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Final Reviews: Spornia Compact Hitting Net

Ratings Distribution

25%
75%
0%
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Detailed Ratings

Basic Features
Ease of Use
Keep it or Trade it?
Miscellaneous
On the Course
Quality Of Components
Testers
Equipment Type: Hitting Net
Vendor: Spornia

TESTERS ANNOUNCED!

Testing and reviewing the Spornia hitting golf net will be:

We have a couple of veteran testers and a couple who will be doing their first reviews. Looking forward to following along with their tests!

___________________________________________

For the second year in a row, California-based Spornia claimed a spot on the podium in our annual Best Golf Practice Net Buyer’s Guide.

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In 2020, it was silver. This time around, gold.

We loved how easy the SPG-7 net was to set up and take down while maintaining a stable platform for both indoor/outdoor use. But hey, that’s just us.

Pandemic or no pandemic, at home golf practice gear continues to strike a chord with golfers.

Here’s a chance to find out for yourself.

We are looking for 4 testers, international included! To get signed up please use the Signup link top right --->
 

Quality Of Components
Ease of Use
Basic Features
On the Course
Miscellaneous
Keep it or Trade it?

Greetings to all. I would first like to say how grateful I am to MGS and Spornia for the opportunity to test this product as well as the forum community in general. I’m still pretty new around here and it’s very likely that you don’t know anything about me. My name is Rich, and I moved to California two years ago. I am originally from north Texas, went to Colorado for college, moved to Houston to take a swing at a Ph.D program that didn’t work. Eventually moved to Florida when my wife received a job opportunity out there, and then I moved us all the way to California when a job opportunity for me came up. This will be my first test so be gentle! These two take up the majority of my time outside of work. 

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As a random note, I’m a natural lefty, but I golf as if I am right-handed. I was a switch hitter in baseball and played tennis left-handed so for whatever reason the right-handed golf swing is more natural to me. I am a chemical engineer by day working as a process engineer for a company that manufactures citrus processing equipment. I work with a small group within the company in Technical Research and Development, so I apologize in advance for being a data and numbers guy.

I picked up golf in college because I took a part time job at the nearby Golfsmith, mainly to work in their tennis area as I was into tennis at that point. So much that I obtained Certified Stringer certification when I was 15 and later Master Racquet Technician around the age of 20. Being surrounded by all of the golf equipment and regularly fielding questions about golf, it piqued my interest in the game. I won’t lie, the added benefit of being able to make a little extra money based on Golfsmith’s commission scale was enticing for a college student. I worked there for about two and half years before graduating, doing a little bit of everything including fitting and a lot of club building.

Two of my managers were former teaching pros so I had access to quality advice for my quirky swing. I typically played once or twice a week for about 18 months before I moved away from Colorado. Since then, I have played much less frequently as I have some anxiety issues with heading to the course by myself. Until about 4 months ago, my clubs were hiding in the garage, completely unused for the past four years since my youngest was born. I’ve never held a true handicap, but I was typically shooting right around 90 back when I was playing consistently. In a typical round, I would have a few catastrophic holes and play fairly solid the rest of the time. I’m still working on getting my swing back to where I would like it, but currently I’m topping out around 100 MPH. I could always use a little more swing speed, and that is something I’m currently working on, but I have also started working with a new coach to straighten up my swing.

Due to family and work obligations, I’m lucky to get out to the range once a week, which is why I purchased a Callaway net and a Rapsodo MLM a few months ago to make it less inconvenient on everyone for me to practice. The Rapsodo is now gone because it was not a good fit for my use, and the net is already showing some signs of wear as well as being inconvenient from a portability standpoint. While it is technically portable, I don’t think anyone enjoys spending the time breaking one of those basic nets down into the 20 connector pieces and detaching the netting and packing it to move it, etc. I don’t want to, so I move it back and forth from the concrete patio out to the grass area in the back yard each time. I don't believe that I should be seeing this kind of damage from a 7-iron at a month of use. 
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I’m excited for the Spornia net as it looks to be much more portable and also much more convenient for indoor use. With my kids' stuff taking up so much space, I don’t have a ton of indoor space, but I have room in the garage to be able to use it for some feel type practice. The ceiling in my garage is too low for full swings at my height, but I could use the shorter wedge practice anyway. For this test, the main things I’m looking at are the convenience, portability, and durability. I want to be able to set it up and take it down each time without spending a lot of time, and I want to be able to move it from outside to inside and back again without significant hassle. I know for myself, if practice isn’t convenient, it’s hard to find time amongst the other obligations of the day.

With all of that out of the way, please feel free to ask any questions that may help to direct my testing for specific applications that may be helpful to you. What’s useful to me, may not be important to you and my overall hope is to provide information that can help the majority.

First Impressions
First impression of the packaging of the product promised a compact form with no wasted materials. There is no need for excessive cardboard or extra packaging and the item arrived without any damage despite FedEx losing it for a few days. At first glance of the small form factor, it’s difficult to believe this opens up as large as it does. Instructions for setting it up are very simple and quick, though one section is a bit tedious. Compared against the basic Callaway net I had been using, having a full impact screen section was a huge upgrade. For a size comparison in a garage type area, the net and hitting mat would take up about the same amount of space as a typical vehicle. Personally, I was only able to hit half-swing wedges indoors, but that is due to the low ceiling, not an issue with the net itself.
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Quality of components (8 out of 10 points) 
The quality of the net, frame, and impact screen are all top notch. I deducted points for some of the extra things. For example, the carry bag is functional, but fairly thin and I fear for the longevity of the stitching on the Velcro closure straps. Another point was deducted for a small tear in the channel that holds the thin rod holding up the “roof” portion. While I love the concept of the top portion to catch especially high wedge shots or perhaps a skied driver, feeding the rod through the channel was by far the most frustrating thing about this product. As my net was outdoors the majority of the time, I got to the point of leaving the roof rod in and folding the net flat before leaning up against the house. While it definitely defeats the portability aspect of the net, it saved me minutes of frustration and I was able to have the net set up in about 25 seconds.
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The folding mechanism for the net is a little hard to describe, and not necessarily the most intuitive, but it is highly effective. I think the best feature for portability is that the majority of the net is one connected piece. It is the entire frame, netting, and impact screen as one piece, and then three multi-section rods that fit in a separate bag before adding to the main bag. The carrying bag is a little awkward to travel with because it is flat, but fairly large. I felt like it took up a lot less space when I had it standing, propped up against something rather than laying flat. By comparison to the basic Callaway net, that folds up into a small cylinder shaped bag, but it also includes about 13 individual sections that have to be taken apart and reassembled each time, versus opening the bag and letting the Spornia net practically unfold itself waiting for the two main rods to raise the back section. Definitely points for Spornia on that one.

