DIY 6'x4' Fiberbilt Studio Golf Mat

[RB4325]

First of all, I want to thank those on this forum for the great information. After hours and hours of research, I have decided to go with the Fiberbilt hitting strip based on information within this forum. I would have liked to have gone with the Fiberbilt 5'x4' Single Hitting Mat, but my set up needs to be portable. I have a single car garage that I occasionally use to lift/store my Jeep top if the weather permits. I have read that the 5'x4' is difficult to move due to the weight, base, etc. As a result, I plan to use the DIY route to allow for portability. The plan is to use the 1'x3' hitting strip and use 5'x5' All Turf Mat (ATM) Premium Residential as the stance mat. I will be cutting the ATM in various places to create a DIY 6'x4' Fiberbilt Studio Golf Mat that will serve as a stance mat, hitting area, as well as a space for the SkyTrak to sit. I will be building this on top of a base made of 3/4" plywood and 1"x2". Using the 1"x2", I could install a handle and caster wheels so I could cart it out of the way. Below is a list of supplies and costs I think I need. Is there anything I am missing or need to account for? Wanted to get some advice from the group before I start purchasing materials. Let me know your thoughts.

1'x3' Fiberbilt Hitting Strip = $259
5'x5' All Turf Mat Residential Premium = $129 ( I have $75 in gift cards so really only $54 for me)
3/4" 4'x8' Plywood = $22
1"x2"x8' boards = $20
Handles/Casters = $20
Total = $375 (May need to buy some foam to match the turf and hitting mat heights. I will cross that road when I get there.)

Below is a mockup of what I was thinking:

[richerod]

Sounds great. Excited to see finished product. Please upload pics.

I have the FB hitting strip embedded into a DIY platform. aprox 5' x 4' Originally used with Skytrak but have transitioned to QED. As the QED has a generous hitting zone as opposed to a fixed spot, I do not putt of the FB strip. I putt off the smooth turf surface that serves as the stance mat. I have my QED setup in my garage which has slightly sloped floors. Are your floors sloped? The good thing about a platform is you will be able to level surface. I needed to this so that QED can get accurate readings. For putting I created a turf ramp that allows for smooth roll off front of platform towards the screen. The turf ramp is a turf tile from EZ Carpet and is sample piece that cost $2.99. It works great.

This was my post for the platform: https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...berbuilt-panel

[RB4325]

richerod Thanks for the info/link. Yours if very similar to what I’m trying to do. Has the 1/2” plywood worked well for you? Maybe my proposed 3/4” is too much. If I use 1/2” and do not put plywood under the hitting strip, that will save some weight for portability.

[richerod]

1/2" has worked well provided you space your supports 12" apart underneath the plywood. I wanted to keep weight down and be able to move with ease. Also I wanted the FB strip embedded to keep it from moving. Also I have since also drilled an additional tee hole in the FB strip so that its better placed for my driver. My next version will probably have an upgrade on the stance mat surface.

[hankydysplasia]

I did a DIY Truestrike. I used horse stall mat from tractor supply, motorcycle seat gel pad, and covered with a synlawn remnant. Probably similar cost to yours.

It’s fantastic, but a couple things I wish I had known.
1) the gel bunches up a touch. I’m going to redo the backing to have gel sit slightly below the mat at baseline.
2) I would have measured the distance to center of the gel from the edge first. Need to make sure skytrak is level in FMJ. I got lucky in that it’s about 1 inch shy of center, but before cutting spot for strip, make sure you know.
3) Whole thing is heavier than I expected.

[RB4325]

hankydysplasia I was afraid it would be heavier than expected. Do you move yours often?

[hankydysplasia]

As you can see there is a kids swing in the picture. The net is on a pulley system to retract. The idea was to let it be a playroom too, but I haven’t ended up moving it and it’s just kinda shrunk the play space.

[bayrat28]

Attached is my platform with the 1x3 fiberbuilt strip. I would strongly suggest going with 2x3's instead of 1x2's. I built a 2x3 platform, ripped it apart and built one using 1x2s to try and save some weight however they weren't sturdy/strong enough and the platform was not stable enough so I rebuilt it using 2x3s. Let me know if you have any questions on the build as I have done it 3 times now (face palm). Also on my first version I used a handle and castor wheels but they are completely unnecessary and did not put them on my current version.

