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Practice balls for backyard chipping - trade offs?

fracisco

fracisco

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My wife got me a chipping target net for Christmas, and I would like to set it up in the backyard from time to time. My challenge is that I have about a 50 foot run between where I will be able to strike the ball to where I can place the net.

What are the trade offs in feel/playability between 'wiffle' balls, foam balls, and something like the AlmostGolf ball?

I think that I'll also need to get a chipping mat to protect turf, too. Any recommendations?
 
I personally don't like the wiffle balls. I think the foam or AlmostGolf balls are better and offer more feedback and 'performance' that will serve you better than hollow wiffle balls
 
If you are just chipping, I would use a real ball. Nothing beats the feel of the real thing. There are some super cheap ones out there that have reasonable performance.
 
I would agree with Hanks on the foam balls. I have used them into a chipping net and they worked nicely. I just recently got some Birdie Balls and havent tried them yet.
 
Get some birdie balls. They often have misprinted ones on sale for cheap.

You would be hard pressed to find a better backyard training tool as they are simply the best of the limited flight options out there. You can draw. fade, hook, and slice them just like the real thing.

Be careful though if you live in high altitude as I have found them to travel much further at 4500' than they do down in the valley.
 
I only use real balls in the backyard when putting or chipping because I want the same feel I will get on the course. However the distance is no more than 20' so I take my chances that I will not break anything on my house or the neighbours. Wiffle balls are just terrible however so just don't use those.
 
I use the whiffle balls but I only use them for chipping practice. I put a flower pot in the middle of the backyard and try to chip into it using different lofted clubs.
Mainly working on always keeping my hands ahead of the ball and not breaking my wrists.
The whiffle balls work fine for that. For full hits.....not so much.
 
SeeMoreGuy said:
I would agree with Hanks on the foam balls. I have used them into a chipping net and they worked nicely. I just recently got some Birdie Balls and havent tried them yet.
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your gonna love them!
 
My brother-in-law gave me some birdie balls for Christmas. It was about the best time I have had other then actually playing golf. We played our own 18 holes in the front yard all afternoon. You can really bend them each way and get some good response out of them .
 
Since I was out, I picked up some AlmostGolf balls at Dick's last night. I'll get around to hitting them later this week. I'll keep the Birdie Ball in mind for the future.
 
Everybody says birdieballs are great but I just get 24 packs of the yellow foam balls from target and they are great for feedback.
 
I love Birdie Balls. I know the jury is out on the effects of swinging a weighted club. But I like to drop a bunch of them onto the shaft of a golf club and use it as a swing weight. They make an unmistakable sound when you compress them right.
 
Have any of you who use Birdie Balls (or any other) regularly noticed any ill effect on your full swing with real balls out on the course? Does it cause you to do funny things or compensate, etc?
 
Penglynns said:
Have any of you who use Birdie Balls (or any other) regularly noticed any ill effect on your full swing with real balls out on the course? Does it cause you to do funny things or compensate, etc?
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Penglynns -- I have not noticed any ill effects from practicing with the Birdie Balls. If anything it improves my tempo and ball striking right in the comfort of my back yard. One-T put me on to these about a year ago and both myself & KellyBo love these things. The actually feel just like striking a golf ball to me. Amazing technology!
 
Ole Gray said:
Penglynns -- I have not noticed any ill effects from practicing with the Birdie Balls. If anything it improves my tempo and ball striking right in the comfort of my back yard. One-T put me on to these about a year ago and both myself & KellyBo love these things. The actually feel just like striking a golf ball to me. Amazing technology!
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Nice to hear.

How much room do you need to really use them? Our neighborhood is the modern small yard, close houses type, though there is a park up the street I could use to go hit balls if I need space.

And are they hard enough that they would damage something if they hit it?
 
i got a chipping net the other day my livingroom is 26ft long i use real balls i aint broke nowt yet. if i used a foam ball id need a full swing and on the course a real ball would fly 10 times further
 
Penglynns said:
Nice to hear.

How much room do you need to really use them? Our neighborhood is the modern small yard, close houses type, though there is a park up the street I could use to go hit balls if I need space.

And are they hard enough that they would damage something if they hit it?
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Our back yard is not huge being about 65 ft or so. I think it's pretty close to the limit set for Birdie balls which is approx 50 ft . I would be careful around a large pane window. We have one on the back of our house and I was lucky. I sliced one off to the right and banged it pretty good but it did no damage....
 
Chipping is all about precise control of distance (and line), no? How can you practice on a ball that doesn't go as far and then take that to the course? Won't you have to compensate?

I used to practice my full swing on foam balls, when I had a larger backyard, but I just don't see how I can do that for chipping or pitching. Not questioning what you guys say, I just want to know how it would work so I can also do it!
 
Ole Gray said:
Penglynns -- I have not noticed any ill effects from practicing with the Birdie Balls. If anything it improves my tempo and ball striking right in the comfort of my back yard. One-T put me on to these about a year ago and both myself & KellyBo love these things. The actually feel just like striking a golf ball to me. Amazing technology!
Click to expand...

Haha, amazing technology to you is a tube of plastic! :D

Just joking of course, I love them too!
I haven't noticed any ill effects. They have improved my ball striking immensly and I can finally efficiently use my GPS.
 
I chip into my backyard driving net. Birdie Balls will help you hit down because subconsciously you can't get under it. Imagine hitting a soda can that's standing up with your golf club. You would have to take out the bottom half to get loft because your mind realizes that you can't hit "under" it like a rounded golf ball.

I'm a big believer of combining training aids. I place birdie balls onto the fat free golf swing trainer (my product) and hit them with my tour striker pro training golf club.

I also have to state that when I'm hitting into the net from across my hard, my main concerns are: #1. "ball striking" - hitting thru the ball with proper impact positioning. Birdie balls make a unique sound when hit properly. #2. accuracy/alignment - this makes sure that my shots are going down my target path and into the center of the net... Then finally #3. touch. On some shots I'll hit the back of the golf net and others I'll hit one hoppers into the net.

There just so happens to be another golfer at my son's park. We hit birdie balls to each other while my one year old ran around with his dog. You have to be careful, but it feels safer watching a birdie ball fly at you than a golf ball.
 
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