Practice plastic/foam balls

[jonnythan]

I'm a beginner and started taking lessons recently. I've changed a few things about my swing and now I'm having serious trouble making anything remotely resembling solid contact with the ball.

I'd like to pick up some foam or plastic practice balls to hit around instead of dumping a ton of money into the driving range. I have a field a little bit smaller than a football field (high school soccer size) that I can use.

I'd rather buy locally, which means Dick's, Golf Galaxy, or Walmart. Cheaper is better! I don't really care about working the ball or anything like that - all I really want to do is try to dial in this swing a little bit and be able to consistently make solid contact.

Any recommendations? I see foam balls, Callaway practice balls of some sort, wiffle balls, etc.

[DES NUTTZ]

I have the Callaway foam balls (HX-Practice Orange) but if you are going for cheaper is better I am sure there are better ones out there. The Callaway balls that I have work pretty well and I am satisfied with them. I don't hit them with my driver though so I couldn't tell you how far they travel with that.

And my experience with wiffle balls is that they break very easily.

[Zee]

My son and I used the "short distance" foam balls. They are OK, but only lat about 10-15 hits. At around $1 a piece that's not too bad I guess.

[JPBayern]

I was introduced to a great product last year by my instructor called "AlmostGolf". They are foam balls that are more true flying than wiffle balls and also carry a bit further due to their heavier weight. They don't break windows, and they really do reveal whether or not your swing is dead on or if you slice or fade. I think Dick's sells them as a pack of 36 for around 25 bucks. They are really good training aids in my opinion. Since I have a small back yard, anything above practicing with my wedges begins to get risky (as in, I might break someone's window with a real golf ball). That's when I use these!

http://www.almostgolf.com/

Hope this helps!

[jonnythan]

That looks interesting. Golf Galaxy says they have them.

How far *do* they go?

[JPBayern]

It all depends on the club you are using. When I use my 3 hybrid, I usually end up hitting around 100 yards (roughly). I believe they market that a true driver hit won't go past 150 yards. I found that a wiffle ball really was not an good indicator of my swing, whether it be a good contact or a bad contact. They are about 65% of the weight of a standard golf ball (which is around 62 grams)...

[jonnythan]

That sounds pretty good. Maybe a bit farther than I want, but really I'm just going to be hitting irons and I generally only hit my 5 about 150-160 on great contact anyway.

Thanks :)

[sp33d]

  JPBayern said:

I was introduced to a great product last year by my instructor called "AlmostGolf". They are foam balls that are more true flying than wiffle balls and also carry a bit further due to their heavier weight. They don't break windows, and they really do reveal whether or not your swing is dead on or if you slice or fade. I think Dick's sells them as a pack of 36 for around 25 bucks. They are really good training aids in my opinion. Since I have a small back yard, anything above practicing with my wedges begins to get risky (as in, I might break someone's window with a real golf ball). That's when I use these!

These things are awesome, I bought my son some and Now I use them all the time. I've been able to work on my Draw/Fade in my front yard.

[ControlJunkie]

  DES NUTTZ said:

I have the Callaway foam balls (HX-Practice Orange) but if you are going for cheaper is better I am sure there are better ones out there. The Callaway balls that I have work pretty well and I am satisfied with them. I don't hit them with my driver though so I couldn't tell you how far they travel with that.

I had the same thing happen with some whiffle balls I bought. It was actually a pack with 30 foam balls and 30 whiffle balls together, and it was pretty cheap. I bought them at Academy. They lasted for a while until I hit them with my driver and 3W.

Now I primarily use them with my wedges and my short irons. They're really useful when it's crappy weather outside. My living room opens up into my dining room, so I place a bucket at various distances in the dining room and chip & pitch from the living room to the bucket. After I successfully drop them all in, I'll change the location of the bucket. Of course this only works on carpet, I dont recommend it on a hard wood floor

[americanfighter]

I just heard of these things called almost golf balls yesterday suposedly they go a third of the distance u normaly hit and they react hook and slice like normal golf balls.

Look it up on google and you tube can't give u a link becuase I am on an I phone but the company is called almost golf and dave pelz runs it I think

[JPBayern]

  americanfighter said:

I just heard of these things called almost golf balls yesterday suposedly they go a third of the distance u normaly hit and they react hook and slice like normal golf balls.

Way ahead of you mate! (read the first page of responses when you get a chance) - seriously though, they are fantastic practice aids and I would recommend them to anyone who needs a solid practice ball with the comfort of knowing they aren't going to annihilate a window or windshield or what have you.

[jonnythan]

I grabbed a 10-pack of the Almost Golf balls at Dick's for $10. Didn't get to try them out thanks to thunderstorms though...

[wrx_junki]

So Dick's carries these practice golf balls? Would be nice to hit more than a PW at the nearby baseball field.

[daveh]

Birdie Balls look interesting too. I can't comment on them because I haven't tried them.

http://www.birdieball.com/media/Vide..._overview_Doug

[imtomtomim]

haha, my mother in law bought me a bucket of walmart foam balls (like little nerf balls). In the winter, when the wife wasn't around, I'd swing at them in the house into the wall. I could get some feedback on the fact that I was swinging through it and it wans't there, and also on which way it would rebound off the wall indicating spin direction. Also, the bright colors actually got me remembering an image of impact so I could almost see where I hit. There is no feel to them though so it's a bit unsatisfying. Also, don't swing full speed into them. they don't absorb enough energy so if you swing hard, you'll hurt yourself.

[Ed_Bighead]

I haven't used either of the almost golf balls or birdie balls, but you can get a 3 pack of the birdie balls at Target for $7. Don't know if that's a deal or not. Looks like it might be. If you google it, others tend to sell for more.

[kleinrider]

i never used birdie balls, but a friend of mine who is a golf coach for a local college swears by them

[JPBayern]

  daveh said:

Birdie Balls look interesting too. I can't comment on them because I haven't tried them.

I also have quite a few of these as well, and they really are an interesting training aid...a cylindrical golf ball? WHAT BLASPHEMY!

I used these up until I got the AlmostGolf balls that I currently use. I find the birdie ball is good to indicate whether or not you get a clean hit, but it isn't as good as the AlmostGolf balls at indicating the direction, fade, draw, slice, etc. that is the result of your swing. These don't fly as far as the AlmostGolf balls either, so if you are VERY limited on space you can pick these up. I hit my 3 Hybrid about 60 yards with these if I remember correctly.