Practising drills to correct fat shots on mats of driving range

I have this problem of hitting fat shots rather often and I have more or less come to conclusion that it is due to many reasons including set-up is too close to ball, not transfering weight enough etc.

I am now trying to practise drills to correct this problem and i find it challenging to get the correct feedback on mats in the driving range. Ideally, practising in the range-on-grass which will clearly show how much divot that i have taken before the ball however this is not really possible on the mats. (and Turf Club is too far for me to go so often)

Any experience on good ways to see how fat my shots are on a mat? I thought of putting something like a coin before the ball but worried it will damage the club instead.

You can place a towel behind the ball instead and try to miss the towel.

Hi bro...

There r 2 methods whuch i use on range mat to improve my ball striking...

Method 1) i place the ball on the hole (meant for rubber tee) and practice hitting my iron shots off it!

Method 2) bring a roll of masking tape. Stick a small piece jus after the ball. When u hit correctly, u should see the maskin tape stick to your club head. If u hit it fat, the masking tape will not stick.

Hope it helps...

Happi golfing!!!

Get alignment sticks from isetan

Set them parallel , almost sticking to one another...
Place a ball on the sticks

Take ur swing, aiming to take the ball clean off the sticks

Cheers!!!

Oh they cost around 23 bucks

Put on the right end of the mat( if you are right handed, vice versa), around a finger gap between the ball and the edge of the mat. I normally do this will wedges only. If you are doing it for the first time, please be careful that you will hit the side of the mat and the ball may fly vertically upwards. It will be quite painful and people may just stare at you.

adenn20 wrote:

Get alignment sticks from isetan

Set them parallel , almost sticking to one another...
Place a ball on the sticks

Take ur swing, aiming to take the ball clean off the sticks

Cheers!!!

*imagines 2 alignment sticks flying into the distance ...*

Derek wrote:

adenn20 wrote:

Get alignment sticks from isetan

Set them parallel , almost sticking to one another...
Place a ball on the sticks

Take ur swing, aiming to take the ball clean off the sticks

Cheers!!!

*imagines 2 alignment sticks flying into the distance ...*

Cheaper to use wooden chopsticks.

Hmmmmmm....ok

Alignment sticks won't fly off by the way.

Good imagination tho

I have used the following method.

1. Stick a piece of masking tape about 3 inches, on the mat, behind the ball.
2. Take your normal swing and if you hit the tape, it means you are hitting fat shots.
3. Keep using this method until you do not hit the tape at all than move the tape 1 inch closer to the ball, (That means it is now 2 inches behind the ball) and continue.

PS: This method worked for me, not sure if it will work for you.

i am quite sure the problem is a more fundamental issue. Probable swing plane issue, some of the suggestions here seem good but some are downright dangerous. Not just to your hands and joints but to others as well. Go see a proper swing coach la. If you have to practise, practise the correct fundamentals.

How about this approach ...

As you mentioned, there is no replacement for learning ball striking off a natural surface (be it grass, or my personal favourite, flat sandy areas that simulate fairway bunkers, I used to go to JCC range just for that).

However, if Turf city is not convenient, then you need to somehow teach yourself how to recognise good (ball first) contact even off a range mat.

Are you able to strike the ball decently with partial swings? i.e. the kind that you make inside 70m and around the green. Or 20m-25m pitches? The good thing about these shots is that they occur at a slower speed, so you should be able to feel whether you got the mat first or not. Also, they can be practiced at any executive course, or if you have a portable chipping/pitching net (available as FESC), almost any piece of grass.

After all, my own logic is that (feel free to disagree), if you can't hit the ball nicely with a short club swinging at a slower speed, you should not expect to hit it nicely with a long club at a faster speed, not the mention the additional (perhaps excessive) body movement.

Work on this often enough, and you will recognise what good ball first contact feels like, after which you can then recognise fat shots on range mats just by feel. Hopefully knowing what good contact feels like will help you achieve it more consistently.

A side effect of this practice is that you are likely to get more confident and competent hitting shots with partial swings inside 70m, otherwise known as the short game. I realise that some golfers feel this is not important because they can hit greens with their 4 irons, let alone mid and short irons. But because I am not as talented as them, I try to get competent in this area so I don't waste my flightmates time.

Give it a try, you might be surprised what happens to your overall game ...

For me....if the sound is 'Piak'.....that is a good shot..


if the sound is 'Pok'....then no good....likelihood I duff

What happens if there is no sound...


...just the blackbirds squawking overhead.

Duval_S wrote:

For me....if the sound is 'Piak'.....that is a good shot..

if the sound is 'Pok'....then no good....likelihood I duff

entity wrote:

What happens if there is no sound...


...just the blackbirds squawking overhead.

Duval_S wrote:

For me....if the sound is 'Piak'.....that is a good shot..

if the sound is 'Pok'....then no good....likelihood I duff

Just shout:" What a good practice swing!"

Derek wrote:

How about this approach ...

As you mentioned, there is no replacement for learning ball striking off a natural surface (be it grass, or my personal favourite, flat sandy areas that simulate fairway bunkers, I used to go to JCC range just for that).

However, if Turf city is not convenient, then you need to somehow teach yourself how to recognise good (ball first) contact even off a range mat.

Are you able to strike the ball decently with partial swings? i.e. the kind that you make inside 70m and around the green. Or 20m-25m pitches? The good thing about these shots is that they occur at a slower speed, so you should be able to feel whether you got the mat first or not. Also, they can be practiced at any executive course, or if you have a portable chipping/pitching net (available as FESC), almost any piece of grass.

After all, my own logic is that (feel free to disagree), if you can't hit the ball nicely with a short club swinging at a slower speed, you should not expect to hit it nicely with a long club at a faster speed, not the mention the additional (perhaps excessive) body movement.

Work on this often enough, and you will recognise what good ball first contact feels like, after which you can then recognise fat shots on range mats just by feel. Hopefully knowing what good contact feels like will help you achieve it more consistently.

A side effect of this practice is that you are likely to get more confident and competent hitting shots with partial swings inside 70m, otherwise known as the short game. I realise that some golfers feel this is not important because they can hit greens with their 4 irons, let alone mid and short irons. But because I am not as talented as them, I try to get competent in this area so I don't waste my flightmates time.

Give it a try, you might be surprised what happens to your overall game ...

Have been doing this form of practice for several months already. Since I practice at bukit batok driving range, there have the off-peak promotion where 200balls for $4.30. In my 600balls there, i would be hitting shots like using 8iron 100m, 4iron 150m, pitching wedge 75m. It develops a feel for me that i could hit the ball well as long as i swing under control. For me, my game improved from rarely breaking 90 to a consistent below 90 game and a increase of 5mph on my driver swing speed.

Thanks for the ideas and advice. Will try them at range. Hopefully don't send the towels out together with the ball haha

Alternatively can also just bring a piece of chalk.