The driving range....

[Finn07]

Hey what is your guys take about hitting off of the mats at the driving range.. I personally dont like it cause I think balls that you would normally hit fat at the course seem to look perfect at the range...I know hitting driver is alright there but mid irons and wedges???? What do you guys think?

[Ole_Tom_Morris]

[QUOTE=Finn07]Hey what is your guys take about hitting off of the mats at the driving range.. I personally dont like it cause I think balls that you would normally hit fat at the course seem to look perfect at the range...I know hitting driver is alright there but mid irons and wedges???? What do you guys think?[/QUOTE
Agree with you. Only recently have I learned to take a divot. A lot of golfers have trouble taking divots--have an actual fear of hitting into the turf--and so tend to top the ball. Practicing on a mat doesn't help those of us with this problem.

[Finn07]

I actually dont have that problem at all, I take up some real estate when I hit the ball although lately Ive slowed my swing down a bit and havent been taking the divots that I usually do.. The reason why I asked the question is that Ive really been working hard at the driving range and tonite I have never hit the ball better at the range. Pin strait with great height, very little draw on my ball which i tend to have a lot of, I just want to know if I can take that swing to the course am I gonna be disappointed or not?

[Ole_Tom_Morris]

tonite I have never hit the ball better at the range. Pin strait with great height, very little draw on my ball which i tend to have a lot of, I just want to know if I can take that swing to the course am I gonna be disappointed or not?

Why not take confidence to the course??? A good practice session is a GREAT confidence builder and sign that you are getting better. When I hit mostly good shots at the range, I walk on air for a week. Enjoy the feeling! And don't be disappointed if you hit some poor shots on the course; progress is not straight-line, but by jumps & skips.

Hey! A pro golfer who wins one week often misses the cut the next. That's golf.

[Bildo23]

my country club just recently got a range about 2 years ago... I hovered around an 8 or a 9 handicap without a range. I stopped golfing till this year, and I'm down to a 3.6 handicap index... and I think I owe it soley to the range, with mats actually. Sure the mats kind of suck, but i think the range puts muscle memory into your swing with trajectory and solid hits, etc. So i dont mind hitting off them. Plus I dont leave till p pure 5 balls in a row, take the confidence to the course

[erik]

I seem to be able to hit better at the course than the range, although, I think it is more to do with the tee than the mat. So, I do not really mind the mats.

[Finn07]

Well I had another amazing practice session at the range yesterday, took that swing to the course this morning, or at least I thought I took it to the course this morning, and didnt fare so well....I played decent but not like I thought I was, I think its more of a mental thing for me, plus Im missing my driver out of my bag so teeing off with my hybrid or a 3 iron isnt fun....Well see if it gets better

[hig4s]

I actually prefer the mats, but where I normally practice doesn't have mats.

The reason I prefer mats is what I'm normally working on isn't about fat or thin hits or divots, so the mat lets me concentrate on what I'm working on even when I swing fat. If I'm where there are no mats and hitting fat is breaking myconcentration I just tee everything, so it is not a big deal to me..

Of course if what I'm working on is taking the right amount of divot with short irons I avoid the mat.

[gripitandripit]

Most of the ranges around here have terrible grass to hit out of, so I prefer the mats with my irons. However, I've never seen a rubber tee tall enough to hit driver, so I always go in the grass to hit it. In the last 2 years or so, many ranges have upgraded to mats that are almost like real grass. The ball sits up nicely like it would in grass.

[Finn07]

Yeah, I know the mats you are talking about. There is a driving range here in Westchester with good mats. I was just there now and all my shots are crisp with a slight fade on them, which is something new for me cause I hit a draw usually. I read in Golf Digest to start bending my knees and the follow through should look like Im resting my head on a pillow. It works well, keeps me inside the ball I guess. Im playing Thurs. morning so well see what happens, last time though towards the end of the round I went against everything that I had worked on previously because I started to lose faith in it.

[hig4s]

Most of the ranges around here have terrible grass to hit out of, ...

a Jack Niclaus tip on the golf channel was to go ahead and hit from the bad, beat up grass at the driving range because hitting from good grass is easy if you can hit from there.

[gripitandripit]

a Jack Niclaus tip on the golf channel was to go ahead and hit from the bad, beat up grass at the driving range because hitting from good grass is easy if you can hit from there.

That makes sense, but its not for me. Whenever I'm hitting off of a bare lie or semi-hardpan (which is what you get at many ranges), I swing differently. I'll play it back in my stance and trap it a little. If I want to hit normal shots or work on something specific, I prefer the mats.