Good Evening from rainy Britain,
I use the local range and it has concrete then a single mat. Had some good success tonight but as I got tired (100 balls) it got worse.
I relaxed and as range was empty I stepped forward and hit some off the grass . cWow what a difference! first time ever taking nice divots after ball and it sounded lively even though ground was very wet.
I wonder if hitting that hard mat encourages me to scoop? when I video I lift shoulders at bottom of swing and maybe this is learned here?
thoughts very welcome on this.
With regard to hitting off mats - if you must - here are a couple of suggestions that can help you discern between crispy and soggy impact:
1) Get yourself an old hand towel fold it in half. Place it no more than 2 inches behind your ball, thereby requiring you to miss the towel and make ball first contact on your downswing. As you improve, move the towel closer to the ball. The small thickness of a one-half folded towel will not impede your backswing takeaway.
2) If you can, put down a thick chalk line or some inexpensive spray foot powder on the mat about an inch in front of the ball. Try to hit the ball first and then the chalk or powder. The mark on the mat - or lack thereof - will give you instant visual feedback.
@colin I‘m not a fan of hitting off mats. There are some good mats these days, but chances are your range isn’t using them because of the cost. Mats will hide a fat shot. I also think they may lead to some elbow injury if you hit a lot of balls at a single outing. Not sure they promote scooping, but I think they may lead to early extensio, especially if you have developed some elbow pain. The only mat I would use is the Divot Board and I would put that on the ground not on a mat.