When can we hit off the grass?

I get asked all the time why can't we hit off the grass on the driving range tee. The photo below was taken today after using the tee for the weekend. Our driving range is not long enough to hit off the front of the tee, too many balls go over the fence. So, we are restricted to use only the back of the tee. The small area of the tee that is usable can only handle a couple events per year. It will take about a month for this war zone to recover, so it's not fit for play in the mean time.

Where oh where do all our range balls go?

We lose a lot of range balls every year at Glendale. The soil on the driving range is all blue clay, and it gets really soft in wet weather. We did a drainage project on the range about seven years ago and it worked well. But we still lose balls.

During the junior golf camp last week we set up a four hole short course on the driving range. I used a six inch cup for one of the holes to make it easier for the kids. Check out the photo below. I cut a six inch hole ten inches deep. Not a lot of square footage I dug up. I found 17 old range balls in that small hole. Just think how many balls are under the surface just waiting to be found. Too bad there isn't a market for old golf balls, we'd make a small fortune!