Do practice range mats screw with your ball striking? What to do?

[JapanDave]

Here in Japan, I have never seen a practice range that does not have mats instead of grass. I tend to hit down on the ball which in some instances can cause jarring of the hands. So by the end of the session it seems my swing has adapted to hitting off the mat. Then I go to a course and it takes me half a round to get back to hitting the way I do. So over the last year when I go to a range, I just hit my driver and spoon, no irons and my golf is better for it. Thing is, I still need to practice my irons. Any suggestions? Is there a mat that mimics grass out there?

[Golfingdad]

It doesn't hurt me, but I could see how it would bother somebody with a steep angle of attack.

[Patch]

Use a short tee. With a short tee you still have a little room to hit down and through the ball with out injury. Also hitting off a mat can do a pretty good job of hiding fat shots.

Something I do when I am desperate, and have to use a mat is I use a thicker, longer pile synthetic piece of turf. I just place it on the existing mat.

You can also google "diy divot mat" which is a mat that simulates taking a divot. 

Edited December 27, 2015 by Patch

[JapanDave]

7 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

It doesn't hurt me, but I could see how it would bother somebody with a steep angle of attack.

I take quite a big divot each time I hit an iron from 6-7 iron up. 

 

How about these mats? http://www.realfeelgolfmats.com/

[nevets88]

You'll see your "divot" on the mat if it's really wet, you use baby powder or put something behind the ball, video yourself face on, but all these aren't exactly optimal or convenient. You could try and use a round as practice, yes, an expensive proposition in Japan and probably not going to go down well with your partners, maybe there's a time during the day where the course is quiet and you could go out yourself? From what I hear, golf is on the decline in Japan. Some of the mats that simulate grass are pretty good, but how are you going to get a range to use them? Imho, once you've practiced a lot on real grass for awhile, you can get a better feel for when you've hit a ball even a tad fat.

[JapanDave]

Not a chance to get on a course by your self. Rules are 3 or more people unless someone cancels, then you can go out in two's. But that is not the problem. I only get one day a week, so I need to get to the practice range on weekdays after 8 pm. That is why I need a mat that will mimic grass on a course.

And BTW, golf is not on the decline at all here.

[GolfLug]

I think best to work on 1/2 or 3/4 punch shots on the mats with limited or no release. Especially if you hit down that much. Protects hands and improves trajectory control.

[SavvySwede]

2 hours ago, JapanDave said:

I take quite a big divot each time I hit an iron from 6-7 iron up. 

 

How about these mats? http://www.realfeelgolfmats.com/

Big divots aren't good. You probably need to work on shallowing your AoA instead of slipping back into what is comfortable when you're out on the course.

[Mr. Desmond]

I think mats screw with your body and your loft/lie angles on softer steel. Unless, of course, you get a mat that has "give" to it.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Mr. Desmond

[gregsandiego]

11 hours ago, JapanDave said:

Here in Japan, I have never seen a practice range that does not have mats instead of grass. I tend to hit down on the ball which in some instances can cause jarring of the hands. So by the end of the session it seems my swing has adapted to hitting off the mat. Then I go to a course and it takes me half a round to get back to hitting the way I do. So over the last year when I go to a range, I just hit my driver and spoon, no irons and my golf is better for it. Thing is, I still need to practice my irons. Any suggestions? Is there a mat that mimics grass out there?

i used to fret a lot about this, especially when i realized a mat is much more forgiving on fat shots. But then I realized the sound of hitting mat first instead of  ball first is very clear. So if i hear that soft sound first I know I hit it fat and work on ball contact.

 

[Golfingdad]

4 hours ago, JapanDave said:

I take quite a big divot each time I hit an iron from 6-7 iron up. 

 

How about these mats? http://www.realfeelgolfmats.com/

Would probably work well for tour hands, except I'd think that to be effective they'd need some thickness.  Which means that if you're standing on a regular mat and then hitting off one of those then its like you're practicing side hill lies all the time, sort of. 

[colin007]

1 hour ago, Golfingdad said:

Would probably work well for tour hands, except I'd think that to be effective they'd need some thickness.  Which means that if you're standing on a regular mat and then hitting off one of those then its like you're practicing side hill lies all the time, sort of. 

 

Choke up a half inch?

 

Another suggestion - take a strip of masking tape, duct tape, whatever, and put it on the mat perpendicular to your line, then put the ball just ahead of it. If you hit the tape, then you're fat.

[Ernest Jones]

17 minutes ago, colin007 said:

 

Choke up a half inch?

 

Another suggestion - take a strip of masking tape, duct tape, whatever, and put it on the mat perpendicular to your line, then put the ball just ahead of it. If you hit the tape, then you're fat.

That's my go to drill if I'm catching it fat. 

[colin007]

2 hours ago, Ernest Jones said:

That's my go to drill if I'm catching it fat. 

Yeah people usually mistake me for Rosie O'Donnell walking through a cupcake factory.

[Ernest Jones]

1 hour ago, colin007 said:

Yeah people usually mistake me for Rosie O'Donnell walking through a cupcake factory.

Guy comes home from a round. His wife meets him at the front door and says, "Hi,Honey! How was golf?"

Guy hauls off and slaps her in the face. Wife grabs her face and hollers, "What the **** was that for????"

Guy replies, "I dunno, I'm hitting everything fat today."

 

 

[iacas]

26 minutes ago, Ernest Jones said:

Guy comes home from a round. His wife meets him at the front door and says, "Hi,Honey! How was golf?"

Guy hauls off and slaps her in the face. Wife grabs her face and hollers, "What the **** was that for????"

Guy replies, "I dunno, I'm hitting everything fat today."

I told you that joke. C'mon now…  Joke thief.

[Golfingdad]

11 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Would probably work well for tour hands, except I'd think that to be effective they'd need some thickness.  Which means that if you're standing on a regular mat and then hitting off one of those then its like you're practicing side hill lies all the time, sort of. 

What the **** does "tour hands" mean?

Its been long enough since I wrote that that I don't even remember what I meant to say prior to the erroneous autocorrect.

[mvmac]

13 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

What the **** does "tour hands" mean?

Tour players are born with different hands, it's the secret 6th Key