Mat suggestions for post wrist-surgery

[kevin1889]

I'm just coming off wrist surgery for a torn ligament in my right wrist. Here's a cautionary tale....About a year and a half ago I went with the lower cost monster tee mat for my basement hitting station. The mat was on top of a concrete floor with no additional padding. I believe the consistent impact (and periodic fat shots) led to the trauma that caused my ligament tear. My doctor said it was a possibility that was the cause but he wasn't sure. Either way, I learned my lesson and will not be skimping on materials as I finish out my simulator build. My suggestion is to spend the money on a good mat....it could cost you in the long run.

That being said, now that I'm starting recovery and getting close to swinging a club again I was hoping I could get some suggestions on mat solutions that are the easiest on the wrist as my primary criteria. Which of the following do you think would be best:
> CCE only
> CCE only with DivotAction Insert (I'd do my practice on the Divot Action and then when playing simulator rounds use the CCE portion only - from what I've read the CCE is more realistic?)
> Stick with the monster tee, but put additional carpet padding underneath
> Fiberbulit mat
> Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

[colinjm18]

I use a TrueStrike mat or you could have a go at making one yourself

[Mike90210]

Just purchased a Fiberbuilt Mat. Would recommend to anybody, especially with your wrist issues. Had posted inquiries on another forum and they said the CCE was the best. Went to a buddy's house and hit off of that and thought it was fine until I tried the Fiberbuilt at GolfTec. Second to none. You have to try it for yourself.

[aeroburner]

i agree fiberbuilt protee is already equipped with this

[Jasonstanley]

You're not one of those guys at the range that thump the living daylights out of the mat? Lol ( mat thumpers) in all seriousness you need to adjust your swing if your hitting down on the ball, yeah I know they say you hit down on the ball for compression but not in the way us hacks do it. Watch brad Hugh's on YouTube on the subject.

[wbond]

Since you already have wrist issues, i would recommend to stay away from CCE. It's a great mat, but if you have elbow/wrist issues, it can make them worse.

[wbond]

It is way better than any driving range mat (unless they use this or the tee strike material) and I have this mat. The issue is, it has very dense and deep fibers in order to be able to hold and support a tee and ball. The problem is that when you hit it fat, because of the design, it grabs the clubhead more and significantly reduces clubhead speed than a mat with shorter/firmer nap. If you have elbow/wrist or maybe even shoulder issues, overtime, it may add or contribute to the problem. I have experienced this and went to the diy mat with gel and my elbow issue has almost gone away completely. Others have noted this as well.

[kasturbo]

Thanks for the feedback wbond. Makes sense and I could see how that would be. Did you notice your numbers on the SIM being off because of this mat?

[wbond]

If you hit it even slightly fat, yes. I believe it would take off more than irl. If it's completely fat, doesn't matter, it was a bad shot. You really have to hit it clean, which could be a good thing if you're trying to focus on that.

[Thinman]

Another vote for fiberbuilt, but realize, depending on launch monitor, you may need to move your device to putt. I putt and drive from my cce and all irons, hybrids and 3w from my Fiberbuilt.

I have also started playing all rounds with 3x ghost players to give my body extra rest between shots.

[Boo Radley]

Better make sure you are 110% healed and then take it easy, or you WILL re injure your wrist. If you hit a little fat or little too much down on the ball you'll know it in a hurry. that said the Fibrebuilt I have found to be the best. Cut out whatever mat you presently have and your set , just doesn't putt well from it.

[gerem1]

I am looking at using the skytrak with one of the fibrebuilt mats possibly. With the skytrak you need to putt from the same spot. Has anyone put a smooth putting Matt on top for putting then move it out of the way to hit woods and irons, or have any other work around??

The guy from fibrebuilt also recommended using the turf mat that you can push a tee in instead so that putting won'the be an issue but I am unsure what that mat would be like for hitting irons off of. Any info would be great.

[inorkuo]

i just putted from the same spot on the fiberbuilt and it didn't bother me much. having a smooth putting mat to throw on top of the fiberbuilt sounds like a great idea though.

[gerem1]

Were you using skytrak?? We're you using tgc as a simulator??

