Shrink needed.. Master of Matts.. So ..what is the deal hitting off of Grass..?

[vegasandre]

Just joined this site. figured I needed a place to air out my weird story..and get some advice. 

without paying for a shrink..

Long story Short.. Stopped Playing golf when kids were born ish.. 20 years ago. 

Why? well because mainly I couldn't practice enough to play - as well as I wanted to play. 

and if I can't go and play well..then it wasn't worth it for me ..just cant go and  play a round and drink some beers and have fun like others mostly do..

and yada yada yada.. so I just stopped cold turkey.  complete head case too on the golf course.  LOL

so I said screw it..I am done.  and I love fishing.  
fishing and golf= a lot of time. 

with kids and family - time becomes a precious commodity. 

 

over the past 20 years I would hit the range every other month or so just to see what was there. 
When the kids were small, every now and then I would take them to hit balls and play a little pitch and putt course to see if the sport of golf would "stick" for them, 

and maybe give me a chance to have an excuse for the comeback tour..lol

golf didn't stick... they were baseball and daughter volleyball. 

so I didnt play. (well I played once in 2008 in a fun event that wasn't too fun for me)

so up until 1.5 yrs ago I would just go the range 4- 6 times a year and keep the swing or something resembling that going..
maybe to find some hidden magic or just to maybe clear my head from every day life stuff..
 

1.5 yrs ago my oldest son ,now in early 20s, is graduating college and wants to play golf with his college buds and work buds etc..
so I started going to the range again a little more to help him get started and point him in the right direction- mostly. 
got him some lessons and 18 months later he plays weekly. 
 

Keeps asking me to play.. I always decline. 

Middle son baseball college player now wants to play.  total beginner. 

He wants me to play too. 

I decline ..

make up 101 excuses..

but my biggest excuse?

I have only hit off matts for 20 years.   no ranges near me have anything resembling grass.(san diego now)

grass is a luxury and foreign object. 

some here probably hit off grass a lot , country club , playing or otherwise..

I only have hit off matts for a long a** time and fairly OK  too.. for an old dude. 

55 and hitting Bombs..  116-120 swing speed or something like that.

you get the picture...

 

fast forward to this past weekend

middle son home from college..didn't make regionals. 

playing summer ball in a month. 

they are absolutely ganging up on me to play.  
I say  " I haven't hit off grass and it's not the same"

I say -  "Haven't practiced short game in billion years"

 

I finally succumb to the pressure and we go play a little executive course. 

figured hey.. grass practice and short game practice..and playing 1st time with kids. 

maybe it will be a a new start.. 

 

was ok at first. then a few chunkies.. total rusty short game.

even showed the kids how well I can throw a club...and yell f***..

yeah maybe not a Tony Robbins moment in time...   no do over though.

the grass thing was weird.  so weird.  depth perception was off..

and those uphill,downhill,sidehill lies..?  well..maybe in my past life I was used to them

now I looked like those "Golly gee I am hot today"  old couple from Caddyshack..

 

I have now realized that hitting off Matts are generally not good.  maybe you can work on a few things.. probably ok for woods and stuff

but Grass is needed.. 

where do I find this grass?   
If I want to play again(debatable), I need to find this magical thing called grass and figure out how to practice correctly

and maybe get ready for the senior- senior tour.. or maybe at least some sanity. 

 

thanks for listening.. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2022 by vegasandre

[Rocky Ball-boa]

You're taking yourself / golf too seriously. Relax and enjoy the time and shared interest with your kids! If you play regularly enough, it'll come. On-course practice is not to be scoffed at.

 

Though saying that, I'm sure someone can chime in with some tips for ranges in your area, or some more grass-like mat/accessory you can bring and hit off on the range.

I keep getting ads for these things: https://strikemat.co.uk/products/acustrike-mat 

A regular range mat will let you get away with chunks and other bad habits way more than real turf will. Maybe something like that will give you some visual feedback while on the range?

[Valtiel]

The entire issue could be as simple as a small missing fundamental that is impacting your low point control. Mat or grass, you should always be hitting the ball first, so if all of the sudden you get chunky and lose confidence on grass then it's because you were likely on the very edge of chunking things on mats as well. Can you get a face on video of your swing at the range? Get one of your sons to help you out in a "Dad wants to fix his game" kind of way and i'm sure it would reveal a few missing basics that you can implement to get your head right. 

[golfarb1]

I like to practice . But if I had to practice off of mats , I would stop practicing cold turkey. 
Mats can disguise the compression of the strike , along with increasing the chances of injury . And the feeling of compressing a shot off of grass is completely different than from mats. 
When you play golf , you hit off of grass. Practice is meant to simulate playing as much as possible . 

Edited June 6, 2022 by golfarb1

[vegasandre]

1 hour ago, golfarb1 said:

I like to practice . But if I had to practice off of mats , I would stop practicing cold turkey. 
Mats can disguise the compression of the strike , along with increasing the chances of injury . And the feeling of compressing a shot off of grass is completely different than from mats. 
When you play golf , you hit off of grass. Practice is meant to simulate playing as much as possible . 

