Moving target: Golfers take pleasure in aiming at ball picker

Golf is a game with a stationary target. Unless you are at a driving range.

During a round of golf, the green and the pin don’t move during your backstroke. In fact, some players use electronic range finders to measure the exact distance from their ball to the hole on the green. So some golfers find joy in targeting the moving ball picker when they practice at a driving range.

The ball pickers can pick up thousands of range balls in minutes. They are pushed and/or pulled, usually by small tractors, while the driver is enclosed in plexiglass or wire to prevent being injured by a driven ball.

It’s expected that practicing golfers will aim for the cart, in sport, during their short time on the range pad. Most regular golfers I’ve been around at the range are delighted to shoot for the moving target and don’t consider it to be poor etiquette. But I’ve never asked the driver their feelings on the practice. I expect it may differ from the golfers.