Sometimes "reality" can be a welcome thing, as opposed to the desperate TV shows supposedly dealing with it—in its worst forms.

Travel less than 10 miles from downtown Greensboro and discover a place called the Country Hills Practice Facility. But don’t expect your run-of-the-mill driving range.

This place would delight the hearts of many Japanese golfers. If that reference is a bit confusing, let’s make it clear by reminding you that Japan is not a very big country. And most of it is up-and-down, really up-and-down.

There just isn’t much room for golf courses and the few that they have, per capita, are horrendously expensive. So where does the average Japanese golfer enjoy his game? At a host of sometimes imaginative driving ranges.

In no way can you call Country Hills a driving range. The reality part enters when you see that the grass hitting area was constructed to give you the feel that you are on a course. Rolling hills, trees and bunkers around target greens make it possible to practice real on-course shots.

The huge hitting area is 325 yards in length and that’s a super-accurate measurement as are all the other distances noted—all done with lasers. There is an automatic irrigation system from the tees to the end of the range and it all was built a year before it opened this September, allowing for very mature grass to exist now.

They devoted three acres to the grass tees and there are no mats in sight there. The grass was allowed to mature and has come in beautifully. The Bermuda grass tee area is so large they move the 25-35 hitting stations daily on a rotation which runs front-to-back on each tee box.

The idea of the layout is a joint effort by Butch Bryant and his uncle, Chris Bryant. Butch says, "It’s nice to have plush grass and some character on the range instead of the usual flat, burned out grass area."

Chris owns the nearby Country Hills Golf Course, a regulation 18-hole daily-fee place. Butch manages the golf course and then travels over to run the practice facility from late afternoon to closing. David Arreguin is Butch’s business partner in the practice facility.

The big course opened in 1994 and soon thereafter Butch was invited on board by his uncle with his fresh degree in political science from East Carolina University grasped in his hand. A thought about becoming a lawyer, which is why lots of people major in poli sci (and I know that from first-hand experience), quickly was lost in the joy of working in golf.

But the handsome grass area is not all that Country Hills offers. There is a second area called the "aqua range" and it consists of 25 mats from which you hit to four island greens from 35 yards to 150 yards out in an attractive lake. They are natural islands, too, not floating platforms and are also bunkered for realism and appearance.

The balls used there are "floaters" and they are recovered by boat. Butch says probably no more than 5 percent of the shots end up on the island greens.

The aqua range also has a large sand trap for actual bunker practice and a chipping green. And one part of this segment of the facility would rival what you might find in Japan. There are five hitting stations on a deck 25 feet above the ground, all aimed at the aqua range islands.

The deck is on an 1,800-square-foot clubhouse with tables, chairs and umbrellas to encourage people to sit and watch and have a bite to eat for lunch or a light dinner. Inside the clubhouse is a complete pro shop with apparel, shoes, hats and gloves. And a custom club fitting service is offered, as well as club repairs.

Phillip Summers runs the pro shop and just joining the staff is Jana Johnson, who will be the LPGA teaching pro. She will also help in club fitting. Jana was formerly at Bur-Mil Park.

Lights are going up and the place will soon be open from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. And a putting green is in the offing, as well as a covered hitting area with heaters. "The whole idea is to give people lots of different ways to hit a golf ball and give them an enjoyable practice facility," Butch says.

There are ample parking spaces. "We’d just like to see them full," Butch says in the words of many new businessmen.

Butch and his wife Renee have a 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Madison. Renee helps at the facility on weekends

The big course and practice facility are separate businesses although the physical layouts will be connected by a cart path, allowing players to practice a bit before teeing off. Don’t be put off by the following directions; it’s easier to get there than this reads.

From Wendover Ave. East in Greensboro take Rt. 29 north to the Hicone Road exit, which is 2 miles above Cone Blvd. Turn right on Hicone Road and travel 4 miles and make a right on Red Cedar Road. In 200 yards turn left on Fairway Run and the practice facility is on the right at the end of Fairway Run. Those going to the Country Hills course would stay on Hicone Road off 29 and its entrance is a mile past Red Cedar Rd.

With justifiable pride, Butch Bryant says, "I think we have built one of the finest practice facilities in the state of North Carolina." And he says that opinion has been echoed by early patrons.

Try it, you’ll like it.