Practicing in Public Parks

Does anybody ever practice golf in public parks?  Obviously, i'm not talking about taking out the driver whaling balls.  Equally obvious, I'm only talking about areas where it can be done without hitting people with golf balls.  But maybe a little wedge play and pitching practice?

I'd like to go to a local pop warner football field, set up at the end line, and hit my wedges.  My SW goes about 95 yds, so I could hit that and anything shorter.  I could get one of those $15 callaway mats sold at Dicks' so that I don't take divots, and shoot for a bucket or a towel or something.  To me, this seems like a great way to really dial in my wedges and use the field markings to know exactly how far I hit them.

The driving range really doesn't get it done because the tees are slightly raised and nothing short of 105 is really marked.  So its impossible do know with any more accuracy than eyeballing it.  Plus, I can use the balls I normally play with.  There is a short game practice area at the range i use, so that's the other obvious alternative, at $10/hour.  But that's a 15 minute drive, and a rush to get in a full hour after work.  Particularly if I'm not the only person trying to do this.  If I used the football field I could theoretically do this every week day after work, for free.

Around here, all the public parks have a no-golf rule, probably partly to protect the grass, as well as to protect other people.  I've occasionally taken my son (3-4 years old at the times) without anyone complaining, but since he hits it about 30 yards on a good whack and doesn't take divots, there's no problem.  When he's doing that I've sometimes done some chipping, figuring that it's innocuous enough that even if someone did complain, there'd be no damage to complain about.

Unless the park is totally empty, I wouldn't do any full swings, even wedges.  The mat is a good idea to protect the grass.  But I'd look into the rules/laws before going out.  Even if you're being careful not to do damage, if someone does notice/complain and there happens to be torn up grass, you might have trouble convincing anyone that you weren't pulilng up divots.

The big parks with ball fields and picnic areas generally have "no golf" postings. Some of the smaller pocket parks do not (pocket = one football or softball field, and that's about it).

One thing: If it's a soccer field or football field, I don't like to hit golf balls unless it's been mowed recently. If you lost a couple of balls, some kid could catch the ball on his spikes and sprain a knee.

But like dsc123 said, a football field with yardage lines is a great place to check the range on your wedges and short irons - especially good after a swing change, or a move to new golf balls.

I would definitely check out the local laws about it, but if you cant find anything, talk to the head groundskeeper at the park. As the head groundskeeper at a park in NJ, i do let people hit balls, depending on the situation.

Also like WUTiger said, make sure the field is mowed. Nothing pisses off a groundskeeper more than chopping up golf balls, and dulling the blades on the mowers.

You know I never even thought about this... my old school is two blocks away and it has an entire block of grass available and not in use. Best part is, the school isn't being used anymore...

At the end of my street is a cul-de-sac with a "public park" - not much of a park, just grass with a bike path going through it. I have a tube of "Almost golf balls" that are made of hard plastic and advertised as neighborhood safe. I have hit them off my own house/car/kids and can attest that they won't break anything but they can sting a little. The balls spin like regular balls they just fly about half the distance.  I'll hit balls in the cul-de-sac with a 6 iron and work on my full swing. Other times I'll take a wedge and hit to a specific target. The downside is you can't dial in your real distances. I've been doing this for a few years and I've never had anyone complain.

For practicing at the range I use my laser rangefinder and a dry erase marker. Take the dry-erase marker and color a practice ball. Hit it out on the range. Now you've got a target to aim at (and the dry erase will wash off so you are doing no harm). Lase the target ball and check your distances.

hmm....all good points.  thanks.

The local park rules say no balls or projectiles can be used outside of designated areas.  This area is designated for footballs...not sure if that counts. Basically the rules is broad and gives whoever wants to enforce it the discretion to do so as they please.  There may be signs on the fence around the football field that say its only for football.  I'll have to check that out.

The laser range finder is a good idea.  But I don't have one, and since i'm happy with the performance of the apps on my phone i probably wont get one.  Almost golf balls are a decent alternative, but they wouldn't give me the work on my distance, or solve the other issues people raised.

This is my basic concern.  I am sure that i can do this without doing any damage.  Whether the average over-protective and nosy soccer mom passing by believes me is another matter.

I certainly wouldn't want anyone to get hurt tripping on the golf balls or mowing them.  The grounds are very well maintained though, so I think that if I bring say 10 balls I can make sure that I'm not leaving anything behind.  Doesn't solve the soccer mom concern.

