Short game practice area near 495/pike

[sdedalus23]

As the title suggests, anyone have a good short game practice facility within 20-30 minutes of the 495/pike area? Not only to practice putting, but also up to maybe 50-100 yard shots? Bunkers would be a plus, but not a necessity. Willing to look at either public or private areas depending on cost and distance from the area.

[pingfool]

exit 12 off 495 in easton

[sdedalus23]

exit 12 off 495 in easton

A bit far away, but what is the name of the place?

[jut111]

South borough golf center.

 

Can't remember what cyprian Keyes has for practice area, but nice little par 3 course that you can practice on if quiet.

[sdedalus23]

South borough golf center.

 

Can't remember what cyprian Keyes has for practice area, but nice little par 3 course that you can practice on if quiet.

 

Played the regular course at Cyprian many times, but never the par 3. is it expensive? I know south borough has a member's only area. Is it any good?

[jut111]

Sorry, not sure on either question. I moved to the north shore about 8 years ago and haven't been back to either place. Back then the par 3 course was maybe 10-12 bucks. Used to really enjoy going around a few times after work.

[Sean2]

Depends on traffic, and may be a bit of a stretch for you, but Harmon Golf and Fitness in Rockland, MA. Two practice putting greens, bunkers, a 90 yard pitching range, a nine hole short course with the average hole around 73 yards.

[jdl]

 

Played the regular course at Cyprian many times, but never the par 3. is it expensive? I know south borough has a member's only area. Is it any good?

 

 

Cyprian Par 3 is nice, they keep the conditions up just like the main course, $15/round.

 

The Southboro range short game area is not that great, IMO. Has potential but isn't laid out very well. I think the guys that own that place did it themselves. The putting green is large, slow and has a huge slope that wastes most of the green. There's a tiny chipping green and a practice bunker that has you hitting towards a ravine, so not too conducive to making aggressive swings. And I think the only way to use it is to buy the season membership for $90, no option for a one time use.

[Chef23]

The driving range n Natck has recently been rebuilt and is now called the KOHR golf center. They have putting greens and chipping areas plus an upgraded driving range. I am not sure about a sand trap. I love close by but haven't been up there yet. It is about 20-25 minutes from the intersection of 495 and the pike.

[jdl]

The driving range n Natck has recently been rebuilt and is now called the KOHR golf center. They have putting greens and chipping areas plus an upgraded driving range. I am not sure about a sand trap. I love close by but haven't been up there yet. It is about 20-25 minutes from the intersection of 495 and the pike.

 

I need to check that place out, haven't been there in many years. I never liked their range since you were hitting into such a huge valley which made it tough to get much of a feel for the true distances.

[raynorfan1]

The driving range n Natck has recently been rebuilt and is now called the KOHR golf center. They have putting greens and chipping areas plus an upgraded driving range. I am not sure about a sand trap. I love close by but haven't been up there yet. It is about 20-25 minutes from the intersection of 495 and the pike.

 

I need to check that place out, haven't been there in many years. I never liked their range since you were hitting into such a huge valley which made it tough to get much of a feel for the true distances.

 

Please give a report back if you go.

 

I find it hard to see how that range could be decent - IIRC, it’s short, you’re hitting downhill, the surface is super rocky (which chews up the balls and makes understanding distances impossible).

 

But maybe they fixed it up...

[jdl]

The driving range n Natck has recently been rebuilt and is now called the KOHR golf center. They have putting greens and chipping areas plus an upgraded driving range. I am not sure about a sand trap. I love close by but haven't been up there yet. It is about 20-25 minutes from the intersection of 495 and the pike.

 

I need to check that place out, haven't been there in many years. I never liked their range since you were hitting into such a huge valley which made it tough to get much of a feel for the true distances.

 

Please give a report back if you go.

 

I find it hard to see how that range could be decent - IIRC, it's short, you're hitting downhill, the surface is super rocky (which chews up the balls and makes understanding distances impossible).

 

But maybe they fixed it up...

 

The web site shows $12 for 60 balls, so that's not too appealing right from the start. $20 for a bucket plus access to the chipping area sounds a little better. Or the discount card which gets the price down to $10/bucket. Unfortunately, looks like the only access to grass tees is via monthly/annual membership. If the chipping area is good, I might visit once a month or so, but will probably stick with Southboro for range work.

[DavePelz4]

Used to live in Westford off of 495. Kimball's has a great range, 9 hole par 3 course and when you're done, you can treat yourself to some great ice cream, if you were a good boy.

[sdedalus23]

Depends on traffic, and may be a bit of a stretch for you, but Harmon Golf and Fitness in Rockland, MA. Two practice putting greens, bunkers, a 90 yard pitching range, a nine hole short course with the average hole around 73 yards.

 

Harmon sounds great and I investigated when I lived in boston, but it is a bit too far from where I currently live.

[sdedalus23]

The driving range n Natck has recently been rebuilt and is now called the KOHR golf center. They have putting greens and chipping areas plus an upgraded driving range. I am not sure about a sand trap. I love close by but haven't been up there yet. It is about 20-25 minutes from the intersection of 495 and the pike.

