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Effects of Practicing on mats

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dizzyg12

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So it seems that my struggles are second shots. My season avg is roughly 70% of fairways hit. My short game is good, avocet average I would say. I avg 33 PPR and I can't even count the tap in bogeys. Spain essentially the struggles are fairway to green or close to.

I practice mostly off mats at my local range. I can put a tee In and hit from the mats so it's not a problem. And they have a short game area I have spent a lot of time at lately. The bookends of my game are good but the intermediate game is brutal honestly.

I am wondering if hitting of mats is the culprit. It would make sense since they are not and issue with drives as I'm using my own tees and I don't do short game off them.

I'm usually hitting 5-6-7-8-9 off them. Basically what I would end up hitting from fairways.


2+2= find a new range?


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I always chunk a ton of balls early in the spring due to practising off mats all winter. The soft ground doesn't help obviously but mats definitely can have an adverse effect.
 
I don't play off of a mat, so I won't practice off of one, plus they always seem to make my wrists sore not to mention what they do to your clubs. I would find another place to practice. I do a lot of mine at a local school, where there is a huge open area.
 
I know it's obviously bad for the game but my range sucks and had no grass and what little grass it does have is burnt out already.

I need to move! Lol


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Then learn to hit the ball first before the ground! :act-up: But seriously, I don't mind mats- IF they are of decent quality. Not just blocks of concrete with indoor/outdoor carpet laid over them. My range has a couple of mats that are forgiving with a "Florida" type lie. It is a single square of material. Most of the others are those mats with the separate tee hole and shaggy 'grass' simulant, that after a few months is pretty much bare anyway. Those are like rocks once they wear down a bit. No matter which mats you might find- you can easily tell if the shot was "mat assisted" or not, especially working with fairway woods. A toe drag on the mat means a slice, a heel grab is a hook- so even with those clubs you have to hit the ball first.
 
I know coming out of winter, whether playing off mats or sim carpet, it's difficult. However, I find that the most difficult thing to adjust to is not having a perfect lie like you get on a mat. Just a thought.
 
The mats at my range are a one piece mat. In fact it stretches the entire length of the range. It's good quality in comparison to others I've seen.

I just tend to pick the ball off the mat and fat shots are hard to feel as the club still gets through the ball as opposed to real grass where you definitely know you chunked it.

I guess I'm a feel player and the mats give me one feel while real turf gives another.

I have to drive to better ranges - no debating that


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If I chunk one, odds are it's a pretty obvious chunk, so a mat won't magically rescue a shot that bad. If I'm hitting off a mat, I try to find some way to give myself some indication I'm catching the ball first, whether that's putting another ball in line with it and seeing where I scuff the turf, or some other means like the stub of a tee just behind the target ball, with the goal being to hit the ball without disturbing the tee. Certainly the feel is going to be different, but for me range time is about developing technique more than feel.
 
I practiced in a dome this winter more than I ever have before. I thought my ball-striking was improving and I was seeing some better consistency at the range. I've had a rough start to the season with the irons, a lot of chunks and I've been trying to pick the ball too much. I think all that range time on the mats got me into more bad habits that I'm still trying to shake.
 
I have the same issue - after spending the early part of the season hitting off of mats, I found myself badly chunking my first time on the course. I know there are ways to make sure you are making ball first contact on mats, such as putting a towel a few inches behind the ball, but honestly I just like to practice on grass as much as I can. If the grass area is closed, I'll only hit driver off of the mats.
 
I've had the same issue before too. I would just try to think about hitting the ball before the mat as you would on the grass so when the time comes and you're playing, you'll strike the ball just like you did on the mats.


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I had that problem with the hard rubber mats at my home course range. These days I take my own All Turf Mat, that has a strong weave that feels like grass when hitting down (compressing) on the ball. I use the same mat at home almost every day. While I seem to strike the ball better on the range, whether a mat or turf.... it doesn't transfer to the course.

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I should also say that in most cases people use mats to warm up and that's fine I can do that, but I definitely think practice is needed in course like conditions for me anyway. I need to be able to transfer this to the course. It Just makes sense that my iron inconsistencies are a result of mat work. It dawned on me when I was warming up for my round today on a grass range. It was just so different. Hitting a 8-10 consecutive shots with a 7i off the grass range was like night and day from the practice on the mats I had yesterday. During the course of a round you don't hit the same club over and over like that so it's not as evident and i just chalk it up to a random bad shot here and there. I guess the lightbulb came on today and I am convinced that mats have been detrimental to the intermediate iron play.


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Two thoughts on this. First if your practicing to gain muscle memory of a recent swing change. Then a Matt is not really going to hurt to quite as bad IMO. Second, bang balls off the mat can be a little misleading as far as solid contact goes, but also hitting range balls isn't really a good indication of the amount of spin your generating at contact because of the balls you rising. Unless of course you're playing with range balls on the course :)
 
What kind of mats? Deep brush mats will let you feel like you are hitting it solid even when you would be laying the sod over the ball.

Firmer mats cause the club to vibrate then hit and can cause issues with the hands, wrists and elbows.

When possible I find grass and practice on grass. You can take a divot and find what the problem is much easier than off a mat.

If it has to be mats I look for True Strike mats.
 
I hate mats at my range they use them during the winter and i find myself getting thin off of them because i don't want to hit down on the ball in fear of hurting myself or the club
 
Unless there is snow, I don't hit off mats. Simulators yes- outdoor mats, no
 
Last time I hit a large bucket on mats was a couple of months ago and I developed a severe case of golfer's elbow/tendinitis......took a few days to get rid of it and had to cancel a round of golf. Couldn't even swing a club and it would be painful at impact. First time I ever had a problem like that having hit off mats several times over the years -maybe it's just another old age ailment.
 
Brianbigoats said:
I hate mats at my range they use them during the winter and i find myself getting thin off of them because i don't want to hit down on the ball in fear of hurting myself or the club
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I think this is why I developed the tendency to try to pick the ball.
 
I've found that mats definitely hide "would Be" fat shots, and after the "mats only rule" is dropped in the spring, it takes a range session for me to adjust back to the normal ground.
 
From my very limited experience of hitting off mats, it seems they give a false sense of security for what would be much poorer ball contact if playing on grass.
 
During winter and early spring, I have no problems hitting off mats and it is a great way for me to continue hitting throughout the year. But I try to get to grass ranges as soon as possible. I hit a lot of balls thin early in the spring and I believe that is due to the adjustment going from mats to hitting off grass.
 
The mat discussion is pretty common. One. My take is this, if you have the ability to hit on decent grass do it and dont waste your time with mats it wont really help you as much as simulating golf as hitting off of grass. If you can only practice on mats it is sure better than nothing. I practice with a net and mat in my back yard and have been striking it better than ever. When on mats you really take mind of hitting the ball first.
 
I'm not sure why, but I find I need an adjustment period after hitting on mats. My home range has new and thick fake grass mats that do punish fat shots and don't mark your clubs. I find these more realistic than the old style. It shouldn't matter since I should be hitting the ball first anyway, but I call them "confidence mats".
 
Potential for injury is really my only concern. If you're honest with yourself about how you're impacting the ball then I see no issue. You can tell if a shot is fat by listening and feeling the club slide. No issues going back and forth for me, though I've found the heavier brush style are much better for sustained use.
 
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