Its definitely the kind of thing I could do in a way that nobody would be around.  There are two football fields, fenced in separately, side by side, on one end of a big park.  One butts up against a wooded area, so there really isn't anyone hanging out on either side.  I would be seen by people playing tennis,  and possibly dog walkers but they would not be within range.  A football field is what, 33 yards wide?  So with the field, the sidelines, the track, etc., i'd probably have to hit the ball 30 yards off line to get it outside the fence, and even then there wouldnt likely be anyone hanging out there.

It just seems like such a perfect practice area...

I think they're 53 yards wide. I'm not sure why I think this, but I'm pretty sure it's about accurate.

I think you're right.  So then i'd have to be 40 yards off line to get it outside the fence.

I hit balls everywhere :) I'll just drive around until I see a big open park area and get out and hit golf balls. I've never had anyone say anything to me, in fact in college I used a soccer field almost everyday to hit balls in front of my apartment and after a couple weeks there were a bunch of other people that would come and hit golf balls in the same spot. It basically turned into a driving range. It bordered on annoying when I wanted to go out and hit balls and there we already three people lined up on one side of the field hitting shag bags.  It was a perfect place though, they kept it mowed and it was ~250 yards and probably 50 yards wide.

It even had an elevated hill that you could hit from like a teebox. One warning though in most places you will quickly realize just how far 100-130 yards really is, a park will look like it has plenty of a space until you knock a ball into the surrounding neighborhood. :)

Theres a small park across the street from my house where I practice my wedge shots.  Its not much but unlike going to the range, its free.

I carry a shag bag and a few wedges in my car, during lunch, or on the way to somewhere I can drop in for a few hits.  I never felt uncomfortable , but I also dont stand in the middle of the field taking massive divots.  If people show up I just leave.  Usually I will stand outside the fence, find a grass spot and flip some over the chainlink fence, I try to hit close to the front, then as close to the fence, on the other side,  I sometimes try it hit the top rail.  If I stand further away, I try to hit a specific section of the chain link fence. Like making a fieldgoal  Be careful sometimes they come back to you!!  Maybe I might hit a few low running chips..into the "center" and then shag them up.     I like to hit onto the infield, has a similar feel to hitting into a green, and you get some roll out just like a green.    You will find which parks might work best for you.

On occasion I have been know to put out POP up nets 24 or 18 inchers..and measure w my laserfinder.  I mainly put out 2 targets, and alternate between the two...sometimes pop ups, sometimes low runners.

Bottom line, you are a tax payer...be respectfull....if you feel you are doing some damage, carry some seed soil mix in a plastic coffee container and sprinkle it around after you are done

There is a park about a mile from my house where I can hit any of my irons with no problems.  If I wanted to I could probably pull out my 5 wood and hit it if I want....I have enough distance to even hit a driver, but the park is only about 80 yards wide with houses lining the left side so I choose not too.  I always wondered about the "legality" of it, but a copper pulled into the parking lot while I was hitting the other day which worried me, especially when he got out of his car and came towards me.  Turns out he was a golf fan too and we had a quick chat about the upcoming season and how he was also looking forward to the local courses opening.....didn't even mention the houses on the left side of the park.  He must've noticed how sweet my swing was and didn't think it would be an issue

I hit balls all the time at two different park locations. I'll just make sure no one is in firing range, and I make sure I take my divots off the playing field.

I would avoid school fields and fields that get heavy use, but if it's a park that doesn't usually have other people around, you should be fine. Even if there is a no golf rule, as long as you don't ruin the turf you should be fine, and if anyone asks you to leave, just do it, you would have been breaking the rules anyway. But if the field doesn't get much use you should be fine.

I'm lucky to have a patch of land in the cul de sac here where I can strike balls, but I don't use real balls, unless it's a 25yds chip / ptch shot.

How about using Birdie Balls? No matter how hard I hit them, they are quite safe and don't travel far at all =)

In CLE, OH, there us a ring of green space around the outer edge of the county called the Metroparks.  It has tons of places that are wide open where lots of players will shag balls on a nice day.  They're not nearly as crowded (usually) or as neatly manicured as a city park or school grounds so no one really cares if a guy is out hitting a couple dozen balls at a time.