Driving Net and Mat advice

[virtuocity]

Going to get a net and a mat set up in my new place in a couple of weeks.

Looking for recommendations for both please- nothing too expensive.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

I wouldn't bother personally, unless you can have a trackman or a gizmo to monitor your swing it's going to get very boring very quickly
I toyed with the idea and binned it

Thump into the net, thump into the net repeat

You have no idea where the ball ends up , do you might ingrain the wrong stuff

Just my opinion

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I don't hold much stock by these. Impossible to tell where balls would have gone and while they are fine for just getting club on ball and keeping a swing ticking over I'd rather hit the range and see the ball fly for myself. Better still if I can get to our practice ground (snorkel optional at the moment) and hit off grass. If you are still going to get one, plenty on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/golf-nets-g...&page=1&rh=n:318949011,k:golf nets for garden

 

[virtuocity]

I couldn't disagree with both of you more!

Particularly as I'm reasonably new to the game, I think it's vital to concentrate on QUALITY OF STRIKE.

I am a proud owner of a High Speed Casio camera as well. This means that should I want to work on one thing, such as casting, then I can chart my progress daily, visually. I can see if my faults are lessoning or whether new faults creep in (something that even 11 handicappers discover after a video session) all without spending £6.50 for 100 balls.

Or, forget what I've just said and consider that fact that I just merely enjoy hitting golf balls, no matter whether they slice, hook, go 100 yards or double that.

Any recommendations welcomed!

 

[London mike 61]

I have got a driving net which my sons bought me about 3 years ago, I have no idea what make it is ( sorry) but my observations of using it are that it's ok if you tee a ball up and just concentrate on ball position and stance until you get the quality of strike that you are looking for. But if you are looking to hit irons into the net then unless you have a mat down it will sod the grass up, and by having any kind of mat down you will raise the ball slightly because you are standing on the turf and the ball will be perhaps half an inch higher than it would naturally , giving you a false reading of your ball striking ability. So unless you can but a mat big enough for you to stand on and address your ball comfortably then it needs further thought.

 

[patricks148]

If you are really serious ask at your club or local range if the have any mats you could buy and the build your own net with scaffolding poles and strong doubled over netting.

But after I while you will get bored if you are anything like me. I've had two shop bought nets and both were not up to the task.

 

[BubbaP]

Would these various swing tracker devices (3 bays, swingbyte etc) not make this type of practice potentially more effective?

 

[AMcC]

I would agree with Patrick and building your own would be a lot stronger and more durable.

 

[JCW]

I wouldn't bother personally, unless you can have a trackman or a gizmo to monitor your swing it's going to get very boring very quickly
I toyed with the idea and binned it

Thump into the net, thump into the net repeat






















You have no idea where the ball ends up , do you might ingrain the wrong stuff

Just my opinion

Good answer , hit the range .................................y:fore:

 

[vkurup]

If i cud, I wud put a net in the backyard, but it would not get past the guv. There are a few options available in the back of golf mags that you do.

However, highly recommend adding a 3Bays swing analyser to this practice as it wud make it more meaningful rather than just thumping the ball. Having used the 3bay, highly recommend it.

 

[Khamelion]

For this to work for me and I'm toying with the idea myself, would be to use the 3bays I have in conjunction with a lesson. Use the 3bays during a lesson and get you teacher to tell you when you have a good stroke that you need to replicate. Then back at home or at the range, you can hit ball after ball, trying to replicate what you did in your lesson, then at least that way you know when you are doing good and if you are at home it won't cost you £5+ for 100 balls as it would at the range.

Mind you you'd have to be hitting a lot of balls at the range to warrant buying a net and mat, as good net and mat, whether shop bought or home made will cost quite a lot and quite a lot equates to a lot of range sessions. Also if the weather is crap outside you're not going to want to stand in the garden hitting balls, when you could go to the range and be under cover hitting balls.

 

[golfdub]

I used to have lessons in a net without knowing where the ball would end up and I thought it was brilliant as I was purely looking to see how the ball felt and worked on grooving in the new adjustments iv been told to do. I found that at the range sometimes I would worry to much about the ball flight and easily work away from what iv been told to do.
I went from playing off about 18 to 12 in about 6 months using this method also this may sound off the track but my old pro said the biggest improvement he ever saw was in a blind man as he just concentrated on feel as he couldn't see the flight, it does make sense.

And personally I would build my own for a fraction of the price and you decide how steady it would be.

 

[virtuocity]

I found that at the range sometimes I would worry to much about the ball flight

Not only that, but worrying about DISTANCE has really hindered my progress. My brain is programmed to believe that the longer and faster my backswing is, the farther the ball will go.

With a net, I can work to halving the length of my backswing, eradicate my horrible cast and chicken wing and learn to hit efficiently with the aid of high quality video. I feel a bit of a knob setting up my camera and tripod at the range but now I can take videos every day!

