We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Who’s with me? Hitting off mats is the worst.

Necessary evil from my perspective. Unless you catch it on the day they move the hitting area you're not finding much grass at my local range.
 
Some mats are better than others. 99.99% of sim setups are... mats
 
That post said:
Yes it sucks and hides strike issues.
Click to expand...
That is what I figured out. This was the first offseason that I went to the sims often to try and keep the rust off. Everything seems pretty good, but upon my first round on grass I was hitting everything fat. The mat doesn't really show that unless it is really obvious.
 
Fortunately my home course has "soft" mats, so while it's not like hitting off grass, it's better than not hitting balls at all.
 
I agree I do hate hitting off mats.... but id rather hit off a mat in the winter than not hit balls at all.
 
I don't have much of a choice but if I had the option I'm going with a grass range every time.
 
Yeah, it bothers my hands and scuffs the club heads. I only go to driving ranges that have grass. You go through tees obviously, but it’s worth it.
 
I don't mind mats. But I also don't mind the flag in. There is no way you could hit off the grass where I live....at this time of the year you would just slowly sink into the ground.
 
others pointed out the things I would have said...
- hides strike issues, particularly if the miss is fat.
- during winter for a fair weather golfer like me, are THE option. I am not slogging out in the pouring rain to hunt for ball after ball plugged in the fairway.

So I spend the winter months on a golf simulator. And by paying attention, listening to the sound of the contact, knowing the feel of ball first, I can avoid the strike issue...I know when I hit poorly.

And it has shown very positive results the last two years I have been doing it.

Would I rather be on grass? 100% but mats have their place and value for me personally. Naturally others' results will vary.
 
Off good turf is far superior. A winter hitting off mats has me hating them again.

There is absolutely nothing better than hitting off of pristine turf at the range, or on the course. It is a completely different feeling.
 
I only use mats when forced to do so ... I finally found a good use for them. Using them for the Stack or any Speed System where you are not hitting the turf.

I admit, though, I don't mind them as much when I've had a long layoff and am doing drills.
 
I refuse to hit off mats outside. It’s gotten harder and harder to live by as many courses have added mats in the golf boom to manage the wear and tear on the range.

My home course went from 7 day grass to mats only Monday-Thursday.

And a fantastic huge green grass range converted 80% of their space to top tracer bays- and are charging a mint. 😕
 
Yes, 100%. It changes the contact and masks issues.
 
For those of us in the cold areas of the world during the winter months I’d really like to know the alternative? I mean if your a person living in Florida, Ca etc states where you can pretty much play year round then yes I totally agree… but when something is unavailable to you then what is the thing to do, not practice and just go dormant for several months? I guess for baseball players hitting off a tee and doing tee work is really bad too huh?
 
Nice grass is far better, but I would rather hit off of a mat than not hit at all or hit out of an area that has been beat down to dirt.
 
LIMEY13 said:
That is what I figured out. This was the first offseason that I went to the sims often to try and keep the rust off. Everything seems pretty good, but upon my first round on grass I was hitting everything fat. The mat doesn't really show that unless it is really obvious.
Click to expand...
I hit off a pretty good mat in my garage and I can easily tell when I don’t hit it flush. Feeling a little bit thin or a little fat shot off the mat, is pretty obvious to me even without a launch monitor.
 
I prefer hitting off mats because around me, there are no good grass ranges. Usually it's mostly dirt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top