Swinging at a mat in my garage I think is making me worse

I have a real simple swing, keep the club face facing the ball till mid thigh then lift up with wrist break. Come through and hit the ball. Nothing fancy, nothing special but it advances the ball.

I really do think swinging more is making me worse. I'm 44 I wonder if muscle fatigue or something else is doing it......

Matt is probably feeling it more than you ;)

More seriously I'd be worried about your wrists from repeatedly hitting the mat.

Good point, I am done with that thing. Just tossed it in the trash......

Mat has its uses, are you using any kind of tee? I have a really nice driving range mat a couple inches thick and still have to pick the ball or its going to mess up wrists/hands. Can't really practice getting through the ball and taking a divot like grass

I just feel like when I get to the course lately I've been worse. Kind of done with that nonsense.....

I thought it would help me groove a better swing but all it's done is nothing at best and maybe slightly worse.

If you don't have a clear direction, you may just be grooving bad habits.

> @Paddy_2_Iron said:

> I just feel like when I get to the course lately I've been worse. Kind of done with that nonsense.....

>

> I thought it would help me groove a better swing but all it's done is nothing at best and maybe slightly worse.

I find sometimes I play better after a hiatus, builds enthusiasm I guess.. Use your practice time wisely, not just beating balls

To one of your questions muscle fatigue happens. First you’re banging ball after ball with minimum rest. Also not sure what you do during the day but I personally see fatigued swings in myself usually the last 1/3 of a bucket the day after a workout.

I tore a tendon in my elbow hitting off a mat. In addition to the dangers of a bad or worn out mat, you get no feedback and can indeed be grooving bad habits.

Can make your swing too !"picky"

Just a follow up. Woke up his morning and I can feel tightness in the elbows, horrible.... Who knows how much damage I've done... The only brightside of it, I only had that mat for 1 month...

I use a mat for about 20 shots, basically to keep my swing alive between rounds. Plus after about 20 shots on a mat the left elbow tells me to stop.

> @Paddy_2_Iron said:

> Just a follow up. Woke up his morning and I can feel tightness in the elbows, horrible.... Who knows how much damage I've done... The only brightside of it, I only had that mat for 1 month...

Do some zotteman curls with light weight. Helps with tendinitis

We have very long winters here. Usually five months-long then it is sloppy another month until things start to dry out. From mid-Oct to the beginning of May. We do have several indoor practice domes that are 100 yards long. Hitting on grass, compared to a matt is completely different.

You really can't hit it fat on a matt. Even if you are behind the ball the club usually slides on the matt. It does not give you an accurate assessment of how you're hitting it. I use the domes three days a week just to work on things and try to stay in a golf mode and I just enjoy hitting golf balls.

Usually, when I go back outside it still takes me a month or so to start playing well again.

One year I didn't hit at all. I didn't find the spring all that much different than if I hit all winter inside.

I'm not sure if they ever really help.

those large thick mats look forgiving but are anything but that... they'll wreak havoc on your elbow and wrists and likely you'll start learning to pick the ball rather than hitting down and through.

there are better options, although more expensive. Fiberbuilt mats or Truestrike actually work. check them out.

Y'all must be killin' snakes or something. Mats aren't _that_ bad.

I live in FL now, so dont really have the need, but for years while living in NJ I'd keep my swing grooved hitting off of a mat into my NetReturn. I was always able to tell quality of strike and even shot shape. It translated just fine to the course, so I found it very helpful.

In fact, I wouldn't mind one for my garage down here. Something about just getting to striking it perfectly pure without seeing or worrying about the ballflight...going purely off of feel, actually benefits me for some reason.

> @Kgglonghorn said:

> I tore a tendon in my elbow hitting off a mat. In addition to the dangers of a bad or worn out mat, you get no feedback and can indeed be grooving bad habits.

I grooved some bad habits over the winter doing the same thing a couple years back. Now I just go to the range a few times a month in the winter or do nothing. Of course we don’t have to contend with snow here like many of you.

I play in an indoor simulator league in the winter. Just the idea a swinging clubs with a little bit of course management thrown in seems to keep the mind at least in golf mode. Will go once or twice a month to the local golf dome, but when there I try to hit most balls of a tee instead of the mats. Bought my own set of mat tees, 5 different heights. Lot les wear on these old joints.

Just banging the ball off of a mat I beleive instills some bad habits

I own a nicer mat and have hit balls off of it quite a bit. I stopped using it because I got a little out to in and didn't realize it because the feedback was more for hitting it fat or thin. I haven't used it in two years now and looking back, I think the inactivity in the winter wasn't nearly as detrimental to my game as I thought. I do get a few rounds in on the days its warmer....even if the course is a swamp.

To me, swinging at a mat into a net just encourages swinging AT the ball instead of towards a target. I can't do it.

I have a good mat and a net in my barn. I only use one ball. Walking up and retrieving the ball keeps me from machine gunning balls. Like anything, it can be good or bad, I never trust mat results until I see them on the course, and I once ingrained a nasty hook.

I got rid of the net, just not a good vibe. Indoors just do 25%-50% swings with foam balls, hit a dozen or so, and that's it. I've ruined a coupla swings in the winter, changing things in the basement. It's not close to real. You're better off doing super slo mo swings with no ball in the winter.

I hit well over 400 balls per day off my mat in the garage, and I've been doing it over 2 years now. Haven't had any wrist or elbow issues. I have have a shoulder impingement issue though, but that is more from overuse of overhand action.

Hitting in the garage itself might be an issue. Depending on how much room and ceiling height your garage has, you mentally may be shortening your swing. For me personally, I have a difficult time hitting long irons and woods in an enclosed space like a simulator where I sense/feel I don’t have enough room to swing (even if there is in fact more than enough).

Practicing with that sense in the back of your head will definitely ingrain bad habits