How Much Distance Is Taken Off by Hitting on Indoor Mats?

[BabaYaga]

I'm trying out some new drivers to replace my 10 year old gamer. I hit the ball pretty far and with a R11S, I am looking for something newer to see if there is a noticeable difference in distance.

I hit a few today with the new Qi10 and it seemed like it was similar (or even less) than my current driver. How much could I attribute that to (1) hitting off mats and rubber tees, (2) swinging the club 5 times and that is it, and (3) having a stiff shaft (non-fitted XS) rather than a fitted club.

Just trying to see if I should go to a fitter to get fit into a driver to display accurate numbers (I definitely will) or if it would only bump up by 10 yards or so it not being something to worry about.

[iacas]

I'm not sure what you're asking, though: sometimes people swing slower indoors, sometimes faster.

Also, if you take your driver to the fitting, you should get to see numbers with it, and can compare them to the numbers on any newly fit shafts, heads, etc.

[BabaYaga]

1 minute ago, iacas said:

I'm not sure what you're asking, though: sometimes people swing slower indoors, sometimes faster.

Also, if you take your driver to the fitting, you should get to see numbers with it, and can compare them to the numbers on any newly fit shafts, heads, etc.

Mainly the question was: How much negative effect does hitting in a bay vs. in a real life setting push down the distances?

Maybe none - to your point.

Yeah, I will take mine to a fitting to compare definitely.

The Qi10 was flying an average of 270 and I the last I was on trackman with my current driver it was at 273, despite being so old. So I'm guessing it is a myriad of issues where I just need to get on a trackman outside to see.

[woodzie264]

2 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

The Qi10 was flying an average of 270 and I the last I was on trackman with my current driver it was at 273, despite being so old. So I'm guessing it is a myriad of issues where I just need to get on a trackman outside to see.

Why does it have to be outside? As long as you’re using both the new and old drivers inside…it’s apples to apples, why go outside?  I’m guessing you feel like it’s not your normal swing? It would still be apples to apples though right? 

[BabaYaga]

12 minutes ago, woodzie264 said:

Why does it have to be outside? As long as you’re using both the new and old drivers inside…it’s apples to apples, why go outside?  I’m guessing you feel like it’s not your normal swing? It would still be apples to apples though right? 

This is a good point. I guess it doesn’t have to be as long as I’m comparing the two in similar situations. 

I have always had an uncomfortable swing on mats for some reason. Might be a mental block whereas outside I feel “freer”. 

[Hardspoon]

12 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

Mainly the question was: How much negative effect does hitting in a bay vs. in a real life setting push down the distances?

Maybe none - to your point.

Probably very little.  The only real reasons it would affect it would be if you actually swing differently (which, it sounds like you might - "uncomfortable swinging on mats".

You do need to make sure the simulator you're using is a high-quality one with high-speed cameras and radar, etc.

[RayG]

Could be psychological as well. Hitting indoors is NEVER the same as actually playing. Also- Was the rubber tee EXACTLY the right height that you normally play?

If its a bit shorter, your head says to hit down on it more than normal and you end up with a weak fade and lose distance. If it is too high than you could be trying to hit up at an extreme AOA and/or off the top of the face and losing distance that way.

[saevel25]

Depends on the person maybe. I could see where someone might skim the mat, causing a loss of clubhead speed. Then, they might catch the shot fat on grass. Mats can hide contact issues as well if the club skims/bounces off the mat slightly. 

Being on plenty of launch monitors, for me, the distance is the same. Except for things like wind/roll. Carry numbers are on point. 

[DaveP043]

19 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

Just trying to see if I should go to a fitter to get fit into a driver to display accurate numbers (I definitely will) or if it would only bump up by 10 yards or so it not being something to worry about.

No matter where you test clubs, indoors or out, you should always compare to your current club.  I know I went to demo days at my home club for both TaylorMade and Callaway last summer.  The firs thing we did was record a number of swings with my 5 year old driver, and then went to test clubheads and shafts to see what could be done.  I learned that I could spend $600 or so to gain 3 or 4 yards.  Its quite possible that the new driver you tried out really doesn't give you any more yardage.

[NZ Golfer]

 Playing many times recently at my closest 1hr away local indoor Golf centre that uses the Trackman 4 ..overall, I'm impressed with distances very similar to real-world conditions  

think next winter I get a membership if they do another 50% off deal for 6months ..weather locally been very crap for golf this winter ..

like the fact I can play some cracking good Golf courses in mild summer temps .. you can have a crack at some tough shots and see how you will go without the issues of losing doz ProV1s 

My last sim round was at Sweden's National links Golf course I think it was 17th off the blue tees if you take the nutter line you hit over 200yards of lake to a slim green in the distance I got it on the 3rd attempt with the 4iron previous 2x too much draw and would hit the left greens fringe and bounce into the water. 

My only issue with sim golf is the ease of hitting the lob wedge too hard near the green, making it easy to overshoot the target. I feel that this aspect wasn't as accurate as I expected from real world chipping close so have to hit around 60-70% effort that I would usually do...

otherwise would love to one day have my own sim ..

TrackMn  simulator