Question:
I’m in the same boat as many other new golfers – I can hit fairway shots better with my lofted woods than I can with my long irons. I want to change that. I’d like to improve my iron play. My question is, where can I practice long irons? I currently can practice chipping, pitching and putting at the local muni’s practice areas. I can practice wedges on the football field of a nearby high school (they actually allow it!) I can practice tee shots (Driver and 3W) off the practice tee at the course, or at the driving range. But hitting, say, a 3-iron off a practice mat feels *entirely* different than hitting the same club off the middle of the fairway grass. So, I’d love to find a place where I can hit long irons off grass. (I’m learning to hate mats) Any ideas? What do *you* do to practice? Bruce
Response:
If you can get a hold on a bag of range or practice balls, knock em into the woods [ocean or river]. Is there a building around with no windows:)? — http://www.geocities.com/MadisonAvenue/1488
Response:
But hitting, say, a 3-iron off a practice mat feels *entirely*
different than hitting the same club off the middle of the fairway grass. So, I’d love to find a place where I can hit long irons off grass. (I’m learning to hate mats) Any ideas? What do *you* do to practice? Bruce Maybe I am spoiled where I live but most of the practice ranges near me have plenty of grass practice tees where you can hit any club you want. Even when the grass tees are closed because of wet conditions, artificial turf mats are available from which the player can hit irons. I thought the old fashioned driving range where golfers hit one ball after another with the driver off rubber tees were a thing of the past. John
Response:
But hitting, say, a 3-iron off a practice mat feels *entirely* different than hitting the same club off the middle of the fairway grass. So, I’d love to find a place where I can hit long irons off grass. (I’m learning to hate mats)
Keep hitting it off that mat. You do not need the ball sitting up appreciably to hit it well with a long iron, nor any other iron for that matter. But that is especially true with the long irons. If you have trouble hitting long irons, period, tee them up until you get the feeling you are nuking a few in a row. -joseph
Response:
Maybe I am spoiled where I live but most of the practice ranges near me have plenty of grass practice tees where you can hit any club you want.
We have plenty of grass ranges around here but most of them are "divoted" to death. Fortunately the course I joined is just enough out of the way that the range grass is in pretty good shape. One of the things that golfers could learn and which their pros should *definitely* teach them is how to hit 100-200 balls off a couple square feet of turf. Seeing Jim Colbert talk about this on TV a couple of weeks ago brought it back to me, and since then I’ve been diligently carving out my little squares. I doubt that complete beginners have the discipline to do this but certainly any roughly 20 handicap or lower should. -joseph
Response:
One of the things that golfers could learn and which their pros
should *definitely* teach them is how to hit 100-200 balls off a couple square feet of turf. Seeing Jim Colbert talk about this on TV a couple of weeks ago brought it back to me, and since then I’ve been diligently carving out my little squares. I doubt that complete beginners have the discipline to do this but certainly any roughly 20 handicap or lower should. -joseph<<< I have always admired the way the pros take neat divots, going side to side and gradually working their divots backwards, each time placing the ball just behind the last divot taken. I try to do this too but unfortunately, one good chili dip, which I am prone to do, in which I take out a divot 6 inches behind the ball, shoots down the best of intentions. John
Response:
But hitting, say, a 3-iron off a practice mat feels *entirely* different than hitting the same club off the middle of the fairway grass. So, I’d love to find a place where I can hit long irons off grass. (I’m learning to hate mats) Any ideas? What do *you* do to practice?
The driving range at which I practice allows one the choice of hitting off mats or grass. This doesn’t help you, unless you live in Athens, GA, but there are ranges which permit this. Look around – maybe you can find one. — "What the world needs now is a new kind of tension…" -Dave Lowrey
Response:
Q Q Q But hitting, say, a 3-iron off a practice mat feels *entirely* Q different than hitting the same club off the middle of the Q fairway grass. So, I’d love to find a place where I can hit Q long irons off grass. (I’m learning to hate mats) Q Q Any ideas? What do *you* do to practice? Q Q The driving range at which I practice allows one the choice of hitting off Q mats or grass. This doesn’t help you, unless you live in Athens, GA, but Q there are ranges which permit this. Look around – maybe you can find one. Q Q — Also, check with your range — is there every any time during the week that you can hit off grass? Maybe you can rearrange your schedule. The range I use most often allows players to hit off the grass on Mondays thru Thursdays. Mats are only used on the heavy traffic days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I generally try to arrange my practice schedule to include as much weekday range time ass possible. If you can’t do that, find a new range. Best, H. — Howard Owens Correct Address Looks Something Like This: <howard&hbo3.com (figure it out) DO NOT TRY USING REPLY-TO THE "NOSPAM" ADDRESS DOES NOT WORK
Response:
But hitting, say, a 3-iron off a practice mat feels *entirely* different than hitting the same club off the middle of the fairway grass. So, I’d love to find a place where I can hit long irons off grass. (I’m learning to hate mats) Any ideas? What do *you* do to practice? The driving range at which I practice allows one the choice of hitting off mats or grass. This doesn’t help you, unless you live in Athens, GA, but there are ranges which permit this. Look around – maybe you can find one.
