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From one paradise to another Posted: Friday January 11, 2002 12:23 PM
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. Wednesday, Jan. 9 HONOLULU, Hawaii -- I drove to the Ala Wai driving range yesterday afternoon, expecting to see a construction site. The last time I was in Hawaii, politicians and developers had put the busy range and an adjoining municipal golf course in their crosshairs. It was supposedly a matter of months before golf gave way to shopping centers and high rises. Surprise. All 41 tee stations at Ala Wai were occupied, with customers patiently waiting to take their turns. Birds were chirping, cell phones were beeping. The putting green was busy, too, with serious golfers practicing 3-footers and not-so-serious golfers putting through the legs of laughing children. Teaching pro Frank Sanchez was collecting empty ball baskets with a little hook attached to a golf shaft. He gave me the good news about the redevelopment project. "It's not going to happen, my friend," he said. "It was just politics. Powerful people throwing their weight around." "But I thought ..." He shook his head. "It will never happen. The people won't let it happen." I was very pleased to hear this. Ala Wai is a mats-only range. The target field may look like a plowed-up tract of lava rock, but the place has world-class ambiance. You hit toward mountain rainbows. Behind you, kayakers and scullers dip their oars in the Ala Wai canal. It's a short walk to the beach at Waikiki, where surfers glide in on waves as mild as kittens. Did I mention the view of Diamond Head? But enough about my range. Let's talk about your range. "Perhaps the best range in the world is at the Orange County National Golf Center in Orlando," writes Adam Z. of Philadelphia. "This meticulously maintained, all-grass behemoth covers about 42 acres, with tees located a full 360 degrees around the perimeter. There are at least a half-dozen targets within the circle, and it has 36 holes of four-and-a-half-star golf (in case you decide to actually test the skills you worked so diligently to refine)." Dave Andereck of Dublin, Ohio, thinks just as highly of Ables Golf in Hilliard, Ohio. "It has a huge grass teeing area that is very well maintained, a pitching green with multiple pin locations, a decent-sized bunker, and a number of heated stalls with good mats for inclement weather. There are several excellent instructors on staff, including J.R. Ables, one of the best in the state, and Michele Thompson, a former LPGA touring pro. A really first-rate facility." An e-mail from Jun Borromeo of the Philippines stirs my explorer's blood: "You have to try the typical public driving ranges we have here in Manila," Borromeo writes. "No mats, just plain earth, although the golfers are separated by waist-high fencing. A 'bucket,' which costs about 50 cents, is really a wooden box with about 50 balls in it. Tee boys and tee girls tee up the ball for you, using a pinch of earth. (They consider a dollar per hour quite generous pay.) The kids aren't insured, and the clubhead whooshes dangerously close to them as they squat in front of you." Speaking of travel, Robert Leigh of Incline Village, Nev., recently spent a week on the Gulf Coast of Texas and loved the grass-only practice facility at South Padre Island Golf Club. "What I liked most was the trade winds," he says. "It blew so hard almost every day that I had the chance to practice tons of knock-down shots, high shots with the wind, hooks into severe left-to-right wind and slices into right-to-left wind." For some reason, Leigh fails to mention the shot I mastered in a recent round at the Plantation Course on Maui -- the push-slice into a headwind. (But then, it's not a shot that requires much practice.) More best-range nominations:
Kurt Walter of Westlake Village, Calif., interrupts this torrent of praise to damn a driving range in Carpinteria, Calif, about 10 miles south of Santa Barbara. "They could have filmed Tin Cup at this place," he writes. "The Pacific Ocean is a drive and 3-wood away, but the range is a bare-bones affair." David McCullough, writing from Indonesia, nominates the PGA Driving Range in Jakarta for both the best and worst categories. "Where else can you watch models and actresses try to hit shots wearing high heels and miniskirts?" he asks. "That alone is worth the Rp 24,000 ($2.29) for a bucket of balls. And after you hit a few, the massage girls will, for a nominal fee, provide just about any service desired." Alas, this paradise has its down side. "The service is terrible, and the owner, a local Chinese, seems determined to find every way to squeeze an additional rupiah profit." McCullough sums up: "You are hitting off mats, but for pure sexist entertainment it can't be beat." Finally, here's an upbeat report from Greg Wong of Milwaukee. "While on a recent trip to Thailand," he writes, "I stumbled onto the best driving range in the universe. It's right in the heart of Bangkok on Sukhumvit Soi 18 (Alley Number 18). There's no sign, no clue, and even the local cab drivers want to turn around, insisting that nothing could be down such a small, dark alley. But it dead ends into driving-range paradise. Run by a lovely Chinese-Thai woman named Kaew, the range is a secret spot for expats and Thai golf pros. Nestled between construction projects that were abandoned during the Asian financial crisis, the range features a respectable 220-yard depth; incredible, freshly cooked Thai food served at your bay for about a buck; and teaching pros who were educated at PGA West and give personal, 75-minute lessons for $10 (U.S.). "Best of all, Ms. Kaew helped me live out my driving-range fantasy. After a few days of pestering, she let me crank up the tractor that pushes the ball collector. I got to drive about the range, sweeping up balls, while my buddies teed up and tried to bean the cage I was sitting in. I made one drive-by sweep at only 50 yards, laughing in the clattering cage and saluting them with an appropriate gesture." Great story, Greg. Your range fantasy is now my range fantasy, and I won't be satisfied until I find that alley in Bangkok and walk down it toward the golden glow. By the way, is Bangkok close to Jakarta?
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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