Stanford Driving Range

This driving range is located on Stanford campus, on the west side near Lyman apartments and the Stanford Golf Course. They open pretty early (around 8AM every day) and there is usually ample parking stalls.
When I go in the afternoon it is usually pretty full but I’ve never seen it at full-​capacity where I couldn’t get a mat. There are 50 stations, and a tiny putting green on the side as well. The putting green is really terrible though, so if you really want putting practice I suggest driving up the road to the actual golf course and just putting on the greens before the 1^st tee off. The mats for hitting are standard turf, nothing special about them.
Price: the price is probably the biggest disappointment. You can easily spend $ 10 in a session hitting balls so be prepared to shell out quite a bit of cash to hit. There are discounts for students or if you buy en-​mass (~$ 100 at once that you can save for future times you go).

Good range but not great because you can only hit on mats. Nice location right on Stanford campus. I go there occasionally because it a range that is less affected by the wind.
One of the older guys that works there is a jerk, though. Not helpful at all and confrontational. I think he is only nice to Tiger Woods.

I have on a mission to explore, learn, and try new things. So far so good!
One of the things I wanted to do was learn to golf. I have never hit a golf ball in my life and my friend from Menlo Park took me to this golf driving range to practice. Apparently this is the old practice grounds for Tiger Woods.
My friend grew up in an affluent city and is very familiar with this sport that targets towards those who, for the lack of better words, are rich. So he knows a thing or two about golfing.
Unfortunately, it has been quite a while since he has been at a golf driving range. When we entered, the man was very curt with his answers. His demeanor wasn’t too friendly and seemed a bit irate. However, regardless of his tone with us, we were cordial with him. So his attitude changed to a more relaxed one and at the very end was helpful.
The prices seemed reasonable, although I lack any sources for comparison. $ 12 for 100 balls seemed very reasonable to me, as it provided more than an hour’s worth of entertainment. Also, since I didn’t have any clubs of my own and couldn’t borrow my friend’s (he’s 6’1 … it’s not going to work), they had clubs for me to borrow for no additional charge!
Note — you don’t have to pay at the register, you can just go to the ball dispensing machine to pay. This is probably standard at many golfing ranges but then again, I wouldn’t know. I’m a newbie.
So finally, we ended up at the driving course and my first hit was very successful. The consequential hits, not so much. However, I was being taught by a great teacher and ended up having some nice drives. Overall, the course provided what I needed. A clean, well-​organized, reasonably priced place to hit a few golf balls and bust some balls.

***Good***
Usually a spot to swing. Quality conditions.
***Bad***
Hit of rubber mats. No putting. No sand.
***Recommendation***
Give it a shot. It is Tiger’s old stomping ground.

It’s a good range to practice irons and tee shots, go elsewhere for putting drills. The Pro Shop is stocked with refreshments and friendly service by a PGA Professional named Jim. He’s ready to answer any questions or offer a tip or two.

Because of the price, I actually think this place is better than average. $ 5 for 50 balls, especially in an area like Palo Alto/​Stanford? I would have never expected it.
There’s no grass range, but no biggie. I’ve been rusty for some time now, so getting form back was a lot bigger priority than being a golf snob.

Nice driving range when you go when it is not busy it seems (we went around 9−10am). They only have mats and a few of them are on slanted ground so avoid those! The price is reasonable to Stanford and non-​Stanford affiliates. However, I cannot comment much because this was my first time at a driving range, and I look forward to finding more ranges to practice on.

This is a nice driving range, open late and reasonably priced. However, only 2 stars because you can only hit off mats.

Good targets, good grass to track the spin and roll off the bounce, the sun is at your back in the afternoon, and never problems hitting into the wind that you often have at the other nearby ranges. Unfortunately, they discriminate against us leftys by throwing us in the right end side of the tee mats.

Want to practice your golf swing or just get some aggression out? The Stanford driving range provides for a lot of fun. The place gets super crowded on the weekend afternoons but you can typically squeeze in somewhere. Stanford staff/​faculty get a discount on their already reasonable prices (non-​affiliates get 100 balls for $ 12). Can’t wait to go back and get my swing on!

Pros:
Nice range. Reasonable price. I especially like the generous old-​timers (with their lifetime of golf wisdom) who hang around the place and offer free tips. My swing has definitely improved as a result of the tweaks they suggested.
Cons:
This place tends to get clogged up around 6:30 p.m., when the Brooks Brothers-​clad corporate army invades the place en masse.

Loses a star for no grass range.
Good range that’s open late. 9pm during DST and 8pm otherwise.
Sometimes hard to find a spot in the afternoon when golf classes take the last ¼ of mats.
Must use a rubber tee. Don’t use the new adjustable height tees. They snap easily.

This is probably the nicest range you’re going to find. It’s clean and the rates aren’t that bad. See below for prices. Many many stalls. Saw Michelle Wie (and her parents) on the adjacent varsity driving range a couple of times a year or two ago. I think they moved the varsity driving range though.
There’s a putting green across the street next to the tennis courts. There’s also a practice hole across Junipero Serra next to the Stanford Golf Course. You have to drive into the golf course and veer left instead of continuing onto the clubhouse. Both putting green and practice hole are free I believe.

This is the main range I go to. 50 balls is $ 6 for non Stanford-​related people ($ 5 for Stanford faculty/​students). The mats are a couple years old and in pretty good shape. The balls are pretty nice and not scuffed/​old. There are a lot of spots, except a few in the middle are kinda useless because the mats rest on uneven ground. When there is a class going on, the last 8 – 10 mats are used by students taking a lesson. There are plenty of targets to hit at. There is a tiny, lame putting green that no one every uses and no pitching area. If you want to use those, you have to drive up the hill towards the golf course… which I don’t do since my short game doesn’t need work. Hah. Anyway, this is a fun place to hit some golf balls after work.

You got to hit off of mats.
Plastic tees.
No parking.
Off the beaten path and expensive.
That is why I am giving this only 2 stars. But is the only game in town so that is why it is always packed with duffers.
You get to chip and putt though which is nice for practicing but you can practice on the Stanford golf course too. (A little secret)
Better than Golfland though.

I rated this in my review of Stanford golf course accidentally. You can only hit off mats as the nice lush grass stares you directly in the face. The balls are so-​so and the mats are pretty worn. Last time I was there you had to by the plastic Tee, which I thought was outrageous.
If you can make you way over to where the golf teams practice and hit balls there you will be a happy camper. Nice putting and chipping area and you get to actually hit of grass.
The range is nice for a college campus I just can’t stand the fact that you have to hit of mats. Oh and they might have one of the smallest crappiest practice putting greens I have ever seen.

I’ve taken golf lessons on and off my entire life and never seemed to progress, but Jim Miller has shown me the light. Jim’s instruction is methodical and he really gives you a framework to think about your swing… I’m smitten.

In a previous review, I gave this range one star. However, I just spent an hour there today, and was very pleasantly surprised.
They replaced ALL of the nasty, worn out mats with new ones. Additionally, it looks like they have replaced a majority of the balls with fresh ones. On top of all that, the guy in the clubhouse who sells the tokens was actually very nice.
I think it’s important for Unilocal reviewers to make changes to reviews when warranted. This was one I was happy to make.
Keep in mind, they still have no food or beverages other than a soda machine. It was quite crowded the majority of the time I was there, although I was able to find an open mat in a relatively short amount of time.