Hitting into a Net

[Hennybogan007]

Nice!!! That's a big room to do that..

Believe it or not, it was at best 12'' wide and 20' long. Used a Wide angle camera attachment to get FO video with the Camera attached to the wall. Anyone over 6' wouldn't fit in video frame. Oh and when the room has all concrete walls, you better have a set up that holds up or have legendary ninja golf-ball-dodging skills

[Abu3baid]

Believe it or not, it was at best 12'' wide and 20' long. Used a Wide angle camera attachment to get FO video with the Camera attached to the wall. Anyone over 6' wouldn't fit in video frame. Oh and when the room has all concrete walls, you better have a set up that holds up or have legendary ninja golf-ball-dodging skills

Love it! I think someday when I own a home this doing something like this will be a priority for me.. I'll have to work it out with my significant other obviously, but I'm sure we can work something out.. Like, she gets the whole house and I get that little corner ;)

[Josh90]

So I'm still relatively new to golf but I have been progressing decently 4 months in and I shot my first 90 last week. But lately I don't have as much time to go out and practice so I bought a golf net so I can practice without having to leave the house.  I was just wondering what kind of things can you learn from using a net and not being able to see the ball flight. Right now I'm trying to just slowly work on my form and swing path. And I have been making very good contact too since I started and using a dry erase marker alot of my hits are pretty close to the sweet spot so that felt good to see. But obviously just cause the ball hits the center of the net doesn't mean it wouldn't hook or slice so does anybody have anything I can check for when I'm hitting?

[No Mulligans]

A net is great to work on specific swing keys with the sometimes aid of video.  For instance if you are working on improving at keeping your head steady, the ball flight can actual be a distraction and make you lose focus of the matter at hand.

[billchao]

6 minutes ago, Josh90 said:

So I'm still relatively new to golf but I have been progressing decently 4 months in and I shot my first 90 last week. But lately I don't have as much time to go out and practice so I bought a golf net so I can practice without having to leave the house.  I was just wondering what kind of things can you learn from using a net and not being able to see the ball flight.

A net is a great way to practice your swing.

 

11 minutes ago, Josh90 said:

But obviously just cause the ball hits the center of the net doesn't mean it wouldn't hook or slice so does anybody have anything I can check for when I'm hitting?

Pair your practice with good high speed video and you'll be able to monitor what you're working on. You should update your swing thread with better video and I'm sure someone will be able to help identify your priority piece.

[Josh90]

So should I completely ignore the ball the whole and just solely concentrate on my swing?

[billchao]

15 minutes ago, Josh90 said:

So should I completely ignore the ball the whole and just solely concentrate on my swing?

Pretty much, yea. You can't see the flight when you hit into a net anyway so it's not worth worrying about. The net is a good way to practice making swing changes while still hitting a ball because it allows you to ignore the flight. Most people who get stuck on trying to hit pretty shots and don't make changes properly can benefit from that.

Like it said in the other thread, if you record your swings and you know what you're looking for, you can pretty much tell how the ball is going to travel anyway.

[Phil69]

I've been using a net for a month or so and I do feel it has helped me work on the individual pieces to make my swing better. I went to the range today and didn't hit the ball as well which I attribute somewhat to worrying more about the direction of the hit. It can be frustrating when you feel like you have made some improvemts using the net then struggle at the range. 

[RandallT]

This is a good recent thread too. It's about focusing on form/process, not ball flight. Many of the comments advocate using a net. So these two topics are somewhat interrelated, and you might find useful.

 

[mchepp]

57 minutes ago, Phil69 said:

I've been using a net for a month or so and I do feel it has helped me work on the individual pieces to make my swing better. I went to the range today and didn't hit the ball as well which I attribute somewhat to worrying more about the direction of the hit. It can be frustrating when you feel like you have made some improvemts using the net then struggle at the range. 

You should take a video of your swing when hitting into the net and also on the range and compare. It is the best way to see what's happening. 

[Rainmaker]

I'm a huge fan of practicing into a net.  I can't really add too much to what's already been said about it except . . . one thing I noticed, over years of net practice . . is that I can tell how well I'm hitting it by the sound and feel of the contact as well as the way the ball spins in the net.  Over thousands and thousands of shots you start to get a feel for how the net reacts, how the ball reacts, how it sounds, etc. 

