On the road, the daily ritual searching for a practice rockpile. Tuscon. Las Cruces. San Antonio. Austin. Luckily, most have grassy areas to hit from, with the widest variation in the quality of range balls. Public range-only operations unfortunately have the worst, where the balls fly in all kinds of aerodynamic maneuvers you'd have difficulty even programming a drone to perform. Ranges associated with golf courses speak for the intention of the course itself, whether to just let folks warm up prior to the round, or, is a place crafted with passion for those working on the game.
Posh Barton Creek Golf Club had lousy old balls you hit out into a range where the targets were way down below you into some canyon. The municipal courses of Austin, TX carry the legacy of Harvey Penick and strong community support of golf with sweet practice facilities.
50 bucks a month for all the balls you can eat, plus deals on rounds on the Jimmy Clay course, which, for a public track, has sweet greens and an awesome place to learn how to play bump and run off of Texas-style hard pan.
Maybe I'll hang out here for a while in the fall.