Brian...I Need The Definitive Answer....

[tallathlete]

Will hitting off range mats do any harm whatsoever to a sound golfswing? I realize that a mat can make a 17 handicapper think he is striking it well even though he hit an inch behind the ball. But for a good player, will mats do any harm at all?

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

not brian but yes, despite the problems it can cause in the golf swing you can injure yourself. i was hitting so many balls off golf matts that i actually developed an inflamed left rotator cuff. when my arm would reach its peak height in the backswing i would hear a little pop. went through all the trouble of x-rays and even a mri where they put the dye in your body to get a good look at things. they couldnt find anything definitive.

i then thought it might be all the balls i am hitting off matts along with my downward strike. sure enough i swore off matts and i think it was within 6 weeks my shoulder went back to normal and it has never come back.

i, personally, wont teach off them.

 

[tallathlete]

Jim, what golfswing problems can mats present?

 

[softconsult]

Not Jim, but seems to me one thing is obvious.

The mats typically only have a touch of give to them. Therefore,
you can't hit down to the same degree you would off turf. One
would suspect that this could cause you to develop more of a pick
it type swing.

 

[golfdad]

Jim, what golfswing problems can mats present?

outside on the turf, if you hit a bad fat shot,,your clubhead can dig so deep that you barely touch the ball. so you know immediately something is wrong.

on a matt,,,the clubhead just skids off the matt toward the ball and eventually hit it at a flatter angle. so good shot, bad shot they all take off.

without paying attention to the sound of impact and trajectory of your usual ball flight,,,you may not have received the proper feedback.

if we do that over the entire winter, when the spring comes and we step outside, the awakening can be cruel

but my question for the board is that if we HAVE to play on the matt, which brand is a better way,,,more forgiving toward downward strike and such?

 

[softconsult]

Seems like I remember VJ Singh endorsing a matt with springs or something under it.
Of course, it's a mute point if your range, or course doesn't have them.

 

[willgolfer]

I have a Truestrike mat. Haven't had any problems with it injury or otherwise.

 

[Jwat]

outside on the turf, if you hit a bad fat shot,,your clubhead can dig so deep that you barely touch the ball. so you know immediately something is wrong.

on a matt,,,the clubhead just skids off the matt toward the ball and eventually hit it at a flatter angle. so good shot, bad shot they all take off.

without paying attention to the sound of impact and trajectory of your usual ball flight,,,you may not have received the proper feedback.

if we do that over the entire winter, when the spring comes and we step outside, the awakening can be cruel

but my question for the board is that if we HAVE to play on the matt, which brand is a better way,,,more forgiving toward downward strike and such?

I have owned a Reel Feel Golf Mat for about 6 mo now. I don't know if it is the one that Brian uses but it is very similar. Runs about $300 I think on ebay. I have carpal tunnel in my wrists and this in no way hurts. I did however own a cheap $99 one from Academy and that really hurt my wrists which is what led me to invest in this one.

I think if you buy the good expensive mat like this one then you should be good to go. You can also stick a tee in these and hit a driver. So if you are going to be hitting balls once a week this is definitley worth the investment. Holds up under harsh conditions as well.

 

[golfdad]

thanks guys for the suggestions.

jwat,, since you have used it for 6 months now, does the repeated strikes from your irons YANK the artificial grass/fiber out?

how does the impact feel like comparing with outside turf?

so the mat is large enough to stand on it to hit a ball?

 

[softconsult]

Real Feel Golf Mats

 

[sharkey35]

I asked Brian a similar question after one of my lessons. At the time, I only had access to hitting balls off mats. He said that between not hitting at all and hitting off mats, it was still better to hit off mats.

After some other discussions on here, I have moved over to the more "grass-like" section of the mat where the balls sits up a hair. I also put a piece of white tape used to stop blisters on the mat, with the ball just to the range side of it. Anything fat will grab the tape, so you can't fool yourself.

Listen to your body, if it starts to hurt - stop. I go once a week just to get thru the winter. Hope this helps.

 

[Jwat]

thanks guys for the suggestions.

jwat,, since you have used it for 6 months now, does the repeated strikes from your irons YANK the artificial grass/fiber out?

how does the impact feel like comparing with outside turf?

so the mat is large enough to stand on it to hit a ball?

It is defintiely large enough to hit drivers. Impact feels good. I pick more at the ball than I do take divots so for me it works really well. And absolutley no does any fibers come out. This mat is hardcore.

 

[KGlennCole]

We have no choice here in Pittsburgh in the Winter.. the indoor Dome at RMU at least is an outlet for working on things. Their mats have 2 sections.. the normal hard and smaller cushioney area. Even in Summer it's hard to find a good grass driving range. My home course, which charges $70 on weekends, refuses to cut the grass.. you're practicing out of light rough.

I have an indoor setup in my basement where I use a DuraPro Wood-Tee Mat. There seems to be plenty of cushion as the mat is fairly thick. Tees are a little difficult (not impossible) and I don't try them very often.

In addition, I have a FairwayPro Divot Simulator that I use. The hitting area slides with the hit.

I purchased both from dwquailgolf.com, btw.

 

[Richie3Jack]

I hurt my shoulder as well from hitting off of mats and just talked to somebody about a student they had that actually broke a bone in their hand from hitting off of mats (obviously, an extreme example). Not much you can do, but I really don't like mats.





3JACK

 

[golfdad]

haha,,,real free mat,,,just bought

since my kids play daily in the basement in the winter, i am not going to be cheap this time!

thanks guys for the info.

 

[golfdad]

sorry, typo in the last post. i meant the real feel brand.

nothing real in this world is free,,,anymore

 

[bax1865]

I do beleive that Trackman prefers hitting off a mat. If true, does this have any impact on the numbers it gives?

 

[Phil Rosenbaum]

Yes. The divot affects the launch readings.

 

[billmckinneygolf]

I've hit literally 2 million balls from mats and have had only problems from hitting from grass and not once from mats.
Julie Inkster always goes back to a mat when her swing gets "off".
AND they just might help us to compress it without getting too deep...which really affects the readings.
Grass is still the best as long as you have a good angle of attack.

 

[mjstrong]

Are all mats created equal? I would imagine that some are much better than others...