Use a sandbox instead of hitting mat?

[tws1098]

Saw someone else on here was using sand. Would this be a relatively good teaching tool? It seems like it would force you to have good contact, you can see where you bottomed out a little easier, and it would be easy to maintain and repair after each swing.

Thoughts? (please do not come in bashing this if you never tried it) Thanks.

[pittpanther]

  tws1098 said:

Saw someone else on here was using sand. Would this be a relatively good teaching tool? It seems like it would force you to have good contact, you can see where you bottomed out a little easier, and it would be easy to maintain and repair after each swing.

I have never tried it, but I'm not trying to bash your idea - just some thoughts...

Usually when you are in sand, you are actually NOT trying for perfect contact - instead you're trying to hit sand first. If you train yourself to hit ball first in a sandbox, what will happen next time you are in a greenside bunker?

[tws1098]

  pittpanther said:

I have never tried it, but I'm not trying to bash your idea - just some thoughts...

I guess my response to that would have to be...set-up. You do not set-up or attack the ball in the same way for a greenside bunker shot vs a fairway bunker.

[jamo]

  tws1098 said:

I guess my response to that would have to be...set-up. You do not set-up or attack the ball in the same way for a greenside bunker shot vs a fairway bunker.

Yeah, you definitely want to hit ball first in a fairway bunker.

I have not tried this and, like pittpanther, I am not trying to bash it, but it seems to me the downside would be footing. You can't really get the same leverage off the ground in a bunker, unless the sand is really hard.

[bwdial]

Seve Ballesteros used to hit balls on the beach to make crisp contact.

[tws1098]

  jamo said:

Yeah, you definitely want to hit ball first in a fairway bunker.

Should have specified, I would be standing on a level platform next to the sand with my normal golf spikes.

[ChipShot]

I'm just curious where you find sand at a range where you can hit a bunch of balls???

[jamo]

  tws1098 said:

Should have specified, I would be standing on a level platform next to the sand with my normal golf spikes.

That makes more sense. I guess it could work, then. I wouldn't do it, but it could work.

  bwdial said:

Seve Ballesteros used to hit balls on the beach to make crisp contact.

So did Kramer.

[tws1098]

  ChipShot said:

I'm just curious where you find sand at a range where you can hit a bunch of balls???

I would be doing it in my back yard. I have enough land to do it, or I could hit into a net. You can feel whether or not it was crisp when hitting off sand.

[bwdial]

  jamo said:

That makes more sense. I guess it could work, then. I wouldn't do it, but it could work.

Yeah... but he didn't win five majors. :p

[MSU Fishing]

It would remove the problem of hitting it fat off a mat and not realizing it.

[wrx_junki]

You'd be cleaning the club after every shot and would be cleaning the golf balls as well or else you'd be beating your clubs up pretty badly.

[Paradox]

yeah it just seems like it would be murder on your irons to be constantly hitting them out of sand. I think that if you're gonna go through that much trouble then why not get a country club elite mat.

[rafal]

This is a very good idea but you need to limit the number of swings -- I wouldnt hit 100s of balls that way --- and as someone pointed out, use backup clubs since pounding sand will damage them. Otherwise it's a great way to learn how to hit ball first.

[kafka01]

  ChipShot said:

I'm just curious where you find sand at a range where you can hit a bunch of balls???

Some driving ranges have "fairway bunkers" where you can practice out of it. My driver range doesnt have such a thing, but a nearby short game area with bunkers where you can hit it 90° onto the driving range so it works just as well.

I dont know where i picked this up, but i read a statement once that hitting 20 balls out of a bunker is just as good as hitting 100 from grass. Not even to mention mats - these things are so forgiving its totally useless trying to make solid contact, since they let you get away with a lot of crap shots.

[jamo]

  wrx_junki said:

You'd be cleaning the club after every shot and would be cleaning the golf balls as well or else you'd be beating your clubs up pretty badly.

Very true. Sand by itself wears out grooves, but hitting sandy balls is very bad for the clubface.

[newtogolf]

How long does it take fairways and tee boxes to be repaired after divots have been taken? I was considering using something similar to what they use in football stadiums where the sod is kept in plastic containers that drop into the field and can be swapped out as necessary. Was wondering how many 1'x3' sections you'd need to rotate if you practiced a few times a week.

[bshack]

  bwdial said:

Yeah... but he didn't win five majors. :p

he was training for the senior tour though haha