Mats vs. Grass at Practice Range

[Randy4h]

Hitting irons off mats can give a false sense of ball striking. Depending on how much "give" they have, a ball hit an inch fat may feel like it has been well struck. Whenever possible, hit off grass.

[joepro23]

My club has grass and it is truly a better practice experience all around. If you were practicing basketball, wouldn't it make more sense to play on hardwood floors and indoors than out in someone's driveway. In golf, you want to get the closest simulation to actually hitting on the course (whenever possible). The mats have their place though (winter for me) and some are actually decent. I have seen some good ones with painted alignment lines at the feet, swing path lines, and "fluffier" material near the tee. They do give a false sense of ball-striking as Randy4h mentioned, and many people don't realize that they are catching it fat when the mats have some give in them.

[phishin]

My club has grass and it is truly a better practice experience all around. If you were practicing basketball, wouldn't it make more sense to play on hardwood floors and indoors than out in someone's driveway. In golf, you want to get the closest simulation to actually hitting on the course (whenever possible). The mats have their place though (winter for me) and some are actually decent. I have seen some good ones with painted alignment lines at the feet, swing path lines, and "fluffier" material near the tee. They do give a false sense of ball-striking as Randy4h mentioned, and many people don't realize that they are catching it fat when the mats have some give in them.

I see you're in White Plains. What club you belong to? Just curious. Im pretty sure Metropolis CC is in White Plains which was one of my favorite courses i have ever played

[Par Fore]

Yes, mats make you feel like a tour pro....they seem to almost correct your flaws, hitting of mats is like going to heaven

Actually, as a business idea, this is a great idea if you want to run a driving range that appeals to the average consumer.....serve good food, beer, and let hackers like me hit off mats...

Personally, I try to avoid any driving range with these if possible.....the lack of feedback can cause you to spend the first 3 holes getting in the groove.....usually, I start off with an iron just to get warmed up at places that just have mats.....then I'll work on my driver so I don't start some type of bad habit....at least your driver appoach is still the same....

[Nike Markiie]

some courses dont allow you to hit off the green. Personally I will hit 10 or so off the mat then hit one off the green. Kinda helps.

[Rezgolf]

I don't like hitting off of the mats either, but where I live the only course within 40 miles has mats only. To make it worse the course only allows irons on the range. No drivers or woods of any kind. Probably why my long game is suffering!!!

[Zeph]

If you can, hit off grass as much as possible. Mats are not good for the golf swing or your hands and arms, some mats are better than others.

I have no option, unfortunately, nothing but mat ranges where I live. I've suffered from it, hitting it fat a lot, something that I can't see on the range, but comes out when I play on the course. It's not impossible to hit of mats, by all means, but if you have the option of grass, take it every time.

[mtsalmela80]

My club has grass and it is truly a better practice experience all around. If you were practicing basketball, wouldn't it make more sense to play on hardwood floors and indoors than out in someone's driveway. In golf, you want to get the closest simulation to actually hitting on the course (whenever possible). The mats have their place though (winter for me) and some are actually decent. I have seen some good ones with painted alignment lines at the feet, swing path lines, and "fluffier" material near the tee. They do give a false sense of ball-striking as Randy4h mentioned, and many people don't realize that they are catching it fat when the mats have some give in them.

While the basketball is a good analogy, I would think it is even more severe between grass and pads, like trying to learn to ice skate but doing so on rollerblades down the street.

[joepro23]

I see you're in White Plains. What club you belong to? Just curious. Im pretty sure Metropolis CC is in White Plains which was one of my favorite courses i have ever played

I'm currently in White Plains for law school, but I'm from NJ and live at home during the summer. My club is North Jersey CC in Wayne, NJ. Westchester County has a ton of great courses though, but unfortunately most of them are private. Metropolis CC you mentioned is in fact in White Plains and real solid I hear. I need to find someone to get me out there

[Prairie Golfer]

I only practice on real grass. Fortunately, nearly all the driving ranges near me are grass.

[James_Black]

I'm lazy and the range I go to has automatic tees (the ball tees itself up) so I play off the mats

I don't like the green marks it leaves on my clubs though

[Greg]

The only time i ever hit off mats is at a golf store, i personally hate hitting off mats and I dont think its easier either. I was just at a local store last weekend trying out some used 5 woods as weather was bad and thats the only shots I took all weekend, was great launching pad for 5 woods though. I can only imagine what it cost for the simulator they had, thats the only reason I could see for having mats, being able to practice indoors in inclement weather. Every range around here has grass, you play on grass so why would anyone want to practice on anything else unless being able to indoors.

[nevets88]

Somehow, there should be more of a warning to beginners that carpet mats, the ones that "hide" the fat shots, are very different from grass, but then ranges wouldn't like that for business. Eventually beginners will figure out the difference, but I'm guessing it would save some people grief if every range had a sign - warning, if you're a beginner and you want to get serious about the game, this is the deal whole deal about mats (explanataion).

[Fatphil]

mats kill my wrists and elbows..my range switches to mats on the weekend, I'll hit hybrids & driver off mats and go light on the irons.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I really dont care as long as the mat isnt a hardpan rock. Im hitting the ball first, anyway.

[Shanker]

Nice day in WI so I drove by a local range..sure enough the grass area is open...WOW I've been practicing alot on mats and hitting grass for the first time this year was a challenge...Too many FATS shots that a mat will not show...so many flaws...playing first round on Thursday...

I wanted to also say the grass I hit today was not in its greatest form yet...the snow just melted a couple of days ago, so they have not even cured the grass..I was kinda surprise they opened the grass section...

[pxc]

To those concerned about fat shots, are you referring to hard carppet-like mats where your iron might slide along and still hit, or the simulated grass mats that have some cushioning to them? I've always thought the simulated grass mats were an OK alternative if grass is not available...

There is a section at my regular driving range with just grass, but they don't take care of it so hitting balls there is not that much like hitting balls on an actual course.

[adamgoodman]

Before reading on, completely remove the idea of the rubber tees from this discussion.

What I have always is that more experienced golfers always hit from the grass and your backyard hackers stick to the mats. I've been hitting off the grass since I was 10 years old, but recently I have been experimenting back and forth between the two. By hitting off the mats among the duffers, I feel like I get the feel of my warm up quicker and with better results. On the often ill-kept, roped off grass areas at the local driving range, the conditions are far from what is found anywhere on a decent golf course. By hitting off the mats, a consistent surface even if it's turf, I find myself being able to find my groove swing wise better because I'm focusing completely on my swing instead of my funky lie or grass patches or whatever. It's just me, and the ball. And disregard those horrid rubber tees. (I bought a little rubber thingy that holds wooden tees for me, I wouldn't go near those sad excuses for a tee).

Are driving range mats under-rated? Does hitting off grass really make a difference when it's barely grass at all? Does anyone hit from anywhere besides grass? Let the games begin!