Everyone says home practice saves money. We wanted to know if that's actually true, so we sat down with a calculator and a full year of receipts.
Here's the assumption we used: a golfer who hits the range twice a week, buys a medium bucket each visit, and lives 15 minutes from the range. That's a pretty normal routine for someone trying to get better.
The range math
Two visits a week, 52 weeks a year, at roughly $12 per bucket of 70 balls. That's about $1,248 a year on balls alone. Add gas for the round trip — say $4 a trip at current prices — and you're at $1,664. That doesn't count the times you grab a hot dog or a drink, or the hour of driving you're never getting back.
The home setup math
You don't need a simulator to get most of the benefit. A decent 5x4ft hitting mat costs about $99.99 to $105.99 for the thick-base models that protect your joints. A net runs $55.55 to $69.99 depending on the frame. Add a bag of foam balls at around $15, and you're all in for under $200.
If you practice at home four days a week — which is actually easier than the range because it takes zero planning — you're getting roughly twice the swings of the range routine for less than an eighth of the cost in year one. By year two, the math isn't even close.
What the range gives you that home can't
We're not saying the range is pointless. You can't fake the experience of real grass, real distance, and real carry. But here's the thing most improvement plans miss: the range gives you feedback about the result, while home practice lets you work on the motion without obsessing over where the ball landed.
Our recommendation after all this math: keep one range session a week for feel, and add 3-4 home sessions for reps. Your wallet will thank you, and your handicap will drop faster than it would with range-only practice.