Ease of use (9 out of 10 points) 
At the end of the day, this is a practice net. It is pretty obvious how to use it, and also obvious how to set it up. The one point deducted for ease of use is purely due to the roof section. The support rod for the roof section is a connected 5 piece rod that you feed through a curved channel before putting the ends into eyelets to hold the roof. I had a few issues with getting the rod both in and out of the channel without the sections separating inside. The sections are all connected via string, but it is difficult to move the rod inside the channel in one smooth motion. In complete honesty, if I were to frequently move the net, I probably wouldn’t even bother with setting up the roof section unless I was specifically planning to hit my high lofted wedges.

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Basic Characteristics (19 out of 20 points)
Compared to my experiences with other practice nets, the Spornia net made the idea of practicing much more enticing. Not having to spend 10 minutes setting everything up, constantly retrieving balls, having balls randomly sneak through the gaps around the edges. These little things matter when it comes to getting in that little bit of practice. Keeping the net partially assembled and set against the house. I can have the net and mat set up in less time than it takes me decide what club to practice with first. That kind of convenience cannot be beat. By comparison, the closest driving range options are about a 15 minute drive, $12 a bucket, and generally pretty busy, especially at times when I could go. With the daylight disappearing so early right now, this is the best way for me to get a little bit of practice in each day rather than maybe one session a week at the range.

Spornia did include a chipping target that could be set up for those types of shots. I only tried it out a few times and it worked fine for what it is. I don’t see myself using the chipping target all that much personally as chipping off a mat just doesn’t do it for me.

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Since I have somewhat of a quirky, timing-based swing, having the ability to consistently practice has helped my consistency quite a bit. I also started working with a coach and the net eliminates another excuse that is so easy to make when it comes to practice. As far as practice nets go, this one is by far the nicest one that I have used and any flaws are truly being nit-picky. Things like the fact that while the ball does get returned to the front of the net, the mesh “lip” is a decent amount overlapping, so I have to kind of reach back into the gap and dig the ball out versus if it was a straighter mesh lip. I believe the size is in a good spot with being big enough that it makes it very hard to miss the net, without being something that is going to permanently take up a small building worth of space. As am I currently renting, I don’t want to leave the net on the grass 100% of the time and risk the lawn, but I can easily take out two poles and set it against the house. Less than a minute of time and it is off of the yard and out of the way of everyone else.
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On-Course Performance (27 out of 30 points)
Up until recently, I had not played an actual round of golf in about 5 years due to family and work obligations, so it’s impossible for me to definitively prove that this net and the resulting practice improved my scores. I can say that my ball striking consistency has improved from before I had received the net, and I believe that is largely due to the convenience of regular practice. Of course, there will always be the concerns with regards to the lack of feedback when hitting into a net compared to seeing the full ball flight, but in my case, I was using it to try to ingrain the feelings that my coach has been working on. I wasn’t worried about the ball flight as I needed to fix my swing before I worry about where it’s going. Having said that, combining the net with a launch monitor does appear to give some decent data collection possibility. I only used a basic radar launch monitor, but it picked up the large majority of shots, giving reasonable results. Without comparing against other technology or full ball flight, I can really only judge against consistency and believability. With that said, the combination worked well for me. I was able to hit every club through my bag against the Spornia net and get realistic gapping numbers that at least made sense. On course testing would refine those numbers, but it did give me a realistic basis to start from. With that said, there is not much more I could ask for from the Spornia net from a performance base. It does exactly what you expect it to do and it does it well with a number of nice quality touches that make it enjoyable to use.

If I were to change anything about the net, it would definitely be the roof section. Something in the design, while effective, is a bit of an annoyance. In my testing, some of the issues could be solved by creating a way to “lock” the pieces of the roof support rod together so that it could be inserted through the channel without the rod pieces separating inside the channel. That slows down setup and take down. A thicker material for the channel itself that is not so prone to tearing would also be an improvement, but there is very little to complain about with this product.


Miscellaneous (9 out of 10 points)
There is definitely an attention to the important details when the Spornia net was designed. The addition of the roof to protect from errand high shots, the side netting to catch a few wild shots. Even the packaging is as minimal and effective as possible with no wasted space. If there is one complaint with the little things, it would be the communication from Spornia. All of the testers were basically left in the dark regarding the shipping status until alerts from Fedex started coming in that packages were on the way. I believe there was a supply issue around the intended delivery time that held up the product from being sent out to the testers, but the communication regarding any delays or updates on expected delivery could have been improved.

Keep it or Trade it? (20 out of 20 points)
I am going to be keeping the Spornia net as it does exactly what I expect it to without taking up a large section of real estate in the yard. It helps make practice significantly more convenient for me, as regular practice, even in small amounts, is better for my overall game than one long practice session each week. I feel that the asking price is fair for the quality. It does appear that Spornia has recently increased the price as it is now listed in the $260-300 range. That does place it near the top end of the range that I would be willing to pay. The net itself is very high quality and I like many of the features, including the ability to replace wear pieces like the impact screen (around $40), but the law of diminishing returns comes into effect at a certain price point for me. There are many other quality products to compete with this one. I definitely see myself getting a lot of future use for many years with this product as I continue to work on my game.
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Conclusion
For a short version of my ramblings, the Spornia practice net can best be described as a very high quality practice net that is quick to set up, works well to both deaden the impact and return balls, and is portable enough that it can be stored away easily between sessions, reducing the necessary footprint. It is not without quirks and a few questionable design choices that increase frustration a bit with setup and breakdown, especially regarding the “roof” section. Depending on your personal application and use habits, these can be almost entirely ignored. While it is portable, I will not be planning to travel with it, and the ceiling height in my garage prevents it from achieving maximum use indoors. As a result of this, it will be used exclusively outdoors, so the portability only matters in that I can fold it up and store it out of the way.

