Rawhide vs. CCE Mat Comparison: Rawhide wins

[caldiver]

This is a follow-up to my post here: https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...cce-vs-rawhide

TL;DR - Rawhide's grade A mat is absolutely fantastic. I've been super happy with it over the last 2+ weeks and have returned the CCE to Costco. There are some slight signs of wear as it's a reconditioned mat, but given the overall performance and amazing price ($200 total shipped), I would not hesitate to buy one again and highly recommend it to others.

Here's a detailed comparison:

	Rawhide Grade A (https://rawhidegolfball.com/product/golf-mat/)	Country Club Elite (https://www.costco.com/Country-Club-...100034931.html)
Price	$200 total (incl. shipping)	$449 + tax (Costco)
Size	5'x5'	5'x5' (4'x5' is $349 + tax)
Material	Polypropylene	Nylon
Pros	Doesn't kill your joints - I've had no issues playing 5-6 TGC rounds each week for the last two weeks + practice. Consistent and close to real-life ball flights on my SkyTrak. Feels closer to standing on real grass compared to CCE which is too spongy / squishy in my opinion. Deep turf with sufficiently thick base underneath - can insert a tee anywhere on the mat. Very solid / heavy mat - built to last. Great price and value.	Consistent and close to real-life ball flights on my SkyTrak Deep turf with sufficiently thick base underneath - can insert a tee anywhere on the mat. Very solid / heavy mat - built to last. Brand new - zero discoloration / signs of wear.
Cons	May see some light wear / discoloration in 1 or 2 of the 4 sides around where the tee-hole is located. Very slight mat residue if hitting from a new area (wipes away easily).	While significantly better than my original mat from Thrasher Golf, the CCE did prevent me from playing as much as I would have liked due to pain in my right elbow. The deep / spongy turf definitely grabs your club if you hit it fat. Made me not want to hit down into the ball with irons. Turf is too spongy and doesn't feel like standing on real grass. Made me feel less balanced through the swing. Much more expensive

Sorry that I forgot to take side-by-side photos before I returned the CCE. I've attached some photos of the Rawhide mat - let me know if you have any questions. Highly recommend!

Cheers.

[Ironstrokes]

Very interesting, nice breakdown. I still have one of the old monster mats (think it's name is changed now), I've been happy with it but getting closer to time for a change. The wear on it isn't too bad but enough that I'm thinking about trying something new soon. Definitely gonna give this one a close look for sure

[Jtangm04]

Thanks for the info. Got a cheapo from amazon which bubbles up. I've begun shifting the mat now to avoid the bubbled up areas. Might need to look at this one since it doesn't have the premium price of CCE

[caldiver]

You won't have any issues with the rawhide doing that. It's a very sturdy mat.

[caldiver]

I forgot to mention that these mats come from a supplier that is immediately recognizable in the golf industry. I think the Rawhide owner Mark is working on being able to mention their name, but I know if he's able to he's going to sell a ton more of these mats.

[jrz]

Who is rawhide manufactured by? It’s the type of mat I want, but would much prefer a brand new unit. Perhaps I can purchase directly from them?

[caldiver]

You can purchase directly. I have corrected the link in the original post.

[Ironstrokes]

Who is rawhide manufactured by? It’s the type of mat I want, but would much prefer a brand new unit. Perhaps I can purchase directly from them?

Yea, was just looking at the website and was gonna ask that too. Personally hate trying to order from places where I have to call and do everything over the phone or email. There is no buy option on that site.or prices listed. I know caldiver listed what the price he received from them above, but still, guess im just not a fan of that way of ordering, but if the price is right for a new one, i may suffer through it haha.

[caldiver]

Sorry, I had accidentally included the link to a different mat manufacturer (bright light) previously. This has been corrected. You can order directly from Rawhide or Amazon / eBay / Etsy.

[Topcat]

You can buy on eBay...that’s where I got mine. $210 grade A, $150 grade B free shipping. Also on Amazon. (Prices have gone up since I bought last year). Just search for driving range mat. If they are not made by CCE I’d be surprised as they are almost identical in construction. Very happy with quality for price although I think surface maybe a little stiffer than CCE from being out in elements. For me both the Rawhide and CCE were really punishing to my back as i take big divots. Just created a cutout in the rawhide mat and dropped in 2 fiberbuilt 12 x 12 inch panels and love it. More forgiving for me anyway. The rawhide makes for a great stance mat now. Very heavy and stable.

[caldiver]

I've spoken to the owner. They definitely are NOT the same as the CCE mat. You will immediately notice the difference in the softness / hardness of the mat.

[Ironstrokes]

You can buy on eBay...that’s where I got mine. $210 grade A, $150 grade B free shipping. Also on Amazon. (Prices have gone up since I bought last year). Just search for driving range mat. If they are not made by CCE I’d be surprised as they are almost identical in construction. Very happy with quality for price although I think surface maybe a little stiffer than CCE from being out in elements. For me both the Rawhide and CCE were really punishing to my back as i take big divots. Just created a cutout in the rawhide mat and dropped in 2 fiberbuilt 12 x 12 inch panels and love it. More forgiving for me anyway. The rawhide makes for a great stance mat now. Very heavy and stable.

Nice! Thanks for the info, I'll check it out those sites

[Monovision]

I know this is from a couple of months ago, but can anyone comment on whether the Rawhide allows you to "get away with" a fat shot? CCE doesn't (and is hard on joints as discussed), but I'm not a good enough golfer to switch to a mat that will allow me to escape with a fat hit and develop a bad habit.

[caldiver]

Hi - "get away with" is a bit subjective. Pretty much any mat is going to let you get away with a chunk shot to some extent / percentage compared to an actual chunked shot. With the rawhide, you won't get punished as much as the CCE, but you will also get punished more than many other mats I've hit off of at ranges. So it's somewhere in the middle.

