Does it hurt your golf game to practice on grass mats instead of real grass?

Question

I believe it is better to practice with my irons on real grass but ranges with real grass seem to be far and few between (at least where I live). However, does it actually hurt your iron game to practice on mats? Is it worth that extra half hour drive to wait in line and practice on real grass?

Answer 1

I don't think it's good for your game; always try to practice off real turf. Problem is, the critical part of hitting the ball is the moment of impact. If on an artificial mat, you can bounce into the ball and "top" it. You don't get the actual feel of hitting the ball properly. Also, when you see your actual divot off real grass, you can sometimes improve your swing because the divot shows you're moving too far in or too far out.

Answer 2

Occasional practice on mats is fine, but you should not use artificial mats every day due to risk of injury. Most mats are thin rubber or foam with a hard surface like concrete below. Repeated hits can cause wear on joints in your hands, wrists, and elbows. If you use artificial mats often and feel any pain in these areas it may be due to this factor.

Some mats will also mask poor shots, especially fat shots. This is good and bad. Good because it raises confidence, bad as it can be construed as poor practice which means you'll get really good at hitting the ball poorly.

Answer 3

I like that answer above regarding being able to see your divots...very true.

On top of that, the practice mats at the range are very forgiving. The balls that you hit all pretty much look well hit, but when you step onto the course, it's a whole different story.

If anything, range mats are good to work on your ball striking, and are great if you already have a consistent swing, if not, the unrealistic ball flight gives you little information with regards to what's wrong with your swing.

Answer 4

Real grass is definitely the best, but mats don't hurt at all. As long as the swing is not affected(which I doubt it will) then it's fine. But I also agree that you shouldn't always practice on mats.

Answer 5

it is better to play on real grass as one of the answers sais before the divot shows you how straight your impact on the ball was .another point being when you play golf you actually hit the turf first before the ball the ball then travels up the clubface and depending on what club you are using the ball is sent off at an angle through the air .practicing on astroturf you will pick the ball up cleaner ie hit the ball before the mat .if you play at the driving range always remember to pick a target to aim at

Answer 6

It hasn't ever hurt my golf game, but it is better to hit off of some nice grass if you can while at the range. It's much closer to what you deal with on the course. Practice various types of lies, too.

- Jim at http://www.mygolfdomain.com

Answer 7

It's not going to HURT your game, but it's not going to help it anywhere near as much as hitting off of real grass. Off of mats, if you hit thick, it's very forgiving. Hitting off of mats is good for keeping your swing going when you can't pla frequently, but it's going to give you a false sense of accomplishment in some cases.

Answer 8

Turf is far better. But since my wife will kick my butt if I practice my chipping in the back yard, you often have to resign yourself to a piece of plastic. Driving ranges use them primarily to save on the cost of constantly resodding and reseeding. But I hate plastic mats. I also hate those rubber tees many driving ranges want you to hit from.

Answer 9

Not at all, mats are perfect for practice. I'm a golfer myself and I've done this a couple times. Go Tiger!

Answer 10

I dont think mats hurt your iron game they are just annoying.