Final Score: (92 out of 100 points)

Driver: PXG 0811XF Gen 4 w/ Fujikura Motore X F3 6- 
3 Wood: PXG 0341XF Gen 4 w/ Mitsubishi Diamana S+ 70g
Hybrids: 19 and 22 degree PXG 0317XF Gen 4 w/ Project X Evenflow Riptide 80g
Irons: 5-PW PXG 0311P Gen 4 w/ KBS Tour 120
Wedges: Indi 50 FLX, 54 FLX, 58 ATK w/ KBS Wedge 610 (Official Review)
Putter: Battle Ready Blackjack, 36.5”, Double Bend neck

Spornia SPG-7 hitting net review
2023 Titleist White Box ProV1 review

 

Link to review
Quality Of Components
Ease of Use
Basic Features
On the Course
Miscellaneous
Keep it or Trade it?

Hey Spies, it’s TR1PTIK here for another member review!


ABOUT ME
For those who don’t know me, I’m a 34-year-old husband and father of two. I currently reside in Texas (DFW area), after 20 years of life in the Midwest, and started playing golf with my dad at the age of 10. However, I didn’t really take up the game in earnest until my mid-20’s.
What makes me love golf so much are the challenges it presents and how so often it reflects life on a greater scale; taking the good breaks with the bad ones and learning to grind out a positive result in less-than-ideal circumstances.

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ABOUT MY GAME
As of now, I’m a 10.3 handicap who plays once per week, but practices (in some form) almost daily. I’m completely obsessed with the game and trying to improve. I swing somewhere in the 105-110 MPH range which has always given me an advantage off the tee. Unfortunately, my accuracy has declined in the past year or two, but the upside is that my iron play and short game have received a nice boost.


HOW I PRACTICE
I previously owned a Rukket Haack Net and had space in my garage or the backyard to practice, but I sold it when we moved to Texas knowing we’d be in an apartment and I wouldn’t have anywhere to use it. Now that we are in a house again, I have space for full swings and will often practice without a ball to work on some changes I’ve been trying to make. I’m looking forward to being able to add a net and ball to the equation so I can get a better sense of how the changes are working at impact.

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HOW I WILL TEST
When it comes to practice nets, the main concerns I have are durability, ease of use, and ability to use all the clubs in my bag. Portability is also a factor since I like to take my clubs (or at least a club) with me when we travel.
As mentioned, I’ve previously used the Rukket Haack Net and had a cheap $75-$80 net I purchased off eBay before that. At $250, the Spornia SPG-7 will be the most expensive net I’ve used, and I expect it to best these other nets in pretty much every way.

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My plan for now is to hit as many balls as I can to test durability. I’ll also experiment with setup location to determine exactly how much space is required to use the net effectively and evaluate ease of use and portability. Finally, I will attempt to quantify the net’s effectiveness as a training aid. I am currently working on some swing changes but have struggled without the ability to hit balls at home or time to frequent the range. I am eager to put the net to work and see (via video analysis) if I can get the changes to take and improve my consistency on the course.


 

SPORNIA SPG-7 NET REVIEW by TR1PTIK (12/7/2021)

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

When the net arrived it came inside a large box without much in the way of packaging other than the carry bag itself which is fine though I would prefer if they could throw in a layer of added protection. 

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As this picture shows, there was some damage to the box that easily could have gone through to the product - thankfully, it didn’t.

Once I got the net out of the box and did a quick inspection, I laid everything out on my living room floor to see what is included: the SPG-7 net w/ impact screen installed, a chipping basket, ground stakes, instructions, and the poles to set everything up (which also have their own small bag).

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QUALITY of COMPONENTS (7/10)

The following day, I set up the net outside for the first time and was immediately impressed with the size and quality, but there are a couple areas of concern I will address as well. 

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Starting with the positives, the net is constructed using a high-quality canvas material along with proper netting unlike some of the really cheap nets you might find on eBay or Amazon. The impact screen is made of a soft, stretchy fabric which absorbs sound and catches the ball nicely before delivering it to the return ramp. The two main poles appear to be of good size (able to withstand some impact), and there are straps on either side of the net to adjust the tension and lean of the net.

Moving onto the chipping basket, it is well constructed with a lightweight netting material and good stitching; it attaches to the main net using velcro and can be adjusted to pretty much any angle allowing for a variety of trajectories to be used during practice.

The negatives… My first (and biggest) complaint is with the carry bag, it is made of a lightweight material akin to what is often used for drawstring bags. Personally, I’d prefer a canvas material to be used as I think it would be a little more durable, but overall the design works well and shouldn’t be an issue so long as the user is mindful when storing and transporting the net. That said, the one I received has very poor stitching (as shown).

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Back to the net, there were complaints amongst the test group about the roof section. This is another portion where a lightweight material is used to thread a rather long, thin, and cumbersome tent pole through to form an arc at the top of the net. While I have not yet encountered any major issues with this, it does require a bit of caution.

 

EASE OF USE (10/10)

The net is an absolute breeze to setup and could easily be done without any instruction (though I do recommend them). Simply unfold the net and lay it flat on the ground, then prop it up with the two large poles on either side. To set up the roof, take the small, long pole and thread it through the top; placing each end in the eyelets on either side.

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Setting up the roof portion does add to the setup time, but the good news is it does not interfere with the main portion of the net should you decide to leave it down. 

Teardown is simply the reverse operation up to the point that you need to fold the net like one of those collapsible windshield screens. There really isn’t much else to say here, it’s pretty easy.

 

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS (20/20)

With the net setup, using it is just as easy provided there is enough space around you to swing freely. I found that I could position myself all the way up to the front of the net or move back a few paces depending on the club. As stated before, the impact screen collects the ball nicely before returning it to you which is much nicer than having to dig a ball out of the netting or have one come bouncing back towards you. Another great feature about the ball return is that there is a collection net that can be removed, allowing the ball to roll all the way back to you if so desired.

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So far I have made little use of the chipping basket. I’ve played around with it some, but I find hitting to a target above ground rather difficult.