[MainStGolf]

IMHO the best mat for wrist would be the divot action mat. I have owned it and the CCE. I like the CCE but fat shots can be very painful. The divot action is awesome because the give is so great in the flex of the hitting area.

I have also hit off the fiberbuilt mats. That was what I was fitted on. The feel is great, but for me in the end I thought the fiberbuilt and divot action mats were too unrealistic to transfer indoor practice to outdoor hitting. To me the perfect mat would be to take a strip of CCE turf and place it on the divot action platform. I have an extra divot action section and I've thought about doing just that, but just haven't made it happen yet :-).

[inorkuo]

just curious but what about the fiberbuilt and divot action make them unrealistic? i have the fiberbuilt in my garage at home and a cce at work. i have definitely felt some elbow pain when i hit too many fat shots on the cce.

[MainStGolf]

inorkuo I just felt the fiberbuilt lie was "too" good and would not allow good transfer from indoor to outdoor for me. Surely not the case for everyone. Plus I've read reviews that putting doesn't work very well on fiberbuilt for TGC/JNPG play, so I stayed away from it.

[Mike90210]

IMHO the best mat for wrist would be the divot action mat. I have owned it and the CCE. I like the CCE but fat shots can be very painful. The divot action is awesome because the give is so great in the flex of the hitting area.

I have also hit off the fiberbuilt mats. That was what I was fitted on. The feel is great, but for me in the end I thought the fiberbuilt and divot action mats were too unrealistic to transfer indoor practice to outdoor hitting. To me the perfect mat would be to take a strip of CCE turf and place it on the divot action platform. I have an extra divot action section and I've thought about doing just that, but just haven't made it happen yet :-).

Interesting that you say they are too unrealistic. When the salesman was explaining the mat to me a few days ago (granted he was a salesman) he explained that it's not turf that they use on the Fiberbuilt hitting area, instead "Fibers" in the plastic base. It seems like turf only gets you so far compared to this new technology. Isn't the Divot Action just turf?

I heard of the putting issues when using the Skytrak however. Hoping there is a cheap solution out there. My Skytrak is coming soon.

[MainStGolf]

As I stated above the unrealistic feel was due to the lie. To me it just set up too nice all the time. Now granted I had just one fitting session with this mat.

[wbond]

Right now, the gel underneath a mat may be the best option for putting, and not having the pain that the CCE may cause. Also, CCE isn't the best for putting either, the fibers throw the ball offline easier on the shorter putts of 7-12'. Beyond that, i think the ball speed overcomes the fiber issue.

[MainStGolf]

CCE is definitely not the best for putting for sure. I get phantom pulls and pushes a lot more than I would care too!

[kevin1889]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm leaning towards the CCE with divot action insert or the DIY mat. The fiberbuilt seems great but not ideal for the SkyTrak. I've still got several months ahead of me before I have full swings again, but in a few weeks I think I can start with short chips and putting. Don't want to rush it as this is not a fun injury for a golfer and I wouldn't want to compromise the healing process.

Since I have some time I'm going to search the area for some places with Fiberbuilt mats so I can give them a look before deciding what to get.

[cspin]

I have a regular run of the mill commercial hitting mat with 5/8 black foam base and approx 1/2 turf bonded to it. Not ideal for hitting a lot of balls off when on mat is on concrete, although it makes for a firm stance mat. I bought a Divot Action insert and I'm good to go. I personally think it is a bit forgiving, but better than hitting off of the long fibers on FB mats, unless they have newer tech that I have not seen. My understanding is the CCE mats don't make for the best stance mats because they are softer under foot. Can't see paying for a full CCE mat and then cutting it to install a Divot Action. Better off with a firm mat and then do what you need to with either a Divot Action or DIY gel insert like guys on here have done. Btw, putting off a Divot Action insert works well as long as your stance mat flushes up nice and is smooth. As wbond pointed out, CCE is not smooth and so not great for mid to short putts.

Good luck with the wrist!

[MainStGolf]

Agreed. Don't buy a CCE mat to cut out for a divot action. I have what cspin described as far as "stance" mat goes and then I just had a section cut out for the CCE hitting strip.