[bayrat28]

Some more pictures

[jmix18]

What did you use for the stance mat? Going to build mine next week.

[PAndaemonium89]

I used 1/2” 4x4 plywood, 1in gym tiles, and some outdoor carpeting to match the height of the fiberbuilt. Cost me total $40. Put some casters on one side to wheel away, although it wasn’t as heavy as expected.

if I were to do it again, recommend 3/4 plywood and 3/4 tiles. It probably would be a little more sturdy on the plywood side.

[bayrat28]

I used 1/2” 4x4 plywood, 1in gym tiles, and some outdoor carpeting to match the height of the fiberbuilt. Cost me total $40. Put some casters on one side to wheel away, although it wasn’t as heavy as expected.

if I were to do it again, recommend 3/4 plywood and 3/4 tiles. It probably would be a little more sturdy on the plywood side.

Is the Fiberbuilt panel attached to the plywood/padding at all? I overbuilt a box around the panel to prevent it from moving, not sure how necessary it is or not but I thought the panel would slide very easily without support.

[PAndaemonium89]

Is the Fiberbuilt panel attached to the plywood/padding at all? I overbuilt a box around the panel to prevent it from moving, not sure how necessary it is or not but I thought the panel would slide very easily without support.

It’s not attached. I thought about cutting an insert for the fiberbuilt, but the stand mat would get cramped pretty quick. I threw down a 1/6” thick rubber mat under the fiberbuilt and part of stance mat. Doesn’t move

[RB4325]

I did a DIY Truestrike. I used horse stall mat from tractor supply, motorcycle seat gel pad, and covered with a synlawn remnant. Probably similar cost to yours.

It’s fantastic, but a couple things I wish I had known.
1) the gel bunches up a touch. I’m going to redo the backing to have gel sit slightly below the mat at baseline.
2) I would have measured the distance to center of the gel from the edge first. Need to make sure skytrak is level in FMJ. I got lucky in that it’s about 1 inch shy of center, but before cutting spot for strip, make sure you know.
3) Whole thing is heavier than I expected.

hankydysplasia I've thought more about this and like your idea of using the horse stall mat as a base rather than plywood. I wouldn't have to worry about the plywood warping or about my questionable carpentry skills trimming it in. What is the metal trim contraption you have around the horse stall mat?

[hankydysplasia]

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Hardware-Metal-Stock-Metal-Channels/N-5yc1vZ2fkos9y

C-Channel. I did that because the mat is floppy despite being very heavy. It adds rigidity. I'm unsure if worth it, but you can add later if you want to.

A few more details - to do the insert, I drilled a hole and then used a jigsaw to cut it out. It's a snug fit. The insert is masonite backing with a small wood trim with the gel just sitting in there. To attach the remnant I bought carpet tape. I cut the remnant (cut not pictured) with an x-acto knife.

[RB4325]

Here is the finished project. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it. I ended up using hankydisplaysia’s horse stall idea to avoid borrowing tools and trucks. I was fortunate enough to get a free remnant from my local SynLawn dealer. I don’t know which type it is but free works for me. Unfortunately, the remnant was not square and not large enough to completely cover the horse stall mat. As a result, I had to piece it together. You can see the seams in some of the pictures. They are less noticeable now that I glued them down. The size ended up being a 4x5 and some change. I used the horse stall mat as a base with harbor freight foam on top. I then glued the SynLawn with Weldmans contact cement. The Fiberbilt mat is maybe an 1/8” or 1/16” taller than my stance mat, but you can’t really tell while hitting. My pictures appear to be too large to add. I will try to add from my computer in the reply below.

[Steely]

I was hoping to find someone that had used the horse stall mat idea. How thick of the Harbor Freight foam did you go with? Did you also glue the foam to the horse stall mat? Is the SynLawn holding up where you stand?

[RB4325]

[hankydysplasia]

Looks great to me! Nice job.

[jasonreg]

Nicely done! That really looks great.