 I tend to agree with that as it makes perfect sense...

let me ask you though ..what is your practice location/situation? 

no "real" grass practice ranges in my area and I am not joining a club in my lifetime so what are options other than moving(I would gladly move to Fla but family is not on board with that)

[ShortGolfer]

Your kids want to play golf with you?  Go play with them on that Executive golf course!

I suggest playing with a 7 iron until you figure it out on the course.  Keep it simple and enjoy your time with the kids.

 

Middle irons are typically the easiest to hit. 

Edited June 7, 2022 by ShortGolfer

[golfarb1]

Southern Napa Valley

I can understand your problem 

I moved here from NJ 4 years ago . After getting settled in , I used google to find all golf courses and golf ranges within acceptable commuting distance . Some included pictures of their ranges and I called the rest I was lucky to find one with very good grass and very good balls along with an excellent short game area. 
Some semi private courses offer  limited playing privileges along with grass ranges  for considerably less cost than full playing privileges 
 

Edited June 7, 2022 by golfarb1

[phizzy30]

I can point you in the right direction but unfortunately live 2 hours north of you.  If your ever in the Riverside or Chino area, you will find two "magical" courses that have this precious comodity called grass range.  El Prado and Jurupa Hills.  You're welcome. 

[dblinden]

Sure, you can hit a little heavy on a mat and still get a good looking shot. If you can't really perceive the difference between hitting ball or mat first, then you need to train yourself to do so. Just put a piece of thin towel behind the ball or talk to your shrink. The piece of towel won't cost anything and will be more effective. 

[SNIPERBBB]

Learning how to interpret your ball/club/mat interaction really helps when diagnosing how well you're actually hitting off mats. Tour Striker can really help as if you hit the ball fat or without shaft lean the ball won't get in the air. 

[Gsea]

13 hours ago, Valtiel said:

Mat or grass, you should always be hitting the ball first,

100% ur answer, its your swing not the mats

[vegasandre]

22 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

I can point you in the right direction but unfortunately live 2 hours north of you.  If your ever in the Riverside or Chino area, you will find two "magical" courses that have this precious comodity called grass range.  El Prado and Jurupa Hills.  You're welcome. 

thank you.  

 

that is awesome that you have access to those magic type grass golf ranges. I drive through that way on way to Vegas lot. 

 

I remember when I lived in Vegas That the TPC courses would have primo grass for a crazy price too - like 20 bucks a bucket back in 2001
If I want to get back in this thing and get to going low again or wherever  -I need grass (the golf kind)

[aenemated]

40 minutes ago, vegasandre said:

I remember when I lived in Vegas That the TPC courses would have primo grass for a crazy price too - like 20 bucks a bucket back in 2001

 

We're currently making them even swankier. 🙂

[larrybud]

Mats hide almost all bad shots. You can hit one 2" fat and still make decent contact. Club just slides/bounces into the ball.

 

Hopefully the "throwing the club" line (on a par 3 course??) was tongue in cheek, or maybe golf isn't the game for you!

You're in SD, no public courses with grass ranges in your area?

[betarhoalphadelta]

On 6/6/2022 at 7:19 PM, phizzy30 said:

I can point you in the right direction but unfortunately live 2 hours north of you.  If your ever in the Riverside or Chino area, you will find two "magical" courses that have this precious comodity called grass range.  El Prado and Jurupa Hills.  You're welcome. 

 

I can do one better, I'm only 1 hour north of San Diego lol...

 

Lake Forest Golf & Practice Center. Off the 5 between Alicia and El Toro. 

 

Course is a goat track 1115 yard par 29 exec 9 hole. You can get all the sidehill lies you want--on the tee boxes lol. 

 

But they have a grass range, typically open Wed->Sun if I remember correctly (mats open all week). They're about 1.5 miles from my house so I use their "Player's Club" membership which is $47/mo and you get a large bucket of balls every day, and utilizing the grass range is a $2 kicker payable in the pro shop that day if you want to use grass instead of mats. Probably too far for you to justify the Player's Club, but if you ever find your way up to Orange County it might be a reason to divert for an hour and hit balls. 

 

They also just installed Trackman Range, and are just doing their soft open on it, so you can get data on your practice. I haven't tried that yet although I'm excited. 

[vegasandre]

5 hours ago, larrybud said:

Mats hide almost all bad shots. You can hit one 2" fat and still make decent contact. Club just slides/bounces into the ball.

 

Hopefully the "throwing the club" line (on a par 3 course??) was tongue in cheek, or maybe golf isn't the game for you!

You're in SD, no public courses with grass ranges in your area?

 

not that I am aware of.. there are a couple that let you hit off like shrubbery/dirt /weeds but that probably is the same as hitting off matts. 

 

no TPC type country club grass areas open to the public that I am aware of. 

