In 2001, GOLF 20/20 commissioned a considerable amount of research on short courses, ranges and other practice and learning facilities. Also referred to as alternative facilities, these establishments include par-three courses, golf ranges, executive courses, pitch & putt courses and courses of nontraditional configuration. All play a pivotal role in player development, junior golf and players’ overall enjoyment of the game.

The Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) was founded in 1991 in response to the importance golf ranges (e.g., learning centers, golf domes, practice facilities and indoor centers) and short courses (e.g., executive, nine-hole and par-three courses) hold within the overall golf industry. As a trade organization, the GRAA addresses the total needs of owners, operators, general managers and teaching professionals at golf ranges, short courses, academies and golf courses with practice/teaching facilities.

For years, golfers who used these resources exclusively—people whose play was limited to hitting balls at a golf range, for example—were not measured as golf participants. But in truth, they are as much a part of the game as anyone else. Over 30 percent of golf facilities in the United States fall into this category, and when GOLF 20/20 began quantifying participants in golf in 2000, it included these players in its total calculation of roughly 36 million participants.

Among GOLF 20/20’s goals opening better lines of communication with these facilities and identifying some of the best practices employed at existing facilities for both juniors and player development in general.

You can find short courses, ranges and other practice and learning establishments in our convenient database search. If you find that your favorite facility is not included, or if its information has changed, you can submit or update a listing. Also, our extensive research on alterative facilities is available for download. Just follow the links to the right.