Secret In The Dirt - Golf's Greatest Social Network

I am assuming that most ranges just have mats and that this is where most people practice...I am lucky enough that near me there is one range which allows you to play of grass and to be honest I find this the most "realistic". Sure hitting off a mat can be useful for swing practice etc. but nothing like the real thing. And I endeavor now to just hit off the grass as much as I can...

What do you guys think? Does it really make much of a difference?

I agree with practice on plastic only if you are making swing changes since you are not as severely punished for fat shots, thereby encouraging your efforts.

Otherwise I think mats build a 'hot house' swing even with driver. You need to train on turf because real grass is often uneven in height foot to foot or lumpy under foot, the ball sits higher or lower shot to shot, and a divot is a valuable feedback tool. I see people move their mats to line up the edges to target for visual alignment and then are lost when they don't have that orientation tool on real grass instead of learning to internalize or visualize it.

Agree with Phily - nothing like the real thing...though in the absence of being able to practice on grass using mats is not that bad!

Mats are not good for your iron game because they have spring in them allowing higher ball flight. You can also bounce the club into the ball and still hit a half-way decent shot. Turf is more resistant, requiring that you hit more down on the ball.

Mats are a necessary evil for beginning players. I spent a lot of time on mats this past winter attempting to "beat balls" and achieve a decent swing. Mindless reps don't do much good and mats only create a false sense of ability. That's a GOOD thing for a beginning player.

I struggled mightily on the transition to grass, but the important thing is that I knew I COULD hit it because I could "do" it on the mats. So I kept learning and stuck with it and I got better.

I also learned the hard way that muchos reps doesn't really guarantee you make progress. In the process of taking all those cuts, however, you learn a lot if you're paying attention. You experience frustration and struggle and then you figure important stuff out.

No such thing as muscle memory and this has to be experienced to be believed.

To sum it up as clearly as mud, mats are helpful because they trick you and help the beginner gain confidence and learn that learning = improvement and that reps = torn-up-hands, not muscle memory.

GRASS ALL THE WAY. I never practice on mats...I will warm up on mats if that's all they have open at the course, but never a full practice session. Correct iron shots compress the ball, trapping it against the ground...you can't compress the ball on a mat.

Fortunately, the vast majority of courses around Dallas have grass on the range, and the two driving ranges nearest to me are grass...they only use the mats when the ground is soaked from rain.

And as others have mentioned, you can make a crap swing on a mat and the ball still goes. You can hit 5 inches behind the ball and the club just skids along the mat and sweeps the ball up. Then you get to the course and wonder why you're laying the sod over everything.

Tim,

Don't forget, most golfers (like me) suck. And golf costs $$$$ and if I pay $$$$ to suck, I don't want to do it no more. So hencely and thusly, mats might save golf cuz if I'm just pounding my wrists into the ground trying to figure out how to not cast, I might have given up. Mats will keep you from really getting better, but they'll also keep you from quitting. Not quitting is more important.

***Edit Note***

Not Quitting + Learning from SITD = Improvement + Enjoyment = General Happiness

Kenan, don't forget, I used to suck too! (Sometimes I still do!)

That said, I never even knew driving range mats existed until I got into college...and I'd been playing golf (badly) for 15 years before that. All the ranges I ever knew as a kid were grass.

I don't buy the "mats will save golf" argument...golf's been around for a lot longer than artificial turf. The allure of a well-struck golf ball, and the desire to do it again, is much more powerful than a golfer's desire to quit. The game is too addicting by nature.

Besides, there are a ton of golfers--the majority of golfers in the world, in fact--who don't even practice anyway. They just get to the course, hit 3 drives on the range (if they even hit balls at all), and go play.

All the old timer dudes that played either had $$$$ or had somebody paying $$$$ for them to play for free. No mats at range would mean bad revenue for said range. New generation wants quick results for better or for (mostly) worse. Sad fact of life. . . . . .

I got a lot of casual golfer buddies who are in a love-hate relationship with the game. I feel like a little info from SITD would help them out a ton but too many of them are scared to lose whatever it is that they "have" right now. Fear is the biggest threat to the game and mats (despite their inadequacies) help reduce fear.