 

OVERALL PERFORMANCE (28/30)

It’s really simple for me, the net does exactly what I expect it to do. It’s very sturdy and easily transported to any location. I have little doubt that I’ll be able to get years of use out of it so long as I take care of it and occasionally replace the impact screen when it wears out. The only question mark is the carry bag. I may need to see if I can get a new one or have this one repaired at some point.

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MISCELLANEOUS (9/10)

A couple of quick bullet points here starting with the fact that I actually measured the net and found it to be slightly smaller than the dimensions listed on Spornia’s website. In my opinion, this is a good thing since the net itself can fit in more compact spaces. How usable the net is within those spaces will depend on the club and length of swing.

Beyond that, I would appreciate some more detailed instructions on the many features of the net. While it is intuitive overall, there are some things about the net that aren’t quite spelled out such as what these ropes are for (I assume tie-down points),

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or removal of the collection net at the bottom. What comes easy to me may not for others so it’s always important to provide clear instruction in my experience.

 

KEEP IT OR TRADE IT (20/20)

This part is easy, I need all the practice I can get and what’s better than having your own net at home! I’m keeping this thing around as long as I can!

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In terms of how the net compares to others I have owned in the past… Well, it absolutely blows away anything you’d get for under $100 (which you’d expect). From there it can be a little more dicey depending on your needs. If you’re looking for a net you can set up in the yard and leave for a while, I'm not sure this is the best net for the job. In comparison to similarly portable nets like the Rukket RukkNet, I’d absolutely favor the Spornia SPG-7 as it doesn’t narrow at the top and provides a larger opening to hit into along with having more features.

 

CONCLUSION

If all you want is a net you can practice with sparingly, or leave up for long durations, there are more affordable options. However, if you want to practice a lot without creating an eyesore, take your net with you on road trips, or care about a ball return feature I don’t know how you’d do much better than the Spornia SPG-7. It’s a great product with a great design that can save you a lot of money at the driving range. I should also note this is the highest score I’ve given for any of the forum member reviews I’ve done!!! I’ve really been that happy with it!

FINAL SCORE (94/100)

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Driver: :mizuno-small: ST190 9.5* Fujikura Atmos Blue 5S
Fairway Wood: :mizuno-small: ST190 15* Fujikura Atmos Blue 6S
Hybrid: :mizuno-small: CLK 17* Fujikura Speeder EVO HB
Irons: :bridgestone-small: J40 CB (3-PW) Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: :taylormade-small: Milled Grind 2 54* & 58* Dynamic Gold S200
Putter: :odyssey-small: Tri-Hot 5k Two 34"
Bag: :titleist-small: Players 5 Stand Bag
Ball: Maxfli Tour

Link to review
Quality Of Components
Ease of Use
Basic Features
On the Course
Miscellaneous
Keep it or Trade it?

Rev Kev's Introduction    Spornia Hitting Net Review 

I would like to thank the folks at Spornia and MGS for selecting me to be a part of this test.  Here's my pretest intro:

 

About me

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As my screen name suggests I'm the Senior Pastor of a Lutheran Church (LCMS) in St. Petersburg, FL.  I'm 64 (soon to be 65) with a wife and four children all but one out of the house, at the moment.  My wife, daughter and I enjoy going to baseball games and often arrange our summer vacations around trips to different ballparks.  Here we are this summer in Pittsburgh celebrating the 4th of July together.

 

My job keeps me busy under the best of times.  Since my church has a school the past two academic years have been extremely difficult due to COVID, lots of hours, a number of sick people, staff constantly due to quarantines.  My golf game has suffered because of it.  I'm hopeful that a hitting net will allow me to keep my game sharp despite not being able to get to the range.

 

About my game

My current FSGA handicap differential is 6.2.  It was below 1 around 10 years ago but had also climbing to as high as 10.1 not long after that due to a significant amount of weight gain and an illness.  Frankly, I came close to quitting at this time and it was only because of friends that I played what I would call social golf.

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Shedding pounds, working out some and over speed training has helped me get it back under control.  My driver swing speed is 95,  up from 84 when I was playing poorly.  I'm also currently taking lessons online.  Through these I've discovered that there is a good deal of practice that may take place at home without swinging a club.  My teacher changed my grip significantly, my posture a smidge and now has me working on using my core for the take away.  He's given me a drill that will work very well hitting balls into the net to get that move settled in.

 

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About my practice

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When I was playing my best golf I would play at least weekly, work on my long game once a week at the range (unless I played more than once) and have a couple of lunch break or after work sessions on the practice green at the local muni which is right around the corner from my church.  At home would only be over speed training of some sort.

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Lately I have been unable to maintain that schedule because of work and also an extremely wet and hot summer season.  As I write I'd love to be on the range and it's pouring out.  I did put in a good deal of practice after my first video lesson and am anxious to find time to do the same after the second one.  It was odd to play the day that I received that video analysis.  I've yet to be able to get to the range to really work on it.  

How I will test

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My back yard is functional, not beautiful.  It certainly does not have the type of grass that one would use to hit golf shots from.  I've purchased a driving range quality hitting mat complete with plastic tee for use with my net.  I'm hopeful that between it and my personal LM (I have both the swing caddie SC200 and Rapsodo) that I will be able to truly measure what my ball flight would be with the shots that I hit - at least some of them.  From experience on the range I know what launch angles and ball speeds will create the maximum carry distance with each club.  

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We recently purchased and assembled a nice little utility shed (the advantage of two adult sons close by home).  It has stood up well to a Florida summer that has included two tropical systems and lots of thunderstorms.  My mat is staying dry and I anticipate that the net will also.  I intend to try it in two flat outdoor spaces, heading from the shed to the side yard and also from the grill pictured above towards the shed.

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We also have a waterway behind our property and the back part of our yard slopes towards it.  I'm going to try the net on that portion of the yard.  This will allow me to test its portability, ease of set up, time of set up as well as functionality for working on side hill, down hill and uphill shots.  

 

While I live in Florida I did live in northern climates until the age of 50.  I've had a good deal of experience hitting into indoor nets including a winter where I played in an indoor golf league.  I found that this was extremely helpful for my on course partial shots.  Rather than trying to hit those by feel, I learned how far a shot where the clubhead traveled from knee to knee and waste to waste with several different clubs (it was the only way to execute chips and pitches on a simulator.)  I would love to recapture that skill!

