An automatic golf ball ranging system is provided for retrofitting existing passive golf ranges to include an electronic system for notifying golfers as to the distance between the impact of their golf ball on the range and the golfer's target. The automated golf ranging system includes a pod which is preferably self contained to include an independent power supply, one or more microphones for receiving the sound of a golf ball impacting the golf range, a processor for processing the sound made by the golf ball, and visual or audio indicators for providing feedback to the golfer. The processor performs modification, filtration and analysis of the amplitude of the ball impacting the golf range to estimate the distance between golf ball impact and target. In preferred embodiments, the processor filters out ambient background noise and the processor automatically adjusts itself to changing ambient sound levels. Preferably, the processor also considers the time duration of the sound of a golf ball impacting the range when estimating the distance between golf ball impact and target.