- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Do you think a lot of amateurs actually hurt their game practicing on mats?
Posted on 7/3/26 at 9:17 am
Posted on 7/3/26 at 9:17 am
I know this is an extreme generalization but I personally hate practicing on mats because it makes me feel like I’m dialed when in reality my ball striking could be completely off. A mat basically eliminates the possibility of a chunk and also guarantees a perfect lie. For a large percentage of amateurs learning how to strike the ball properly is likely more important than swing mechanics, fat and thin shots kill a score faster than left and right well struck shots IMO.
Anyway, better players can benefit plenty from hitting off mats and working on swing mechanics and distance/trajectory control, but my theory is a lot of people learning the swing and practicing primarily on mats are actually making themselves worse at golf.
Anyway, better players can benefit plenty from hitting off mats and working on swing mechanics and distance/trajectory control, but my theory is a lot of people learning the swing and practicing primarily on mats are actually making themselves worse at golf.
10
Posted on 7/3/26 at 9:23 am to Tiger1242
Yes, absolutely. Practice on artificial turf and then when you actually get on the course and take divot striking the ball, if your angle of approach is too steep the leading edge of the clubface will dig in and the shock to your wrist on your left hand (if you're a righty) can cause substantial damage where the ensuing inflammation can set in as tendonitis.
This post was edited on 7/3/26 at 9:27 am
Posted on 7/3/26 at 9:30 am to Tiger1242
last year I was hitting on a mat quite a lot and looking at simulator builds. Even though I like practicing on grass significantly better, the closest range to my house had mats.
Long story short my wrist started killing me and then later my shoulder started killing me. My shoulder so bad that I was in physical therapy, getting injections and the orthopedic surgeon said I needed surgery.
I decided to hold off until the end of this golf season to have surgery but I haven't hit on a mat this year and my wrist and shoulder pain are significantly less and I'm not having surgery if it stays this way.
I'm anti mats simply because of pain. Golf is hard enough on your body, I don't need it giving me tendinitis and needing surgery just to get some swings in.
I will say, i never had a hard time telling if I hat a fat shot on a mat. It's not like you don't get any feedback.
Long story short my wrist started killing me and then later my shoulder started killing me. My shoulder so bad that I was in physical therapy, getting injections and the orthopedic surgeon said I needed surgery.
I decided to hold off until the end of this golf season to have surgery but I haven't hit on a mat this year and my wrist and shoulder pain are significantly less and I'm not having surgery if it stays this way.
I'm anti mats simply because of pain. Golf is hard enough on your body, I don't need it giving me tendinitis and needing surgery just to get some swings in.
I will say, i never had a hard time telling if I hat a fat shot on a mat. It's not like you don't get any feedback.
This post was edited on 7/3/26 at 11:06 am
Posted on 7/3/26 at 9:30 am to Tiger1242
Putting a towel a couple inches behind the ball the ball is a good drill for when practicing off mats.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 9:33 am to Tiger1242
I understand where you're coming from, but also think that most grass ranges are pretty shitty. If you're a member at a nice club with a high quality range, that's one thing, but I'd guess most golfers don't actually have access to a grass range with decent turf that's cared for in a way that is in any way an approximation of what they'd experience on the course.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 10:41 am to coolpapaboze
quote:
understand where you're coming from, but also think that most grass ranges are pretty shitty. If you're a member at a nice club with a high quality range, that's one thing, but I'd guess most golfers don't actually have access to a grass range with decent turf
This is my point of view. Do mats give you a false sense of a fat shot having a much better flight than it would have on turf? Sure, but I can also tell that it's fat no matter what. I know my distances and a fat shot off of a mat will still be 20-30 yards short with my 7 iron. It'd be 50-60 short off turf. I'm not considering either acceptable. My club only hits off turf Fri/Sat/Sun and I only ever get to play in the afternoon. By the time I'm out there, it's a minefield because no one knows how to keep a divot line. I can focus on my swing mechanics more on the mat because I'm not dealing with the horrible lie. Don't get me wrong there's a lot of benefit on learning to deal with the lie...just many times I'd like to take that out of the equation. I've not noticed a difference on the course after warm up on one vs the other.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 1:13 pm to Tiger1242
quote:
Do you think a lot of amateurs actually hurt their game practicing on mats?
I don't know about my game but hitting off mats hurts my body.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 1:29 pm to coolpapaboze
quote:
most grass ranges are pretty shitty
Posted on 7/3/26 at 2:12 pm to Tiger1242
I hate hitting off mats. I usually don't.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 2:27 pm to Tiger1242
All of our courses have mats and nets for warming up. I hit 15 shots or so until it feels "right". That's about it. All of our ranges have mat days and grass days, and I avoid mat days like the plague.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 5:56 pm to Tiger1242
Mats have caused a multitude of injuries.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 6:22 pm to LSUHeights
quote:
don't know about my game but hitting off mats hurts my body.
When we are on mats, I limit my swings with irons or wedges.
I ended up with tendinitis in my elbow last year and it was related to hitting irons off mats.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 10:00 pm to Tiger1242
Mats are terrible for your game and your body.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 10:00 pm to Tiger1242
I've found the nicer mats are better for practice unless you're hitting on a really quality turf range and as someone said, unless it's a really nice spot the grass range usually sucks. When I was younger range mats definitely sucked.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 10:21 pm to Cleathecat
Living in Metairie the only option to hit off grass is TPC Louisiana. I play there a decent amount and I almost want to get a membership just for the practice facility.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News