Putting | Stance Mat Surface

[GoldenSim]

Hi All

I'm working on a new sim build. I have already benefited from so much information on this forum, and I'm hoping someone has some experience to help with a few o/s questions.

My plan is to have the full area (15' x 16') covered with a quality putting surface. One option is to cut out just the hitting mat from that surface and get it level, and the other is to cut out a hitting AND stance mat area.

1) Putting Surface Preference
I appear to have three main contenders for the putting surface:
i) Synthetic Turf NP45 or NP50
ii) SynLawn Precision Putt
iii) Par2Pro Pro15

Has anyone had experience of more than one of these, or is in a position to give comparable feedback regarding stimp, putting experience, longevity etc?

Cost is not a major factor. Not that budget is not a worry (!) but because the cost of these products in the US vs Canada seems to be dramatically different from one location to another, is more expensive in Canada, and often depends whether you are luck y with the sales rep you speak to!! I'd rather get feedback on the right product and then try and get the best price on it.

2) Putting / Stance Area
There is one other post about this, but I could not find a definitive answer. I know many of you are probably using a single surface (outside of your hitting mat) for your putting surface / stance mat. I am wondering about longevity and feel issues of using the putting surface (described above) as the stance area rather than adding a stance mat.

There are obvious benefits in only having two surfaces (putting/stance and hitting) - in terms of appearance, surface height etc.

My plan is to have a 4' x 1' hitting area with options between DivotAction and FiberBuilt (I am buying both to see how they both work).

If I only have that section cut out, and use one of the above putting surfaces as a stance mat, is there a risk of:
a) significant wear from shoes during hitting versus putting
b) different feel from a stance mat

Any help on either, or both questions would be massively appreciated
Thanks
Dave

[gnomike]

Hey Dave! First off, it sounds like you are going to have one sweeeeeet setup once completed! wrt to your questions, I imagine that the putting products would be manufactured to pretty exacting standards i.e. they should weather the wear from being used for stance no problem... especially when not in a commercial environment. As for feel, I guess it would just be the obvious.... it's your personal preference... if you like the feel, use it! Stance mats aren't all the same anyway. Personally I would start with only cutting out the hitting mat area (your option 1). Not only does that give cleaner lines for aesthetics and smooth putting, but you'd get to test your feel for stance. If you don't like the feel or if it starts to wear sometime in the future, then that's the time to cut out the stance area. Hope this helps a bit. Cheers, Mike

[GoldenSim]

Hi Mike - thanks for the comments. That makes good sense. It's great to have so much support from this forum to sense check things and get feedback on ideas. My sub floor plan will allow for changes to the surface below the stance area, so I think I'm going to go with your suggestion. Then, if I need to change the "feel" I can either change the surface below the putting section in the stance area (i.e. replace plywood with rubber mat etc) or ultimately I can cut out a section of the putting surface and buy a stance mat solution. Thanks again

Now all I need to figure out is which putting surface to buy (along with the other 10,000 decisions being made)

[wbond]

cspin may be able to help you out. He has looked at a lot of different putting materials.

[GoldenSim]

Thanks wbond - I'm not sure whether tagging in the forum will send him a notification? I'll wait and see, and if not, I'll maybe drop him a pm. Thanks for the referral

[gnomike]

you got it... tagging someone will send a notification

[GoldenSim]

Thanks Mike

[cspin]

You’re going about this the right way. It takes a fair bit of thought to get this right. A lot depends on your subfloor material and how you plan to build up the height to get your hitting area to flush up with your putting turf. I decided to go with a 4x5 hitting mat for the stance/hitting area, and then cut out an area in my putting turf to drop the mat in, and then cut an area in the mat to drop in my Divot Action. I think the putting turf would likely hold up to repetitive foot action, but it’s nice to be able to make practice swings and hit balls off the hitting mat from time to time. The cut out area in the hitting mat is also much more stable for dropping the DA into. You also end up with one area cut into your putting turf that is larger and depending on what turf you go with it may seam together better. That said, you can always give it a go with just cutting out a small area for the drop in hitting area, and then if it doesn’t work out down the road you can go the direction I mentioned.

PM me if you want and we can chat about turf options, dimensions, install. I’ve learned a few things, some the hard way, with a DIY putting green in the basement and sim in the garage.

[GoldenSim]

Thanks for your thoughts and all the input. As it’s Friday evening (for anyone in N America) , you might want to grab a beer if you’re going to try and digest this…..

My original plan, based on research on this forum and lots of reading had been to have a level subfloor of 3/4" T&G plywood on 2x6’s. I was then going to put the hitting mat on that (as the deepest element) to give myself a working height, then shim the stance mat (if required) to that height and then add dricore (possibly plus a thin layer of foam) to bring the putting surface up to the same level.