First Impressions

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My first impression was that the unassembled net was much heavier than I anticipated.  It is extremely compact and could be transported in a car trunk or in my case stowed in my outdoor shed easily enough.  Full disclosure, I am not the handiest guy in the world.  In fact, I’m not top 25 percent or 50 percent on the handy scale.  Watching how easy it looked to set up on the video that Spornia provides just frustrated me.

 

Fortunately, I am a good reader and I like pictures.  I had far greater success with the quick start guide that came in the packaging.

 

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Setting up the roof was difficult the first few times but truly has become easy, peasy.  I think that I can set the entire thing up in under 5 minutes now although I still struggle a bit with the chipping net component.

 

The main net looks solid and right from go it was perfect at returning the ball time after time.  It’s large enough that there’s not much fear of missing it.  Overall the first impressions were great.  Let’s put this baby to the test.

 

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Quality of components  9 out of 10

 

Some of this is difficult to assess in the brief time that we have been using our nets.  In the end quality is going to be judged in large part by longevity.  I’ve never owned a personal hitting net so I’m not sure that my expectations are correct, but I’d like to think that I could get 5 years of use out of it.  My son has a swing speed of over 115.  His driver ball speeds are generally between 160 and 170.  There were no issues with it after he hit drivers into for about an hour one afternoon.

 

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My one area of concern is with the roof.  It’s been noted in the pre-review comments section that it can be a bit of a problem during set up.  If a person were to rush in that set up or get frustrated, I could see them accidentally tearing the roof canal.  It’s something to watch for, I think. That’s why I deducted a point.

 

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When we first received the net, it was extremely windy in South Florida for several weeks.  The wind blew the net over a couple of times and there was no damage.  I give it high grades for its sturdiness. 

 

Ease of use 9 out of 10

 

I was hitting full shots in the net in two or three swings with no fear what so ever.  In fact, in the entire time that I’ve had the net I’ve had no issues missing it and I have certainly hit some clunkers. 

 

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I’ve only just started to try it for short game practice.  We haven’t heard much about the chipping net attachment, so I wanted to be sure to try that out.  I had trouble finding installation instruction for it but that aside it’s fun to try and hit different types of shots and the main net’s return feature continues to function well even when the chipping net is in place.

 

My biggest complaint is that I can’t get a handle on how my shots are curving while using the net.  My personal launch monitor registers launch angle, ball speed and carry distance but not curve.

 

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Basic Characteristics 17 out of 20

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Again this is my first dip into the hitting net pool.  Certainly, the net performs well.  I had a bit of difficulty following the instructions for set up at first but like anything I learned after some trial and error as well as some hands on from my son who regularly sets up tents for camping.

 

Performance 25 out of 30

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This is not a product that you would take on the course nor is it a perfect guide as to how well you are hitting the ball.  What it does do is allow a golfer like myself, who has a limited amount of practice time to get out into the backyard and swing a club regularly, especially when there is no time to get to the course or range.  Of course, I’ve had to purchase a hitting mat as I would quickly  destroy the grass in my backyard without it.

 

I would suspect that it would be extremely beneficial for someone with a large enough indoor space in Northern climate as the Spornia Net should allow for hitting shots throughout the winter months.

 

In the end though it is not a substitute for hitting the ball on a range.  Our senses, such as touch (feel) through turf impact and sight in regards to ball flight do play a part in game improvement.  I’ve docked some points because those aren’t engaged by this or any hitting net.

 

Miscellaneous 10 out of 10

The hitting net is really cool to have in my back yard.  It’s right between my grilling station and our storage shed.  My friends who have seen it love it and every golfer who comes over wants to try it out as soon as they see it. 

 

Keep it or Trade it? 18 out of 20

I’m very likely to continue using my hitting net for years to come.  It’s ideal for those tweener times, like now, when it is difficult for me to get to the course.  It’s also great on Sunday afternoons as I can go outside during half time or commercials of a football game and hit balls at my leisure.  I like to practice anyway and this allows me to work on several drills that my teacher has provided me with.  It’s a keeper in my book.

 

Conclusion

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In summary the Spornia hitting net is a very nice tool for a golfer who has the backyard or indoor space for it.  Storage and set up are easy, under 5 minutes to set up, less than that to take down.  At under $300 it is a very good value although it is important to recognize that most people will need to purchase a hitting mat for an additional amount – normally under $100.  Most personal launch monitors come with a net function so these may be used to garner some data points while using the net.

Your friends will likely be impressed by your net and want to try it.  It’s also a great tool for quick practice sessions during half time or even five or six shots during time outs of football games or other sporting events.

Final Score: 88 out of 100 points

 

 

 

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Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

Link to review
Quality Of Components
Ease of Use
Basic Features
On the Course
Miscellaneous
Keep it or Trade it?

Personal Life

 

My name is Ben Howell and I am 30 years old, living in Birmingham with my wife and two daughters. First, I would like to thank MGS for the opportunity to perform this test, and for Spornia for providing the net! 

I love being outdoors and social (two great things about golf) and fun competition (again, great thing about golf).  I also love to travel and eat out whenever it is feasible. I work as a major account sales rep for Xerox

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 Golf

 

I started playing golf later in life. Growing up in a small town we did not have a golf course, and put most of my energy into baseball and football. I thought golf would be too slow and boring (wow was I wrong). Ended up playing college football at the University of Alabama which didn’t leave much time for anything else, but I did pick up golf sparingly. 
 

After college started playing golf more, but wasn’t till about 4 years ago that I really started getting more serious about it. I play an average of twice a month I would say now, and I’ve played more this year than any year previous. 
 

Just started keeping an official handicap this year, I am currently at a 10.5. I also got my first two lessons ever this August, which makes me very excited for this specific testing opportunity! Weakness of my game is approach shots and pitches. 

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Goals for this test

 

Personally do not do much practicing at home besides some chipping. Would like to see how much my technique in my lessons can be engrained from using this net. 

I do not have any sort of trackman type application with this, so interested to see how no ball flight response affects training. 

Would like to test this outside in my yard vs inside my garage. 

Would like to test durability vs real golf balls and with different clubs, especially woods. 

Personal golf goals are to get to hitting 55% GIR or greater on a consistent basis, currently at about 25%. 

