Question:
You are describing the driving range/golf course swing phenomenon at the stage of a golf swing in it’s first three years of life. You know this of course and have thrown in the grass vs. mat factor which is good because it doesn’t seem rational. [...]
Personally I would suggest beginners hit irons off (wooden) tees whenever possible, and save hitting off grass for a range with *good* grass. The next best thing to grass are the "bristle" mats. As for hitting off dried up divots or thin, dead grass, that’s a good way to learn hitting down on the ball but I doubt a beginner is going to get much out of it because most swings are going to be mishits. The benefits of hitting off tees include 1) can’t blame the grass or lie for mishits and 2) you get to watch the ball go *up* in the air and get used to the resulting feeling of good contact and energy transfer. -joseph
Response:
If this is a double post I apologize. Hi Ken, You are describing the driving range/golf course swing phenomenon at the stage of a golf swing in it’s first three years of life. You know this of course and have thrown in the grass vs. mat factor which is good because it doesn’t seem rational. Unfortunately, you must go through this perplexing period. Questioning drives you to improve. Over the course of time this disparity between ranges and mats and grass and golf courses will narrow to the point of insignificance. But you wanted comments. As an experiment, take the body out of the swing at all three locations. That is, ground the club and then hit several shots with your feet together. If your shots are similar in all three locations it tells you that the body moves differently in the swing in different situations. At this point in my typical post I begin to babble endlessly about the virtues of posture so I will cut it short and say get a lesson on setup and then work on maintaining the angles of your posture from the start of the backswing to impact. PS Don’t get hung up on the full swing, the short game will eventually be more important. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I like to practice at driving ranges with grass, but there isn’t one close to work, so at lunch I go to a place with mats. They have a two mat setup, one you <Snip any comments would be appreciated… Ken
Response:
I like to practice at driving ranges with grass, but there isn’t one close to work, so at lunch I go to a place with mats. They have a two mat setup, one you stand on, which is more like a carpet(though padded, similar to single mat driving ranges), and a thicker ‘grass’ one where the crummy plastic tee is. I’ve been hitting all my shots of the thicker mat. One problem perceived problem I’ve had with mats in the past is that it seems you can’t tell when your hitting alittle fat, the club just bounces into the ball. I thought that the thicker mat would slow down a fat shot, and give you feedback… Well anyway on to my problem: After 1 or 2 "bad" swings off the mats, I hit pretty much everything well, a slight fade or straight, good distance, with an occasional push. WHen I then go to a grass range, My hits really suck (topping is predominant). It takes me most of the bucket to get back to where I was off the mats. It feels like the swing is the same (though I haven’t had anyone look at me at both places..). When this happens I usually start topping, then move to duck hooking/pull for a while, then things start to staighten out after about 40+ balls… Has anyone else had a similar problem with mats .sv. grass. Note that the place I hit off the grass, the grass is sort of thin so the lie is tightish On the course I tend to hit somewhere in between, but more consistantly than from the grass range. My worst shot, consistanly is my T shot (I use 3 wood off the tee), and my 3 iron, my 5 wood has been pretty good/consistant with the problem being an occasional slight push. I’ve been shooting 95-100 (non-full swings, and lack of a good drive being the stroke enhancers…) any comments would be appreciated… Ken