A driving range site should show, at the top and on a phone, whether it is open now and until when, ball prices, covered bays, what happens in rain, and how to book lessons.

What the site is actually for

Most visits to a driving range are decided on short notice: an hour free after work, a lesson booked last week, a new driver that needs trying before Saturday's round.

The person deciding wants to know whether the range is open now and until when, what a bucket costs, whether a covered bay will be free, and what happens if it rains.

A site that answers those in a few seconds on a phone sends the golfer out to the car. One that hides them behind a slideshow leaves the clubs in the closet.

Open now, and until when

Show today's hours first on the home page, with the closing time spelled out and the time the last balls are sold, which is often earlier.

Say whether the lights are on tonight. A golfer who does not know a range has floodlights will assume it closes at dusk and stay home.

Add a line for anything unusual today: a tournament booking, work on the grass tee, an early close. Put the date beside it, so an old notice cannot be mistaken for a current one.

What a golfer checks before driving over

The questions arrive in roughly the same order every time:

The second is where many range sites go vague. A price board photographed at an angle, or prices for small, medium and large with no counts, leaves the golfer guessing.

Ball prices, buckets and cards

List every bucket size as text, with the number of balls in each and the price. A golfer choosing between a medium and a large wants to know what the difference buys.

Explain the ball cards plainly: what each costs, how many balls it holds or what discount it gives, whether it expires, whether it can be shared and how to reload it.

If balls come from a machine that takes cards or tokens, say where to buy them and what to do when the machine is out of order.

Covered bays and the rain

Say how many bays are covered, which are heated, and whether the surface is mats or grass. Show a photograph of the covered deck, taken in the evening light most visitors will see.

In this climate the rain question comes up all year. Say plainly what stays open in rain, what closes, and what happens in high wind or lightning.

If covered bays can be reserved, put the booking on the site. If they cannot, say when they are usually busy, so a golfer can choose a quieter hour.

Lessons and clinics

Introduce each instructor with a photograph, how long they have taught, and who they teach best: beginners, juniors, players rebuilding a swing.

Give the lesson prices, lengths and packages, and say what a first lesson involves, what to bring and where to meet. Let golfers book or request a time online.

Clinics for beginners, juniors and groups need dates, ages, levels, prices and a registration form, with the refund rules for a clinic cancelled or missed.

A worked example

A driving range on the edge of a suburb has 40 bays on two levels, half of them covered and heated, a grass tee in summer, a putting green and three instructors.

Its site was a single page: a photograph of the range at sunset, a phone number and the words open daily. Prices were in a photograph of the price board.

Every evening the counter staff answered the same calls: whether the range was open, how late, whether the covered bays were full, and whether the grass tee was open in that weather.

The new home page opens with a status line: open or closed, closing time, lights, covered bays busy or quiet, and which tees are in use. Staff update it from a phone.

Prices, ball cards, lessons and the rain policy each have a plain text page linked from the status line, and lessons can be requested online.

First visits and beginners

Someone who has never been to a range does not know how it works. A short page explains it: buy balls at the counter or machine, pick a bay, hit only from the mat.

Say whether rental clubs are available and what they cost, whether children are welcome and from what age, and what to wear. Nothing about it needs to be formal.

A photograph of an ordinary bay, with a basket of balls and a mat, settles more nerves than any description.

Groups, parties and gift cards

Company outings, birthday parties and group lessons are worth a page of their own, with what is included, numbers, prices and a request form.

Gift cards and ball cards make good presents, so let people buy them online. Keep all of this below the daily facts, not in front of them.

The counter-case

A range attached to a golf course may be covered well enough by the course's site, as long as the range has its own hours, prices and rain policy on a page.

A small seasonal range with a loyal crowd of regulars may find they phone or simply drive by, and that the sign at the gate does most of the work.

But the newcomer, and the golfer deciding on a wet evening, still look it up first. The hours, prices and rain answer belong near the top, every day the range is open.

What to build first

  1. Lead with a status line for today.
  2. Give the counter staff a quick way to update it.
  3. List every bucket with its ball count and price.
  4. Explain the ball cards in plain terms.
  5. State the rain policy for each part of the range.
  6. Introduce the instructors and let golfers request lessons.
  7. Add a first visit page for beginners.

Step five answers the question this climate asks most. A golfer looking out at drizzle wants to know whether the covered bays are open and heated, and silence on the site reads as closed.

What a hockey school website needs sets out registration, ages, levels and refunds for camps, which junior golf clinics need in much the same form.

Frequently asked questions

What should a driving range home page show first?

Whether the range is open now and until when, whether the lights are on, which tees are in use, and anything unusual today, with the date beside it.

How should ball prices be listed?

As text, with every bucket size, the number of balls in each and its price, plus a plain explanation of ball cards, discounts, expiry and reloading.

Why spell out the rain policy?

Golfers in this climate check before driving over. Say what stays open in rain, which bays are covered and heated, and what closes in wind or lightning.

What do beginners need from the site?

A short page on how a visit works, whether clubs can be rented, what to wear and whether children are welcome, with a photograph of an ordinary bay.

Should lessons be bookable online?

At least requestable. Introduce each instructor, give prices, lengths and packages, and say what a first lesson involves, so a golfer can choose and ask in one visit.

Do covered bays need a booking system?

Only if they can be reserved. Otherwise say when they are usually busy, so golfers can pick a quieter hour instead of arriving to a full deck.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Range hours still on a photo of the price board?

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