Practising on golfing matts..

[looseleftie]

Hi, just a quick one.. have been gettting back into golf after layoff, and have been hitting off a matt at home and on the range... I noticed that when I played my first round in 8-9 months, I rarely made any divots, and I was striking the ball straightish but often topped it, or just didn't get under it... I was curious as to whether in my anticipation of wanting to see where my ball flew I reared up a little , or can u develop bad habits from practising from a matt solely, rather than hitting off the ground??

Love any thoughts on the matter

Cheers guys

[Ernest Jones]

On a mat: place a strip of painters or masking tape directly behind the ball. Place another strip about 3-4 inches in front of the ball. Practice hitting the ball while missing the back piece of tape but striking the front piece. This will teach you to hit the ball first and take a divot.

[daSeth]

Yeah, mats are not so great for practice, IMO.  I have yet to find one that accurately replicates the interaction with actual turf.  You have to be careful that you don't get away from hitting down on the ball and taking a good divot after contact.  Mats can be very forgiving on fat shots as well.  Just try to make sure you work in some practice with actual turf...

Or like my buddy jokes all the time, take a mat around with you on your round...