I went and checked out the
Top Golf practice facility near O'Hare tonight. It seems like a cool concept for a driving range, but after going there, i wouldn't really recommend it for practice. I'm sure there has to be a lighted driving range nearby that has better mats (or grass), and tees that actually could support the weight of a golf ball.
The idea is cool; you get points if you hit into targets, that were the size of small greens disbursed through out the hitting area. It displayed daily, monthly, and all-time leaderboards, and had a few different games. It was crowded too, i waited 40 min for a tee. If you go with your boys as a night out, or on a date, i could see how it would be fun. That what most of the people there were doing - either on dates, or groups of twenty-somethings hacking around, drinking beer, and talking smack. Full menu, and decent bar too, though a little overpriced. Even had a cornhole tournament going on in the bar area.
I went hoping to find out more about what distance I am hitting the ball, but unless you hit the targets on the fly it was worthless. The ground otherwise was astroturf, and the ball would bounce high or roll into the sunken target zone. Add that to the well well worn mats, and it was like digging out of a hole a lot with swings. I only looked at the mats close to mine between shots, but they looked the same. Nevertheless, I still did not hit nearly as well or as consistently as my last time out.