Can you improve hitting into a practice net?

[Leftygolfer]

Simple question.  Don't have time to go to the range or the light.  If so, how?

[jacob1]

I think ball striking can be improved by just hitting into a net.I have never hit into a net although I been thinking of getting one for the winter.

[iacas]

I could - and plan to at some point - make the case that if you understand the golf swing, it's the best way to improve.

[LongerThanYOU]

I live in NH, so before ranges and Myrtle this past winter/spring I purchased a net, first strung up in the basement where I could only make half swings because of ceiling height, and then in the backyard for a about three weeks pre-Myrtle and post-snow... All in all I'd say it did little to help me improve any part of my game, other than just getting the feeling of making a golf swing back.  My shot shape and the shot I have always worked to play is a push draw which when Im swinging well results in a divot right of my target line... So taking swings into the net in early march I felt like I was on a good path, was striking it well and the ball was launching to the right...unfortunately I got to SC and realized the I had ingrained a big old block... My strike was good and my plane (felt) good, but I was getting really stuck underneath and there was no way to tell when hitting into the net.. SO, I would just say proceed with caution.  If ball striking is an issue, sure it can help, but be careful not to get yourself into any bad habits becuase you cant see the ball flight.. Im a 4-5 hdcp btw so I have a decent idea of what Im talking about.

[tshapiro]

There is no question that the answer is Yes. I installed a batting cage style net 5 years ago from Skillbuilder.com along with a mat and artificial grass to catch the balls on the ground. Since then I have hit 10's of thousands of balls on my own schedule. I have built a tremendous awareness of my posture and all swing mechanics. I typically practice with blades and ball contact, balance, along with the visual of where the ball goes, is an absolute indicator of how I am doing. I bought my net for the purposes of learning to play respectable golf and to be able to hang with my friends who are players. However, the consistency I have built up generally has me beating down my friends these days. In my opinion, the fast track to a better game is hit many balls and nothing allows you to do this easier than to have a nice setup in your back yard.

[LongerThanYOU]

But how helpful is it really if you can't get into single digits. Just sayin

[jacob1]

Im a high H.C. I think it will help guys like me better than the single H.C...The reason being you can learn better ball contact..at least I think you can by hitting into a net. Living in wyoming the season is fairly short.(Its snowing now) so for me I think im going to get a net for the basement. Of course I could be wrong ive never done it before.Just an opinoin. p.s. this is my first year golfing so take it for what its worth.

[rustyredcab]

Originally Posted by LongerThanYOU

But how helpful is it really if you can't get into single digits. Just sayin

"just sayin" still makes it rude. I spent a lot of time with a handicap near 20. It took improvement to get it down and it still was above 10 for a long time. Getting to 10 was a great accomplishment.  I say tshapiro has no one to answer to for improving to a 10. And a guy with the handle "LongerThanYou" is likely compensating for something. Small hands? Just saying.

I knew a wise old man who was a business consultant. During his lectures, he frequently said, "None of us was born with our tutu on dancing the Nutcracker." I've yet to meet the golfer that was born a 10 handicap.

Back to the OP, we are conditioned to make compensations to help make the ball go where we want. This may be great while playing but can make it difficult to make changes in the swing. When learning new feeling and positions, it is often best to ignore ball flight. So, in particular when paired with video and an idea of what you are trying to do, a net is perfect for learning to feel correct positions and get comfortable with new changes to a swing.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by LongerThanYOU

But how helpful is it really if you can't get into single digits. Just sayin

That's not very nice.

FWIW, I'm an instructor, I play off scratch when I get the chance to play, and I think hitting indoors is better than hitting outdoors. For all levels.

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

Back to the OP, we are conditioned to make compensations to help make the ball go where we want. This may be great while playing but can make it difficult to make changes in the swing. When learning new feeling and positions, it is often best to ignore ball flight. So, in particular when paired with video and an idea of what you are trying to do, a net is perfect for learning to feel correct positions and get comfortable with new changes to a swing.

Yep.

