Top Driving Ranges in the Klang Valley

When it comes to practicing your golf shots, there are many places that you can go which offer standard to additional services that you might make your game more enjoyable. Around the Klang Valley, there are many Golf Courses with their own driving ranges while you can head out to certain places which offer places for you to just hit the golf balls for practice.

Sri Sinar Driving Range – The Sri Sinar Driving Range in Kepong offers a great place away from the heart of the city to practice your shots. There are 2 levels to play in where it will cost RM9 for every 100 balls on the ground floor and RM8 for 100 balls on the first floor.

Berjaya Golf Bukit Tinggi – Located amidst the highlands leading up to Genting, you pay RM10 for every 100 balls here in which you can enjoy the cool weather and the beautiful sceneries.

Saujana Golf and Country Club – Located within this club is a driving range which will let you enjoy your shots at RM14 per 100 balls.

Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam – This golf club is located within the city and is just around the Damansara Heights area leading towards Mont Kiara. For RM10, you get to hit 100 balls and is very convenient as you do not need to go far.

Bukit Jalil Golf Driving Range(nom more as of 2021) – Located in Bukit Jalil, this is one of the most cost-effective places to go as they open at 10am and last call at 9.30 PM. Charges at RM12 for every 100 balls and RM10 for members.

Bandar Utama Driving Range – This place offers RM10 for 100 balls and RM5 for 50 balls. One of the attractive factors about this driving range is that it is located not far from the city centre and is a very popular hangout among local golfers. The downside of it is that you might have to maneuver through the traffic congestion when you come here as you are entering into the 1 Utama Shopping Centre’s vicinity.

Tropicana Golf and Country Club – One of the top golf clubs in Malaysia, the outdoor driving range opens until 11.00pm at night. For RM10 you get to hit 100 balls and it is known that occasionally there are special coupons where you pay RM90 to hit 1,200 balls.

Sunway Xtreme Park – This driving range is located at the Sunway South Quay just off the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong. You get to hit 100 balls for RM10 and 50 balls for RM50. It is opened until 1.00am so you can pretty much play till you are satisfied.

Guthrie Golf Academy in Bukit Jelutong – This driving range is located further out of the Klang Valley around the Shah Alam area. Coupons are available where you pay RM80 for 1,000 balls. If you are here for a one-time trip, RM10 will get you 100 balls.

Puncak Alam Driving Range – Located in Ijok, it might be further out of the city centre, but you will like the traveling as you will be in a peaceful environment undisturbed and serene. For RM10, you get to hit 150 balls while you can opt for the RM10 package of 100 balls and a bottle of mineral water.

Setapak Golf Range – This driving range is perfect if you do not like to travel too far out of the city. Rates are at RM5.50 for 50 balls and RM100 for 100 balls.

KDE Driving Range

The city of Kuala Lumpur is a thriving place for work and place. Finding a work-life balance is easy and very convenient. If you have had a hectic week and would like to enjoy some recreation by hitting some golf balls far away, then the KDE or Kelab Darul Ehsan Driving Range could well be the best place to go. The KDE Driving Range is perfect if you are just looking for some peace of mind while enjoying the therapeutic moments when your club hits the ball. It is after all, just off the grid of the metropolitan of Kuala Lumpur which is about 10 to 15 minutes’ drive away. All you need to do is to get yourself there (and the club you need of course!), register and make the payment, find your bay and hit them to your heart’s content.

TPCKL Driving Range

Comprising three levels and accommodating 78 spacious bays, TPC Kuala Lumpur’s state-of-the-art driving range is a technological marvel that is designed to please the most demanding golfers. Resembling the West Course, the driving range provides challenging targets for golfers – from beginners to professionals. Monday to fridays 7:00am – 11:00pm. Weekend / Public Holiday 7:00am – 10:00pm, Rates is at RM0.25 per ball for guests

Hitting balls to water instead of ground

KDE Driving Range is as the name implies, part of the bigger recreational club which houses various types of facilities. In the category of golf driving ranges, KDE would surely be up there with the best. It has one of the most stunning views among all others with its beautiful green horizon. Due to its location which is just off the city center, you are almost at the edge of the concrete jungle and passing into the rainforest from here. The only setback is the soft and low quality balls being provided here.

The KDE Driving Range houses 45 bays for you to choose from. And did we mention that you are not hitting the balls into the ground but straight into the water? The double-storey building is perfectly elevated to give you that satisfaction when your ball drops onto the water and then submerges onto the surface. The range is open from 7.30 am to 10.30 am on weekdays and 7.00 am to 10.00 pm on weekends. Members and non-members pay RM6.50 and RM7.50 for a basket of 50 balls and RM12.00 and RM14.00 respectively.

You have no idea how WRONG you have been on the driving range!

You are so spoilt when you are at the golfing range. This is not really any fault of yours as you get hundreds of golf balls to hit. While you are practicing, most golfers fall into the trap of complacency. This is because you know you have so many golf balls to hit, after a while, you sort of doing the same thing over and over again.

What is the complacency habit?

If you are making the same motion many times over, you tend to make it a habit. For instance, if you are bending your knees wrongly when you hit a golf ball, it becomes second nature after you are doing it for about 10 to 20 times. This means your body starts to accommodate that the particular position could well be the ‘right’ one. When it becomes complacent, it gets harder to rectify in the future.

What are we talking about here?

We are talking about your approach when you are head to the driving range. Whether it is after a long break to refresh or just your routine golfing range rounds. As long as you are going to spend some time at the range, you need to be aware of certain things. We list out the few priorities.

