This is probably the only way golf will be legally allowed in the future - in a highly regulated, tightly access-controlled environment.

Everyone on the team here at Ban Golf has stopped golfing. Because we came from families of golfers, or have friends who still golf, we occasionally have to turn down the offer to join them. We’ll remind them we don’t golf anymore, and they’ll ask, “Wow, not even the driving range?”

We are all personally done golfing (yes, even the driving range), but we understand not everyone wants to give up every aspect of golf. We know that some of our friends would love to join the movement but they feel our anti driving range approach is too extreme.

After some hard conversations and a lot of thought, we think driving ranges might be the only ways we see golf still being legal once we’ve passed our legislative agenda. Driving ranges have a few key advantages over open courses that make them much safer and more responsible:

  • Each golfer is given their own bay at the driving range, so other golfers are not at risk from an errant swing
  • Golfers are not allowed to go downrange of other golfers, so there is less risk of someone being injured or killed from a flying golf ball
  • There is no need to travel between holes, so no one needs to drive a golf cart around
  • The range is enclosed to prevent golf balls leaving the range and causing damage, injury, or death

While there are still significant risks to visiting a driving range, we think those can be addressed with responsible management and appropriate legislation. The range operator can be required to ensure every visitor is legally allowed to golf (>18), and make sure they are not under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. They can ensure that everyone understands the dangers involved with golf clubs and golf balls, and they can ensure that dangerous equipment never leaves their facility.

We also believe that in the short term this is an opportunity for our movement to reach more people. If those of us in the movement occasionally visit a driving range now, we can reach across the divide and talk directly to the people who can help us most - people who can take one of the most direct steps to help our movement.

If you’ve been on the fence about joining us because you still appreciate going to the driving range for an afternoon, we hope this compromise changes your mind. We hope you can see that we are interested in common sense measures to make golf safer for all Americans.