Daniel B.
Yelp
One of my friends introduced me to Deer Valley Golf Range. He grew up going to the driving range here. When I saw all the glowing reviews on Yelp, I just knew I had to check this place out. It's too bad Deer Valley isn't closer to my home or my workplace or I'd visit more often. If you want to work on your game or just get out of the house, this is the place to come.
This is a humble, low-key, casual, relaxed, and laid-back golf practice facility (there is no actual golf course). There's nothing fancy about it. There is no dress code and the facility is open year-round, 365 days a year, and is lighted at night. You don't have to interact with any employees. There's a Range Servant (automatic range ball dispensing machine) that accepts cash and credit cards. Here was the range ball pricing during our visit:
* Small basket - 45 balls - $7.00 ($0.16 per ball)
* Medium basket - 75 balls - $10.00 ($0.13 per ball)
* Large basket - 105 balls - $13.00 ($0.12 per ball)
* Jumbo basket - 180 balls - $20.00 ($0.11 per ball)
The range balls are Wilson Staff "Premium Range" balls. The balls we hit were in good condition. The range also offers Wilson Staff demo clubs. I believe you have to interact with a human to get access to one of those. :)
One thing that I think is great about Deer Valley is they have free clubs for you to borrow and use at the range. They have men's and ladies' clubs, left and right-handed clubs, and even kids clubs. There are plenty of clubs to choose from. Not surprisingly, the selection isn't the greatest quality (admittedly, some are bottom of the barrel), but for "free," you really can't complain. I think offering these free clubs to borrow is a fantastic way to get someone into the game of golf because sometimes just the cost of renting or buying clubs can be a deterrent for potential new golfers.
The driving range is nestled along the Chattahoochee River. A row of mat hitting stations faces north and a row of Bermuda grass hitting stations faces south, so there are actually two ranges which means there are plenty of spots to hit. I'm not sure if they switch up the mat/grass hitting arrangement between the north and south range, but I suspect that they might to keep the grass in good shape year-round. The parking lot, range ball machine, restrooms, cold drinks, and a training/demo shack are in between.
There are up to 9 different flags/yardages. The ranges have multiple club cleaning buckets with brushes and towels. I prefer to hit off grass because it's the real thing, but it's good that Deer Valley gives you the option. Mats are more forgiving, but less realistic. During our visit, a lot of the grass on the driving range had been used up pretty good, but I was able to find enough patches of grass to satisfactorily hit all of my balls with no issues.
We used the practice bunker and practice putting green too. There's a practice chipping area as well, but we didn't get around to using it. Obviously, you can work on all aspects of your game here. The practice bunker was in OK shape. There was a good amount of sand in the bunker and the sand was fluffy enough. What I like about Deer Valley's practice bunker is there's a deep end and a shallow end so you can practice a variety of bunker shots. There are also little flags around the bunker that you can aim at to make your bunker practice session more productive. Remember to rake the bunker when you're finished!
The practice putting green is fairly spacious and is roughly the same size as the practice putting greens you might find at an actual course. It's made of TifEagle ultra dwarf Bermuda grass. It was in great shape when we putted around on it. The green is fairly flat for the most part, but there are undulations here and there to help you practice how to read greens and how to play speed putts.
Another thing that I think is neat about Deer Valley Golf Range is, like the game of golf which is a game of honor and integrity, the business expects you to conduct yourself the same way as a customer as you would on the golf course. Cases in point: Cold drinks (sports drinks, water, soda, etc.) and candy bars are available self-serve in a fridge near the range ball machine. To pay, you just put cash into the open cash tray inside the fridge (exact change). If you pay for range balls using cash, exact change is required. If you don't have exact change, there's envelope with change that you can use. Tees are free. All this is on top of the aforementioned free clubs that you can borrow. It's nice for a business to operate like this in this day and age. And if you decide to steal something, well, there are a lot of security cameras around.
Refreshments are affordably priced. Examples: $1 for a bottle of Dasani water or a can of Dr. Pepper, $2 for Gatorade, Powerade, or vitaminwater, and $2 for a Snickers bar. I like how they don't price gouge you.
I've already been back and look forward to returning again.