Fiberbuilt Player Preferred Mats

[Deuce]

I noticed that Fiberbuilt has released a new mat called the Player Preferred. Looks to be more in line with their performance turf than the trademark grass strips and has an absorption layer that makes it seem a lot like the True Strike. Anybody have or tried one? Curious how much give there is and how it compares to other similar mats -- CCE and/or True Strike? Can't seem to find much of anything about it on the web.

Thanks.

[Deuce]

Wow... thought at least one person here would own one.

[johnnybogey]

I made a post about this mat a few weeks ago on Facebook and no luck. Surprised.

[Wysocjt]

I just got one of the player preferred few weeks ago. Had the fiberbuilt grass series. I think the player preferred is better so far, particularly on fat shots. Overall I think I'm getting better ball striking but not really sure if that’s just me swinging better or what. Originally went with the grass series because I read it’s easier on joints but so far haven’t had any problems with soreness or anything on the player preferred so it seems good. I haven’t tried true strike or any other may so can’t compare but if I had to buy again, I’d go with the player preferred.

[Deuce]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like it might be worth trying. The fiber built grass is good but looking for something a bit more realistic.

[Phish828]

Great someone has this! I can't get a photo or anything from fiberbuilt of the turf itself. Would you mind taking pic of the turf and what the underneath portion looks like?

[Phish828]

Maybe more folks get this and will compare to truestrike.

[Timmy5under]

I just ordered the player preferred mat and was informed it's shipping today. I too tried finding some feedback but ultimately took the leap based on their reputation. I'll report back once I get a feel for it.

[lgoblue]

I ordered a Players as well a few days ago and I'll have it next week, so I will supply feedback when I get it. I just didn't like the original I had installed, too hard. I ended up getting a Divot action, which was ok, but moved around way too much.

[Wysocjt]

here are some pics of the player preferred mat as requested. Note that this was a custom size they cut to fit an existing 9x4 grass series so thickness would be the same as everything else i'd assume but width is narrower.

I will say that a couple weeks ago i switched to the holy grail mat. my elbow has been hurting, i cant say that is due to the preferred mat or because i play ~12 rounds a week but its easier for me to try a different mat than to stop playing sim golf!! i hit down -2 to -4 degree on 7 iron so not terrible but it may be causing the elbow pain after months of use.

So now i've used the fiberbuilt grass series, preferred and holy grail - IMO preferred is by far the "best" in terms of ball striking/realism but doesn't have the forgiveness of grass or holy grail. all are fine with driver/wood/iron distances. chipping/wedges on holy grail is way easier that the preferred and a bit unrealistic IMO since its basically hitting on foam which allows you to get under the ball easy and never hit a fat shot. putting seems to be equally fine on all but could depend on the launch monitor - i use eyexo but have heard some with GC2 and grass series get inconsistent reads.

last thing id say is I liked the built in tee for the grass series. the preferred has holes for a tee but they dont line up in the middle so not really ideal for me to center on my eyexo because it is all custom built and fixed in place. so I have to use birtees or something else with preferred and holy grail and chase them down all the time. not terrible but just another difference to note. Hope this helps!!!

[Brettster]

Phish828

it appears the gel runs the full 2 x 4 section.

Nope, that's foam I think, and not gel. That's why it's harder than hitting on Fiberbuilt Grass series - which is my choice.

[Wysocjt]

to clarify - there is no foam on the fiberbuilt preferred mat. the black in the pics is hard rubber. the preferred hitting mat is a self contained piece - grass on top, gel inside (cant see it but can feel it running the entire strip) both attached to the hard rubber backing. the whole thing is pretty heavy and durable, I've probably hit at least 5k shots on the one in the pic and you can kind of see club path but in no way is it worn at all. also this isn't like a very soft/squishy gel - i dont think you really even notice a difference when you walk on it but you can feel the difference when striking a ball off it vs. the turf used on the stance part for example.

the reference i made to foam was in regards to the holy grail mat. that one has a foam backing so easier on joints but that also makes it way easier to get under the ball. sorry if that wasn't clear.

[lgoblue]

Thanks for the photos and review. I get mine tomorrow and can't wait to check it out. I'm used to birtees with the EyeXO as well, but bummer they didn't have an option in the center area. Happy Golfing!

[johnnybogey]

Is it me or did the players preferred price go up? I could have sworn it was right around $1,000 a few months ago.

[Deuce]

Yeah, noticed that too... the 8x4 went up $100 a little before the holidays.

[Brettster]

Deuce I won't accept anything but the Fiberbuilt Grass series - the softest mat for hitting on. Expensive and well worth it as it has 300,000 strike warranty too.

[Deuce]

That's what I'm using now -- 3-piece strip dropped into a cut out section of a mat from Rawhide Golf Balls ($100 Grade C refurb) to save $500 or so. I think their 300,000 strike warranty is a bit of marketing -- you can clearly tell where I hit the first several thousand shots, as the grass is worn down a bit, but it's definitely more forgiving on the joints than anything else I've used. I was hoping the gel in the Player Preferred mat was more forgiving than TrueStrike, to have a more realistic strike and still be forgiving, but looks like there's still a tradeoff. Thinking about trying the Holy Grail strip as well, as that might be the best compromise.

[Brettster]

Deuce - try as many as you can, just make sure to stop and move to another one if you have painful wrists/elbows after about 50 balls...