Nabisco Championships -- but the lesson tee at the Learning Center, at the other end, is even better. Great turf, good target greens, a beautiful short-game area, and mountain views, too.

3) College Golf Center, Palm Desert, Calif. Can't afford Mission Hills? Drive down the Valley to this lighted commercial range, which is first-class in every respect. Good balls, good lights, excellent grass tees, well-maintained mats, and a resort-quality target field. And if the weather turns unexpectedly warm in July -- say, 121 degrees -- nozzles at covered tee stations provide a cooling mist.

4) Formby Golf Centre, Formby, England. This little cutie, tucked between hedgerows and farmland a few miles outside Liverpool, has a steel canopy that is mostly rust and targets that look as if they were bought at a liquidation sale. All it has going for it is charm. The golf shop, in a quaint house, combines the ambience of a tea room with that of a candy store, and the place rings with the laughter of school children and funny old men smacking drivers off rubber tees.

5) University Golf Course, Gainesville, Fla. "How many places have Pro V1s for range balls?" asks University of Florida golfer Ari Savolainen. Not many, I suppose, but architect Bobby Weed's redesign of the Gators' old layout included a state-of-the-art practice facility. The team end of the range now resembles a short-game laboratory with sand bunkers, mounds, gnarly rough areas, shaved chipping areas, and a bentgrass putting green. The target field, formerly as featureless as a parking lot, now entices the player with contoured greens in a grassy basin.

6) Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. You don't have to spot Ryder Cupper Thomas Bjorn practicing at this waterfront sparkler to tell that it's the best public range in the Middle East. The mats are fine, the grass tees are even better, and the field is enclosed by grassy mounds and palm trees. The range even has its own clubhouse/golf academy, complete with bar and patio restaurant.

7) Silvermere Golf Club, Surrey, England. This bustling complex in the leafy suburbs of London offers one of the best covered, lighted, mats-only ranges in Europe. The targets include a hanging bell at 140 yards, a bunch of Mizuno billboards, and a giant Nick Faldo cutout. (The mats are excellent. You can work the ball without damaging your wrists and elbows.)

8) TPC of Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The public end of this highly regarded range is spacious and well-groomed, and it's fun to hit balls where the pros practice during the Players Championship. But it's the practice green that puts this facility in everybody's top 10. You can actually practice that flop shot from a tight lie to a close pin over a yawning bunker -- which is a good idea, if you plan to play the TPC's Stadium Course.

9) Knollwood Golf Club, Southern Pines, N.C. A little 9-hole public course is easy to overlook in the golf-rich sand hills of North Carolina, but modest Knollwood has a spacious, grass-only range and a terrific practice green where you can work on bunker shots, chips, and 50-yard pitches. The turf quality is amazing -- as good as that found at the nearby resorts.

10) Braywick Golf Range, Maidenhead, England. Ignore the shabby golf hut at the edge of the potholed parking lot. Pay no attention to the Heinz-57 ball collection or the swaybacked, shredded mats. Just walk past the big tree, empty your pail of balls on the grass, and start hitting. Maidenhead is the minimalist's dream: a hedged-in park with nothing to aim at but nature in the form of towering elms and oaks.

That's my list. Next week I'll look at the worst ranges I visited in 2001, with special opprobrium for those that provided little bang for the buck.

Watch this space for another installment of Mats Only. To send John Garrity advice, share your experiences, or suggest a driving range, click here.

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