So hopefully you are practicing your game as well right? Well, there is no shortage of golf practice facilities in Korea. There are many types of practice facilities though so I’ll go over them here.
Common
At pretty much every golf facility in Korea, you will be paying for time (e.g. 40 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, etc.) rather than a quantity of balls (e.g., small bucket, medium bucket, large bucket). During the allotted time you can hit unlimited balls. With unlimited balls it’s a great time to practice muscle memory or chip after chip after chip, etc. All places will have an automated machine where balls will automatically come up onto a small rubber tee. As a hack, if nobody is waiting for your station after you are done, you can gather up some balls from a machine and move them over to the side and then hit a few more balls off your mat after your time is up.
Another hack is that sometimes people will leave their station and go home even though there is time left. It’s generally against policy to walk over and use that station but I’ve never been kicked out for it. I suppose if you have people who are just hanging around waiting to use these types of stations, they will get kicked out but I also pay for my own station too and only use these after my station time is up, etc. These practice facilities usually sell monthly membership so members are the ones who might only hit for awhile and leave early.
If you are a lefty, unfortunately you will be SOL most of the time. There might be a single lefty station per floor at some of the bigger outdoor practice facilities (usually the leftmost station) if you’re lucky. Your best bet will be to call them to ask and see which station(s) they are so that you can be sure to reserve a lefty station.
Many private room screen golf facilities will have a lefty room but you need to ask. I know some lefties in Korea who play golf righty simply because there was nowhere to practice when they were first learning how to play golf. One of my friends plays righty golf even though she’s a lefty but she putts lefty.
Most of the balls used at practice facilities are either real balls but just older “lost” balls or sometimes range balls but I have found the range balls in Korea to be decent quality (much better than the crappy no-name hard-as-a-rock yellow range balls found at some ranges in the US).
There are a few exceptions but these are the general common rules of thumb that will be in place at 99% of the golf practice facilities in Korea.
Indoor Screen Practice / Lesson Facilities
These are the most common and they are typically run with local Korean screen golf technology from companies such as GDR (largest), UDR, QED, Kakao Friends Golf, etc. There is usually a long row of stations each with the screen where you can see a simulation of your ball after you hit it.
Membership is generally sold by the month with discounts for 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. You might be able to just pay for a single use as well but most people buy monthly memberships. With that membership you can usually come up to once a day for an hour each time. If there is nobody waiting, they will sometimes give you more time if you want to practice some more. You can also get lessons as well and they usually have packages that include both usage as well as lessons. The pros here tend to be mediocre at best since they just mindlessly crank out lessons all day long at a discounted price.
These facilities open up all the time in Korea (seems like every month a new one opens up in my neighborhood) and when they first open they usually have special sales so you can get 12 months for the price of 6 months, etc.
I spend most of my time practicing at one of these facilities. It’s air conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter so it’s great. The only issue is that as good as the software is these days, it’s not as accurate as the real thing so I may hit well on the screen only to find out that I’m still slicing my driver when I go out onto the course.
You can also play a course with their screen golf software. Usually you need to tell the guy at the desk to set this up for you but it’s a nice way to mentally get into game time mode rather than practice mode.
They also have lockers that you can rent by the month if you want to leave your golf clubs there.
“Trackman” Private Rooms
These are the most upscale facilities. They operate under various chains but some of the more common are called The Plaza, The Swing, etc. Sometimes they have “Trackman” in the name of the studio so you can just search for “trackman” in your neighborhood.
They offer individual private rooms each set up with the latest Trackman golf swing analyzer. Many of these places will give you a drink as well such as coffee, tea, soda, etc.
The decor is usually heavy on wood as well as old classic golf pictures of players such as Ben Hogan, etc. They may even decorate with some old hickory golf woods, etc.
The room itself usually costs 30k krw per hour to use. But you can buy a set of 10 or 20, etc. and get a discount.
They also offer lessons as well from some of the better teaching pros. Many times if you book a lesson from a famous teaching pro, they will work out of one of these facilities. But you will be paying for the use of the room + lesson fee. Sometimes if a teaching pro is new and hired by the facility, they will offer a short “one point” lesson for free or a reduced price just so you can check out the pro and see if you click (and maybe buy more lessons).
Screen Golf Private Rooms
I’ve never really seen these private rooms used for practice since these are used for social gatherings to play screen golf. Most of them are run using GDR software and they can be fun because you and a buddy or two can meet up, get some drinks, order food, and play a round of golf.
Cost is usually around 20-30k for a round per person but I suppose if you wanted to rent the room for an hour just to practice you can probably do that too.