It then occurred to me that I was throwing money and labour at putting a sub floor on top of a sub floor (in a 15’ x 16’ area the cost was adding up), which whilst it might have added some insulation (not needed), and possibly some “flex” was probably not the smartest option, being that I have the advantage of being able to do what I want with the original sub floor from the start.

I therefore came up with a revised plan as follows:

The sub floor for the majority of the room will be 3/4” T&G ply on 2x6’s.

In the area of the stance / hitting mat, I am going to switch to 2x4 depth for a centered (horizontally) 4’ x 9’ area. At either end of this will still be 3’ of 2x6 height, in effect giving a “dropped floor” section (4’ x 9’) in the centre which will be 2” lower than the rest of the room. The dropped floor area will also be sheathed in 3/4” ply.

Hopefully you can visualize that.

I will calculate the height that will be reached by adding the putting surface to the main sub floor to give myself a total height for the stance / hitting area. Say that the putting surface is 0.5” deep, I then have a dropped floor area of 2.5”.

I am then working with a much smaller area to deal with raising the stance / hitting area to the required height and I can use a variety of surfaces within that space. I can use plywood, foam, rubber, or a combination to give the right height, flex etc.

I also have the advantage of a solid “face” to hold the hitting mat in place at the front and back (and the sides (see below)).

I will add a 4’ x 1’ hitting surface in the middle of this area (likely raised up on plywood to match the height of the putting surface) (if the hitting surface is 1 3/4” deep, I just need to add 3/4 ply on top of the dropped floor area to bring it up to the right height (2.5”)) and this will leave me with two 4’x4’ dropped areas either side of the hitting mat.

As I’m currently investing in a GC2, and am not overly worried about left hand play (sorry guys) I will likely just fill one side with 2” of plywood and that area will just have the putting surface over the top of it. The putting surface will be seamless over this areas, as I’ll get it level before I install the main putting surface. It does give me the option to change this in the future if I go with a lefty/righty friendly LM.

On “my” playing side I then have a variety of options, both now and in the future.

I can at first just do the same as the other side, and raise the surface with plywood, and use the putting surface for my stance area. If the putting surface appears to be able to handle the foot movement of playing shots, but the flex is not good, then I can remove some of the plywood in the hitting area and add either some foam or rubber to give some flex. Or, if the surface is not durable enough, I can cut out that section of putting surface, and put in a stance mat of my choice, by also removing as much of the raised sub floor in that area as I need.

In effect, it gives me the best options both now, and in the future, for switching out stance and hitting mats.

My plan initially is to get both Fiberbuilt and Divot Action hitting mats to see which I prefer. I have read dozens of posts on all the hitting mats, and it seems that these two rate highly (I need to protect a long standing shoulder injury) and also have the benefit of both being 12” wide, so I can mix and match within the 4’ x 12” area.

For the stance area, I think I will do as gnomike and cspin suggested, and try the putting surface initially, and if that is either not durable enough, or does not “feel” right, I can adjust fairly easily, and cheaply, from there.

With this in mind, the putting surface will not be cut out, other than for the 4’ x 1’ hitting area when I first install it.

I hope that makes sense?

In effect, I am doing the invert of most people, but for the reason that I have the flexibility to build my sub floor as I need, and with all the input and feedback from everyone’s posts, I cannot see a reason not to do it this way round.

Hopefully I’m not missing something?

I do still need to make a decision on which putting surface I am going to use…. For that I would still appreciate input on the original three options. (And I’ll drop you a PM cspin for any input you can give). Thanks again for any thoughts you have on this approach.

[GoldenSim]

Here's a few images to help with what I described above

[gnomike]

worth a thousand words! ....or in this case, 3000

[GoldenSim]

Fair point Mike. Being short and to the point has never been my strong suit

[wbond]

We had our golf show last weekend and i was able to pickup a remnant of the STI NP50 for my stance mat and my putting strip. We'll see how well it holds up for the stance mat. I have a 4'x4' platform made of 2x4's and plywood that was originally covered with HD indoor/outdoor carpet. It was a little too firm to keep hitting from so I wanted something that was a little softer under foot. I was going to buy a 4x4 hitting mat, but got lucky and found this first. Plus I was able to re-do my 1'x8' putting platform with this. This is much better than the quick and true putting mat from real feel golf mats.

[GoldenSim]

Thanks for the note. cspin was also very complimentary about the NP50 surface. I've written to my nearest STI tonight asking if I can either visit them for a test, or get a sample. It seems like it would be a good choice, both for putting and for the stance area. It's good to hear that you find that it feels good underfoot on the stance area. Thanks!! (It's a shame that 15' x 16' won't be a remnant)