my home range dilemma

[Texas solo]

I want to put up a driving net so I can swing a little every day. I have a small fenced backyard that is sloped away from the house in all directions. The only level spot is the 10 x 10 concrete patio. It would take a dump truck load of dirt to level it, which is not what I really want. I need water drainage away from the house. (too many soil/foundation issues in San Antonio) The obvious answer is to get a good golf mat and hit off the patio, but I can't afford one that will last. So here's my thought:
If I build up a small area of about 3' x 3' level with the patio to tee up on, I could stand on the patio edge and swing to a level ball placement.
Am I nuts in my thinking? Or, any other ideas on how to get a level spot to hit off of?

[slide13]

I think standing on concrete to hit would be strange possibly....I would think the footwork aspect would be weird due to the way your shoes would interact with the pavement. Maybe not bad for just keeping loose I guess, but wouldn't be ideal for primary practice I wouldn't think.

[zeg]

Instead of building up, maybe dig out a 6-8 foot wide cut somewhere in the yard to put a level notch, and resod? If you do it carefully with sloped walls, it might not be too funny-looking.

[DaSportsGuy]

My backyard is just a hill that goes downhill into the woods. I just dug out and leveled an 8'x30' rectangle, cut down some trees and now I can mash balls into the woods all day. The hill is pretty step but I bowled around it so their isn't just a random 1ft. drop off into it.

[WUTiger]

Could you build a small retaining wall for part of your yard? Get six railroad ties, and put them two wide and three deep? Then, fill in dirt behind them and level it out?

.........____________ . ______________ ← Sod line
.....____________ . _____________ ← Fill dirt behind wall
........______________. _____________

Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy a book on retaining walls.