Practicing by hitting on mats and into nets

[swingobsessed]

Many times I don't have time to get to the range before dark so I was considering buying a quality hitting mat with a net; however, I am concerned if I will gain anything by hitting balls into a net. For instance when hitting into a net you can't really tell if a shot that takes off straight was going to have some hook on it. Theoretically a person could hit balls an hour a night and could be hooking everything and think they had a good session. Anyone have any thoughts on practicing into nets or any other practice routines for home?

Also, does a mat effect your shots differently than the ground on misses (especially hit fat)?

 

[EdStraker]

Many times I don't have time to get to the range before dark so I was considering buying a quality hitting mat with a net; however, I am concerned if I will gain anything by hitting balls into a net. For instance when hitting into a net you can't really tell if a shot that takes off straight was going to have some hook on it. Theoretically a person could hit balls an hour a night and could be hooking everything and think they had a good session. Anyone have any thoughts on practicing into nets or any other practice routines for home?

Also, does a mat effect your shots differently than the ground on misses (especially hit fat)?

A fat shot hit off a mat isn't as penal as hitting a fat shot off natural turf.

 

[bwkitche]

Many times I don't have time to get to the range before dark so I was considering buying a quality hitting mat with a net; however, I am concerned if I will gain anything by hitting balls into a net. For instance when hitting into a net you can't really tell if a shot that takes off straight was going to have some hook on it. Theoretically a person could hit balls an hour a night and could be hooking everything and think they had a good session. Anyone have any thoughts on practicing into nets or any other practice routines for home?

Also, does a mat effect your shots differently than the ground on misses (especially hit fat)?

I think practicing indoors with a net is invaluable as long as you use a camcorder to *monitor* your practice (especially if you're rebuilding your swing). I have gone through a total swing overhaul over the last 14 months (with Return of NAT as my guide), and I could not have made the progress I have made without using the net and video camera (and NAT's expert guidance). If you know what you're looking for on video, you can also make adjustments swing to swing which helps keep you from making the same mistakes repeatedly. Once a person gets to a certain level with their swing, if they can't tell they're hooking or slicing the ball without seeing the ball flight, I don't think they really *know* their swing. All that being said, I don't discount periodic outdoor "checkups" to make sure everything is on track and to work on trajectory and hitting different shots.

As for good mats, here are a couple links for some of the better ones. I have read good reviews of both products but I do not have any personal experience with the True Strike mat. I have hit quite a lot of balls off of the Turf Hound mat and it's MUCH nicer than the typical square mat found at most driving ranges. The down side to both is they are expensive.

http://www.turfhound.com
http://www.truestrike.com/

 

[otto6457]

I have a Truestrike mat and a 10 X 10 X 10 cage at home. I do most of my video taping at home then come in and download the video to my CSwing program. My setup has been a great investment for me. I added some lights from Home Depot this summer and it is very nice to be able to go out in the back yard after it cools down after dark and work on my swing.

The Truestrike mat is the closest thing to grass you can find and it doesn't hurt your hands like a regular mat. Fat shots come out like a fat shot, unlike regular mats where the club head will just glide down the mat and produce a decent shot. I have just added a target to my net that has a vertical stripe so I can monitor the line my shots start on. I also used to stick an old golf shaft in the ground inside of my cage about 10 feet in front of me and try to hit it. If you can hit a golf shaft, you are starting the ball on a good line.


I have photos of my home set-up. If you want to see it, PM me and I can email them or post them up on Putfile.

 

[bwkitche]

I added some lights from Home Depot this summer and it is very nice to be able to go out in the back yard after it cools down after dark and work on my swing.

What type of lights did you buy? I need to add some additional lighting in my garage so I turn the shutter speed up a bit more.

 

[otto6457]

What type of lights did you buy? I need to add some additional lighting in my garage so I turn the shutter speed up a bit more.

I just got a couple of halogen work lights. They are portable with tripod stands. They are 1000watts each and they do a good job. If I remember correctly they were about $90 each. When I use them I don't video tape. Even with both going outdoors I can't get my shutter speed over 1/500. If you are using a consumer color video camera, I don't think you will get very good high speed video with artificial light. I know that when I was taking lessons at Haney's place in McKinney, all of their video work was done indoors on B/W cameras because B/W was much faster.