[DFerlmann]

I think hitting into a practice net does not improve your game. If u think you put a good swing on the ball and think you hit it well, then your just guessing.  you will have no way of knowing where it went or what it looked like. Im sure practice nets help plenty of people, but not me

[mchepp]

Originally Posted by iacas

I could - and plan to at some point - make the case that if you understand the golf swing, it's the best way to improve.

I am looking forward to this!

[threejack]

i would say yes, absolutely!

obviously you wouldn't be able to see the ball flight but i think most of us can feel whether or not we hit it flush or off the toe or if the face was square or not. i think you would benefit greatly! a few pay check and i might buy one too!

[Zeph]

Sure you can. You might be surprised once you hit the course again by the way the ball flies, but I think it's a great way to work on your swing without beeing too caught up with where and how the ball flies. You can't play golf on a course by hitting into a net of course, so you'll want to know where you hit it at some point. But when it comes to working on swing details, I agree with Erik that hitting on a net might be better than watching the ballflight since you don't focus on anything but what you are working on. A camera is very useful, or at the least a mirror. And you probably want to know what you are working on and how to analyze if you are doing it right or not. I've made lots of changes on my swing by using only a camera and hitting into a net. I was a bit puzzled when I got out to the range that my balls was drawing left instead of the usual slice, but a small adjustment of the clubhead fixed that up. It demands some effort on your part though. You want to know what to look for, what to feel, what to work on.

[Stewie007]

I have never hit into a net, but this is my take despite that.

When you take ball flight out of the equation and pay attention to the mechanics of the swing (assuming that you're constantly researching and acquiring assistance) without worrying about where it goes it takes part of the mental variables out of the equation. High Handicappers that lack confidence, which is reinforced by bad shots and unattractive ball flight, might end up better off by practicing with a net. Even a mid handicapper who gets caught up in ball flight characteristics will have this mental fixation removed. So it seems to me that I could probably benefit from something like this; although I have no room for such a thing where I live.... unfortunate.

Folks who probably wouldn't benefit from a net are folks who strike the ball pretty consistently such that ball flight is very important. In other words, folks who have a reliable swing that are then using it to shape shots.... Rather than a hacker like me who still hasn't managed to get to the reliable swing part.

Just doing a bit of critical thinking. :)

So... I obviously voted Yes for the most part.

[utztech]

Originally Posted by iacas

I could - and plan to at some point - make the case that if you understand the golf swing, it's the best way to improve.

You may have partially answered this above, but I would love to hear some more.  I have a hitting cage in my backyard that I don't use very often anymore.  When I was closer to a 20 handicap I found it very useful since I was not making good contact most of the time and just learning to actually hit the ball solidly was big improvement.  The problems I have now are more with flight that you can't see in the 10 feet before the ball hits the net in my cage.  I am closer to a 10 handicap now so I still am not making perfect contact a lot of the time, so the hitting cage would still be somewhat useful.  I just find myself using it less and less since I can't see the problems with my ball flight.

If you have ideas how to better use the cage I would love to hear them.  It is so much more convenient than going to the range.

[utztech]

To follow up on Stewie007's post and my own.  I would highly recommend a net for high handicappers.  I reduced my handicap about 9 strokes in about 9 months, and a big part of that was having a net in the backyard that I could use a lot.  The net is great for learning to make good consistent contact.  It is also very easy to go out there for a few minutes and just hit like 10 balls.  I think short, frequent practice is better than hitting 100 balls once a week.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by iacas

I could - and plan to at some point - make the case that if you understand the golf swing, it's the best way to improve.

Originally Posted by utztech

You may have partially answered this above, but I would love to hear some more.

Rustyredcab was right on.  We're not focusing on ball flight so we can focus on the changes we need to make.  We change the picture, we will hit it better.  Sometime though it's not immediate, our brain just needs time to adjust.  Also there are plenty of drills in which the goal is to feel the exaggeration not necessarily hit the best shot.  Not worrying about what the ball is doing when you're making change is a HUGE hurdle to overcome with some students.

[tristanhilton85]

Yes you can improve just hitting into a net.... as iacas said it may even be the preferable way, at least some of the time.