Ranges now driving for dough

EVERY time Ray Barry went out for a Sunday afternoon drive and passed by the green fields adjacent to the Coachman's Inn and opposite the massive TEAM Aer Lingus aircraft hangars, the thought occurred to him that it would be the ideal location for a driving range.

Barry, a member of Howth Golf Club, worked in a bank, at the time, but the thought persisted and tormented him. Eventually, he decided to make a few inquiries. The land was owned by Aer Rianta but, being under a flight path, strict guidelines on development existed. He made his proposals then, gently, persisted.

He no longer works in a bank. Fourteen months ago, his dream was realised when the Fingal Golf Centre became the latest to enrich Dublin's northside, which has seen a 400 per cent increase in driving ranges in little more than a decade. "People told me the driving range market was saturated" he recalls. "I didn't believe it. My own belief is that no more than seven or eight per cent of people who are either members of golf clubs or societies actually use a driving range."

The figure was, and is, purely arbitrary, based on the registered 300,000 players with the GUI and the ILGU and countless others involved in society golf. Yet, it is true that a significant number of active golfers don't visit their local range often enough. It is equally true, however, that existing facilities (vastly improved from the old corrugated iron days) are attracting more and more people. Indeed, Arnold O'Connor, the professional at Elm Green Driving Range in Castleknock, insisted the days after Tiger Woods' win in the US Masters brought unprecedented numbers to the artificial mats.

A similar tale is told in Spawell. Paul Kennedy, one of the pioneers of driving ranges (the Templeogue facility was developed some 32 years ago at the same time as John Jacobs was opening up in Leopardstown), couldn't recall a similar rush to the range in the aftermath of any other tournament. "He's a blessing to everyone involved in golf," says Kennedy.

The number of new driving ranges around the country, however, had increased dramatically, even before Mr Woods' arrival on the scene. Not only had the numbers increased, but the facilities, too, had improved. From Belfast to Cork, and Dublin to Galway.

"I remember scouring golf magazines to get an idea of what a customer's concept of a good driving range was," says Barry. "I also travelled over to Beverley Park, a wonderful 60 bay facility near Wimbledon, to see what people expected. I wrote it all down on a checklist things like location, that it should be clearly visible from a major roadway and that people wouldn't need to drive more than 15 minutes to get there."

Invariably, Sky Sports is available in most lounges nowadays good bays, decent balls and high quality mats are provided, and of course an essential ingredient of any driving range is the availability of tuition.

Indeed, even tuition has moved on. Brendan McDaid, the club professional at Harbour Point, uses the latest top of-the-range video technology the ASTAR which is used by professionals on the European Tour in teaching players. It is computerised to such an extent that the sound of the club hitting the ball activates the camera to record two seconds before the strike and two seconds afterwards. "I can immediately replay a person's swing at a 16th of the speed," says McDaid.

It is important, too, for driving ranges to offer value for money. For instance, one initiative which McDaid launched in Cork was a morning for beginners and high handicappers where they were offered a scone and coffee, group tuition and a basket of 60 balls for £5.

O'Connor, though, makes the point that, apart from greater facilities, an increasing number of golfers are aware of the need for more practice. "You also have the position where a lot of people are not members of clubs, and a lot of clubs don't have adequate practice facilities anyway, which also accounts for the increase in numbers" he says.

"Also, we are now at an interesting time for golf. There was a huge explosion in golf just over a decade ago but, now, we are seeing the people who took up the game then coming to ranges and bringing their children with them, while there has been a huge increase in the number of women playing.

"The bottom line is that, for the price of a pint, a golfer can get good entertainment at a driving range and improve his or her game," says O'Connor.