Outdoor Practice Facilities
These are the best places to practice in Korea. Usually there is a big green net surrounding the golf practice area and you can actually see your ball fly out so it’s much more accurate than any software simulation. I call these outdoor practice areas but for some weird reason that I will never understand, Koreans actually call these “indoor” golf practice (인도어 골프 연습장). Whatever…
But if you live in the city (for example in downtown Seoul), there aren’t many of these arounds. You want to find one that goes up to at least 200 yards or so. Some of the biggest facilities go up to around 300 yards so these are best but they are generally going to be in the outskirts of Seoul. Some of the ones I like to go to near Seoul are Deokso (namyangju), Militopia (wirye), Dome (wangshibli), etc. JMS is also a nice big one south of Seoul in giheung.
They also have pros giving lessons as well but usually they are older pros who have a lot of experience but may be a bit outdated in their teaching.
I’ve seen some that are <100 yards and at that length you almost may as well just go to a screen practice facility. These are usually at the rooftop of a hotel such as the Riverside hotel, etc.
I also go to to Optimum Sports a lot because it’s near my house. The net goes up to around 150m or so.
These places generally run around 20k or so for an hour. They get very crowded on weekends so wait times can be over an hour. I waited for about 3 hours one time on a Sunday afternoon at Dome. I try to get there when they open at 6am or 7am to avoid the crowds. Sometimes I go with my wife and we get a station for 90 minutes and just share it. I think some places don’t like it if you share a station but we’ve never been called out for it.
Giving lessons is strictly prohibited (except for lessons by the affiliated golf pros). They never seem to care if I’m with my wife and I’m giving her some feedback on her swing but I have heard that if you bring a pro to help out with lessons they will tell you to stop. I guess they can tell the difference between friends giving tips to each other and a real pro.
Upscale Golf Practice
Recently there have been a few upscale golf practice indoor facilities opening up. One is called “Royal Golf Club” in Eunpyung-gu. These places are really nice and some have high tech putting greens with slopes and undulations that move around ,etc.
If one of these opens up near my home, I’ll probably switch over to one of these facilities.
Cheap Golf Practice
On the other hand, if you want cheap, there are a few cheaper options around. These tend to be much older indoor places and although there is an automated machine for balls to come up automatically there is no screen nor is there any type of computer software to simulate where your ball will go. You just hit balls onto a small canvas that usually has a picture of a flag with the number 7 on it.
I’m not sure how much they cost because I’ve never been to one but it’s gotta be cheap…really cheap. I have seen these available for free in apartment complexes for residents.
Speaking of which, at some apartment complexes, they will have a golf practice room that’s free (or very cheap) for residents. If the complex is older, then the room will have old software that barely works or they will just have a net with no software. If it’s a newer and upscale complex, it might have the latest GDR technology.
Club 72 Dreams
I am writing up a separate section just for Club 72 because it deserves it. Club 72 is by far the best place to practice golf in Korea. Club 72 is a 72 hole golf course located in Incheon near the airport but they also have a facility called Dreams which is their practice facilities.
Unlike every other outdoor range in Korea, there is no net here. Instead there are practice stations laid out in a big huge circle (like the Apple HQ in Cupertino) and the circle is so big that you can’t hit to the other side. It’s probably a good 400-500m to the other side. Like everywhere else in Korea, you pay for time.
Depending on where your station is located, it could be far away so there is a tram that runs to take you out to your station. You just tell the driver where you station is and he’ll drop you off. When you book a station you can ask the lady to get you a station where the sun isn’t on your face, etc.
In addition to the driving range, they also have a short game practice area. Here you pay for time and you use your own golf balls (up to 3 balls I think) to practice your short game of chipping, pitching, etc. You can also practice putting here.
There is also a bunker practice area where you pay for time.
And finally, Club 72 is the only place I have seen in Korea (other than Trinity golf course) where there is a real grass practice range! This is the one place where you pay for balls rather than time. The cost is around 40k krw for 40 balls but you hit them off the grass to make divots just like some of the better practice facilities in the USA.
Some Koreans will spend an entire day practicing golf at Club 72 by spending time at the range and then the short game area, bunker area, putting green, real grass, etc. They even sell discounted packages if you want everything, etc.
There is also a decent par 3 course (called Dream Dunes) within walking distance to the practice area. You need to book tee times in advance but it’s a fun par 3 course with one hole that is a par 4 so you can hit driver on that one hole! You can play the course twice if you want to (pay double). Cost is around 45-50k for 9 holes on the par 3. It’s self caddie with these nifty robot things.
Unique Practice Facilities
I’ll write about a few of the more unique places as well. I can only think of one right now but maybe there will be more.
Pangyo Lake, Giheung Soo Sang Golf Practice – These are outdoor golf practice facility where you hit balls onto a lake. The balls float. I have not been to any of these facilities but I have heard that the golf balls have a different feel to them because they float (so maybe they are lighter).
I suppose if you want a change of pace and want to hit balls into the water like Kramer hitting golf balls into the ocean, you can try one of these places (don’t hit a golf ball into a dolphin’s blowhole like Kramer unless you have George the marine biologist around…lol).