 

I need to check that place out, haven't been there in many years. I never liked their range since you were hitting into such a huge valley which made it tough to get much of a feel for the true distances.

 

Please give a report back if you go.

 

I find it hard to see how that range could be decent - IIRC, it's short, you're hitting downhill, the surface is super rocky (which chews up the balls and makes understanding distances impossible).

 

But maybe they fixed it up...

 

The web site shows $12 for 60 balls, so that's not too appealing right from the start. $20 for a bucket plus access to the chipping area sounds a little better. Or the discount card which gets the price down to $10/bucket. Unfortunately, looks like the only access to grass tees is via monthly/annual membership. If the chipping area is good, I might visit once a month or so, but will probably stick with Southboro for range work.

 

I like southborough for full swing work. Balls aren't great, but it is accessible and cheap. I have also been to highfields: they have a very small chipping area and funky putting green. I do like the putting green at cyprian when it is not too busy. Think I am going to have to try the par 3. The place closest to me in Juniper, and their putting green is maintained in such a way that it is not even worth practicing there. Long and slow.

 

Do any of the private clubs have great practice areas along with being good courses? Might be the way to go. . . I know that Tatnuck (par 3) has a really nice short game practice area and small putting green, but it is a bit too far to make the regular trip (especially through worcester). The private course closest to me is probably Hopkinton, and I haven't heard great things about the course itself.

[DCSerafin]

Getting closer to the 30 minute mark, but some options include blackstone, blissful meadows and sometime this year Green Hill in Worcester is opening it's range.

 

Blackstone: 200.00 gets you the Blackstone card. Unlimited range (grass tees only) plus a few playing perks at restricted times. It can get busy up there and the the range closes at 7 but it has a large putting green open until dark and I heard they could be putting in a bunker. The grass obviously gets pretty beat up but they do a great job rotating. The balls are nice.

 

Blissful is another option and that one is $250 unlimited. They have grass and mats and open year round weather depending. They also have a bunker. The ball selection is aged but still decent.

 

The staff at both places are great.

 

Green Hill in Worcester has a range opening this year (not sure when) and they have two putting greens. Not sure of their fees as of yet. Again some high quality people running it.

 

I mention wachusett cc as well but it outside the 30 minute mark for sure. They have a good size green, a separate large chipping green with bunkers I beleive and a range.

 

Good luck.

[WhosYourCaddy]

Used to live in Westford off of 495. Kimball's has a great range, 9 hole par 3 course and when you're done, you can treat yourself to some great ice cream, if you were a good boy.

 

Haha the best ice cream in the area IMO!

[chippa13]

Used to live in Westford off of 495. Kimball's has a great range, 9 hole par 3 course and when you're done, you can treat yourself to some great ice cream, if you were a good boy.

 

It is a rather nice pitch and putt at Kimball's. And if you're a really good boy you can fire down some sodas at British Beer Company down the road.

[jdl]

I finally had a chance to visit the Kohr golf facility in Natick. Overall it didn't leave a great impression with me, though I confess I've been working on some swing issues so may not have been in the best mood. :( As I noted already, the price/ball is not great, it's $12 for around 60 balls. I didn't count and to their credit the bucket they gave me was overloaded with balls. I forked over the extra $8 to use the practice green since that's really the main reason I'd want to go there. The green is just that, a large putting green that also has some chipping areas. No bunker or anything else. It's very sloped and seemed very fast to me, so judging the chips was challenging. It was also really windy, so that added to the speed. The rough around the green is really, really thick, though I guess that's pretty realistic of many courses I've played this season due to all the early rain we had in the spring. The closely mowed areas around the green were very tight yet soft so also challenging to hit shots for a different reason. Like many practice greens I've seen, IMO there's way too much slope and too few areas that are reasonably flat. It's like everyone who builds these things feels a need to have the most super, extreme green to practice all kinds of shots. Except for maybe just the basics, which most of us need to do. There wasn't any "normal" grass to use that would be similar to a fairway or fringe, at least not the courses I play. They wisely left the grass on the side of the green near the road that runs between the practice green and the hitting bays extra long, I had a few thinned chips that I thought for sure would bounce across but they buried in that deep stuff. I spent around 30 min hitting chips and pitch shots, then putted for a few minutes before going over to hit the bucket of balls at the range.

 

The range itself is a little better than the old one I remember. My memory is hazy but it looks like there may be condos up on the hill where the old tees used to be? There's still an elevation drop, but not as severe as it used to be. Was hitting off mats, no grass tees available for non-members. The mats were a little too soft IMO, easier than normal to hit balls a little fat. They also have thicker grass available on the sides to hit from. The odd thing was the mats were 2 trapezoidal pieces, not rectangles that made alignment feel off the whole time. Maybe I just picked a bad station, they've got 4-5 different "zones" to use, perhaps the others had better aligned stations. Tons of target greens and they give you a yardage book which includes elevation adjustments.