 

 

If there is anything you would like to see tested or are curious about this product, please let me know. I am very excited to test this out, especially in this learning stage of my golf life! 
 

 

 

First Impressions

 

  • I will say, the product exceeded my preconceived notions. I was nervous about the size of the net, thinking it would be easy to miss the net on a mishit. When I saw the delivered package, it encouraged that thought as the package is not very big relevant to what you would expect from a hitting net, as you can see below. However, once the net is opened, it is much bigger than I expected, especially from the packaging.257D87AE-6B87-421D-8072-56A338A9B5F7.jpeg.b96c8c8578fde0fda9c8e68d4ae51e72.jpeg
  • The net was very easy to put together. The instructions were simple, but the assembly matches that, so detailed instructions are not really needed.  I timed it, and on average it took me 2:53 to set up the net and 2:44 to take down.C283AE1A-9DDF-4CE1-9C58-5ADDEE44EC03.jpeg.93d0682d109b4b4acce24e160b4ba2c3.jpeg

 

Quality of Components (9 out of 10 points)

  • Once I opened the net and put it together, I could tell it was very well made and solid, although it was easy to move around and not hard to pick up, relatively speaking.  The rods in the device to hold it up were durable and the net itself is very durable. The most impressive part to me is the back portion of the net that “deadens” the hit. It is very thick and durable and does its job perfectly. I hit it as hard as I could with driver over and over trying to see if I could get a bad bounce off it and was unable to do this.  

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  • Another thing that was impressive to me was the way it is stored and the carrier bag it comes in. It is rolled up very small and the bag is easy to handle, and seemingly durable. 8B878A65-4EFB-4C86-9449-174971C41510.jpeg.7169ce52030326e3b5ab2ff5566b3fa5.jpeg
  • The only thing that I thought could be improved is there is a “hood” over the front of the net that is supposed to protect from high wedge shots and “sky balls” per say. The issue is you must put a rod through it and take it out every time you set it up and take it down. The slip you put it in is very thin and seems easy to tear as you put the rod in and out (luckily has not happened yet but seems like it could) and the rod is tough to get in and out anyway. Therefore, I took off one point. E104461E-839A-4D8B-8440-7164A206A5C4.jpeg.06e64f46e2f0c383f0b43f62f6e7a36c.jpegB8DCB96C-D1FA-4C27-B699-F4E218A89003.jpeg.820613b7df1a032b92657b08650e7577.jpeg

 

Ease of Use (10 out of 10 points)

  • This training aid is easy to use and of course is obvious how to use it once it is set up, which I described as very easy to do above.  I can use it inside or outside very easily, depending on the height of your ceiling of course. Inside my garage I was able to hit irons but not woods, but that is based on the height of my ceiling, not anything to do with the net itself.    

     

 

Basic Characteristics (18 out of 20 points)

  • I really like this training aid.  The ball return for the device is really nice, and you can adjust the catch net at the bottom to make sure it does not bounce out if you are on concrete or something
    like that. Of course, that protects the golf ball and makes it way easier to retrieve the balls. It did bounce over sometimes anyway, which I dinged a point off for that.
  • Another thing that the net includes is a chipping net that can be inserted in the middle of the net. I did not use that much, as in my opinion that defeated the purpose of the ball retrieval I just described, as I can just chip into the net as is and the ball comes right back to me.  I took one more point off for that, but honestly that is just personal opinion. 98B1C2CF-6A95-401C-850D-0D645A3447D7.jpeg.be2a1660bb4db069e227ee23bbc99a76.jpeg
  • I had no issue with the wind moving the net or anything, and I have not use the stakes at all, as they were not needed. I live in a hilly neighborhood so it is not typically windy but can get that way sometimes. The net barely moved when I hit the ball as hard as I could into it, which impressed me. 

 

On-Course Performance (26 out of 30 Points)

  • I was happy to get a chance to try this net as I have two small kids and do not have the chance to leave the house often to hit at the range.  So being able to practice at home is a plus, and it is easy to set up and take down.
  • One of the reasons I took away points here is because I unfortunately have not been able to see improvement in my game from the net (yet). I feel that is semi unfair as I have not been able to play much due to weather and schedule, but in the limited sample size it has not very much. My driver has done slightly better, but my irons have not improved at all in the few rounds I have been able to play. I mentioned in my introduction my GIR is around 25% and I have hovered a little lower than that in the rounds since using the net. 
  • One downside of using a net is the lack of feedback. I do not have any sort of launch monitor but hoping to use one soon from a friend. I also have ordered some “contact tape” to put on my irons and am trying to focus on solid contact in practice, as that is one of my weaknesses with my irons, and my coach I have been to a couple times had told me to focus on making solid contact, which can be practiced with a net.

 

Miscellaneous (9 out of 10 points)

  • Packaging for this is great, everything looks pristine coming out of the box and sturdy, as we have already discussed. I have not had to talk to customer service because I have had no issues, so I do not have any experience there. The only issue I had was that it did take a long time for the product to come in, however I know with the labor and supply chain issues that is forgivable. Even so, I docked a point for that, even if deserving of an asterisk.

 

Keep It or Trade It? (20 out of 20 points)

  • I would absolutely keep it. With the winter coming up, I expect to use this more and more in the garage, especially with the irons and wedges.  I cannot imagine that there is a net out there that is more durable and easier to use than this one, however to be fair I have not used any other take home nets. The price point looks to be about $200-$250 online, which I believe is fair given the quality of this net.

 

Conclusion

  • Overall, this is a well-built net that I expect I can use for years and years. Easy to set up and take down, great engineering to prevent any wild mishits and bounces, and helps take care of the balls as well.  I think this net can be a great asset to my game, especially keeping in “playing shape” during the winter. 89266777-20A6-43C7-BE9E-961A6FEDB349.jpeg.5839b16c35dd640f017076fdea79a35b.jpeg

Final Score: 92 out of 100

 

 

 

:cobra-small: Radspeed Driver 10.5*

:cobra-small: Radspeed 3W 14.5*

:taylormade-small: Stealth 4H 22*

:mizuno-small: JPX 921 Hot Metal Pro 4i-PW

:cleveland-small: RTX Zipcore Wedge 52* Mid Bounce

:cleveland-small: RTX Zipcore Wedge 56* Mid Bounce

Kirkland Signature KS1 Putter

Link to review

133 Comments




2 hours ago, ncwoz said:

So how much total room do you guys think someone would need to have this net setup and be able to full swing?

