Jump to content
IGNORED

Mats vs. Grass at Practice Range


drocpdp
Note: This thread is 3227 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

0  

  1. 1. Do you hit off the grass or mats when you go to the range?

    • Always off the GRASS - I want realistic conditions
      66
    • Always off the GRASS - This is all my range offers
      9
    • Always off the MATS - It's cheaper
      1
    • Always off the MATS - I like the feel of the mat
      0
    • Always off the MATS - I don't want to clean my clubs when i'm done
      1
    • Always off the MATS - This is all my range offers
      23
    • I switch it up but mostly off the GRASS
      12
    • I switch it up and it's 50/50
      7
    • I switch it up but mostly off the MATS
      18
    • It doesn't mater to me at all. I have no preference
      0


Recommended Posts

So I've been practicing with my 7-6-5 irons mostly (beginner) on the practice range turf mats and doing ok.

I've decided to try out my swing on the real grass (somewhat thick, not fairway) and find out I do horrendously. I hit it fat and thin etc... and when practicing to increase my swing lag, VERY FAT....

I've played b4, and not really had problems on a course... well.. that is translating what I've practiced on the practice mat to the course..

If i have blades/muscle-backs, should I be practicing on mats or grass? I've read that mats actually deform blades...

Link to comment
Share on other sites


So I've been practicing with my 7-6-5 irons mostly (beginner) on the practice range turf mats and doing ok.

The mats are going to show you that you are able to hit the ball pretty well. Then liek you said you go to the grass range and you can't hit it the same. The mats will mask your fat shots.

In my opinion and most other users on this forum will agree that you should always try to use a grass range and stay away from the mats as much as possible.

In my Xtreme Sport bag
'09 Burner 9.5*
F50 15* 3 Wood
Burner 18* 5 Wood
MX-19 4-GW SV Tour 54.12 & 58.08 White Hot 2-Ball SRT

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Go with the grass. Not only does the mat mask the fat shots, but also you can look at your divot and see if you're hitting it right. You also aren't limited on your tee shots. Most of the mats have a little rubber tee that obviously does not have an adjustable height. This is one of the reasons I hate the mats.
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Mats suck! I hate them :( but it is hard to find a grass driving range around here.

The best I found was a golf course 20-25 minutes from me that hits on grass Weds-Sat, and mats Sun-Tues.

Let me put it this way, its worth driving 20-25 minutes just so I don't have to hit mats and can instead hit grass. Of course it helps that I bought a $44 a month unlimited range ball membership :)

Edit: the divot comment is also spot on. being able to see where my divot is going is very important to me

Lefty Golfer!
In my light stand bag:
R7 Limited Driver 9.5* Matrix Ozik xcon 5.5 Stiff Shaft
A3os 3 (19*) and 4 (22*) Hybrids Grafalloy Prolaunch Platinum Stiff shafts
X-22's 5-AW Regular Flex Uniflex Steel Shafts X-Forged SW 56* & LW 60* 35" Studio Stainless Newport 2.5 ('04 version) with a...

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I will not even hit any club off mats except my driver, and even it I prefer off grass. You definitely do not get a real practice experience off mats as often bad shots are 'corrected' by the mat. Even with driver there is often a problem with the fact tee height is not adjustable. Practice off gress whenever possible, preferably a good range that has grass that is at least close to fairway/tee box grass.
Driver: SQ DYMO STR8-Fit
4 Wood: SQ DYMO
2H (17*), 4H (23*) & 5H (26*): Fli-Hi CLK
Irons (5-6): MX-900; (7-PW): MP-60
Wedges (51/6*): MP-T Chrome; (56/13): MP-R ChromePutter: White Hot XG 2-Ball CSPreferred Ball: e5+/e7+/B330-RXGPS Unit: NEOPush Cart: 2.0
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Mats are forgiving, but if you hit the ball right, they won't make any difference to how the ball behaves. The difference is that the club will bounce off behind the ball rather than digging into the ground and take a divot.

I have nothing but mats to practice off here. You have to know how the mats work and what they can do to the swing and feedback, but it's not a problem hitting off them. They don't deform blades, but they will contribute to bending soft irons, mostly forged, more easily. It's not a big problem, but you should get them checked for lie and loft once a year.

Ogio Grom | Callaway X Hot Pro | Callaway X-Utility 3i | Mizuno MX-700 23º | Titleist Vokey SM 52.08, 58.12 | Mizuno MX-700 15º | Titleist 910 D2 9,5º | Scotty Cameron Newport 2 | Titleist Pro V1x and Taylormade Penta | Leupold GX-1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I love my driving range cause it has real grass to hit on so it gives real results

OHIO

In my Revolver Bag
R9 460, RIP
R9 TP 3 Wood, Diamana 'ilima 70*Idea Pro Black 20*Titleist AP1 712 4-AW Spin Milled Black Nickel 56.08 & 60.10

Link to comment
Share on other sites


My home course has a grass driving range and it's great. However, I go through tees pretty fast. Are there any alternatives to wooden and plastic tees that break so easily? Or would something like that mess up your clubs?

In the blue Colts bag:

Driver - FT-5 10°
Hybrids - 4DX 15.5°, 20°
Irons/Wedges - CI-7 4-GW, SW | "Free" Warrior 60° LWPutter - TiffanyBalls - various

Link to comment
Share on other sites


My home course has a grass driving range and it's great. However, I go through tees pretty fast. Are there any alternatives to wooden and plastic tees that break so easily? Or would something like that mess up your clubs?

