Hitting off of mats

[shooter mcgavin1]

RIght now I can only hit off mats at the range. Besides not seeing a divot, what are some other disadvantages of mats vs. grass? Do you make any adjustments when hitting off a mat, so as not to develop bad habits?

[GoMocs]

I read on some manufacturer's website not to hit graphite shafted clubs off mats....

[bdcrowe]

I read on some manufacturer's website not to hit graphite shafted clubs off mats....

Or forged.

[WhoElseButMe]

Oh no never knew about tht. Been doing that a long time.

OK the mat thing. Its easier to hit from the mat as the club face slides off the mat and makes contact even if you hit behind the ball. In grass it would get buried behind the ball and end of story,So try to make contact with the ball directly. Anyway a divot is supposed to be ahead of the ball. not behind. Only place the club is hit behind the ball is the bunker.

[The master]

Mine and WhoElseButMe's games sound alike one though I always have which I forgot to mention in buddha's thread the other day is that I always think ball then divot when this works and you try this you always get a better strike.

[shooter mcgavin1]

Mine and WhoElseButMe's games sound alike one though I always have which I forgot to mention in buddha's thread the other day is that I always think ball then divot when this works and you try this you always get a better strike.

Doesnt that cause you to "top" it? It seems that would make me want to lunge at the ball and when I do that I slice or shank it.

[The master]

No why wolud that happen, you make the smae swing and keep the same height in the swing you just make sure you catch the ball then divot it works for me and has improved my ball striking even over the last month greately, untill the past month I didn't relise how much practice helped.

I know what you are talking about that would happen if you get ahead of the ball and had too much body movement.

[GoMocs]

Wouldn't the "perfect" swing produce no divot? The bottom of the club would go infestimally below the bottom of the ball at the very bottom of the downward curve, thus producing no divot anywhere.

[RePeat]

Wouldn't the "perfect" swing produce no divot? The bottom of the club would go infestimally below the bottom of the ball at the very bottom of the downward curve, thus producing no divot anywhere.

If you sweep the ball then you only be creating minimal backspin. Most of the back spin is created when your club stikes the ball on a downward motion. But, as you decrease in clubhead loft, this becomes less of an importance (i.e. using a PW to hit a green vs. using a 3-Iron to hit that par 5 in 2).

[dorkman53]

If you are hitting down on irons instead of sweeping, and using a mat, some people will have problems with elbow and wrist pain (myself included). As already mentioned, forged irons won't do well with prolonged mat hitting, because it can gradually knock the lofts and lies out of kilter due to the softer steel.

[GoneGolfn]

Wouldn't the "perfect" swing produce no divot? The bottom of the club would go infestimally below the bottom of the ball at the very bottom of the downward curve, thus producing no divot anywhere.

Sorry, but my understanding when hitting a ball is trying to hit the ball on the equator of the ball not underneath, unless your trying to hit like a flop shot or something..

[Neil-Tiko]

More disavantages are also not feeling the Divot of a good decending blow during impact. Also, lack of practice on grass makes it hard to learn how to hit on slop lies...

So you need to concentrate on hitting on a decending blow even if you don't make Divots; listen and try to feel the contact; if you can't feel and don't make a good decending blow; hitting on mats can generate many FAT or THIN shots during your rounds... Add to that, the different lies of the Grass...

Mats are great places to learn the Golf Swing!!!

When you are serious about Golf. Players should all learn the Golf Swing on a perfectly flat surface. So a mat makes it a perfect Learning Center. How can someone learn the Weight shift on a non flat surface. You need to have the easiest "Learning Center" so you could learn all the subtilities of the Golf Swing. I.e. Grip and grip Pressure, The Posture, The alignement of clubface, The ball position, The Arc of the swing, the weight positioning on feet, etc... How can someone learn all this if he goes on the grass and gets to hit a couple of baskets a week... Not really efficient if you get different lies each time on the Range...

You need to get on a perfect flat surface to make it easier to understand and feel all the Subtilities of the Golf Swing... Once you get it!!! You expose yourself to the natural Grass and experiment on different lies...

MATS are the best place to understand the Swing... The grass can't help you on the swing, it can only complicate it!!!

Good practice!!!

[just wasting time]

I remember reading several years ago in Golf Digest that hitting off of mats causes the ball to fly higher than normal...

[Silver]

unfortunately, it's all some of us have got

up here, mats are all the rage at ranges because of the cost aspect - only certain private clubs have grass ranges

[WhoElseButMe]

Interesting point. Our range has mats but has a roof top range (2nd tier) with grass where only players with a single digit handicap can practice. BTW handicap here is not the "real" thing, it doesnt take any slope rating into account. If you shoot rounds of 80, 76, 78, then your handicap is 6 (average).

[NickP]

Wouldn't the "perfect" swing produce no divot? The bottom of the club would go infestimally below the bottom of the ball at the very bottom of the downward curve, thus producing no divot anywhere.

Yeap, a la Briny Baird.

[Igolf2]

Be very careful as I injured my elbows about 6 years ago on the mats and it took two years to heal. Better to hit a little easier and no to too many balls at once. Good for knock-downs and 1/2 or 3/4 shots.