The range is solitude for me. Just me, my little area, outdoors among beautiful scenery and working on swing/shots/short game/etc vs that little darn white ball. It is 1-2 hours (or longer if wanted. I used to do 3-4 hours) of concentration and learning as well as being physically active.
I actually go to the range more than I play. I would like to play more but it requires more time, money, socializing. The range is on my terms as I can stay as long or short as I like and getting better is stimulating. To me, nothing beats the sound of perfect compression of the golf ball and headed towards your target on nice trajectory.
But on the other hand, Golf can be very frustrating. Also like fishing, it takes patience, money and good understanding of the equipment to be good at it.