Generally, we know practice more is the foundation for improving the performance on the golf course. Therefore, all golfers try their best to find out some free time for swinging the golf clubs. In this case, the home golf simulator is a perfect solution for keeping the rhythm of practice. And a golf mat is one of the essential pieces of essential golf training equipment. But everybody knows that playing golf in the natural course condition or using golf mats is not the same.
However, with snowfall or any adverse environmental conditions in the winter season, golf-hitting mats are the proper means of continuing regular practice. That’s why in this article, we are trying to make a clear difference between the swing practice on golf hitting mats and the actual course grasses. Still, the golf company that produces the golf mat or artificial turf always uses advanced technologies to give a natural feeling to golf fairways.
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Golf Mat Vs. Grass
Every golfer can realize that swinging on natural ground or any synthetic turf can never give the same feeling. But there are many beginners, junior golfers, and even some high-handicappers who get a little bit of difficulty trying to make a tee shot from the tee box set by the course authority. Many golf course owners keep both facilities, playing in the mats and natural golf grasses, thinking about this crucial factor. Sometimes, you can also see a signboard stating that the day is only for the mat practice when you reach the course area. So all players should know the advantages and disadvantages of swinging their golf clubs on these two golf-playing podia. It will help them find the right one for their golf practice that best suits their skill level.
Advantages of practicing on the golf mats
Most golf mat producers use advanced technologies for crafting their mat designs. They always try to give the genuine feeling that a golfer gets while hitting the balls from the grasses. Besides, the practice mats will be the best solution for those who get a minor injury on their shoulder, joints, muscles, or tendons for continuous swinging during the practice session. The benefits that any golf mat can give to golfers describe below.
1. Increase the muscle strength
To throw the golf ball towards the targeted distances with spin, golfers must give different pressure levels on their shoulder muscles to create a true strike on the ball. When they practice on the course, it becomes tough to realize how strongly they need to strike the ball placed on the tee. But if they swing their clubs by using driving range mats at the early stage of their playing, it will help them determine the muscle memories for every swing type. It also assists them in taking good care of their shoulder muscles, which dramatically influences successful driving.
2. Recovering the driving
Most golf mats come with some plastic golf tees, the same as the natural grass tees used for on-course play. So when you use mats for your golf practice, it will be beneficial for you. Besides, at first time, most golfers get some difficulties with clubhead speed with iron clubs. These tee shot facilities with the mat practice help eliminate this type of golf swing problem. Moreover, golf mats also help to be familiar with the wedge and the putter, the most crucial clubs of the golf bag.
3. Convenient feedback for the iron shots
While golfers create indeed struck or fat shots on mats, the balls fly better than the natural grass. Still, they get some difficulties with the excellent contact between the clubhead and the ball. To avoid these foul shots difficulties, you can quickly put a towel or cloth behind the ball before hitting on it. But you can’t do it when you are on the golf green. Therefore, practicing accurate shots on mats will be an excellent opportunity to improve your driving ability.
4. Provide a true surface feeding
Most of the time, the grasses of the course remain trafficked by professional golfers. So beginners get less chance to practice on the natural grass at the pick time of golfing. In this situation, swinging at the mat will be wise for golfers to improve their swinging techniques. Most courses have a mat practice facility and design to provide striking from the actual grass condition.
5. Allow practice in the rain or too-cold winter season
Most grass ranges in golf areas remain muddy in the rainy season, which gives more difficulties in playing the golf game. Similarly, winter also prohibits playing golf comfortably. In these adverse situations, golfing on the synthetic practice mat surface is an excellent opportunity for those who don’t want to quit swinging even in rain or snowfall.
Limitations of the golf mats
1. Increase possibilities of getting injuries
Most golfers have a backyard playground. So when they start practicing, they forget about the time they continue. It may be a cause of getting injury to the shoulder muscles, wrists, hands, and also tendons. Besides, when players are swinging on the mats, they ignore the proper golf stance and angle of attack. The wrong body movements also increase the chance of getting shocked. Because rugs are not so smooth as the natural grass and are placed on concrete or hard ground, all these conditions lead to more stress on the muscles while hitting the balls, which tends to cause golf injuries.