I'm pretty sure they have some fancy hi tech tees that you can reuse as long as you don't tee flip it way out onto the range

Lefty Golfer!
In my light stand bag:
R7 Limited Driver 9.5* Matrix Ozik xcon 5.5 Stiff Shaft
A3os 3 (19*) and 4 (22*) Hybrids Grafalloy Prolaunch Platinum Stiff shafts
X-22's 5-AW Regular Flex Uniflex Steel Shafts X-Forged SW 56* & LW 60* 35" Studio Stainless Newport 2.5 ('04 version) with a...

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Mats have their purpose. You really need to pay attention to how your ball sounds when struck, not necessarily the flight. You can certainly have a bad swing where the ball goes straight. This would not happen on grass.

Mats do have their benefits if you're working on a certain aspect of your swing and you don't want to deal with divots every where.

All that being said, grass is by far the best to practice off of.

Kevin

-------
In the Bag
Driver: G15 9.0*3 & 5 Wood: BurnerHybrid: Pro Gold 20*; 23*Irons: MP-58 (5-PW)Wedges: Vokey Spin Milled 52*8; 56*14Putter: Newport 2.0 33"Balls: NXT

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Mats do suck, but when I practice on my lunch hour the closest course has mats only.

I try to hit my driver mostly from the mats (as others have mentioned), as iron shots are much different on grass.

Callaway X-18 Irons | TaylorMade R5 Driver, 200 Steel 3 Wood | Cleveland Golf CG-14 Gap & Sand Wedge | Titleist Vokey Lob Wedge | Odyssey White Hot Putter | Titleist ProV1 Ball | Bushnell Pro 1600 Tournament Edition Laser Rangefinder

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Mats and irons don't mix. If you can avoid it you need to. I developed a ganglion cyst because of it and those suckers are painful. More importantly, most mats don't allow you to take a swing with a divot so you teach yourself a different swing. Not a good thing to do considering there aren't many turf golf courses.

T.M. O'Connell

What's in My Bag
Driver - 909 D2 9.5 degree
3 Wood - 909 F2 15.5 degreeHybrid - 909 H 19 degreeIrons - AP2 w/ Rifle 6.5Wedges - BN 60.04 & 54.11Putter - Pro Platinum Plus

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I agree that grass is definitely preferable. That said, my only available ranges have (frequently replaced) mats, and I've found that yes, the mat will mask fat shots in the ball flight, but for me at least, I can feel and hear when I'm hitting it fat on the mat, so it's nice to see the ball go straight with 90% distance and all, but I know when the ball flight wouldn't look like that on the course.

I also haven't found that the mats stear me away from getting a good divot, though I started naturally towards the picker end of things and not the heavy divot end of things. When I'm hitting well I get a light to medium divot, despite practicing my irons on mats.

That said, I've never gotten to hit my 3 days a week on the range off of grass, week in and week out, so maybe I'd be better if I did...

Matt

Mid-Weight Heavy Putter
Cleveland Tour Action 60˚
Cleveland CG15 54˚
Nike Vapor Pro Combo, 4i-GW
Titleist 585h 19˚
Tour Edge Exotics XCG 15˚ 3 Wood
Taylormade R7 Quad 9.5˚

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

My home course has a grass driving range and it's great. However, I go through tees pretty fast. Are there any alternatives to wooden and plastic tees that break so easily? Or would something like that mess up your clubs?

I use the "aerospark tees" those things cant be broken ... check them out

http://www.aerosparkgolftee.com/
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I'm probably in the minority here but I think there are some advatnages to hitting off of matts. the biggest thing is that you can set up your hitting station with alignment clubs and not have to move everything around after every few divots. I've been lucky enough to take lessons from some very well known instructors and they all insist that you cannot practice without a proper practice station unless you can afford to have someone you trust watching you. So I think the mats are good for that.
Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • 2 weeks later...
Is shot shaping greatly affected by mats? i noticed yesterday while playing that the same stroke for a 5 foot draw i was using on the range mat the day before turned into a 15 foot draw, and the opposite with the fade. are range mats deceptive when it comes to shot shaping?
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Grass is a million times nicer in my view.
What I Play:
Wilson Mini Stand Bag | PING G10, 10.5°, Proforce V2 HL S | PING G5, 15°, 18°, Aldila NV 75 S | PING G5, 19°, Aldila VS Proto By You 80 S
Mizuno MX200 4-PW S | Ping Tour W 50/12 X | Ping Tour W 58/TS X | A selection of putters, all 35.5 inches.
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Grass all the way. Mats will definitely lie to you, depending on how good/bad your ball-striking is, and the feeling of my club slamming into the concrete hiding under a mat at the range when I get too steep on a swing makes my wallet hurt.

I've never had my ball land on a mat out on the course.

The bag:

Driver: Taylormade R7 Limited (10.5*)
3-wood: Taylormade R7 st (15*)
5-wood: Titleist 909 F2(18.5*)Irons: Taylormade RAC TP MB; Project-X 6.0 (3-PW)Wedges: Vokey Spin-Milled 52.08 Vokey Spin-Milled 58.12Putter: Odyssey White Hot Tour #1 (33")Ball: Titleist ProV1

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Note: This thread is 3227 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...