Best Golf Practice Mats of 2023

Have you made it through this article and are feeling like even the lowest price SwingTurf Golf Mat that we offer is out of your budget? You may be tempted to go searching for a lower quality golf mat on the cheap. Here are our dead honest thoughts on “cheap” golf mats that we provide to our customers and even our closest friends and family:

• Most importantly, cheap golf mats are an injury risk to golfers!

You run the risk of causing damage to your elbows, wrists, and knees after just a few uses with cheap golf mats that do not provide enough forgiveness when swinging down and through the ball.

• Cheap golf mats are unrealistic and cause bad swing habits.

Most simulator golfers want to improve their game. The worst thing you can do is hit off an unrealistic mat that trains you to “pick” the ball off of your mat rather than naturally swinging down and through the turf like on real grass.

• We’ve tried selling “cheap” golf mats and customers HATED them.

We’ve sold a number of cheaper golf mats in the past and they resulted in over 50% return rates and very low customer satisfaction. We have since removed those mats from our website and now only offer mats that meet our quality and safety standards.

• Cheap mats are not durable.

You may save $100-300 in the short run but then you run the high risk of having to replace your mat within a few months. The mats we offer are a smarter long-term investment.

If you are budget constrained, we hear you and wish there were cheaper golf mat solutions on the market that we could confidently recommend. As the trusted golf simulator advisors at Rain or Shine Golf, our best recommendation for you at the moment is the SwingTurf starting at $530. Do your body and golf game a favor and give your practice what it deserves.

It's a common debate on whether or not practicing off a mat can have negative side effects on your game. Some golfers even swear by avoiding mat practice sessions and will avoid 'mats only' days on the range at all costs.

Here is what we've found: Repeated use on a poor-quality mat isn't necessarily bad for your game - but can promote bad habits.

The reason being is that mats tend to be much more forgiving than grass. You can swing down on a mat just about as hard as you want and still get a decently struck shot. You can also hit a bit behind the ball and have the bounce of the mat carry the club right into the ball. A steep swing on grass will for one, feel terrible, and two, will result in a terrible shot. This will automatically tell you, hey, I better shallow out my swing. But with mats, you can develop bad swing habits over time without always knowing it.

How do I prevent that?

The best way to prevent mats from causing bad swing habits is to have a good-quality mat. Old dried-out mats that you often find at golf course driving ranges are the worst. The harder the mat, the more bounce it will provide. The mats we have listed out above will do a lot better of a job at mimicking real grass!

If you are looking for a putting golf mat, we’ve got plenty of options for you.

If you are looking for one mat to practice every stroke from driver to putter, the Fiberbuilt Combo Mat is the top-of-the-line way to go. This Fiberbuilt design combines your choice of 10’ x 6’, 10 x 8', or 10' x 12' putting green directly attached to a 10’ x 4’ hitting and stance mat. The hitting area accommodates both right and left handed golfers and the putting surface features two putting cups and a realistic true roll.

If you are looking for just a putting mat and don’t need your hitting mat to be attached to it, we recommend checking out our Best Putting Greens guide.

As you can see, there are a lot of factors to take into account when it comes to selecting the best golf mat for your particular needs and situation. The factors that we have considered include:

• Price
• Sizes Available
• Your Swing Style
• Realism of the Hitting Surface
• Forgiveness / Injury Prevention
• Durability
• Stability
• Portability

After hundreds of hours of our own in-house testing at our office in Charlotte, collecting hundreds of customer reviews, we have boiled our recommendations down to Fiberbuilt, the Real Feel Country Club Elite, TrueStrike, and even developed our own SwingTurf Golf Mat.

The SwingTurf golf mat is our go-to recommendation for the majority of our customers providing a realistic fairway-like feel and forgiveness at a reasonable price.

If you have unique needs or are dead set on one of our other brands, we still offer Fiberbuilt, the Real Feel Country Club Elite, and TrueStrike - all brands that we’ve tried, tested, and trust.

If you are still struggling to decide after reading this guide, you can always reach out to our friendly support staff at Rain or Shine Golf. We will be there to ensure you select the right one, get the best deal you can, and will be there for you after purchase to ensure you are completely satisfied with your golf mat.