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Beating my driveway to smithereens, Good or Bad?

wannabe
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wannabe Dedicated Member

wannabe

Howdy,

I read somewhere (Penick's Little Red Book, perhaps?) that when taking practice swings one should always aim at something.

So lately if I feel like taking a few practice swings, I just grab an old, beatup iron and swing on my old weathered concrete driveway, aiming at a spot on the concrete.

Of course the club sole is scarred irreperably, and I typically scrape a white spot on the grayed, dirty driveway. It's actually a great way to see exactly where my divot would've started.

My question is, though, will taking practice swings from this 'hardpan' lie promote bad habits? I'm thinking it might promote thin shots overall, since any 'divot' will be necessarily shallow to keep me from destroying my driveway and my wrists!

Ping G2 Driver; Titleist 906F2 5W; TM Rescue Mid 3H; Adams Idea Pro 4H; Titleist DTR 3-SW; Callaway Bobby Jones Putter; Ping Hoofer lite

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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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My question is, though, will taking practice swings from this 'hardpan' lie promote bad habits? I'm thinking it might promote thin shots overall, since any 'divot' will be necessarily shallow to keep me from destroying my driveway and my wrists!

Yes, and that's also not what Harvey meant when he said to aim at something. He meant a target in the distance, not something on the ground.

Erik J. Barzeski — ⛳ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • Author, Lowest Score Wins
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Marmitetoo Member

Marmitetoo

OMG! I can't imagine beating my clubs into the concrete!

But it sounds like your enjoying yourself so what the heck.

I bought a Daisy Mat from Walmart. It's a kind of Astroturf Door Mat but i use it all over the place for practicing, suggest you get one before you get through a whole set of clubs.

Steve

R7 460 10.5 Degrees
Sasquatch 15 & 17 Degrees
MP60's 3-PW
T-Zoid Comp EZ Wedges 52 & 56
CG10 60 Degrees Tour Action Reg.588 64 Degrees White Hot #4 E6+ Balls

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StrmStlkr Member

StrmStlkr

I would suggest an old piece of carpet. You can stain a spot on it to simulate where the ball is and when you swing you will be able to see not only the starting point of your divot, but also the shape etc.

I also second Eric when he said that Harvey was talking about a target in the distance, not something on the ground.
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HSip Well Established Member

HSip

I would suggest an old piece of carpet. You can stain a spot on it to simulate where the ball is and when you swing you will be able to see not only the starting point of your divot, but also the shape etc.

Yup - wrong target. About the only thing you're practicing is the old cart path shot where relief would only get you in more trouble. Must make your neighbors wonder though!!!

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Scottydoint Established Member

Scottydoint

Yup - wrong target. About the only thing you're practicing is the old cart path shot where relief would only get you in more trouble. Must make your neighbors wonder though!!!

I am pretty sure he talked about hitting a spot on the ground. I recently re-read the little green book and he told one of his lady pupil to not even try hitting balls until she could consistently hit the a spot on the ground, like a leaf. She was hitting all her shots fat.

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wannabe Dedicated Member

wannabe

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I am pretty sure he talked about hitting a spot on the ground. I recently re-read the little green book and he told one of his lady pupil to not even try hitting balls until she could consistently hit the a spot on the ground, like a leaf. She was hitting all her shots fat.

To clarify, Harvey talked about both.

"Take Dead Aim" is his familiar slogan about aiming at a specific target in the distance. The quote I referred to is what you've mentioned here - aiming at a specific spot on the ground for a practice swing to ensure your divot/ball contact would've been accurate had one actually hit a ball.

Ping G2 Driver; Titleist 906F2 5W; TM Rescue Mid 3H; Adams Idea Pro 4H; Titleist DTR 3-SW; Callaway Bobby Jones Putter; Ping Hoofer lite

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McGolf-Doggie Dedicated Member

McGolf-Doggie

You're kidding right?
I'd guess it's no good for your body in the long run, and you're going to punish yourself for taking divots which may be counterproductive. Heck I don;t even like using the mat at the driving range because any slightly fat contact yields nasty shocks through the arms.

IfI find I need to do it at home, I have a few spots in the backyard where I don't mind killing the grass/dirt/weeds. Plantain weeds make decent targets. Now if only I remembered to re-seed.

........................................
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Putter :ping: 1/2Craz-e | Irons :TaylorMade: RAC MB, 4i-PW (DG S300) |Wedges :Cleveland: SW&LW 56*DSG+RTG; 60*/4* DSG+RTG |Woods :Cobra: S1 5W; Adams TIght Lies 3W |Driver :TaylorMade: Burner 9.5 Fujikura Reax S | Maxfli Practice

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ApocG10 Great Member

ApocG10

Damn man, get a turf mat and a net. 80$-150$ depending on make and quality. But worth every penny. I must have hit well over 3-4000 balls on my net this winter.

In the Ogio Kingpin bag:

Titleist 913 D2 9.5* w/ UST Mamiya ATTAS 3 80 w/ Harrison Shotmaker & Billy Bobs afternarket Hosel Adaptor (get this if you don't have it for your 913)
Wilson Staff Ci-11 4-GW (4I is out of the bag for a hybrid, PW and up were replaced by Edel Wedges)
TaylorMade RBZ 5 & 3 Fairway Woods

Cobra Baffler T-Rail 3 & 4 Hybrids

Edel Forged 48, 52, 56, 60, and 64* wedges (different wedges for different courses)

Seemore Si-4 Black Nickel Putter

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Fat Slice Great Member

Fat Slice

It's a simple question with a simpler answer: Bad!

Driver: Nike Ignite 10.5 w/ Fujikura Motore F1
2H: King Cobra
4H: Nickent 4DX
5H: Adams A3
6I 7I 8I 9I PW: Mizuno mp-57Wedges: Mizuno MP T-10 50, 54, 58 Ball: random

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microcrayfish Dedicated Member

microcrayfish

Penick does say you should aim at a spot on the ground with your practice swings.

From 'Havey Penick's Little Red Book':

"Now let me ask another question: How many times have you seen a player make two or three beautiful practice swings that don't touch anything but air?"

And a paragraph later:

"From now on when you take a practice swing, make it a point to aim at something. Cut off a dandelion or a blade of grass, or if you are in your living room aim at a spot on the rug... Aiming at something with your practice swing will help you learn to square the clubface."


It's pretty obvious he's not talking about aiming at something in the distance. So you're on the right track aiming at a spot on the ground with your practice swings but doing it on concrete is probably not the best idea.
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Jay-Bird Great Member

Jay-Bird

Heck, I don't even like swinging on turf mats, nevermind concrete.

Amen.

Cease and desist.

driver: FT-i tlcg 9.5˚ (Matrix Ozik XCONN Stiff)
4 wood: G10 (ProLaunch Red FW stiff)
3 -PW: :Titleist: 695 mb (Rifle flighted 6.0)
wedges:, 52˚, 56˚, 60˚
putter: Studio Select Newport 1.5

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albatross Great Member

albatross

Yes, and that's also not what Harvey meant when he said to aim at something. He meant a target in the distance, not something on the ground.

Penick did mean something on the ground. He said that you should never take a practice swing without picking out a blade of grass or flower that you are going to clip with the club. He said that if you aren't actually hitting something with your practice swing, it isn't your real swing.

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ChvyKc Well Established Member

ChvyKc

Sounds like a great way to hurt yourself.

Driver:  Speedline 9.5° w/ Grafalloy Prolaunch AXIS Red Shaft
Fairway:  '07 Burner Fairways
Irons:  Apex Edge 3-W

Wedge:  52° & 58° /  60° 588 Satin

Putter:  Anser 4

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