No Prep – Picking the Range
No Prep by Bryan ‘Dub’ Axelson
I’m not going to lie, I was pretty excited about this week’s No Prep. I’ve been a big golf fan for years, and I love playing the game. Am I any good? Not particularly. I hit just enough of those “shots that keep you coming back” to…well, keep coming back. So doing something golf themed had me pretty pumped. I was ready to drive the ball picker at the Wedges and Woods golf facility – errant drives or not. However, there was something I felt obligated to do before I could pick the golf balls
I had to put a few more golf balls out on the range. So I spent about 15 minutes hitting a small bucket of balls. Then it was time to clean up after myself.
I got with Nick Prokosa, the owner of Wedges and Woods, and he gave me a short tutorial on how to work the golf ball picker. It looked a little intimidating. I was kind of worried I was going to break something but.Nick explained it was basically a mix between driving a golf cart and working a lawn mower. You drive it like a golf cart but go in straight rows like you are cutting grass.
In addition to worrying about what I can only assume is an extremely expensive piece of equipment, I was a little concerned about getting hit with golf balls. Thankfully, I was protected by a cage, so the balls would not have actually hit me. Just in case, however, we mounted a camera mounted inside the cage to catch my reactions if it happened.
The first few minutes driving the golf ball picker were spent trying to figure out how fast or slow I needed to go and how wide I needed to turn to get as many golf balls as possible. Once I figured out my rhythm, it was smooth sailing.
Full disclosure – I did spend a lot of time watching the golfers hitting to see if any of them were going to tag me. Every time I saw someone hit a ball I would wonder if it was coming in my direction. Most of them were going over where I was on the range, but it was always in my thoughts.
“Well, what about when I go to that spot on the range?”
“Will I be a prime target at that point?”
“Are these guys actually aiming for me?”
These were all questions that were running through my mind while I was trying to be a successful golf ball picker. Thankfully, no one hit that lucky shot, and I was allowed to pick in peace.
A driving range feels a whole lot bigger when you’re actually on it. From the mats, 150-175 yards doesn’t really seem that far. I know because that’s usually how far I hit my driver. Stop laughing, at least it goes straight – sometimes.
There was something oddly satisfying about riding up and down that driving range picking golf balls. I wished that I had my AirPods, so I could’ve listened to music while I was doing it. I felt like that was the only thing that was really missing.
Once the golf ball picker reached capacity, I turned to head back in. There was a slight hiccup, however. There was a small dip in the range and the picker got stuck. I was doing so well, too. Thankfully, Nick rode to my rescue. He got me unstuck and I brought him back thousands – about 3000 by Nick’s estimation – of golf balls for more people to smack back out there onto the range.
I do wish – sort of – that I had taken a few golf balls on the cage. It feels like that is part of the experience. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be.
Thanks again to Nick and the folks at Wedges and Woods for allowing me this opportunity and helping me.
Because as you know, I had No Prep.