Backyard Practice Net

[Philbo]

from the one i have used (a flat net and a 1/2 dome) neither of them is particulary convenient to pack up and put away. However, if i had to pick one, the 1/2 done was easier to set up and put away as there are less individual pieces. The frame is created by a flexible series of interconnected poles about 75cm long each. All you need to do is connect them together, thread it through net and bend them to set it up. It does take a bit of practice but after a while it only takes a few minutes

[josef]

well.. looks like i got a flat net for a birthday present form the mother-in-law.. i'll be trying it out this weekend.. i am not expecting it to be great by any means as it is pretty cheap and pretty simple looking.. i'm sure the cage type nets work better than the flat nets... But, maybe i'll be wrong

it is one by Club Champ.
http://www.clubchamp.com/9626.htm

[Jaybone]

I have a Rawlings multisport net from Sam's Club. It was only about $40 and has a extra piece of netting that hangs down to slow the ball down before it even hits the back of the net. It also works great as a backstop for my young son's baseball practice.

[ChvyKc]

I've got to go out to Sam's Club this afternoon so I am going to check out what they have. I've actually decided to start bowling again so this is not as big of a priority but I still would like to get one. It would be nice to have one set up in the back yard.

[josef]

I've got to go out to Sam's Club this afternoon so I am going to check out what they have. I've actually decided to start bowling again so this is not as big of a priority but I still would like to get one. It would be nice to have one set up in the back yard.

look for this one if you can.. it is a flat net by Club Champ.

http://www.clubchamp.com/9626.htm i received it as a gift and i am quite pleased. i think it runs for about $20-30 and seems Very sturdy. anyway, it is already helping me groove my swing as i now get to hit everyday.

[Jack_2251]

we own a tennis court so my dad set up a 4x4 mtr net and that is gr8!!

[TD22057]

i am also looking into getting a practice net for the same reasons as the OP. my concern is not only durability, but ease of setup & take down. I cannot see leaving a huge half dome net up in my backyard all the time.. Are they designed to be left out anyway? Its looks like TGW has some decent ones by IZZO & RJ Sports that I may soon be investing in soon.. they got good reviews anyway..

I have the Izzo "Rapid Range" for that exact reason. It's faster to setup and take down then a normal "tent style" range. No poles to put together at all. It does need to be staked down and I started using tent lines w/ stakes to the upper part of the net - otherwise a little wind causes it to rotate and start to collapse. For the most part it's a very good net.

[sandtrap]

I've got a half dome type with the 2 poles that "bungy " together and there is a "floor" to it. If you put a big piece of carpet from the floor of the net to where you hit from it makes the net pretty sturdy. It's also best if you have the carpet curl up at the net to protect the seam from flooring to net. That seems to be the weak spot in these.

[Chris5573]

I am a 7.2 handicap player and I am trying to get to scratch. I am realizing that this takes a great deal of practice time, more time than I might have available. I am able to practice 2 days during the week after work, and both days on the weekend. I have a net in my back yard that I hit into on the days that I can not make it to the range...do you guys think that this is helpfull, or is it just "hitting balls into a net"?

[scooterguitar]

I'm gonna tag along, as I was just thinking about buying a net.
I would think anytime your hitting the ball it helps, but?

[sonicblue]

I think you can work on balance, grip, tempo, etc.... with a net. However, there is absolutely no feedback to be gotten as far as ball flight, trajectory, spin, etc... At your level, I think it's a poor use of your time. When you can't make it to the range, spend your time chipping into a bucket.

[TD22057]

I think it depends on what you want to accomplish. If you're trying to fix a specific swing flaw, then you're going to be doing drills and a net is a great place to do that. It's cheaper and usually more convenient than the range for hitting the 1000's of balls you'll need to groove a swing change.

For example, I'm trying to slow down my transition and stop my (minor) over the top move. A net is the perfect place to do those drills since I'm working on a drill to change my swing motion, not trying to hit the ball. Many times I don't even bother with the net or the ball.

[Fredguay642]

I think anytime you can hit a real ball and feel contact is helpful. One of my best rounds ever came after I was hitting into a net a couple nights before. When I go to the range sometimes I pay attention to much to ball flight and swinging to hard. When hitting into the net it helps me to pay attention to balance and contact. I think it helps.

[bunkerputt]

I would say it definitely helps if you are trying to work on your swing to improve your contact. In these cases, seeing the ball flight takes your mind off of the swing you just made and can give you false feedback. Hitting off of a mat into a net I can tell if it's off the toe, thin, fat, open, closed, too high, too low, push, or pull. What I can't tell is whether I hit that soft draw or fade I was trying to hit. Jim McLean recommends eliminating as much in your practice as possible to free your mind to focus on a specific thing. Nets and mirrors help this a great deal. I don't have any recommendations, but I've heard that fiberglass framed nets don't work well in windy conditions or if you will be less than completely ginger with them.

I'm in a similar situation as you: reasonable handicap trying to go low with very little time due to professional and family life. One thing I've found that works quite well is the orange Callaway HX practice balls. The ball flight is incredibly true, but scaled down. You can tell if you are hitting it square, pushing, pulling, or hitting a big slice or hook. They don't work well for really big fast full swings, but for a 70% swing I think they are great. They also balloon like crazy when hitting into the wind, so keep that in mind. One of my favorite chipping drills is to hit the skinny (5 in.) oak tree trunk in my yard from 40 ft. I'm always pretty close, but when I'm hitting it a lot, I know I'm almost perfectly square at impact.

[goblue107501]

I would love to have a net to hit into every day. I would think that if you are a single digit and going for scratch you probably know when you hit a ball pure and when you mishit one. As long as you can determine the good hits from the bad without having to see the ball flight and end result, I think you can only improve your game.

[LottaBalata]

I've thought about buying a net. . .But I start thinking about the feedback portion of our topic. I just don't see, myself, as someone who would get enough feedback from hitting into a net, to be useful (nice run-on sentence there).

I very much, need to see trajectory, flight, etc. If you already have a very, very repeatable swing that you don't want to change, I think these are the people who would benefit the most. They simply are repeating, and repeating, an already quality swing. As far as tweeking out problems, not sure about that.

[TigerCurtis333]

It's good for fine tuning your swing, and then to use what feedback you get from the net on the course/range. Chipping isn't bad because you can get an idea of how high it would have gone, but that's about it. I have one but haven't used it yet.

[Guest]

I have a net set up in my backyard and it's great. Even though I cannot see the trajectory or spin, I can definitely feel if I make good contact or not. I think the net is good for practicing your contact point and divot since the net is set up on real grass. Chipping with the net can be very useful also. In my opinion, a net is worth your time and money.