2. May mislead about swing capabilities.
Generally, golfers practice more by using mats to improve their swing capacity. They also try to assume what will be the distance that the flying ball can pass. In this case, mat practice does not give the actual scenario or feedback on the grass’s targeted distance.
- Swing distance
Trackman, a launch monitor device producer, introduces radar technology for recording the swing distance. The golf company’s team monitors the swing distance of the high-handicapper amateur golfers while they continue their synthetic mat practice. They get the opposite result for the mat and grass for the backspin of the balls.
However, golfers get a lower launch speed and higher launch angle on the mat. It passes only half of the distance that they get from a grass condition. Besides, the carpet can produce fliers, and shots like the rough of the golf course, but it is never worth the driving range performance.
- Fat shots
When the golf players create a fat shot from the grass, they can do it with fewer errors. But the ball speeds and bounces more on the mats, which has a higher chance of poor strikes that can mislead the swing path of the ball flight.
- The lie angle of the club head
The angle of a clubhead has a significant impact on the swing performance of the golfers. If the launch angle is more at the upright position, it touches the ground heel. Conversely, it hits on the ground first if the lie angle of the club head is too flat. While the golfers are trying to create a shot, both angle patterns for a downward strike mislead the swing path of the real shots. But golfers can easily guess how they manage the poor strikes, which is impossible for them while using the mats for practice.
3. Tend to get bad swing habits
When someone starts to practice on the mat, the body movement changes with time getting a comfortable feeling which will not be possible in on-course play. However, this body stance does not create excellent iron shots or true strikes for the long iron and fairway wood. But when golfers pick a short iron for making the shot, this habit of changing body posture creates a significant issue to get success for the trial. So practicing on the mat in a relaxing mood may develop bad habits that may lead to an unsuccessful shot while striking the balls on the grasses.
4. Can make scratches on clubs
Most of the time, mats place on the hard surface inside the house or office room. And the surface of the artificial mats is not as smooth as the grasses. So there is a chance of making scratches on the clubhead by the synthetic mat practice. It helps to hit the ball gently and carefully. Still, mats are made with artificial materials to provide the feeling of a grass driving range. But the feedback of a real thing and a synthetic medium never be the same.
Advantages of grasses or turfs
- Swinging the golf club on the actual golf greens gives the honest feedback that every experienced golfer wants to get.
- It helps to realize the weakness of the swing techniques or mistakes quickly and also solve them efficiently.
- It also enhances the confidence of the golfers.
- It aids in adjusting quickly to the foul shots.
- Range sessions on the natural golf grasses are less stressful for golf clubs and golfers while playing golf for an extended period.
Limitations of real grasses
The grasses of the golf greens finely manicure for getting more benefits while golfers are swinging their clubs. But the newbies get some difficulties if they start playing directly on the fairways for the first time. Generally, the holes on the course design are at different angles, depending on the topography of the entire course area.
In this sense, before starting golf, every beginner should practice for a long time on practice range turf mats to get a good balance on swinging their golf clubs. Besides, if the real turf is wet and muddy, it is tough for the golfers to practice swinging comfortably. They need to create close contact between the club head and the ball to make the shot successful.
Mats VS Real Grass
Final Thoughts
We know golf hitting mats and golf grasses are two different things used for club swing. But mats allow golfers to continue their playing. Still, the environment does not support playing at the golf course. Besides, beginners will get more benefits on launch angle if they start their swing practice on mats because it allows them to balance quickly with the heavy clubs used for playing golf.
Moreover, it is one of the essential training equipment for establishing a mini-golf course in your backyard garden. However, you will get a different feeling when going to the golf course to play golf in the standard grass condition. But you can swing your clubs at any time if there has a golf mat in your home playground. So, all golfers try to get experiences on swing performance on golf mat vs grass.