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Hitting Off Mats for Practice

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h0ss66

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This question has come up before and I'm looking for some clarification/pointers. I've been taking lessons for a few months now at a nice country club in my area. The driving range is grass and of course I've played a few rounds there too.

My problem is that my only opportunities for practice during the work week only are at the Muni driving range across the street from condo. They only have artificial turf mats.

I've noticed that often I hit "well" at the range and then get to my weekend lesson on grass and completely suck. Knowing that I have issues hitting too many fat shots and reading up on the fact that mats will mask the fat shot issue, I'm wondering if my practice routine is actually hurting my game.

Yesterday I starting hitting okay off the mat with my irons, and then started struggling. I decided to just hit off the tee cause I was sick of bouncing on the mat (quite frankly, my left elbow starting hurting too - which I understand is a side effect of fat shots off mats, or mats in general).

So my question is this. Should I just stick to hitting off the tee at the driving range? I was messing around with my 4 iron off the tee and was making pretty good contact and cranking straight shots about 170, but realize it might not be so helpful because I need to learn how to hit irons off the deck and make a forward divot rather than hitting fat. I think that hitting irons off the tee at the range will be somewhat helpful, but maybe I should just stick to hitting my driver, 3 wood, and hybrid there??

I'm kind of at a loss here. I need to improve my iron game and figure out how to properly take a divot after ball contact, but I only get grass practice once a week and thats during a lesson where I tend to tighten up for whatever reason (mainly my coach tweaking my swing which gets me thinking too much). Any advise or tips on this issue?
 
Here is one thought for you....

pick an area in your yard to use as a practice area

you can hit the wiffle golf balls so you won't do any damage to surrounding structures

that way you are able to work on your swing and divots on grass as opposed to the mat

granted, this will take some upkeep on your part for that area in your yard -- but if its in the back, who will see it but you, and the golf game is worth it
 
I think if the matts is all you have then use them. You are developing your swing more than anything. When you get on the course you can focus on compressing the ball. Backyard practice like Pinky said always helps. I know I like to go into my backyard and make a divot and then attempt to swing through that divot, it helps with my "real" turf interaction.
 
Thanks guys. Its just frustrating thinking I'm improving at the range and then I get to my lesson on grass and I'm awful. Still haven't been able to figure out what I need to correct in order to take a forward divot. My coach gives me tons of tweaks, so I guess its a combination of things right now.
 
If you think you are hitting fat on the mats, just place a quarter about an inch in front of the ball on the mat. Make sure you don't hit the quarter. While the mat may hide a fat shot, a quarter flying into the range is pretty hard to miss.
 
I've been there hoss. For me, it was when I was hitting balls just prior to a round. Hitting really well and thought it would carry over to the course. Well, first couple holes had a few fat shots, but I was able to adjust and hit the ball fine after a few holes. Like others have said, it is still beneficial to hit off of the mats and you are working on your swing. As a little drill, sometimes I place a tee about 4-6 inches behind the ball and if I hit the tee then I know I am coming in too shallow or hitting behind the ball. I saw this drill on tv but it has really helped me hit down on the ball and not sweep or hit it fat.
 
Jeff Conner said:
I've been there hoss. For me, it was when I was hitting balls just prior to a round. Hitting really well and thought it would carry over to the course. Well, first couple holes had a few fat shots, but I was able to adjust and hit the ball fine after a few holes. Like others have said, it is still beneficial to hit off of the mats and you are working on your swing. As a little drill, sometimes I place a tee about 4-6 inches behind the ball and if I hit the tee then I know I am coming in too shallow or hitting behind the ball. I saw this drill on tv but it has really helped me hit down on the ball and not sweep or hit it fat.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the pointers. I'll probably try the quarter trick when I'm on the mats and then the tee trick on grass. It was fun yesterday making some contact with my 4 iron off the tee. I think it was the first time that I actually felt full-on solid, flush contact with a long iron. Maybe I can do that on some shorter holes when I play for real.
 
The mats at my local range have thicker turf on the edges. I hit from there, as it affects my shot when I hit it fat. The smoother part of the mat hides a lot, which is unfortunate.

I would suggest the wiffle practice in your yard.
 
I call them Game Improvement Mats...I seem to always do well on them and it seldomly carries over to the course
 
mikedean441 said:
I call them Game Improvement Mats...I seem to always do well on them and it seldomly carries over to the course
Click to expand...

Eh, yea its a catch 22. I need to practice somewhere and somehow though.
 
I have times where mats are my only choice too. I make sure I always choose a bay that has the better type of mat if I can. The one range has these mats that if you hit fat you'll get a fat shot. I like the tee or quarter behind the ball idea. I try to be very conscious of my ball striking and make sure Im picking it clean off the mat. I figure even if its hitting off mats its better then not practicing at all.
 
the only problem I see with practicing on grass at home is that the grass roots are very strong/thick, nothing like on a golf course. Once in a while I go out to the front of my house, and hit the balls I find while playing into the canal or empty lot... but the roots sometimes catch the club and it feels like I hit a brick!!
 
Great term....and I've been doing the same thing lately with doing well at the range but not having those results translate to the course...very frustrating for me
mikedean441 said:
I call them Game Improvement Mats...I seem to always do well on them and it seldomly carries over to the course
Click to expand...
 
I practice at an indoor facility in the summer months and I usually lay a towel down behind the ball. A fat shot will hit the towel everytime, and you don't have to worry about flinging quarters down range.
 
