The new Owners of Eagleview Golf Range in South Surrey have upgraded their facility, and it is brilliant.
I have a long, personal history with this facility dating back to when it was known as Peace Arch Driving Range. It was part of a small circuit of ranges and Par 3 courses in the area that kept me busy as I discovered golf as a kid. I recall my Dad taking me here with one of his friends and his friend was driving it over the back fence – I was gobsmacked. The power this man had to drive the ball so far was astonishing as I “binked” my 5-wood out to the 125 yard marker.
"Hey Kid, Get On Board!!"
Not long ago, the range had closed for what seemed like a year or two, and when I noticed it open again I popped in right away. The new owners had hot dogs and pop free for the public, and there was a great turn-out from their family and friends to support their new business. As I grabbed a bucket and took to my stall I noticed several young kids just watching on with their parents. I went straight for the driver with the intention to impress!! I caught a few that were decent enough to make a nice loud noice and travel a fair distance and in return, I got what I was looking for; “Oohhhh!!! Did you see that, Mom!!” After I knew I had their attention I made a subtle comment that I was about their child’s age when I began coming to the driving range. My top secret intention of course was to hopefully get these kids to the range more often. “Get the bug kid, you won’t regret it!”.
As I prayed my ligaments and joints would hold up since i’d skipped a proper warm-up, I overheard someone say the owners were going to invest in a putting green on the side of the range for the public to use. I looked around and saw brand new mats, new paint, pavement, range carts, netting, and more and thought, yes, these folks are definitely creating something special here and perhaps a golf green is in the cards.
3000 Square Foot Practice Green
My next visit in I introduced myself to one of the owners and the rest is history. I created a design that met their criteria, was awarded the contract and began work on the project shortly thereafter. Below are simple progress pics resulting in a fully functional, 3000 square foot. 9 hole, putting and chipping green.
The beauty of this space is the ability to transition from one kind of practice to the next on a durable surface. There are straight puts, slight breakers and one or two “benders”. It should give the golfer a little bit of everything.
The owners encourage all who come to hang out as long as they wish – they are even installing a cappuccino machine so that their patrons can relax into the practice session!
Beyond that, there is a first class roof to hit from and a lounge area inside as well.
Well Done!!
Target Greens at the 25
The Owners agreed that a few targets might help the visual out on the driving range. Since the practice green allows chipping in lessons only (mostly to avoid chaos) they proposed we create some targets at the 25 yard markers (3 to be exact). This would be a perfect solution for those that would have otherwise liked to have chipped on the practice green.
I designed the targets with a band of fringe surrounding my SureSpyn Target Green Material. This particular system is designed to catch shots from over 150 yards away. I invested much time coming up with a defined contrast in colour and pile height – I think these products complement each other well while showing the golfer a definite target to shoot for.
The brilliance of this distance of target is that it is quite addictive. I installed cups and pins in each. Hitting the green is a challenge given its 7 foot diameter, but you can do it. And, beyond that, it isn’t impossible to try and dunk one right in the cup. I unloaded 60 balls in about 4 minutes during my test period after they were completed. The next day there were hundreds of balls unloaded around each of the targets.
The targets achieved 3 things for the new owners:
1. It concentrated the ball dispersion for easy pick up
2. It increased ball sales as patrons found it easier to unload 60 pitch shots versus driver swings and subsequently came back to the counter to reload.
3. It gave the golfer a strong visual, and a specific target making their experience slightly better.
Thank you to the great group of new owners at Eagleview. As a golfer, I genuinely appreciate all that you are doing to create a positive golf environment. I plan on dialing in the 25 yard shot this winter which has been my nemesis for the last many years!
And, of course, thank you for putting your trust in The Golf Park Company to create something fun and functional and built to endure!