 

[bwkitche]

I just got a couple of halogen work lights. They are portable with tripod stands. They are 1000watts each and they do a good job. If I remember correctly they were about $90 each. When I use them I don't video tape. Even with both going outdoors I can't get my shutter speed over 1/500. If you are using a consumer color video camera, I don't think you will get very good high speed video with artificial light. I know that when I was taking lessons at Haney's place in McKinney, all of their video work was done indoors on B/W cameras because B/W was much faster.

I can go as high as 1/1000 under the fluorescents in my current garage...there's 5 4 ft long fixtures that have 4 bulbs each. I was hoping to add enough to go 1/2000. Interesting stuff about the black and white...what type of cameras were they?

 

[Toolish]

If you are going to hit balls in a net it is best to be working on something, a technical move, where you are not result focussed, just process oriented.

Make sure you validate results when you get the chance to ensure you don't get too far off track with what the ball is doing though.

 

[otto6457]

I can go as high as 1/1000 under the fluorescents in my current garage...there's 5 4 ft long fixtures that have 4 bulbs each. I was hoping to add enough to go 1/2000. Interesting stuff about the black and white...what type of cameras were they?

You must have a much better camera than mine. The shaft disappears if I try to use a faster shutter than 1/500. At 1/500 the shaft is still blurred but I can at least get an idea of where it is. Of course outdoors I don't get any light reflected off of the walls or ceiling so that could have some effect.

At Haney's place, I am not sure what brand they used. It was a 2 camera set-up. The cameras went straight to the software and they are live feed. They looked more like surveillances cameras. My instructor said the cameras and software ran at 90FPS. He showed me video of Tiger working with Haney and even at Tigers swing speed the shaft was frozen perfectly at any point in the swing. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

WASTE OF ABSOLUTE TIME!

UNLESS

1) You are praticing chip shots
2) You are practicing pitch shots

Also, your time would be better suited grabbing a pair of plane lasers and working on drawing a straight plane line.

 

[davidmac00]

waste of time?

WASTE OF ABSOLUTE TIME!

UNLESS

1) You are praticing chip shots
2) You are practicing pitch shots

Also, your time would be better suited grabbing a pair of plane lasers and working on drawing a straight plane line.

jim,
in all fairness,there is ALWAYS someting that can be learned,please be more positive.
david

 

[tongzilla]

Also, your time would be better suited grabbing a pair of plane lasers and working on drawing a straight plane line.

In my experience, working on tracing a straight plane line without actually hitting a ball does not cause measureable improvement in ball striking. I have a few theories as to why. It might help a bit if your plane line is really screwed...

 

[hcw]

i think...

that if you hit hard foam balls onto a flat wall 15-20 feet in front of you, the trajectory they take off the wall gives you some good info...

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

jim,
in all fairness,there is ALWAYS someting that can be learned,please be more positive.
david

From hitting into a net and not seeing where the ball goes? No there is not, sorry.

Unless you are going to hit chip shots or pitch shots into that net FROM A DISTANCE so you can gauge direction you are doing more harm then good.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

that if you hit hard foam balls onto a flat wall 15-20 feet in front of you, the trajectory they take off the wall gives you some good info...

sure, 15-20 is enough to tell inital direction which is why i said chipping or pitching from a distance into a net COULD help.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

In my experience, working on tracing a straight plane line without actually hitting a ball does not cause measureable improvement in ball striking. I have a few theories as to why. It might help a bit if your plane line is really screwed...

Tong, in all of my teaching i give this drill to a lot of students and have had quite a few buy and use the laser trainers that are on my "approved list" and they have all improved their plane line control.

 

[Bill Miracle]

I got the plane lasers...

From hitting into a net and not seeing where the ball goes? No there is not, sorry.

Unless you are going to hit chip shots or pitch shots into that net FROM A DISTANCE so you can gauge direction you are doing more harm then good.

based on Jim's recommendation....really helps with tracing straight plane and putting. I am getting a lot of understanding what happens when I swing this way or that. Can't recommend it enough.

 

[birdie_man]

You might be able to tell how solid you're hitting it......or (roughly) to what trajectory. How much more than that tho?

I'd think you'd prolly be better off working on pitch shots, no?

"My 2 cents."

 

[hcw]

my experience is that...

sure, 15-20 is enough to tell inital direction which is why i said chipping or pitching from a distance into a net COULD help.

...how it bounces off the wall can tell you about the spin and later curvature...

 

[swingobsessed]

Tong, in all of my teaching i give this drill to a lot of students and have had quite a few buy and use the laser trainers that are on my "approved list" and they have all improved their plane line control.

What is on your approved list?