Backyard Practice Net

[smpear]

I am thinking about buying a net to hit into so that it will be more convenient and cheaper to hit balls. I would like others to share there setups and to share what they think works well. Please stick to this topic as there is already a currently featured thread that discusses a net as it relates to instruction. I am interested in hitting surfaces used (mat, grass, etc), and how they accommodate a tee. I am not interested in tearing up the backyard grass but my net will definitely go outdoors. I am wondering how a mat would holdup, does it accommodate an actual tee, does the mat move? Does it need to be stabilized? Please share your experiences and recommendations as I have not shopped around yet. I am not looking for anything fancy. Thanks

[Zeph]

My recommendation on the mat: [URL=http://www.realfeelgolfmats.com/]Real Feel Golf Mats[/URL] The full size mats are expensive, but you can make do with a [URL=http://stores.ebay.com/Golf-Practice-Mats/_i.html?_fsub=7931062]hitting strip[/URL]. It's listed at $51, but my offer at $30 was accepted. With the shipping to Norway, the net sum was $110, but it's still the best investment I've ever done in a golf mat. I've tried many mats and researched a lot on the net. All my experience and all the reviews I've found online points to these mats being the best out there. I believe Golf Evolution also got these mats and claim they are very durable. I bought the 10x30 hitting strip and carry with me on the range. I even cut it up and take with me 2/5 of the original size. I put it down between the normal range mats and ball bucket thing. The mat may move a teeny tiny bit on a clean strike, a little bit more on a fat shot, but it does not go flying. If you hit the ball first, the movement is minimal. If you put it on wet grass, it may slide some, but it shouldn't be a problem to nail it to a wooden tile or something like that for stability. A full size mat is of course preferable, but that would be too expensive for me, especially with the shipping. It was also a point to have a mat I can take with me to the range at any course (we only got mat ranges here), which is working perfectly. I would also look around for a driving range net, like they got on indoor centers. I bought a big piece of net from a local shop delivering range and golf course equipment. I cut it in half and has currently only used one of them. I've hit so many balls, the strings has broken in a few places, but a piece of string and it's all right again. I have wondered if the amount of tension in the net makes a difference. Still, with all the spare net I've got, I could even patch it up.

[DoGolf Jonathan]

Is hitting the ball into a net a good way to practice if my issue is usually a fade or slice after the ball travels straight for about 100-150 yards?  I always felt that hitting into a net won't tell me that I'm hitting it straight.  Thoughts?

[smpear]

Thanks Zeph, I checked out the mat and those look like the best I have ever seen. The nets I found on the web did not get good reviews. I may shelf this idea for a while but it is something i am interested in.

Originally Posted by Zeph

My recommendation on the mat: Real Feel Golf Mats

The full size mats are expensive, but you can make do with a hitting strip. It's listed at $51, but my offer at $30 was accepted. With the shipping to Norway, the net sum was $110, but it's still the best investment I've ever done in a golf mat.

I've tried many mats and researched a lot on the net. All my experience and all the reviews I've found online points to these mats being the best out there. I believe Golf Evolution also got these mats and claim they are very durable.

I bought the 10x30 hitting strip and carry with me on the range. I even cut it up and take with me 2/5 of the original size. I put it down between the normal range mats and ball bucket thing. The mat may move a teeny tiny bit on a clean strike, a little bit more on a fat shot, but it does not go flying. If you hit the ball first, the movement is minimal. If you put it on wet grass, it may slide some, but it shouldn't be a problem to nail it to a wooden tile or something like that for stability.

A full size mat is of course preferable, but that would be too expensive for me, especially with the shipping. It was also a point to have a mat I can take with me to the range at any course (we only got mat ranges here), which is working perfectly.

I would also look around for a driving range net, like they got on indoor centers. I bought a big piece of net from a local shop delivering range and golf course equipment. I cut it in half and has currently only used one of them. I've hit so many balls, the strings has broken in a few places, but a piece of string and it's all right again. I have wondered if the amount of tension in the net makes a difference. Still, with all the spare net I've got, I could even patch it up.

[tristanhilton85]

As far as what mat to get, another member posted a thread regarding the Fairway Pro ( http://www.fairwaypro.com ) and I must say that it looks pretty good.

The guys over at the Golf Evolution got the True Strike mats (http://www.truestrike.com/) and those are excellent (the GolfSmith by me has them and I've used them quite a bit).

Originally Posted by DoGolf Jonathan

Is hitting the ball into a net a good way to practice if my issue is usually a fade or slice after the ball travels straight for about 100-150 yards?  I always felt that hitting into a net won't tell me that I'm hitting it straight.  Thoughts?

Iacas covered this pretty well in this thread:

Hitting into a Net

[Cantari]

Howdy all,

I was looking at buying or building a golf net in my backyard and came across this which seems like a decent deal and was curious if anyone knew much about it since googling about it has not come up with any answers.

http://www.edwinwattsgolf.com/JandM-ONCOURSE-OVERSIZE-DRIVING-NET/10028644/Product

Appreciate any info on it.

Thanks.

[MEfree]

I was just looking at nets also and see a lot on ebay

[Beachcomber]

I had a net like this in the past and there were a few issues with it...

1.) The material of the actual net - was not very durable - golf balls would actually cause it to snag/rip and holes would form in the net over time.

2.) The netting material was too light - so you had to have a lot of room behind the net as it would allow any ball hit with power/speed to travel until the slack of the net had reached full tension.  This was a problem for me as golf balls hit into the net would actually hit into the drywall behind the net... Until I realized the net needed to be moved into the middle of the garage - far from the wall.