I will say that I still love my Rawhide mat. It's held up perfectly and I still don't see any noticeable signs of use (on top of what it already came with). No joint issues at all since I made the switch. Good luck.

[Monovision]

Thanks. I just need to *know* when I hit it fat, instead of some mats that allow me to be fooled.

[caldiver]

You will definitely know based on the yardage and also quality of strike. You should be able to feel a difference but you'll also see a difference in your distances.

[trhuke]

I have no experience with the Rawhide but the CCE just absolutely blew out my hands and arms. Ow.

[dirt nasty]

I got the CCE on Monday. I was ready to try something else come Wednesday. Found the rawhide on Amazon (shipped and sold by Rawhide) and figured I'd give it a try. They shipped it that day and received it today (2 days). It definitely doesn't grab like the CCE. SkyTrak is giving me much better readings. I assume the CCE was shutting the face with irons. Luckily I can take the CCE back to Costco.

Thanks for the suggestion/review OP.

[Improved700]

I have a Rawhide mat and love it. Great price. Fast shipping, and direct communication with the company operator. What more do you need?

[blitz12]

Has anyone used these long term that can speak on durability and how easy it is on your joints? Thanks!

[Jtangm04]

Rawhide was still too rough for me. It is a well made mat though and something you would find at a commercial driving range. I still use it as a stance mat for my RH players since I'm a lefty.

I went back to my inital setup based off the DIY gel mat thread. I made mine by using interlocking foam gym pads with a cut out for the gel pad for the base and a cheap 5x5 all turfs mat off amazon. The all turfs mat broke down too quickly and bubbles up which led me to trying the rawhide.

After using the rawhide for a few weeks, I began to form a habit of picking the ball. While I wasn't having any elbow pain, it definitely was causing me to change my swing for the worse. I went back to my original system and changed my top mat with dwquail mat which has had much better durability.

[hotshot22]

Jtang, I have a rawhide and I just ordered a gel rectangle to put under the hitting space. Will the rawhide hold up in that spot or will it bubble like somebody the cheaper mats put there do? Any clue? I'd like slightly squishier hitting area for joints and to promote hitting down more, but I don't want to compromise mat either.

[Shipwreck34]

I can also speak for the Rawhide mat. I've been using mine now for 2-3 months.

Pros:

• Durability
  • I've turned it twice in the time I've owned it, and it is holding up well.
  • Being a SkyTrak user and having to hit off the same small area all the time, it will wear a groove after so many hundred/thousand shots.
    • If I had to guess, I'm probably turning it approximately every 2000 shots.
  • By turning it and general walking on those spots they come back a little bit, but not all the way. This will have diminishing returns.
    • For context on usage, I play 3-4 rounds per week on average.
• Not as hard on fat shots, and therefore not as hard on my joints.
  • Take that exactly as it reads: Not AS hard as some I've played on.
  • An upshot of this ends up being that on chip shots I might hit fat, it saves me from a bad shot.
• Stability
  • More stable that some, not as stable as others.
  • Mat moves a decent amount during a session.
    • I've tried grip strips for carpet underneath, but my garage floor is too smooth and not sticky.
    • I've taken to taping off the floor around the corners so I can easily kick it back into position without having to measure.
      • Before I started doing this I ended up being off by 1 1/2 feet.
  • That being said, definitely still enough heft and weight that it stays put way more than my last mat. So it might sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. It was a noticeable improvement, which is why I have it under "Pros".
• Size
  • I have only so much room in my set up, so I use the one 5' X 5' pad and angle my shot into the center of the net.
    • My available room is 10' W x 10.5' H x 15' D
  • In regards to thickness, it works out great with my SkyTrak in the FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) case.
    • I adjust the levelers to match the thickness of the mat, having it sit on the garage floor just touching the side of the mat.

Cons:

• Better for a more permanent install
  • It's heavy enough that I at least wouldn't want to be moving it in and out every session.
  • This may actually be a Pro depending on how you see it.
• Gets dirty fast
  • Depends on how much of a "neat freak" you are, but I vacuum mine at least once a week.
• Grip is good, but not great
  • With regular sneakers or athletic shoes, I don't really have the grip through my swing that I would like other than half power to 3/4 swings.
    • Bought a pair of light "knobby" golf shoes and that did the trick. I'm planted great now, and I don't have to wear my regular spiked golf shoes.
• Hard on full swing fat shots
  • I know I said it was not a hard earlier, but that is for half swings and chips.
  • For full shots that you hit even the least bit fat, for any club, you will be punished severely by SkyTrak.
    • I don't know about how other LM's handle this situation.
  • I don't know if it's the dust that gets kicked up and in the camera, or just how fast the mat stops your club head speed in comparison to real turf.
    • I lose around 35-75% (depending on how fat I hit it) of normal distance with any kind of shot where I even touch the mat before the ball at full speed.
      • Especially with Driver/Woods/Hybrids
  • Temper this information with the fact that I know I tend to hit down. I'm working on it.
• Messes with my real short game a little bit
  • Rememer I said it was quite forgiving on fat chip shots? Well, that unfortunately translates into me thinking I can get away with that on the course if I'm not concentrating on it. Self destructed on two holes a couple weeks ago on a trip to AZ.
• Tees
  • I've seen people say they use real tees. They must be short tees!
    • I've tried several different kinds. BirTee is the best option IMO.
      • I get 200-400 hits out of the BirTee's I use with the Driver before they're toast.
      • I use the smallest one for my Irons off the tees. It's not going to break with as small as it is, but it's sometimes hard to find after a shot.

TL,DR: It's a good mat at a great price that holds up from a good company. (I forgot to mention earlier that their customer service was great and shipping was pretty fast.)