I'll have to get back to you on that. It was already on my to-do list, but every time I set this thing up to have a session I forget when I go to take it down lol. I will say that I took some quick measurements when I first got the net and it does come in slightly smaller than what's listed on the website - which is good in terms of the space required.

2 hours ago, ncwoz said:

Also, if the hitting net was set up against a wall behind it, would there be any concern that the ball would hit the wall before the net slowed it down?

The net seems to do an excellent job of slowing the ball down on center impact, but as you work closer to the edges of the impact screen there is an increased risk of a ball bouncing back at you. That said, whatever room you would need behind the net is not much and is basically built into the net. What I mean is that the back wall of the net does not sit up at a perfect 90*, it has a slight amount of forward lean creating space between the bottom of the frame and the impact zone. So yeah, you could pretty much setup against a wall and not have any problems IMO.

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For the guys doing indoor testing have you tried a personal launch monitor inside? 
 

I know that I need to mover farther back for mine to work with driver when outside. That’s not an issue because I have plenty of space but was wondering about inside. 
 

Thanks 

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Wanted to provide a little more detail from earlier. Put the net up in my garage and took some measurements. I couldn't quite get centerline measurements without help, but it'd probably add less than half an inch. As measured, the net is 6'9" deep x 6'9" wide x 6'6" tall w/o roof (7'6" tall w/ roof). I'd estimate that for use with driver you'd need a space approximately 14' x 9' x 9' (expand that to 15' x 10' x 10' if you want to feel a bit more comfortable). Note, I am 5'11" w/ a 6' wingspan and using a ~45" driver.

Needless to say, my garage was a bit cramped and I couldn't use more than 8 iron comfortably - even then, I nearly took out the overhead fluorescent light 😬.

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Also, I decided that since I was in a safe? space, I'd do a bit of wedge testing. Grabbed my 58* and hit a few soft flops. The roof did an excellent job at grabbing the shots I hit, but I have little doubt you could flop one over the net even while standing as close as possible. I hope to take this net to a local driving range and test this theory further 😉.

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47 minutes ago, Thin2win said:

So for you all testers, is this net in the goldilocks range? I. E. It isn't too small, it isn't too big, it's sized just right. 

I would say so, especially for a net that's this easy to setup and teardown. I've never used it, but one reason why I hadn't bothered with the Rukket pop-up net is because of it's triangular shape which would seemingly leave more room for error. As of right now, I'm slightly torn as to whether I like the Spornia better than my old Rukket Haack net - there are pro's and con's to both. I wish I still had the Rukket to do a direct comparison - it's possible (even likely) that fond memories of my first (real) net cloud my judgement. 

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2 hours ago, Thin2win said:

So for you all testers, is this net in the goldilocks range? I. E. It isn't too small, it isn't too big, it's sized just right. 

I would say it is right near that range of being the ideal size. It's not too big, but you have to mishit one pretty badly to miss the net entirely.

For outdoor use, it's good. The 7 foot net we received is plenty big to hit almost every shot. Like Tr1ptik said, if you really wanted to, you could flop a wedge over the roof portion. I think that is a limitation of everything aside from a fully enclosed cage sort of setup. I do like the fact that I can quickly fold it down and it lays flat. I have been propping it against the side of the house when not using it rather than completely closing it recently. The reason for that is that the roof section is a bit of work to get the support pole in place. Keeping that in place even when not in use means I can set up the net in around 20 seconds. It is just one pole on each side to prop up the hitting area and it's ready to go. 

Indoor use is also not bad. In my case, I'm limited by the ceiling height in my garage rather than the net itself. I can't full swing anything in the garage without hitting something, but I can practice half swing type shots. For a garage, if you have enough room to park a car, you have enough room for the net.

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3 hours ago, Thin2win said:

So for you all testers, is this net in the goldilocks range? I. E. It isn't too small, it isn't too big, it's sized just right. 

I think it is a great size. Only thing I do not love about it is the lip at the top that you have to put a rod in and out. I'm going to steal @TR1PTIK photo here to show you what I mean:

 

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When hitting a wedge, this does protect it from going over, however instead of it dying it sort of shot back at me unlike other clubs. Plus it takes about 2x the amount of time to set up and take down as the rest of the net. 

 

But this is a long answer to say, yes I think the size of the net is great. If you have a basement/garage with a fairly tall ceiling it is great for indoors. I was able to hit irons in my garage. And of course for outdoors it is perfect. 

 

 

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I'm going with the consensus of the group here - the size for me is ideal but again I'm backyard only.  Having written that I can move pretty far back from the net - far enough to let the rapsodo have a clear view of driver and fire drive after drive into the net.  I don't think I've yet to miss the reinforced black area so that I get the ball safely returned every time.

 

I'm also with the group in that the roof rod is a bit of a pain to thread in and out each time - I hadn't thought about standing it up against my shed when I take it down - that may start happening so that I don't have to take that out - it's my one fear that I might damage the roof trying to thread the rod.  Also the unit is pretty heavy when it's stowed in its traveling sack - not so easy to get in and out of a car trunk even though it fits.  No big deal for me but it would be if you were wanting to bring it to an outdoor space somewhere.

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21 hours ago, Ben_Howell34 said:

Plus it takes about 2x the amount of time to set up and take down as the rest of the net. 

Yep! I have been getting faster with this, but it's still a pain.

EDIT: Here's a quick timelapse of the setup process to try and demonstrate what we're all talking about.

I plan to do another run (setup & teardown) w/ a timer at some point.

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3 hours ago, TR1PTIK said:

Yep! I have been getting faster with this, but it's still a pain.

EDIT: Here's a quick timelapse of the setup process to try and demonstrate what we're all talking about.

I plan to do another run (setup & teardown) w/ a timer at some point.

Awesome video @TR1PTIK! That's a brilliant idea putting one of the side rails in to prop the net up to get the roof rail in. I usually prop it on my chest to do it, but your way looks simpler. 