The driving range I inhabit has grass (well, most of the time) and mats. I use the mats to tighten up my swing. To *really* tighten up my swing, I hit it off the rubber where we would normally stand. No joke. Works every time. When you can hit a long iron off rubber, then you know you’re swinging well. Ciao! David. David McAuliffe, | My views are not shared Acronym Computing Development | by my employer- "Sex is like cards. If you don’t have a good partner, you’d better have a good hand."
Response:
When you can hit a long iron off rubber, then you know you’re swinging well.
s/long iron/sand wedge/ -joseph
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m in the same boat as many other new golfers – I can hit fairway shots better with my lofted woods than I can with my long irons. I want to change that. I’d like to improve my iron play. My question is, where can I practice long irons? [...] I can practice tee shots (Driver and 3W) off the practice tee at the course, or at the driving range. But hitting, say, a 3-iron off a practice mat feels *entirely* different than hitting the same club off the middle of the fairway grass. So, I’d love to find a place where I can hit long irons off grass. (I’m learning to hate mats) Any ideas? What do *you* do to practice?
I am fortunate to live in an area that has open spaces large enough to hit long irons on. I also have a shag bag full of old Titelists that to practice with. Downside to this approach is having to pick-up my own balls. 1) costs valuable practice time, 2) sometimes hard to find all the balls because the area I practice in has pretty long grass. Other alternatives are to find a good practice facility that has grass to hit off of. You could also try going to the local course later in the evening, to get out behind the people trying to get in a evening 9, and play practice golf. THat is use your long irons and hit 5 or 6 shots off the tee and off the fairway. Object is not to play holes, but top hit different kinds of shots. Off of a tee, off the fiarway, out of the rough, Up lies/down lies, etc. Start slow and work off a tee until you build up your ability and confidence level. Another way to work in the long irons is to use them off the tee instead of you driver. That way the par fives are likely to be two three irons and a middle iron, the par 4s a three iron and what ever is left.
Response:
I’m in the same boat as many other new golfers – I can hit fairway shots better with my lofted woods than I can with my long irons.
What do you think of practicing long and short irons on the beach? I too have problems hitting off a mat, but I have unlimited access to the beach, and the sand is quite compacted and hard near the water. Could this be any more unrealistic than a mat?
Response:
I’m in the same boat as many other new golfers – I can hit fairway shots better with my lofted woods than I can with my long irons.
You ask where to practice long irons: How about your ex-wife’s back yard? Toward the house? Question on hitting off of sand. Why not? However you’ll have to stand more still than normal, might creep into your shot, cutting down your distance. Good to work on balance but do not do it exclusively. Max Hack
Response:
Try practicing off a low tee at the range. This approximates the way it sits up on the fairway. I bought my own range tees in a golf store and cut them off to the right height for various shots. I’ve also found this is a good way to practice wedge shots, where you want to hit down on the ball. Just tee it up a bit and try and brush the mat after you strike the ball. Cheers, Mike – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – (Bruce Gary) writes: I’m in the same boat as many other new golfers – I can hit fairway shots better with my lofted woods than I can with my long irons. What do you think of practicing long and short irons on the beach? I too have problems hitting off a mat, but I have unlimited access to the beach, and the sand is quite compacted and hard near the water. Could this be any more unrealistic than a mat?
Response:
When you can hit a long iron off rubber, then you know you’re swinging
well. Ciao!<<< Ya, but let’s see you do Greg Norman’s trick of hitting a one iron off a cart path to within 10 feet of a pin 240 yards away. That’s when you’ll know you are really, really good. John