Video is key, though.  When I'm practicing a lot with the net, I take swing video at least every day. 

When I go to the range, it's more like a 'validation' of my net practice.  I tend not to practice at the range - I tend to hit shots and evaluate ball flight . .then go back to the garage and practice.

5 hours ago, Phil69 said:

I've been using a net for a month or so and I do feel it has helped me work on the individual pieces to make my swing better. I went to the range today and didn't hit the ball as well which I attribute somewhat to worrying more about the direction of the hit. It can be frustrating when you feel like you have made some improvemts using the net then struggle at the range. 

For me, this is a normal part of the process.  When incorporating changes  - step 1 is get it working in the garage (validate with video)  . . .step 2 . .get it working at the range . .step 3.  On the course. 

I take lessons . .so when I get something to work on I'll practice, let's say, every day for a week in my garage.  Then the next week it might be every day in the garage plus 2 or 3 sessions at the range.  Then the next week it might be every day in the garage, 1 range session and 1 9 hole round. 

It's not always exactly like that - but sometimes it is. 

[Phil69]

That's a good point of taking a video while hitting into the net and compare to the range. It would be interesting to see if there are any differences in the mechanics. I did have a friend take some videos on the range yesterday so I'll take some with the net and compare. That's for the tip! 

[nabzi]

I've been thinking about this topic myself, so I'll put the question here.

I have a small garden with a shed at the end and a moody neighbor so I don't like to make too much noise. I was thinking about screwing some hook screws from the shed roof and then tying up a cheap net to the screws to create a net I can swing balls into.

The question I had was if it makes a difference whether I used plastic/foam balls or real balls? Inclined to go more towards the practice balls as they make less noise and less chance of damage if I hit the odd crazy shot but wondered if anyone could offer any advice?

Edited July 15, 2016 by nabzi

[Phil69]

I can tell you there will be some errant shots for sure and it sure isn't quiet using real balls. I've hit some at midnight and its surprising how much noise you make when you are trying not too. I'd start out with a low cost net and some rubber balls to start and see what you think. It would cost less than a round of golf and will surely help you greatly.

[Piz]

Whether you are using an inner net or an outer net - the foam balls are the way to go.

[nabzi]

1 hour ago, Piz said:

Whether you are using an inner net or an outer net - the foam balls are the way to go.

really? how comes?

2 hours ago, Phil69 said:

I can tell you there will be some errant shots for sure and it sure isn't quiet using real balls. I've hit some at midnight and its surprising how much noise you make when you are trying not too. I'd start out with a low cost net and some rubber balls to start and see what you think. It would cost less than a round of golf and will surely help you greatly.

Midnight?? my neighbor will come outside of his house and stare at you if you rev your car engine for a few seconds.. he would not appreciate the noise of a golf ball at midnight haha :D

[Rainmaker]

2 hours ago, Piz said:

Whether you are using an inner net or an outer net - the foam balls are the way to go.

Personally - I hate hitting fake golf balls.  Foam, rubber, almost golf-balls, birdie balls . .doesn't matter.  They don't "feel" the same.  I actually hit some birdie balls into my net 2 week ago just because they were laying around.  It felt more like a practice swing vs a real swing without the weight and sound of a ball. 

Many things in golf are "just me", lol . .and this could certainly be one of them.  But I find a ton of value hitting real balls into a net - fake ones not so much.  

One "trick" I found for the noise is to use lady golf balls.  I have some lady Precepts with some kind of clear-coat cover and they are much quieter than a normal ball - probably about 30% or so less noise.  I actually don't prefer the feel of them but they are better, to me, than a fake ball.  Luckily, though - nobody can really hear me hitting balls in my garage at 2am . .or my neighbors would certainly not be happy, lol.    

[Piz]

I hit foam balls into the sliding door screen while watching golf on TV.  The ceiling is vaulted so I can swing away.  The entire west wall is glass...from floor to ridge beam, as is the upper half of the east wall.  People who live in glass houses...