I will also point out something @revkev takes about in his last post, use caution when putting the roof rails in. The poles can get caught in the tunnel and cause a hole. I wore one into mine earlier this year. Just try not to let it get snagged and then try to force it. 

Great job so far guys, keep up the good work!

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It may be a side view so I apologize - it was dark and this was the only way to get the picture to come out.  My son, John, decided to give the net a whirl.  I wanted our faster swing players to see that it easily handles ball speeds above 150 (John is usually in the high 160's to low 170's).  Also he only plays once or twice a year so he is long and wrong.  He never came close to missing the net even on a pop up that he hit.

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Used it again today. I actually timed how long it took to put up and take down, I think I’ll do that a few times and take the average for the test. 
 

Also tried to hit it as hard as I can a lot today, to see if I could get the ball to bounce back at all off the “deadening” target. Zero luck there, it’s built well! 

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As Sirchunk mentioned, the pole that supports the roof section is a bit of a pain. I was in a bit of a rush to take it down to clean up the yard today and this happened. In complete honesty, it was more me rushing than anything, but this is definitely the weakest area of the product. Everything else about the net has been very high quality and extremely functional, but this roof section does not feel as well designed to me. 20211122_145813.jpg.5f235d7d5a8a2d8aec816dd6e1d4a5a7.jpg

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14 hours ago, RichL85 said:

As Sirchunk mentioned, the pole that supports the roof section is a bit of a pain. I was in a bit of a rush to take it down to clean up the yard today and this happened. In complete honesty, it was more me rushing than anything, but this is definitely the weakest area of the product. Everything else about the net has been very high quality and extremely functional, but this roof section does not feel as well designed to me. 20211122_145813.jpg.5f235d7d5a8a2d8aec816dd6e1d4a5a7.jpg

I timed it earlier this week - it took me right around 6 1/2 minutes including the roof from my shed to when it was completely set up.  t was a windy day so that slowed me down a bit.  I agree about that roof - it's a pain - it looks really good and adds to the security of the net but I could easily see ripping it while putting the support pole in if one is not careful.

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I thought I’d give this a little bump with a week to go until Christmas. 
 

I’m playing tomorrow and have had no time to get to the range - huge church services Weds night and yesterday morning, staff party yesterday afternoon, funeral today, church tonight and tomorrow means no range time at all.

 

So I pulled the net out. Took less the 5 minutes to set up and I got a half hour practice session in doing a drill and hitting 9 irons and 7 woods - I feel like I have a chance to hit the ball in the air towards the target tomorrow because of it!

 

This would make a great present or be a smart after Christmas buy if you get gift cards. 

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I wanted to give an update as well. I mentioned in the review I had not seen much improvement on course from the net. However I have played since then and I can say that is not true any longer, at least for a short sample size. 
 

I had really worked on pure contact with the net and it paid off yesterday. Made much better contact and was even able to shape the ball decent some. Will continue to do the same drills in the net and see how that correlates to the course. 

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8 hours ago, Ben_Howell34 said:

I wanted to give an update as well. I mentioned in the review I had not seen much improvement on course from the net. However I have played since then and I can say that is not true any longer, at least for a short sample size. 
 

I had really worked on pure contact with the net and it paid off yesterday. Made much better contact and was even able to shape the ball decent some. Will continue to do the same drills in the net and see how that correlates to the course. 

What drills are you doing? The one my instructor gave me is so simple - 

 

make little swings without the ball and brush the mat, then do the same thing with the ball until making full swings. Like you it seems to work although I’ve had very little time on the course or even full range. 

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On 12/19/2021 at 6:02 AM, revkev said:

What drills are you doing? The one my instructor gave me is so simple - 

 

make little swings without the ball and brush the mat, then do the same thing with the ball until making full swings. Like you it seems to work although I’ve had very little time on the course or even full range. 

Just taking smaller swings with just my hands and focusing on solid impact with wrist delofted or bowed if that makes sense. I was using way too much body and a long backswing so that’s semi specific to me, but it’s finally starting to kick in. 

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12 hours ago, Ben_Howell34 said:

Just taking smaller swings with just my hands and focusing on solid impact with wrist delofted or bowed if that makes sense. I was using way too much body and a long backswing so that’s semi specific to me, but it’s finally starting to kick in. 

It does and is similar to what my teacher has me focusing on - baby swings progressing to large ones at half speed and then full ones where my thought is to throw the clubhead into the center of the net.

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So, partially out of laziness and partially out of just simply not needing it, I have been setting up the net without the roof portion at all. I've mostly been hitting 7-iron and longer recently, so absolutely no risk of hitting anything over. Set up time to move the net and hitting mat from its resting place next to the house and putting the net up is all of 35 seconds. 

1971258766_Screenshot_20220102-173139_VideoPlayer.jpg.ed8ae95a3e821538000b72c97410572d.jpg

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Finally got back in town and was able to use the net with my “contact stickers” which I’d never used before. Gives good feedback and made the net more fun in my opinion. Still trying to just focus on short swings with good fundamentals and solid contact. 3C6C3906-7AAF-4C03-8CB1-40EC0C0C9A22.jpeg.9978ce140952a19f09d2e2b6ee957e36.jpegE6362224-1691-43EF-B4A1-D06FB4DBAFD6.jpeg.26565ab878248553f47d8938e816d983.jpegE3362BB0-B849-4EDC-B40F-F8FB21A52B04.jpeg.0e84382602f5a647d42f274336ee2c25.jpeg

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On 1/8/2022 at 2:30 PM, Ben_Howell34 said:

Finally got back in town and was able to use the net with my “contact stickers” which I’d never used before. Gives good feedback and made the net more fun in my opinion. Still trying to just focus on short swings with good fundamentals and solid contact. 

Nice! I haven't been able to use the net the past few weeks, but I did pick up something for it that I'll have to share when the weather clears up a bit here.

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Go figure today is the nicest it will be for a while; I already wasn't going to be able to golf because of other commitments, but then I woke with terrible sinus pressure and can't even muster a swing to practice into the net. 

How are the other reviewers getting along now that winter has set in? 

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I’ve been able to use it once or twice but the weather has not been cooperative lately here. I have set it up in the garage before but it’s tough to hit anything over a wedge in there. Hopefully it’ll warm up here soon. 

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