The course I go to practice have hitting mats when they give the grass time to recover. I'm not really fond of them though. I never thought about putting something behind my ball to help with the fat shots, might have to use that sometime. I did find something online called the Fairway Pro. It's supposed to mimic real turf and reduces shock from hard mats. It cost $160, but it could a good investment if you only have access to ranges with mats.
 
SW FLA said:
I practice at an indoor facility in the summer months and I usually lay a towel down behind the ball. A fat shot will hit the towel everytime, and you don't have to worry about flinging quarters down range.
Click to expand...

I like this towel concept. I'll try that myself at the range on mats next time. Because I think the quarter trick might get a little pricey for me!
 
It could be that the "tons of changes" are coming at you too quickly. I don't know how many he is throwing at you at one time, I just know that I don't want to try and concentrate on more than 2 or 3 at a time. If you can afford to pick up a Tour Striker to use off the mats for practice I think you could learn quickly how to strike down on the ball and take a forward divot. JMO.
 
mdbuschsr said:
It could be that the "tons of changes" are coming at you too quickly. I don't know how many he is throwing at you at one time, I just know that I don't want to try and concentrate on more than 2 or 3 at a time. If you can afford to pick up a Tour Striker to use off the mats for practice I think you could learn quickly how to strike down on the ball and take a forward divot. JMO.
Click to expand...

Thanks, this weeks take-home lesson was shortening of my backswing, which I've been improving on. The Tour Striker looks interesting, just perused the longer thread on here, seems that most people have seen some good results from it. Might be worth it to try at $100.
 
I hate hate hate hitting from mats and now both ranges near my house have gone to them. AAARRGGHH !!!
 
Spaceman_Spiff said:
I like this towel concept. I'll try that myself at the range on mats next time. Because I think the quarter trick might get a little pricey for me!
Click to expand...

Haha! I am going for the towel trick this afternoon for the exact same reason. I like the way you think :)
 
I hate them but if I must hit on them I will but I like taking my divots before a round and hitting off of pure grass rather than something that's not even out on the course.
 
SW FLA said:
I practice at an indoor facility in the summer months and I usually lay a towel down behind the ball. A fat shot will hit the towel everytime, and you don't have to worry about flinging quarters down range.
Click to expand...

But when it is your money on the line, things tend to get done quicker. If you wanted to be really extreme, put your ipod down 2 inches from the ball. =)
 
h0ss66 said:
This question has come up before and I'm looking for some clarification/pointers. I've been taking lessons for a few months now at a nice country club in my area. The driving range is grass and of course I've played a few rounds there too.

My problem is that my only opportunities for practice during the work week only are at the Muni driving range across the street from condo. They only have artificial turf mats.

I've noticed that often I hit "well" at the range and then get to my weekend lesson on grass and completely suck. Knowing that I have issues hitting too many fat shots and reading up on the fact that mats will mask the fat shot issue, I'm wondering if my practice routine is actually hurting my game.

Yesterday I starting hitting okay off the mat with my irons, and then started struggling. I decided to just hit off the tee cause I was sick of bouncing on the mat (quite frankly, my left elbow starting hurting too - which I understand is a side effect of fat shots off mats, or mats in general).

So my question is this. Should I just stick to hitting off the tee at the driving range? I was messing around with my 4 iron off the tee and was making pretty good contact and cranking straight shots about 170, but realize it might not be so helpful because I need to learn how to hit irons off the deck and make a forward divot rather than hitting fat. I think that hitting irons off the tee at the range will be somewhat helpful, but maybe I should just stick to hitting my driver, 3 wood, and hybrid there??

I'm kind of at a loss here. I need to improve my iron game and figure out how to properly take a divot after ball contact, but I only get grass practice once a week and thats during a lesson where I tend to tighten up for whatever reason (mainly my coach tweaking my swing which gets me thinking too much). Any advise or tips on this issue?
Click to expand...

I follow Hank Haney on twitter and this is question is what's asked most of him. BTW, he does answer a ton of questions so if you on twitter, he's a great follow. Anyway, according to Hank, mat practice is perfectly fine as long as you pay attention to your impact point and make sue you don't hit behind the ball.
When this was the focal point of my practice, I used pennies... quarters on a large bucket added up too fast. Then I felt bad spraying coins all over the range so I placed a towel behind the ball. That got old quick because I had to fetch the towel. Finally, I stole a page out of Hanks book. When he worked with Rush he placed a lie board down behind the ball. Most lie boards, at least the one I bought has a foam padding so it doesn't move when you make contact. That plus the noise contact makes is instant feed back.
 
Hey guys,

I've been having this problem too (among others). I'd be hitting the ball great off the mats but then I'd send clumps of dirt farther than the ball when hitting off of grass. I tried the towel trick today and it went alright. But I ended up hitting A LOT of thin shots. I was probably focusing too much on not touching the towel. I just read the above post about chasing the towel and it made me think...

should I be really worried about not touching the towel at all or is a little bit of contact ok. Some of the shots that i hit today moved the towel enough to know that i hit it but i never sent it flying. those were actually the shots that i hit the best. I understand that i should be hitting the ball first and taking a divot after the ball which is why i was trying not to hit it.

it's been incredibly frustrating lately because i've been hitting better than ever off of the mats some days but then chunking like crazy in the grass.
 
take a towel and put it an inch or two behind the ball. Make your swings and hit the ball with out hitting the towel.
 
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