 

[guest100718]

I have an izzo big mouth I bought off eBay and a mat I got from my local range. Ignore the nay Sayers and do it. I spent 50 quid all in . It's great being able to hit balls in the garden.

 

[Sweep]

I did this in January last year and it helped my game massively.
I went to Net World sports on the Internet and bought a 3 x 3 x 3m cage net (slightly modified as I had just under 3m in height. They made this for me, no problem). It wasn't the easiest thing to put up, mainly because I was installing it indoors, but the company were very helpful on the phone and it was soon done.
I then bought a True Strike mat. Not the cheapest but for me it was the best, as it comes in sections so you can build your own set up and the gel filled (I think) true strike mat sections for hitting irons off are fantastic, as you can effectively take a divot.
I really decided on putting the net up to give me some way of practicing, particularly in the winter, and I was lucky enough to have some space available. I wasn't a big fan of nets, as like others have said, you don't know the ball flight, distance etc. To combat this I bought a couple of things. Firstly, I got an old Vector Pro off eBay and tbh this was an expensive mistake. It is a good tool but takes too much setting up and needs recalibrating. I also got an Optishot cheap simulator, which is great for the money (around £350). However it shouldn't be confused with the £10,000 kits. The Optishot is a good simulator and shows AoA etc really well, just not sure how accurate it is on distance. However, the best thing I got was an Ernest Sports ES12. I have to say having used one I am surprised they are not more popular. They give a very accurate yardage for shots even in a net, where of course you can use real balls. Using one on a range will only measure the distance of the range ball, which is its biggest downfall. The ES12 has proved much more useful than either the Vector Pro or the Optishot and I use it every session. Even though it doesn't give you flight path, it gives a great insight into quality of strike which helps you work things out pretty fast.
I am sure using a 3 bays or similar would work very well in a net. I haven't used one yet and I am trying to work out which one would be best.
All in all, for me it has been a brilliant project. My nearest decent range in half an hour away, which means you need a couple of spare hours to go there and back and have a good practice. This way I can be practicing in 10 minutes. My ultimate aim is to put in a proper system like a GC2 or Flightscope if funds ever allow. we can all dream .
Good luck with it. If I can be if any help, just pm me.

 

[Sybez]

Great post ^^^^ but where the hell are the pics!!!!!!!!!

Do you rate the ES12 figures in practise to on course figures?

So many things to work on without seeing the ball flight. Rhythm, tempo, posture, stance, planes, self shot videos.... can't believe that if you have the space you wouldn't do it...

 

[Andy]

As soon as you strike the ball you know if its good or bad, why would you pay for a machine to tell you this?

Its all about feel

 

[Alex1975]

I wouldn't bother personally, unless you can have a trackman or a gizmo to monitor your swing it's going to get very boring very quickly
I toyed with the idea and binned it

Thump into the net, thump into the net repeat

You have no idea where the ball ends up , do you might ingrain the wrong stuff

Just my opinion

never gets boring.... I find it very hard to go back in at the end of the night but dont like to hit balls after 10 at night for the neighbors. I guess I hit 2/3/400 balls a night.

However, as Phil says I can find myself learning to flush a hook all week, it can feel sweeeet and it is... a sweet hook. I am buying some tech to help. The best way without tech is to hit a fade, then a draw, then down the line, high, low. It keeps your brain active and makes sure you don't ingrain one bad stock shot.


What I know from years of using a mat and net is, either spend a lot of money or make your own. I can kill a £60 net in 5 wet nights. As soon as the ball makes a hole, every other ball will find that hole. I used a very tight door mat, lasts about 2 months and duvet covers. I have netting up high for those wild ones.

 

[stevelev]

As soon as you strike the ball you know if its good or bad, why would you pay for a machine to tell you this?

Its all about feel

Shut your eyes, hit a ball and tell us whether it was a draw, fade, high or low, was your club face close or open and how far would it have gone with a couple of yards. Ill do the same with a good LM and see if u are more accurate than the LM.

Even the like of poulter uses a launch monitor and camera to practise at home andctweak his swing. :lol:

 

[stevelev]

never gets boring.... I find it very hard to go back in at the end of the night but dont like to hit balls after 10 at night for the neighbors. I guess I hit 2/3/400 balls a night.

However, as Phil says I can find myself learning to flush a hook all week, it can feel sweeeet and it is... a sweet hook. I am buying some tech to help. The best way without tech is to hit a fade, then a draw, then down the line, high, low. It keeps your brain active and makes sure you don't ingrain one bad stock shot.


What I know from years of using a mat and net is, either spend a lot of money or make your own. I can kill a £60 net in 5 wet nights. As soon as the ball makes a hole, every other ball will find that hole. I used a very tight door mat, lasts about 2 months and duvet covers. I have netting up high for those wild ones.

What is your handicap down to now alex?