Different mentality when hitting off mats

[Zeph]

I've got a theory when it comes to mats and it's effects on my swing. Been thinking about it for a while.

Most of us know what the mats can do to a swing, being forgiving to fat shots and all the problems that can give.
I've been hitting off mats all my golfing career. Every range has mats, half the courses has mats on the tees. Let's skip the part about getting away with a fat shot and look at one of the fundamentals in golf, the forward leaning shaft and forward swing bottom.

On the PGA Tour you can pick out anyone and he will take a divot when playing golf. Bottom of the swing is 4 inches in front of the ball. If you hit off a mat, you will not be able to rip a chunk out of it, so the club will just bounce back. I think this can give a subconcious psychological effect you may not even be aware of. I know very well how to properly hit a golf ball, and I can do it to some degree on a golf course. Put me on a mat however, and it is a different situation.

I tested it one day in a simulator. It's got a short cut mat which is meant to replicate fairway, and one with taller "grass" to replicate rough. I started hitting balls exclusively off the rough mat. I didn't measure, but I would think the grass was about an inch tall. If I hit it fat, there was no mistaking it. On a pure strike, I could hardly feel the shot.

Hitting the ball off the rough, focusing on my biggest problem, getting the hands in front of the ball at impact, I started making great contact and added 20 meters to my shots, consistently. One can of course argue over the validity of simulator distance, but I was at least hitting the ball well. After a while I put the ball on the fairway grass and tried hitting some shots there. Suddenly I was back to my old self, flipping and picking the ball off the ground, sometimes hitting it fat. I tried doing the same, but my body didn't want to hit it like I wanted to. I've had the same experiences on the course lately. I hit it poor off the mat tee, but well when I'm on the grass.

When I went back to the tall grass, I hit the ball great again, using the same swing, at least trying to. I know of course that you can hit the ball well off hardpan lies, but I think my head has programmed me to flip and prevent slamming the club into the mat when hitting off it. When I do hit a good shot off a mat, I can feel the mat as I get past impact.

What can I do about this? I won't get away from the mats, so I'll have to keep plugging along I guess, but I'm more than ever wanting to get hold of a mat similar to the rough I used on the simulator and bring with me on the course. I hope that the more I hit off those kind of mats and am able to ingrain a better swing, it may transfer over to the harder mats. I am not concerned about having a mat that tells me when I hit it fat, I can tell that by now, but I really want a mat that lets the club glide through it past the ball, similar to grass.

[nevets88]

I hat mats too. I love grass ranges. Unfortunately, they're not everywhere.

You could get a plastic tee, cut it down to a nub, 1 centimeter or less. You might need a couple for different types of mats. This way, you hit the ball first and scrape the mat in front of the ball instead of full all out impact on the mat.

You could buy a mat with the simulated grass. cut out a strip and bring it to the range. You'd have to put something heavy on it in the back so it doesn't move on the strike. The ball will also be a tad above your feet.

[PingGKEN]

I dont want to point fingers at anything but myself, but I do believe mats ruined my golf season this year. I began taking lessons late last year and seriously practicing all through winter in a golf dome (mats). We were making some good progress, but I could never really get the feel for ball first contact. I would hit the mat and the ball at the same time and, to me, that was a good shot. When I took that swing to the course for the first time in the spring....BOY was it an eye opener. I was chunking it all over the place and flipping, etc. Lost about 20 yds per club in distance. The grass was (is) playing Jedi mind tricks on me. I've had to literally quit playing this season because my golf game is in ruins.

[nevets88]

I meant rubber tee.

Pinggken,

I know exactly what you're talking about. There ought to be a universal warning sign.

I really think ranges do people a disservice by not making some kind of effort.

[soloredd]

For me, I don't have a problem necessarily of hitting off a mat, I have a problem with understanding exactly why my ball is doing what it is doing. At my regular driving range they have nice mats, not worn out but not rough length. My irons, particularly PW-7i, get really really high. At my home course they have mats for warm-up and they are older mats that have worn spots, damn near like hitting off concrete. I get my normal trajectory, normal distance (for a range ball). I'm assuming this is like hitting out of fluffy stuff which gets the club under the grass but I'm not sure.

[Keep It Simple]

Sounds to me like you might be trying to take too deep of a divot. The tour players vary their swing bottom depending on the shot they are trying to make and most of the time they are just grazing the top of the turf in front of the ball. With mid and long irons you usually just see grass clippings flying up in front of the impact point. The only time you really see a substantial divot is when they are delofting a wedge or nine iron trying to spin the ball.

[jamo]

You need to find mats that have some grass to them, like the "rough" you mentioned. That's what I use all winter. You need to either find ranges that have them or bring them yourself.

[tshapiro]

I've had a mat and hitting cage in my back yard for 4 years now so I consider myself somewhat of an expert of hitting off of mats.

I think the best thing you can do is use a hybrid, I like to use a 5 up to a 3, which naturally take less of a divot. When you're cold, your muscles won't stretch when as much as they do when you're warmed up. So, use a shorter hybrid to warm up to take the mat impact factor out of it. Once you're in the groove, switch to 6 iron (or 7).

If you're going to use an iron, use a longer one such as a 6 or longer. I rarely if every use anything shorter because I don't want to get in the habbit of grabbing the club to avoid hitting the ground.

The next thing is to move the ball up in your stance, if possible for you so that the back of the ball sits about at the lowpoint of the swing, maybe just behind that so you can barely hit down on it.

Focus on your extension distance (left shoulder to the ball) and a level swing. Most people hit somewhat behind the ball first and this is a nasty on a mat. So, ensure you don't lose your extension distance and swing level hitting the ball first - as opposed to scooping.

[JACK RIGBY]

I THINK THE WINTER FAIRWAY GOLF MATS ARE FANTASTIC.   THEY SAVE THE COURSE FOR THE SPRINGTIME AND ALLOW US GOLFERS TO PLAY AS NORMAL DURING THE COLD, FROZEN OR WET GOLF COURSES.  THE FAIRWAY PRODUCTS LTD MULTIMAT ARE FAR SUPERIOR TO THE NEW FANGLED ROCKET THING.   Jack Rigby

[Hollister]

Zeph, try buy different grass "carpets" from a company that sells artificial putting greens, like SouthWestGreens. The mat needs to be durable. Maybe they give you cut-offs for free...

Screw them onto a pice of wood, but put a cushion mat (polyurethane 5mm+) underneath it.The be solution would be a 90x90cm wood tile you would use for a terrace so you can stand on it, too. You can practice in your backyard or take a small-size mat-only assembly to the range.

[Hollister]

Ha, another victim of an unearthed post. Well, well. But the mat-thing I wrote about is a nice solution - especially for your lawn and the peace with your SO.