Kevin; Try talking to the head instructor about a SHORT GAME LESSON. and then ask about practiceing your short game, AFTER your lesson. They might feel a bit differently about you practiceing on their course, if you take a lesson first. Might be worth asking about. Let's face it. What good is the lesson, if you can't practice what they teach. Tell them this, and see what they say. If they still don't wan't you to practice there, tell them you'll be taking your lessons someplace else as well.

I have 2 course very close to me
1) is a municipal, which has issues with people going onto the course without paying so the pro is a bit twitchy
2) is a private course, whose members are complete and utter #@%@#. The type that come over and ask to see your members badge before you park your car!
so because of these issues, I have limited options!

re balls I currently use balls that I have already used in a round and are slightly beaten up.

where I used to live there was a brilliant complex that had a range, bunkers, greens etc and you could be there for days if you wanted and nobody cared. So its just a south Birmingham thing!

Kevin

Kev, sell your house, buy one with acres of land and build your house PLUS a driving range with bunkers and greens. Then you can charge people to come practice at your place....

I am a very very beginner. Just to tryout the game I bought some wiffle balls(plastic with holes) at Walmart and a used Dynacraft copperhead 7 iron. After a while I got so I could hit these fairly straight and get slices or draws by either changing the swing to more or less verticle or changing the angle the club head hit the ball or altering my stance to right or left of the target. I can't hit these very far. About 21 yards using a tee.And not much farther with an old 5 iron. Wind makes a big difference. But this seems to require the basics by Haney to get even these results.Has anybody tried these?

In addition to the above;I also tried some hollow hard plain plastic balls without the holes from Walmart. I can hit these about 4 yards farther than the ones with holes using the 7 iron.I have a 100 foot wide yard so this is near the longest I can use. Birdie balls go too far and end up in my neighbors yard.So do the softer solid plastic balls.All of these balls seem to require the basics of swing by Haney to even get these small distances. Has anybody gotten much greater distance with the hollow hard plastic balls?

I haven't tried those but I got some new practice balls that I want to try. They're solid but have lines cutout all around the balls for air flow. Curious as to how they work.

I like the Birdie balls and the Almost Golf balls the best. Both work quite well for short game practice in the back yard or a nearby park.

Just noticed that eHow.com has a series of videos on hitting wiffle balls in the back yard for practice using most of the club range. He said his 25 yard drive with a wiffle ball might be a 300 yard drive with regular ball. Does anyone else have distances they can hit the wiffle ball with different clubs.

Notice that deeprough.com in a review of Almost Golf balls shows a chart of distance for several clubs and balls. They show the blown plastic ball weighing 2 grams(I believe this is the wiffle ball)to have a distance of about 25 yards for many clubs including driver.This is about what I get with the 3,5, and 7 irons.

Hmmm. Never really did any measuring of distances and I guess I'd have a hard time believing you could reliably get any distances (real or estimated) out of them. Seems like the plastic wiffle balls would get so beat up off the driver that after a few swings, it seems like it would start to go shorter just because it's wearing out. But I could be wrong.

Edc; I havn'et used any of the wiffle ball type practice balls in a long time, so can't tell you much about distance. But the newer Almost Golf balls are said to traval about 30 percent as far as real golf balls. I hope this helps a little. Same for the Birdie balls I believe.

srushing:I would like to know if you find the driver is crushing the wiffle ball after a few swings and reducing distance. I don't crush them in a few swings but I am not a very good hitter. l5 wiffle balls at Walmart are about $l.85.Edc.

DON: I have only about 100 feet unobstructed available so Almost Golf Balls and Birdy Balls generally go too far for me except for practicing short shots.I like the wiffle ball because I can just go out in the back yard and hit shots in a short time. It would be interesting to measure swing speed and distance with the wiffle ball.Edc.

Edc, Have you looked into getting a practice net to hit into? They work very well and allow you the hit real golf balls.

EDC, I won't be able to give you much input for a while. We keep getting nothing but rain and snow here in the Carolina's. So I'm thinking it could be April before we see sunshine

I agree with Don, a net in the yard is a good alternative, though can be expensive. My dad used to beat balls into a quilt hanging on a clothesline in the back yard. So that's a cheaper way...but he only had woods behind him if his mis-hit something and missed the net.

Scott, I recently found a golf net at either Costco or Sam's club for less than $30. Also got one years ago at Sport's Authority for around the same $30. That's pretty good and you get to hit REAL golf balls with real feel. And since the wiffle balls don't stand up to hitting is drivers they wear out pretty fast, so the price of a net starts to look better all the time.

Scott, I recently found a golf net at either Costco or Sam's club for less than $30. Also got one years ago at Sport's Authority for around the same $30. That's pretty good and you get to hit REAL golf balls with real feel. And since the wiffle balls don't stand up to hitting is drivers they wear out pretty fast, so the price of a net starts to look better all the time.

Scott, I recently found a golf net at either Costco or Sam's club for less than $30. Also got one years ago at Sport's Authority for around the same $30. That's pretty good and you get to hit REAL golf balls with real feel. And since the wiffle balls don't stand up to hitting is drivers they wear out pretty fast, so the price of a net starts to look better all the time.

nice price. I will have to keep my eye out at Costco in case they have a deal like that.

DON:I have a net and practice balls but haven't had a chance to use them yet. I don't know if I will be able to tell if I am hitting the ball straight or the approximate distance of the hit with the net. Maybe I'll use a swing speed meter in combination with both type balls and estimate the distance from this. With the net I guess I have to assume the hit was square.Some sites say you can get a large difference in distance depending on the brand of ball you are using.With the wiffle ball I guess I will be able to determine if the hit is straight and approximate distance with the swing speed meter.

Edc, Take a piece of RED or YELLOW kniting yarn and thread it into your net. One piece vertical in the middle of the net and one piece horisontal. This will give you two lines. Check your point of impact and you'll know pretty much if you hit the ball straight or not and your approximate launch angle as well. IF your impact point is consistant, your ball flight will pretty much be as well.