Learning the golf doesn't take too much time if your mind is open and your information is good. UNDERSTANDING the golf takes a lot of time especially if you have the brain of a donkey (like me). If it were easy it wouldn't be so much fun.

Still man, I don't think people judge their performance--and therefore their love or hate for the game--by how good they hit it on the range. The game is played out on the course. When they chunk that 5 iron and come up short into the water in front of #6, THAT'S what gives them the sinking feeling (so to speak).

If anything, it could be MORE confusing if they practice on a mat...because they'll be saying "I hit it fine on the range...what the heck happened?"

The biggest threat to this game, however, is not fear...not even close. That's a romantic ideal, but the fact is the biggest threat to this game is MONEY. Courses are becoming larger and longer, with more grass to maintain, they are all built by respected designers, and they want to attract the upscale crowd...this all adds up to exorbitant greens fees that your average work-a-day folk can't afford on a weekend. Problem is, THOSE guys are the ones that keep a golf course in business, because there's a lot more of them than there are bourgeoisie! Further, we are actually seeing courses close due to lack of play from their overpriced greens fees.

Most of these upscale public tracks charge mandatory cart fees, even if you don't use a cart. They also do not offer any 9-hole rates. Some of them don't even charge less for twilight rounds! These are serious problems that can greatly hurt a course's revenue stream when times get tight.

Think about this one. When was the last time you ever saw a regulation-length 9-hole golf course? What happened to those? There needs to be MANY MORE of those in the world. 9-hole courses are twice as quick and easy to maintain (obviously), meaning that even a good 9-hole course can be dirt cheap to play. Plus, the round is over faster. Win win!

If it's cheap to play, people will play. Simple as that. Doesn't matter if they suck or not. Most people I've seen who shoot 100 aren't even concerned with getting way better. They're just happy that they're on the golf course. That's the guys that keep a golf course in business...the majority of golfers in the world, ya know (I read a statistic somewhere that said about 75% of all golfers never break 100 all their life).

Think about it...you play bowling every once in a while, right? That's a tough game too. We all play it from time to time though, because it's cheap. VERY cheap at times. And hey, it's fun. Just like any other game, it's a fun diversion from our everyday lives. Is the fear of a gutterball the biggest threat to bowling? Nahhh. If they started charging 40 bucks an hour per lane, though, they'd all go out of business.

When I was growing up, there was a 9-hole course near my house called Prescott Country Club. You didn't have to be a member to play there though. It was just a nice little tree-lined track with push-up greens, one pond, and no bunkers. They didn't have a pro shop attendant most days, so you dropped your $10 in an envelope and went off to play. Even back then, $10 wasn't very much. I'd like to see more courses like that popping up, rather than these grandiose tracks that are too expensive to play and far too tough for most weekend warriors anyway.

A lot of the types of courses you described can be found up here in beautiful (in the summer at least) Milwaukee. Our County Parks department has some fantastic public courses that they maintain.

Without these great and affordable facilities, I'd never be as excited as I am about golf.

I think you're right about the fear vs. money thing. Maybe I was just thinking about why people don't often even try to get GOOD. They see how much time and money it will take to train their brains to learn to be good and they say, "There's no guarantee I'll even get better and it costs a lot of $$$ for lessons or practice sessions. I'm not even going to try."

I dunno. . . . . Thought I had something clear to say but I lost it I think.

Matts and it's not evne close.

Tim, I loved everything you said in that last post.

I'll practice on grass if it's at all possible, but if I'm struggling I will hit the mats for confidence. It always proves to be false though as mats, as Tim said, encourage a sweeping strike with your irons. Some of the better ones ha e strike pads, which give much more and allow for a more descending blow.

Hitting from grass is obviously more realistic to what you are doing on a golf course. From mats slight drop kicks work out almost as well as ball first contact and mats tend to make you not hit down on the ball and become a picker to avoid vibration. That can't be good. Also I find it hard to relate what I am doing at a range to what I am doing on the golf course. You are penned in like a battery hen and it is too easy to do brain dead practice in moron mode.
If I am working on a move I find I get much better results going to a bunker drawing a line working on the move and monitoring where I am bottoming out. You get the motion going and build confidence without the distraction of the ball and all the self judgment that goes with it. You are also away from other human beings so you mind is uncluttered and you can just get on with it. It is better if you can work in the bunker then jump out and hit a few shots. But in my mind if you are working on changes the bunker sessions are far more productive than hitting ball after ball.
Even when I am at a range hitting from grass I prefer to work on 120 yards and in shots where I am thinking and try and keep my mind as if I am on the course rather than just hit long shot after long shot. You have to work at keeping it real. It is just too easy to get into range rat moron mode.