3.) This created a new issue - needing sand bags or weights to anchor the net down so that it wouldn't move when balls were hit into it.

I ended up buying several large tarps and hanging them vertically behind the net to add a buffer since the net started to form holes.

If/when I get a new net... I'll be spending more money as you get what you pay for.  And unfortunately these $100 nets aren't very durable.

[Cantari]

Thanks Beachcomber.

Yah I figured at that price the quality couldn't be the greatest, but thought I could even get a net like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Nylon-Golf-High-Impact-Black/dp/B00768EVMM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid;=375JU1I1UUAH9&coliid;=IFBX3J45O2DRJ

and hang it inside of this cage if the netting was poor to help reinforce it a bit.

[Rustybearing]

I just bought the Callaway tri-ball 9x10 net and have nothing but good to say about it. The target is soft so it doesn't make a loud bang when you hit it. Another nice thing is collecting the balls is really easy. Walk around the back, tip it up and all the balls roll to the front. It's like all the other big nets in that it will blow over in the wind. I just use a bungee on the back leg and it works well. To move it I remove the back leg, leave the front leg assembled and just lean the whole net against the house. Takes only a minute to re-assemble it. Found it on sale for 120.

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by Cantari

Thanks Beachcomber.

Yah I figured at that price the quality couldn't be the greatest, but thought I could even get a net like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Nylon-Golf-High-Impact-Black/dp/B00768EVMM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid;=375JU1I1UUAH9&coliid;=IFBX3J45O2DRJ

and hang it inside of this cage if the netting was poor to help reinforce it a bit.

No worries.  The Nylon netting that you linked looks like the type of netting I've seen at courses that have hitting areas - and it is much better than the netting found on the golf net originally linked above.  The Nylon material is thicker/courser/denser and can hold up to multiple high speed hits.

Personally, I've been thinking about buying a new golf net for awhile... The two that I've been targeting are:

1.) The Net Return Pro

http://www.thenetreturn.com/

http://www.myperfectgolfswing.net/videos/the-net-return-pro-series-golf-net/

- There are a few TST users of this site that use this Net and have given it high praise.

2.) Swing Box

http://iswingbox.com/store/

- The Swing Box looks like the best option for me given I have limited space to put the net in.  But I haven't pulled the trigger on it yet.

[Tyromme Biggums]

I was looking for a golf net for the backyard.  After reading some reviews on one that is in my price range I am having concerns of a ball going through the net.  Does anyone have any experience with this type of problem?

I assume that simply hanging a sheet behind the net would suffice, but perhaps even using plastic balls or something of that nature.  Any advice would be appreciated.

[RichardR]

you didn't specify what golf net you are thinking of purchasing. On that note, I don't know any that are defective. you can also stake down the back side so it won't go through.

[rehmwa]

Originally Posted by RichardR

you didn't specify what golf net you are thinking of purchasing. On that note, I don't know any that are defective. you can also stake down the back side so it won't go through.

a couple layers and letting them hang loose gathers up shots pretty nicely.

staking the bottom side down is about the worst thing to do since it holds the net taut and makes it easier to hole it

a foot or two of excess on the bottom of the net will ensure skulls don't slip under....

[Tyromme Biggums]

Originally Posted by RichardR

you didn't specify what golf net you are thinking of purchasing. On that note, I don't know any that are defective. you can also stake down the back side so it won't go through.

Originally Posted by rehmwa

a couple layers and letting them hang loose gathers up shots pretty nicely.

staking the bottom side down is about the worst thing to do since it holds the net taut and makes it easier to hole it

a foot or two of excess on the bottom of the net will ensure skulls don't slip under....

http://www.amazon.com/Golf-Practice-Set-Driving-Chipping/dp/B000GGVCXW

This is specifically the net I had in mind.  I assumed that you can just hit regular golf balls into it as that would be the best type of practice imo.  I think that driving a ball through it would be a manufacturer defect, but I have zero experience with equipment like this.  In one of the reviews it said that they made the net too taut and it came back at them with a vengeance!

Thanks rehmwa, that is what I think I would have to do just to be safe.

[Tyromme Biggums]

http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Golf-Practice-Net-feet/dp/B000JQ2N5A

This is my other more economical option that I am considering.  Just not sure if it would be a good fit for my backyard as I have neighbors that are really close and do not want any chance of damaging their property.

[Justforgolf]

i have one of the proadvance golf nets and i use it in the house works perfectly fine but we  will see how long the net lasts. i've had it for 7 months

[Rustybearing]

I have to recommend this one for several reasons but here's the two biggest. First it's easy to set up and take down. I have a nice lawn where I practice and if I left the net up the grass would eventually die and the sprinklers would constantly soak the net, not to mention moving it to do yard work. To move/store it I just remove the back leg and lean the net against the house. Second the netting on the bottom of the net makes it easy to retrieve the balls. Just walk to the back, tip the net forward and the balls roll to the front. The target is soft material so contact from the ball is quiet. No complaints from the neighbors. I have had this net for months now and no signs of wear. I bought the 9x10.  http://www.amazon.com/Callaway-Tri-Ball-Hitting-Net-10-Feet/dp/B005THTIES/ref=sr_sp-atf_image_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid;=1366467861&sr;=8-1&keywords;=callaway+tri+ball  . As far as the mat I also recommend this one. Been good so far.  http://www.allturfmats.com/Monster-Tee-Golf-Turf-TT3660-p/tt3660.htm