How to Make a Golf Mat More Realistic?

[DrMetal]

Is there a way to make a golf matt more realistic? To take away the bounce, make it feel more like real ground? 

 

 I have a regular mat with a lot of bounce.   I'm not looking to replace it. I was just wondering if there's a hack I could do to make it feel more like the ground?

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, DrMetal said:

Is there a way to make a golf matt more realistic? To take away the bounce, make it feel more like real ground? 

 

 I have a regular mat with a lot of bounce.   I'm not looking to replace it. I was just wondering if there's a hack I could do to make it feel more like the ground?

What I did with one mat was to put it over a neoprene pad that was cut out in the middle so the mat was suspended 1/2” above plywood. The area of impact is roughly 12”x 20, but this mat is thick (Real Feel). This allows it to flex at contact  cutting some of the bounce down.

[DrMetal]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

What I did with one mat was to put it over a neoprene pad that was cut out in the middle so the mat was suspended 1/2” above plywood. The area of impact is roughly 12”x 20, but this mat is thick (Real Feel). This allows it to flex at contact  cutting some of the bounce down.

An interesting idea!  makes sense, I'll give it a shot. Thanks for sharing!

[iacas]

You can do the same and put a few little light density foam strips beneath, too.

[DoubleAce]

I built a "divot action" hitting strip recently. Absolutely love it. Best hitting experience I've had off a mat. And I've hit off a lot of high dollar ones. 

Mine was put together with the following:

• 3/4" melamine (was used to "frame" my hitting strip)
• 1/8" sheet of polycarbonate
• 3/4" open cell foam strips
• Putting turf
• Misc. hardware and tools

I used the melamine because I have a ton laying around. So free is always a good start. The polycarbonate is a 12" x 24" strip of Lexan I picked up from HD for around $15. Got the putting turf from Lowes (synlawn). Think that was around $50, but it's a 1' x 15' strip. So I used some of the rest for a stance mat. And the remainder will be used for replacement hitting strips if/when they wear out.

I can post more build detail if you're interested.

[woodzie264]

Not as fancy as others, but it’s easy and good enough for a hack like me

[DrMetal]

10 hours ago, DoubleAce said:

I built a "divot action" hitting strip recently. Absolutely love it. Best hitting experience I've had off a mat. And I've hit off a lot of high dollar ones. 

Mine was put together with the following:

• 3/4" melamine (was used to "frame" my hitting strip)
• 1/8" sheet of polycarbonate
• 3/4" open cell foam strips
• Putting turf
• Misc. hardware and tools

I used the melamine because I have a ton laying around. So free is always a good start. The polycarbonate is a 12" x 24" strip of Lexan I picked up from HD for around $15. Got the putting turf from Lowes (synlawn). Think that was around $50, but it's a 1' x 15' strip. So I used some of the rest for a stance mat. And the remainder will be used for replacement hitting strips if/when they wear out.

I can post more build detail if you're interested.

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. 

The 3 beam strips you have there are to support the impact area right? Are these made of the cell foam? Don't worry about them breaking with impact? Do you need it?

[DoubleAce]

1 hour ago, DrMetal said:

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. 

The 3 beam strips you have there are to support the impact area right? Are these made of the cell foam? Don't worry about them breaking with impact? Do you need it?

No problem! 

Yes, the strips support the impact area. They're made of open cell foam. Closed cell would be too stiff. These give just enough, but spring back quickly. Have hit a couple thousand balls off it so far. No degradation in the material or anything. But I also designed it so that I can just swap in a new insert if/when the current one wears out. But I don't anticipate that'll be anytime soon.

Here's the specific foam I purchased.
1" x 3/4" foam strips

As far as attaching the Polycarbonate with the turf, the hole I cut in the melamine was slightly oversized width wise. As that makes sure the strip doesn't bind and has enough room to flex. Length wise, I undercut the hole so that I could screw the strip right into the melamine. I used some truss screws (as they have a nice washer head) and rubber washers.

[DoubleAce]

Hoping this will work. I'd taken some video of what it looks like when the ball is struck. GIF making isn't my expertise, lol. It was taken in slow motion to capture it. It's not perceptible when you're actually hitting balls. Aside from the feel. Better than even the true strike gel mats. Which I really like.