 

[Krt22]

On 6/7/2022 at 6:00 AM, Gsea said:

100% ur answer, its your swing not the mats

Agreed. And if you hit off mats enough you know exactly if its a pure shot or not. You just need to learn to gauge impact by feel/sound and not outcome of the shot

[Ri_Redneck]

I practice off mats all the time. Sometimes really crappy mats. Just focus on hitting the ball first.

 

BT

[Grayback1973]

You can tell on a mat when you hit it fat,thin or solid. Same on the grass. In any case you must hit the ball first even if you are a flipper in order to hit a good shot. The whole grass/mat thing is mental and quite frankly OP you seem to have some perfectionist issues. How about this, go out and play golf when you have the chance and learn to enjoy each and every shot,bad or good.Stop beating up on yourself and being so demanding! 

[sprcoop]

I hit off a mat in my back yard A LOT.  The mat is pretty good about letting me know it was fat but often I still use devices (towel etc.) behind the ball to make sure I don't get away with anything.

[buckeyefl]

2 hours ago, Grayback1973 said:

You can tell on a mat when you hit it fat,thin or solid. Same on the grass. In any case you must hit the ball first even if you are a flipper in order to hit a good shot. The whole grass/mat thing is mental and quite frankly OP you seem to have some perfectionist issues. How about this, go out and play golf when you have the chance and learn to enjoy each and every shot,bad or good.Stop beating up on yourself and being so demanding! 

Slight correction. Some people can while others don't have a clue.

[mikpga]

Why do you fish?  Why do you enjoy fishing?  

[vegasandre]

11 hours ago, mikpga said:

Why do you fish?  Why do you enjoy fishing?  

love being on the Ocean. enjoy catching fish(not eating them). I excel at it.. 
golf= I could excel at it - if I could practice 4x a week every week and play 1-2x a week. 

which I know I cant/won't so it pisses me off.  which is why I kind of quit so long ago. LOL

 

I havent played 100 rounds in my life. 

 

[vegasandre]

so just an update...
Kids took me out for father's day on father's day. 
probably the 90-95th full round of my lifetime.. and first in 14 years. 
hitting off the grass was a problem some times  with some good shots and some great chunks..

and one good throw of my sand wedge too..

 

hitting off the matts "only" has become a problem still. 

Driver was 💣 though.   

putting decent despite 10 min total practice past 10 years. 

found a crappy range in Tecolate/Bay park area that has a  "hitting off dirt/weeds area"  
I tried that..

not sure which is worse..
still looking for a decent place with the good stuff.. 
last 2 times at Stadium , on the matts- I practiced moving the ball "up" in my stance a half inch or inch ... seemed a lot cleaner.

cheers..

 

Edited July 12, 2022 by vegasandre

[nlk10010]

On 6/6/2022 at 9:37 PM, vegasandre said:

 I tend to agree with that as it makes perfect sense...

let me ask you though ..what is your practice location/situation? 

no "real" grass practice ranges in my area and I am not joining a club in my lifetime so what are options other than moving(I would gladly move to Fla but family is not on board with that)

 

I agree with those who won't practice on mats, I simply can't tell the difference between a fat and non-fat shot on a mat. Maybe I need to go to school for lessons on that skill first, maybe you have to be really good at golf, don't know. But I can't.

 

Are there any 9-hole courses by you that tend not to be crowded at certain times? Here I pay $9 (OK, I'm old, they take pity on me) a "round" and when the course is not crowded can play 2-3-4 balls at a time. I call it my "grass driving range". Afraid that's the best I can do. 

Edited July 13, 2022 by nlk10010

[vegasandre]

3 hours ago, nlk10010 said:

 

I agree with those who won't practice on mats, I simply can't tell the difference between a fat and non-fat shot on a mat. Maybe I need to go to school for lessons on that skill first, maybe you have to be really good at golf, don't know. But I can't.

 

Are there any 9-hole courses by you that tend not to be crowded at certain times? Here I pay $9 (OK, I'm old, they take pity on me) a "round" and when the course is not crowded can play 2-3-4 balls at a time. I call it my "grass driving range". Afraid that's be best I can do. 

 thank you .. maybe that empty 9 hole isn't a bad idea.. 
around here in San Diego there are a lot of courses and mostly crowded.  

you would think somewhere they would have a open good grass range within half hour. 

the answer is I haven't found it yet. 

I agree on the matts.  It was pretty funny when I "thought" I was hitting most of my shots "clean" over the years.

lol- that wasn't the case. too steep and inside I think. 

chunk meister.

maybe I should plunk down some big bucks for one of those posh country clubs ?

it isn't worth it.  maybe if I lived in one. 

thanks again 🙂
 

[bfactor]

My experience is about 10 yrs out of date but Stadium Golf Center had a grass area open for much of the year, usually starting in April or so. In SoCal the best option for me when it came to grass ranges was when they were attached to public courses. I regularly went to Carlton Oaks just for that on Saturday mornings, for example, just to spot check my results on grass after practicing off of mats all week. There almost has to be that kind of situation somewhere reasonably close to you if you’re in SoCal, though I’m sure options are getting scarcer over time with the watering situation.