Have you ever tried working on your short game with a real ball inside your house? Yeah…I didn’t think so. I have, in the past, tried using those plastic whiffle golf balls and was always quite disappointed with the results. Very plastic feeling, unrealistic reaction to the club. I never really felt like I was practicing actual golf shots. Then, along came The Floppy…
As I mentioned the other day, I’ve been playing around with these practice balls inside my living room for an hour or so at a time. Flop shots, pitches, chips, they all react very realistically. A majority of the time I have been hitting flop shots with The Floppy, as that really is the most fun, flopping over the couch, trying to flop into a small basket…fun stuff! The practice ball reacts well off the face, seems to spin quite realistically and feels like it has a nice weight to it when you make contact. The best part is I can bounce shots off the wall, the sliding glass door, or other various things about the house without fear of shattered glass.
![]() Floppy - My 2 Iron |
![]() Real Ball - Floppy Ball |
Below you can see a brand new, untouched Floppy and a slightly used Floppy (you can click on the pictures to get a closer view). I’ve hit the used ball with my 58 degree Callaway X-Tour Wedge for at least 2 hours. Mostly I was hitting flop shots, so the grooves certainly bit into the Floppy quite a bit. Not bad though, aside from one little string popping out, and the Floppy graphics coming off, the ball is holding up quite well. It still reacts quite well when hit. I am not sure what the expected lifespan of a Floppy is, but I would assume this thing could take quite a beating.
![]() New Floppy |
![]() Used Floppy |
I’ve had a blast playing around with the floppy in our living room. I’m not sure our carpet loves the beating it has been taking, but I certainly have enjoyed it! After about 2 hours of practicing lobs and chips, I went to the driving range today and seemed to be making very solid contact with the ball. I only wish I had gotten a hold of one of these bad boys at the beginning of winter! Though, I’m sure The Floppy will keep me company on plenty of cold and or rainy days ahead.
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I really liked your review, but I have a couple of questions.
1) How badly did the club damage the carpet?
2) Even though the balls are really soft, do they have enough weight to them that they could knock stuff over? I would assume that if they feel like a golf ball that they must have some weight to them. Did you find this to be a problem?
Thanks and keep up the good work,
Ty
Hey Ty, glad you liked the review. To answer your questions:
1) I haven’t hit thousands of balls in the same spot, and I try to move around a bit. I haven’t noticed any damage to the carpet yet
Though, I do see a lot of dust get kicked up out of the carpet sometimes!
2) Yeah, the balls definitely have some heft to them, and are not exactly ‘nerf’ balls. They are almost like a hackey sack, if you’ve ever played with one of those. I certainly wouldn’t hit balls in the direction of a waterford crystal lamp. I’m sure you could easily knock over…and shatter a glass of wine as well. We have a big sliding glass door in the area where I use The Floppy. I try to aim in that general area, as there is really nothing ‘breakable’ there. It bounces off the glass door with a little thud. When I am daring, I have flopped it over couches/etc as well…but I always made sure a sculled shot wouldn’t result in a broken glass or lamp
Thanks for clearing that bit up. I might have to give them a try. With the winter the way it is here in Iowa, I need something I can do indoors. I just have a hard time justifying the $13. It’s not outrageous, but I’m kind of a cheap skate. Thanks again.
How about hitting off tile floors
Just kidding. Great post! Especially for golfers in those cold winter areas of the country 