It is not always about the driver

This place is called the driving range for a reason so it might be absurd to tell you to lose the driver. At least for a while. What you should be doing here really, besides just driving and driving is to give it a break. Take some time to use the other ‘members’ in your golf bag. If you can, go on the 30-30-40 rule (assuming you are hitting a hundred balls). 30 balls each for both the short and mid-long irons and the drivers get the rest of the balls (40). In other words, you still get to enjoy the usual driving range satisfaction but this refreshes your strokes using the others.

Spend time on how you stand

This is one of the biggest mistakes most golfers make. Because you are standing all the time, your posture becomes ‘permanent’ after a while. To get the right stance and then maintaining it throughout your game is probably the hardest part of this game. Remember that when you first started playing golf, the posture was one of the basic things you need to practice? Focus on this because many golfers take it for granted. It becomes all the easier to adjust the way you stand at driving ranges with auto-tee facilities. It is recommended that you have a few spare grips and then places them between your foot. After each shot, if they are moved, it means you move your feet too much.

What about the tees?

The bad habit (and perhaps mistake) here is to use high tees at the driving range. This is when you have the mentality that you are there only to practice your shots. In most cases, high tees are used at most driving ranges. But you would know by now that the greens are not as accommodating. If you hit a sand hazard, the dynamics change entirely. At the driving range, challenge yourself to use tees of different heights. Shorter and medium height tees would give you some idea of the roughs and hazards that might come your way when you are in the greens.
Use the low tee to replicate a cushioned lie in medium rough, or no tee at all to work on getting some height into your chips. There are plenty of elements to a driving range bay, so make sure you use them all. Perhaps even try hitting at an angle as if there was a tree in the way!
At some point, you should even try to go without a tee or create your own imaginary trees. You will then hit the ball from a different angle if there are ‘obstructions’ along the way.

The final piece of advice

Do not go to the driving range thinking that you are there only to practice your shots. It is all about the whole experience here. At the golfing range, you need to be serious about what you need to achieve. A lot of golfers think that the driving range is a ‘recreational’ place or to relax. Taking it seriously means that you approach the range as if you are in the green. Let your imagination run wild for a moment. Create obstructions when you hit. Make variations to the heights and the clubs you use. Very importantly, check your stance and then observe your swing as you hit every ball.

Mats and Grass at the driving range – What difference does it make?

Practice makes perfect. That is your intention at the driving range no? To finetune your game, you need to make serious considerations especially if you spend a lot of time at the driving ranges. The different range will have different facilities and that is what you ned to be mindful of.

It is COMPULSORY to know the surface you are hitting on

Every driving range has its own characteristics. While you cannot control the weather or any external factors, the ground that you are standing on will make a whole lot of difference. In most cases, the driving range will offer you either mats or grass to play on. A lot of driving ranges like to use Astroturf mats. These are very much like a carpet which is artificial grass created to give you the true experience of playing on a real green. Mats are used because they are easier to maintain. Meanwhile, there are those that provide you with real grass at the tee box. Which one would be more suitable for you?

Playing on mats

The idea of using mats (Astroturf) is to replicate the real feeling on the green. Besides playing at the driving range, you can actually buy them off most pro shops. They come in different shapes and sizes while some also come with rubber tees that can be placed into the holes (usually pre-defined). Mats do not wear out as quickly as other surfaces. If you like, you can even buy one and practice at home. While you can swing as many times as you like, you can also keep the mat by rolling them up. This could be the very reason why golfers do not like mats when they head to the driving range. Among the reasons why the seasoned golfers do not like mats include:

• Potential damage to the golf club. This is because mats are made with rubber or even concrete below. Some golfers tend to hit the surface during the swing which could then create false feedback. Worse still, this could even damage the club.
• Divots – using real grass, the golfer is able to make divots. This is possible without a tee but is utterly impossible when you play on a mat.
• Sore on body parts. In some cases, it could lead to injuries. When playing on mats, players have complained that they experience soreness in several parts of the body most notably the shoulders, wrists and arms.
• Inconsistency – This is one problem that is hard to overcome. When you hit the ball on the mat, you can very much perfect your shot. This is after taken into consideration the ideal conditions that you are practicing on. This is more evident when you practice at home. So, you get a really beautiful shot when you hit the ball on mats. But when you head to the greens, the shots become different and haywire because of the other factors.
• In other words, playing on the mat helps you to get your shots better but in the process create new habits that might not work on the green.

Playing on grass

Given a choice, it would be best to practice your shots on grass but if you do not have the luxury of choice, then mats will do. What you want when you practice your swing is to get the feedback that you want from your swing. This gives you the data to make the right hit. Hence, using grass will be ideal. When you hit the ball on the grass, you get the feeling which is totally different from Astroturf mats. Meanwhile, you will notice a more attractive shot on the mat but that feedback is too misleading.

• Mistakes – When you hit on the grass, chances are you will notice the mistakes and the shots are not as attractive. This gives you room to recover and learn.
• Pro golfer – Playing on the mat surely makes you look like a pro golfer. That is the problem. It is not natural enough to let you improve in your game. You might feel like a pro golfer but in actual fact, you might not be.

Verdict: If you are playing on a mat, it would be best to use a short tee. This is because you will have an entirely different experience when you hit the ball on an old mat which would have hardened. This gives your swing the wrong feedback which will be detrimental to your game in the future.

So, what now?

Make no mistake about it. It would be good to play on grass but that is only if this option is available. Whether it is the mat or the grass, remember the objective you are doing this. After all, it is not as if you get to play on grass every time you visit a driving range. It is no secret that mats are easier to maintain and cheaper too. Driving range operators have to maintain their overheads. Using grass is good but it would be too costly. Mats are convenient and more efficient. But if you are serious about your game and more serious about improving your swing, seek a grass range instead of Astroturf mats.