Golf Ranch Richardson — Local services in Richardson

I used to come here occasionally when I didn't have time during the week to get a practice session in. They were the only driving range with lights open late and had a huge grass hitting area. They have now rebranded as "Golf Lite," which was a surprise to me when I got there last time. Some grass hitting areas remain, but most of the range is now Toptracer-enabled mats, with covered bays. It is also now...expensive, which despite the amenities is definitely something you'd need to consider before going. I paid $26 plus tax for 115 balls, although that does come with the Toptracer access in the bay.

Honestly, the branding and the new website I checked out after visiting are confusing. Are you Golf Lite? The Ranch? Blue Jeans Golf? Is this meant for game-ified golf? Are you trying to compete with Top Golf or are you trying to compete with...regular driving ranges? Who is your target audience? It all felt a bit weird and the idea not fully fleshed out.

My impressions were that it is less "game-y" than Top Golf, but still more game-y than a regular driving range if you just want to practice. I enjoy going to Top Golf on random occasions because it is totally different than "real" golf. The game is the fun. At Golf Ranch, you can set the Toptracer up to "play" simulated real-life golf courses. I think the idea is you could come with a group of friends, order some beers, and "play" golf in the covered bay using the Toptracer. In my opinion, this is a strange middle ground I wouldn't typically seek out. If I want chill, goofy games, I will go to Top Golf. If I want to play real golf (for not too much more), I will go to a golf course. If I want some numbers on a Trackman, I will pay $15 to the PGA Superstore for a 30-minute rental and bring my own gamer balls for the most accurate results.

Your opinion might vary, though. Maybe this is exactly the golf experience you're looking for, in which case...great! It isn't so expensive that you can't go once and see what you think. Summaries below:

Cons: Expensive. Whether or not you think the experience is worth the price might vary, but there's no getting around it is almost twice the price as driving ranges elsewhere.

Range balls were DEAD. I'm a 14 handicap, but I know how far I hit my clubs when I pure them. If I hit a driver on the screws I carry it 230-240. I hit several drives as well as I can possibly hit them and the Trackman told me they carried 208 LOL. The distances on my wedges/irons were also less than expected - the wedges were the closest, and then as I moved up my bag the differences became much more notable on well-hit shots. Given that progression, I think the balls just do not respond to higher swing speeds. To be clear, I do think the Trackman itself was accurate because I lasered the distance markers and agreed with its stated distances. The balls just go nowhere - which makes sense if a driving range doesn't want people blasting nicer balls off the property, but if one of your main selling points is Toptracer technology that tracks your shots then it isn't much help.

Middles: Most of the range is off mats, but the mats are high quality. Some grass hitting areas are still there. The grass is of so-so quality, but it was always like that here and not too much different than other public grass ranges.

Pros: Still open late with lights. If you haven't swung your clubs for a while and want to get out, they are actually open even later now until 11. This is still a big pro in my book - I won't come as often given how pricey the balls are, but still might come back on occasion to work on my swing, while likely ignoring the Trackman (lol) Bays are covered so you can still hit some balls even if raining. Nice putting and chipping area which is...

The Golf Ranch has come a tremendously long way in its storied history. At one time I believe it was just a bit farther south and was on land owned by UTD, it was pedestrian at best. NOW, many moons later, it has moved to a major intersection in the Plano/Richardson part of north Dallas, and i am not sure how you make that work with the cost of that land, but that may explain the $28 bucket of balls. For the person complaining about that, did you also complain about your $600 driver, and $2000 set of clubs? Don't get me started. Golf is not cheap and is not meant to be cheap. and inflation at crazy rates right now has caused it to be almost intolerable. BUT, after using Watters Creek driving range, where they literally turn out the lights on you and chase you out of the parking lot, the guys that run the Ranch are cool, laid back, and generally have an interest in the success of the business. I know it was sold and purchased by a new person/group/investor in January, and they did the smartest thing you could have ever done. take Top Golf, which as gotten so out of control expensive and is farther from real golf than putt putt now, and they put Top Golf outside with Top Tracer and covered areas with super nice mats and for $25 a month membership fees, you don't have to pay that $28 LARGE BUCKET cost. You also get access to Top Tracer which has its flaws but overall is a good tool to use to get your stats, if you so care, or just play games. We played PGA national our first night out there and outside of learning how the system works, it was great. For now, its the best range in the metroplex. In fact we are going to go out at 9am and get a good practice session in tomorrow morning and there will be plenty of room, you won't bake in the sun, and then to top the morning off, since no one thinks the short game and putting is important, you can go play their Par3 course. Nothing gets your wedge game together like a par3 course. Highly recommended but if you are on a budget, go hit old yellow top flites at the city range, and don't call us to fix the faces of all your irons after they are ruined. The Golf Ranch. I personally endorse it for the best idea in golf range concepts in a long time. And just a final note, there are 14 driving ranges between my home in McKinney and the Golf Ranch. Not one of them holds a finger...

I like this place as a solid range to work on my game. The staff is fairly friendly and the facilities are nice. The amenities are decent. I’ve been coming a few times and enjoyed it for the most part. I never really had a problem until I came on a busy Friday night and then I realized how chaotic the system is and it kinda ruined it for me. There were no bays available even though you can still walk up and pay for a bucket of balls. Not having a way to reserve a bay or at the very least know what’s open before you pay and commit to a bucket of balls is really inconvenient. It resulted in us having to walk around and hope we got lucky enough to catch someone leaving. In addition, there were people holding bays with no clubs or no balls, waiting on friends or just hanging out.Thank God there was someone kind enough to notice and motion us over because they were almost done. But even then, there were so many people trying to find bays that towards the end of our session, we had people just hovering over us, counting down how many balls we had left, waiting to jump on our spot. My last 15 shots were a waste cause I felt so rushed, there were people literally checking their watch and staring just waiting for me to be done. I know the whole point of this place is to be different from top golf without the stress of reservations and all of that, but there’s gotta be a better way. I live about 40 minutes away and bought a membership to come consistently but after my most recent experience, I’m considering cancelling it and finding something with a better...