Decathlon Golf Practice Net Review

Today we will be reviewing the Decathlon Golf Net otherwise known as the Golf Practice Net from Decathlon. This net is basically a golf practice that comes in the form of a tent. I have been using this tent for over a year now and feels like the time is right to finally give this net a proper review!

A little background

My six years old son started playing golf about one and a half years ago so I started playing around that time also. So I’m a beginner golfer who has only been playing for a year and a half. I am pretty confident with my swing at the moment but for the longest time I couldn’t close my hands properly (this fact will be significant in this review later on). Now I’m able to get a few pars in my rounds and feel quite confident with my swing (this fact will also be significant in the review).

Size and Dimension

The exact size and dimension for this practice can easily be copied from Decathlon's website which is:

Closed: 56 x 24 x 16 cm Open: 300 Depth x 250 Width x 200 Height cm Weight: 3.6 kg

What’s more important is what that size means when you’re using it and I have to tell you right now it’s not as big as I’d have liked. It being 2.5 meters wide and 2 meters tall means that there is a good chance for beginners to hit miss the net entirely which is a scary thought indeed. Please also note that the recommended standing distance is a bit under 2 meters away from the net which might be a problem if you want to use this net with a launch monitor because some of them require a ball flight of 3 or more meters.

Setting Up

A lot of people and reviews say this net is a breeze to set up. That has not been the case for me. I can tell you that each set up session takes about 15 to 20 minutes. The hardest part is getting the long tent pole thing through the top arc part. Once set up the net works best if you hammer it down into the ground. You can probably make it work indoors as well if you can find some weight to tether it down to the floor as it definitely won’t stay in place by itself hit after hit. There is a little red string that comes connected to the side guards which tells you where you’re supposed to stand. I personally find the red string annoying and I just cut it out.

Material and build quality

I have been using the net for a while now and have to say I’ve been quite impressed with the build quality. Actually, that statement applies to the newer version of the net. In fact, I have used two of these nets and the second one I got for free from decathlon to replace the first one that tore.

Let me tell you what happened. As I’ve said earlier, in the beginning I could not close my hands when I hit the golf ball. When that happens, I tend to hit it to the right which misses the green stripe. The thing is, the hitting part of the net wasn’t actually one big net with a green stripe hanging on top of it. It was made up of three pieces with two being the net and the green middle part sewn into each other. Because of this, when you hit the net, the force that pulls the net backwards will exert a lot of pull on the seams and the net doesn’t have much wiggle room. I tore a hole through the net after a month or so of usage and the seams that held the three parts together started to come undone as well.

I took the net back to Decathlon and was able to get a brand new net. Kudos to them for that! This new net turns out a new version in which the hitting net was actually one big piece and the green stripe was hanging on top. Perfect! The way it should have been! This version is the one I’ve been using for months now with very little wear. Granted I did get a lot better and have been hitting the green part a lot and when I do miss I tend to miss left instead but the wear does seem to be much less than the previous version. This is probably because the net has more room to wiggle when hitted. So if you decide to buy the net, make sure it’s the second version!


Make sure your version has a green stripe that lies on top of the net like this!

How the Decathlon Net have worked for me

I have to say I have a mixed feeling about how well the net performed for me. In the beginning, the net was simply too small and my shots could very realistically miss the net altogether and I’ve had a few near-accidents with it. The fact that the tent shape was kind of circular didn’t help at all because the shots that tended to miss went for the place where the net would have caught it if it was rectangular. In fact, in my early usage I had to install a plastic sheet behind it to catch errant balls.

As my skills improve, the net proves sufficiently big. Nonetheless, shots going wayward is still a real possibility. For shots with the 8 irons down through to the wedges, I still move in a little closer lest the shots go errant. If Decathlon made the net twice the size it would be perfect.

The middle strip!

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the green stripe is the part you aim for and when you do hit it the sound you get is awesome! I think it’s a great idea which gives you something of an instant feedback on your shot. I wish it was just  a bit bigger though.

Ball Returns

This net does come with a ball return function that works surprisingly well! As long as your shots are not horrendous, you can expect the balls to come back to you. In fact, I have been using only one ball in my sessions with this net for a long time now and there are very few times when the ball doesn’t roll back. Please note though that if you hit those perfect shots the ball rolls back pretty fast so be ready to catch it!

Conclusion

For the price (I bought mine for 2000 THB) this net is a great deal. It does what it is supposed to do and has a nifty ball return function. It is not as big as I’d like and for beginners it is a very missable net so either put another net or sheet behind it or stand really close. Once your skills improve though, the net comes into its own.


Our Other Articles

    © HobbyBite.com 2017