Practice Nets for Disc Golf
One of the problems that often bothers hard core disc golfers is finding somewhere they can throw practice shots. This often means a large field, which aren’t always available due to use, distance, safety, season or a host of other issues. People have tried many indoor solutions, including blankets, sheets, plastic sheeting and other items. While these things work to varying degrees, we wanted to test solutions that were made for throwing things at them.
We started by testing a baseball/softball practice net. Initially we were quite skeptical that a net like this would work, we were pleasantly surprised by the results of the test.
Backhand test video
https://dge.free.resourcespace.com/?r=1158
Forehand test video
https://dge.free.resourcespace.com/?r=1152
Putting test video
https://dge.free.resourcespace.com/?r=1157
The advantage of putting with a net behind your basket is that errant shots have somewhere to go. This is especially useful in the garage or other locations where damaging the walls can get you in trouble.
| Softball net | Recommendations | ||||
| Locations | 4 feet of space behind the net | Safety padding | Weighting the net down | Staking the net down | Season |
| Indoors with limited space | X | X | X | All | |
| Indoors with more space | X | X | X | All | |
| Outdoors on a small lot | X | X | Spring, Summer, Fall | ||
| Outdoors in a park | X | X | Spring, Summer, Fall |
Key Notes:
- The loose net provides a great way to stop discs with minimal chance of bounce back
- The chute to gather discs greatly reduces “fetching” discs which provides more repetitions for practice time.
- The central chute provides a good target for practicing controlled, accurate releases
- The net is packaged nicely for portability so it can be put up and taken down. This makes for a nice winter use case in snow country, with being able to put it away when spring arrives, and you can go outside to throw.
- Safety:
- Allow at least 3-4 feet behind the net to allow room for discs to be dragged down by the loose netting.
Side view showing the depth the net goes to. More discs in the chute reduces the amount of space actively used. But assume worst case situation. Even indoors, adding some padding would improve the safety and reduce the chance at damage
- Even with a net this size there is always the chance for a bad throw. Using this net in the house, should be targeted in areas where damage is minimal (unfinished basements or garages for example)
- Discs going many directions OTHER than in the net
- Even with a net this size there is always the chance for a bad throw. Using this net in the house, should be targeted in areas where damage is minimal (unfinished basements or garages for example)
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- Note that discs can also go other directions.
- When using a basket to practice upshots, a miss can go many different directions.
- Discs flying to the side https://dge.free.resourcespace.com/?r=1154
- Discs can still come back at you as well
- When using a basket to practice upshots, a miss can go many different directions.
- The best situation is to use this net outside like the manufacturer recommends. The stakes included with this net only work in soft ground. If you do decide to put this up indoors weight the base of the net with something like sandbags or bags of soil, dry food, etc. The net is very stable as can been seen in the videos but safety first.
- Note that discs can also go other directions.
Rebound net:
We also tested a rebound net for practice. Video below quickly shows the issues with this type of net. The disc rebound, and the small net size make this type of net not practical for disc golf practice at all. Rebound nets like this can send the disc back at you, causing damage to things behind you.