Practice On A Mat? Golfers Need To Be Aware Of This Major Drawback

golfer practicing off a mat — (Image credit: Future)

Warning. What you’re about to read might play with your head, especially if, when it comes to your golf practice, you’re a bit of a numbers junky.

Unless you’re a member of a really posh club, the chances are you do the bulk of your practice off of mats.

So, Kick Point’s Joe Ferguson just wants to flag something that could be important.

WATCH: Joe from Kick Point: The Golf Gear Show talks about a potential issue with fluffy range mats (from 09:52)

Like many, Joe’s keen on his practice, and hitting balls indoors has never bothered him; in fact, give him a mat, a net and a launch monitor, and he’s perfectly happy.

Until he sees his strike location going up the clubface, that is - and you may have noticed this yourself when hitting off mats.

It’s when the mats are lovely and new and fluffy that this tends to occur versus off grass where the ball tends to nestle down slightly. As inviting as the ball looks when it’s sitting up, this lie can significantly affect the strike location.

In short, when that strike is higher on the blade, your launch angle pops up, because where you are impacting relative to the center of gravity. You want the equator of the ball to be contacting the fourth or fifth groove but in Joe's testing, it went as high as the eighth or ninth.

The result? “Your numbers can be somewhat compromised,” says Joe - and you can see exactly what he means in his Instagram post below.

A post shared by @joeferggolf
A photo posted by on

Now, don’t be accusing Joe of hitting the ball fat. Yes he does occasionally catch one on the heavy side, but our PGA pro knows when he’s done that - this is not what we’re talking about here.

Joe’s been measuring it, and his strike pattern is significantly higher on certain types of mat. With some mats, the fibers sit up and look nice and fluffy - but this can encourage a “clunky” strike.

“You’ve probably seen it when you’ve got a ball perched up in the semi rough,” explains Joe. “The ball sits up like a dream, and you could get a driver on it.”

However, this is not ideal when you have an 8- or 9-iron in your hands.

“You’ll make a good swing, but simply because the ball is starting higher relative to where the club has bottomed out, the impact location can go up,” explains Joe.

“You get that weird ball flight, and your dynamics completely change.”

Don’t be fooled. You might get some flattering numbers in terms of carry distance (this is that optimal high launch, low spin thing for driver), but your numbers can be misleading.

For example, seeing your 8-iron carry an extra 10 yards might feel good, but just keep an eye on that spin rate and take the numbers, if you're lucky enough to have access to a launch monitor, with a pinch of salt. During Joe's testing, his 8-iron was spinning at 6500rpm whereas he's used to being closer to 7800rpm when hitting off grass.

This will hugely affect the flight and resulting distance. It also ties into a wider conversation about the limitations of getting custom fitted on a mat, which the majority of golfers do simply because most clubs and fitting facilities aren't able to offer the option of hitting off grass.

Joe’s advice? Foot spray or dry shampoo. Pop a light spray on the clubface, monitor that strike location, and be wary of the how the readings you get off mats won't necessarily be representative of what you experience on the golf course.

This in itself will also affect the numbers, but at least you'll know if the mats you're hitting from are shifting the vertical strike location up to the point where it will be having a notable impact on the performance.

Michael has been with Golf Monthly since 2008. A multimedia journalist, he has also worked for The Football Association, where he created content to support the England football team, The FA Cup, London 2012, and FA Women's Super League. As content editor at Foremost Golf, Michael worked closely with golf's biggest equipment manufacturers and has developed an in-depth knowledge of this side of the industry. He's a regular contributor, covering instruction, equipment, travel and feature content. Michael has interviewed many of the game's biggest stars, including seven World No.1s, and has attended and reported on numerous Major Championships and Ryder Cups around the world. He's a member of Formby Golf Club in Merseyside, UK.

With contributions from

Joel TadmanDeputy Editor
Joe FergusonStaff Writer

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