Oh my god Tim, you said the exact same thing I always say. Golf is way to expensive. My home course is pretty expensive to play.
I am lucky I am able to be a member. I don't take it for granted. I remember playing with clubs I picked out of the garbage and on a 9 hole city run course. I think back on that and the course was brutal but it was the most fun I ever had gofing.

Sometimes I watch guys on the range.They do not have any desire to improve, they show up like you said hit 10 shots all over the place and rush to the first tee. This is 90 percent of the guys I see.

They pay alot of money to do this. I don't really get it. We do have cheaper courses in the area and easier ones that I think they would actually enjoy.

I don't see any kids out there though. I am talking 15 to 18 year old guys. Why? because it is too expensive. The only young guys I see there come from well off families. It should not be like that.

I agree that grass is always better but when you live in a cold wheather area matts and a 85 yard practice dome is as good as it gets for 5 months a year.
I am a 6 handicap and hit balls all winter but I struggle hitting off grass the first month outside every year. It is a totally different.
I might just go once a week this coming winter. It does not do much good. I start all over every spring wheather I hit all winter or not.

The expense thing though is a pet peeve of mine and has been for a long time. Besides the equipment which is brutally expensive. Golfballs are 45 to 50 a dozen? Really? How stupid.
The expense is too high. I have steered my own kids away from golf. It is not worth the expense and honestly I cannot afford to have 3 kids playing golf.

I would never take the game up now. The only reason I play is because I started in my teens. If I could go back knowing what I know now I would not play.
5 hour rounds, 50 dollar a dozen golfballs and 500 dollar drivers. Good lord, who needs it.

Grass is much preferred for all the reasons noted above plus one more; I feel like my leading elbow likes grass much better than hard mats. I have learned to hit down nicely with my irons and even a bit with my 3-wood. Thousands of down-strikes on mats over the years must have physiological consequences.

Still, here in Portland (and anywhere there is a "real" winter) mats are the only way to practice for several months of the year. As soon as the turf is ready at my favorite range, I'm out there hitting off grass.

Love this topic. When I first started out, I was at the driving range, smashing balls against a mat.
When you have NO IDEA about swing mechanics, you sit on the range and hope some tip you picked up helps you figure it out, as you waste money whacking at balls ad nauseum.

I get some pretty nasty tennis elbow in my right arm (I'm a lefty) when I have a long session on a mat.

Once I began to understand the mechanics of a golf swing, I find that I spend more time swinging in my back yard without a ball. I know what I'm supposed to be doing, and the feel of the proper swing is all I am looking for.

When it's time for a range session, I'm paying that one extra dollar to do it on grass.

At the closest range to my home, there is only the mat option. At that place, I strictly use it for quick practice, which ironically are some of my more productive sessions.

I buy 30 balls, work through a methodical pre-shot routine, take 20 practice swings, then hit a shot.
It works phenomenally well. You're actually working on ingraining motion instead of focusing on "where that damn ball is going". It's very amazing how with a few balls and a methodical approach, you can get a LOT out of the experience. You're also saving money and your elbow.

true dat jarrett.

thinking a lot is far more productive than beating balls. but without beating balls, i wouldn't understand that i wasn't doing something right.

can't tell you how many times i've been doing something random and routine (washing dishes, taking a nap, taking a shower) and i get an idea or make a connection with something i read/saw on the Dirt. then i take that idea out to practice and boom, figured something out.

Clearly grass but one of the other challenges I have is that anytime you are on a range and using those crappy range balls....well it just means you never really get to experience that feeling when you hit a great shot...I think the feedback from crap balls, even when on the sweet spot, is never as good as a great ball...and so nothing beats getting on the course with your regular ball and hitting a few rounds...

But in answer - Grass is the only way to go...