Homemade Driving Range Backstop: Polyethlyne Tarp?

[TomBrooklyn]

Would a common polyethylene tarp be suitable for a driving range backstop?

I'm looking for something cheap, easy, and waterproof that I can hang between a couple of trees. 

I wasn't sure if a common tarp would be strong enough.     I have some regular weight ones.   I think they're about 5 mils thick.    Lowes has some heavier duty ones that are 10 mils thick. 

[chilepepper]

That ought to work fine. I'd double up the heavy duty one if there were homes down range. I wouldn't expect much more than a season out of one if its out in the sun constantly

[Ernest Jones]

1 hour ago, TomBrooklyn said:

Would a common polyethylene tarp be suitable for a driving range backstop?

I'm looking for something cheap, easy, and waterproof that I can hang between a couple of trees. 

I wasn't sure if a common tarp would be strong enough.     I have some regular weight ones.   I think they're about 5 mils thick.    Lowes has some heavier duty ones that are 10 mils thick. 

Just a heads up, and I don't know if this matters to you, but hitting balls into a polyethylene tarp is going to be loud as f*ck.  

[Dave2512]

I had a full practice area set up at home and quickly found it didn't do much to help me other than the putting green. I didn't need to hit dozens of balls I needed to work on swing flaws and most of that could be done with drills that didn't require beating balls. I still hit balls away from the course but I went to an uber simple setup of mat and The Floppy. I hit those in my office against a partition.

[natureboy]

I remember reading about someone who did this in an apartment and one tarp (possibly canvas) was too light and got worn through quickly due to motion of the ball on the surface.

Maybe add some weight with a double tarp or a canvas below the waterproof one.

[JonMA1]

Try the tarp material out but I have a feeling it may not last very long. I guess it depends on how often you hit into it. I'd think twice about weighing down the bottom. I think having some give in the material might help absorb the impact. I could be wrong about that.

The company I work for prints on 16' rolls of PVC mesh material similar to this. We discard so much of it due to the production process involved. The shame is that it would work well for what you're describing because it's light weight yet very, very strong. I've been hitting into the same piece for several years and it has just started to fray. I simply turned it upside down and it's now like a new piece.

[chilepepper]

A large piece of old carpet would work too. Quieter and more durable

[Rainmaker]

I tried a tarp first before getting a Net Return.  The tarp was very loud and I was often needing to re-tighten it.  I tried both a poly type tarp as well as a canvas tarp.  I liked the canvas tarp better.  In my set-up, it needed to be weighted at the bottom with the right amount of slack in it or the balls either hit the wall or came back at me too fast. 

The Net Return is expensive . .but I hit a lot of balls into it and, to me, it's worth it.  It's quiet, super-strong and hassle-free . .and it's lasted 6 years, so far, and still looks brand new (I do keep it in my garage, though, not in the sun).  If you find you're hitting a lot of balls into your tarp but the tarp turns out to be a pain . . it might be worth considering.  I consider it money well spent. 

Edited April 3, 2016 by Rainmaker
remembered about the canvas tarp