 

I had planned to stop by the Cool Clubs fitting area just to chat with them and get a feel for it but when I started hitting a bunch of sh*nks towards the end of the bucket, I was just not in the mood. Overall I'm not sure I'll be going back, it's an extra 10-15 min drive for me, higher prices without much benefit. Most courses I play have a better practice green to use for putting/chipping. If they had a practice bunker that was as nice as their green, I might be more tempted.

 

Also the parking access is still a leftover oddity, not as bad as previous when you had to ride a cart over, but there's one small lot up near the range, but it can only hold 25 or so cars? The other bigger lot is further away, saw a few guys hiking in from their with their clubs. When I was leaving there were 2-3 cars just hanging out in the upper lot waiting for people to leave.

[jimb6golf]

Kohr facility is pretty nice with real greens and bunkers to hit to from the range. Several different range areas with different style mats (not sure the reason though), and the ones I used give less pounding on you too. They have a dedicated short game area and a putting chipping area too although you pay extra for that. Pretty costly and out of the way for me but I'll go there once in a while while still using the range closer to me much more. Still it's interesting and work a visit.

[crcraig]

Check out Golf Learning Center of New England in Norton (http://golflearningcenter.com/). 30 minutes from 495/Pike, but I think it checks all your boxes. Huge grass teeing area, reasonably flat chipping and putting greens, a bunker, and membership with even more places to practice. It's been a few years since I've been there, but the only downside I recall is that they tended to keep the grass a little long, more like hitting from the first strip of semi-rough. Probably a lot less stressful on the grass that way.

[negolfking]

Check out Golf Learning Center of New England in Norton (http://golflearningcenter.com/). 30 minutes from 495/Pike, but I think it checks all your boxes. Huge grass teeing area, reasonably flat chipping and putting greens, a bunker, and membership with even more places to practice. It's been a few years since I've been there, but the only downside I recall is that they tended to keep the grass a little long, more like hitting from the first strip of semi-rough. Probably a lot less stressful on the grass that way.

Stay away, this place has gone downhill drastically.The chipping green is pretty much gone, either dead or weed covered.

The so called grass tees are very sparse on grass.and the prices are ridiculous.

[1s1k]

Check out Golf Learning Center of New England in Norton (http://golflearningcenter.com/). 30 minutes from 495/Pike, but I think it checks all your boxes. Huge grass teeing area, reasonably flat chipping and putting greens, a bunker, and membership with even more places to practice. It's been a few years since I've been there, but the only downside I recall is that they tended to keep the grass a little long, more like hitting from the first strip of semi-rough. Probably a lot less stressful on the grass that way.

Stay away, this place has gone downhill drastically.The chipping green is pretty much gone, either dead or weed covered.

The so called grass tees are very sparse on grass.and the prices are ridiculous.

 

I agree, place has gone to complete sh*t. The putting green has been closed now for 2 years and completely lost. The balls are either decent to some are almost completely smooth.

 

Unfortunately I don't really have any other options for a grass practice area and when I'm leaving I'm usually shaking my head.

[BostonWRX]

Check out Golf Learning Center of New England in Norton (http://golflearningcenter.com/). 30 minutes from 495/Pike, but I think it checks all your boxes. Huge grass teeing area, reasonably flat chipping and putting greens, a bunker, and membership with even more places to practice. It's been a few years since I've been there, but the only downside I recall is that they tended to keep the grass a little long, more like hitting from the first strip of semi-rough. Probably a lot less stressful on the grass that way.

Stay away, this place has gone downhill drastically.The chipping green is pretty much gone, either dead or weed covered.

The so called grass tees are very sparse on grass.and the prices are ridiculous.

 

I agree, place has gone to complete sh*t. The putting green has been closed now for 2 years and completely lost. The balls are either decent to some are almost completely smooth.

 

Unfortunately I don't really have any other options for a grass practice area and when I'm leaving I'm usually shaking my head.

Place has hardly any grass too. Basically hitting off dirt straight dry dirt

[crcraig]

Ugh. Sorry to hear it's gone downhill. As I mentioned, it's been a few years since I've been there, but it used to be pretty good. Hopefully the OP didn't take my advice and drive down there.

[Shemp]

The International in Bolton has about the best practice area I've ever used.

[jdl]

The Southboro range short game area is not that great, IMO. Has potential but isn't laid out very well. I think the guys that own that place did it themselves. The putting green is large, slow and has a huge slope that wastes most of the green. There's a tiny chipping green and a practice bunker that has you hitting towards a ravine, so not too conducive to making aggressive swings. And I think the only way to use it is to buy the season membership for $90, no option for a one time use.

 

Follow up on this, they now allow one day use of the short game area M-Th for $6.

[ScottJN]

Haven’t been there but seen ads for it. Kohr in natick. Anyone been there?

[jdl]

Haven't been there but seen ads for it. Kohr in natick. Anyone been there?

 

9 posts up.

[ScottJN]

Thanks, Apparenty I’m blind