Hitting mat wrist pain - any solutions?

[ChipDriver]

On 1/28/2021 at 9:48 PM, harpua728 said:

Hey there. I have a Rukket tri-turf hitting mat that I place on a brick patio when hitting into a net in my yard. I used it for the 3rd time today, and although I didn’t have issues the first two times, I started feeling some wrist pain a couple hours after using it today. The pain is about halfway between my wrist and the middle of forearm, on the thumb side of my left hand. I know that this is somewhat common, but does anyone have a good solution? Is there anything you would recommend that I put under the mat to create a buffer layer between the mat and the brick?

 

Thanks.  

Go to a carpet store and get 2 remnants for cheap, and put them under the hitting mat.

 

But if you can spend the money - I'd suggest the GoSports 5x4 hitting mat from Amazon.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BXBDRDY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I've hit about 1,000 balls a week for the past 2 years with zero issues...and it is durable, you can hit down, and there is very little signs of any wear and tear whatsoever.   Terrific mat - and I hate mats.   🙂 

 

[nbar]

I put gym mats under the golf mat works great gives you a real turf feel and no pain.

[tannerdc]

1 hour ago, nbar said:

I put gym mats under the golf mat works great gives you a real turf feel and no pain.

Same elbow and wrist pain, so I added the gym mat underneath as well.  I took it a step further and cut 1" strips out to give it a little more flex...so much better!

 

[Lasorcier]

I have the truestrike academy and it is really good.   I can compare it to fibrtbuilt, since that is what I play from at top tracer.

 

The problem with the fiber built is that it has two surfaces -- the one you stand on (think traditional hard golf mat) and one that simulates rough (much longer blades).  The surface you stand on is definitely hard.  I don't use it because it is harsh.   The rough surface is okay but it will definitely grab your club so to speak (like real rough does).  So I don't like either surface.  The hard surface bails out mishits.   The rough grabs your club. 

 

With true strike there is the gel center thing.   It is really good.  For me it is the closest thing to a real golf surface.  If there is a fat shot, it felt like it and the monitor knows you did it too in the results (skytrak).  There is no wrist pain at all. 

 

I much prefer the true strike.  I find that I swing better using it, in that I swing totally naturally.  With the fiber built I find myself modifying my swing to not get harsh wrist action. Both are very high quality of build.  

[Stuart_G]

15 hours ago, Lasorcier said:

The problem with the fiber built is that it has two surfaces -- the one you stand on (think traditional hard golf mat) and one that simulates rough (much longer blades).  The surface you stand on is definitely hard.  I don't use it because it is harsh.   The rough surface is okay but it will definitely grab your club so to speak (like real rough does).  So I don't like either surface.  The hard surface bails out mishits.   The rough grabs your club. 

 

Actually, if you look at it that way, there are 3 surfaces.   The hard surface is just a stance mat - it's not really meant to be hit off of (at least in terms of the companies intentions).    Then there is a "fairway" surface to hit of off (right in the picture below).   The fibers are just slightly less than about 1" long.  The ball sits up nicely on it but it doesn't grab the club quite like real turf might.  This is the one that's real easy on the joints.   Then there is a version with longer fibers ~1.75" long to simulate the rough (or sometimes used to simulate sand shots).   The ball can sink down into it a little bit making clean contact difficult (just like real rough) and it can grab the club much more than the fairway turf.    Sounds like Top Tracer is skimping by not using the fairway mats?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by Stuart_G

[Lasorcier]

1 hour ago, Stuart_G said:

 

Actually, if you look at it that way, there are 3 surfaces.   The hard surface is just a stance mat - it's not really meant to be hit off of (at least in terms of the companies intentions).    Then there is a "fairway" surface to hit of off (right in the picture below).   The fibers are just slightly less than about 1" long.  The ball sits up nicely on it but it doesn't grab the club quite like real turf might.  This is the one that's real easy on the joints.   Then there is a version with longer fibers ~1.75" long to simulate the rough (or sometimes used to simulate sand shots).   The ball can sink down into it a little bit making clean contact difficult (just like real rough) and it can grab the club much more than the fairway turf.    Sounds like Top Tracer is skimping by not using the fairway mats?

 

 

 

 

 

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I guess they are skimping based on your photo.  Theirs don't have the super long light green that is on the left side of that photo.  It is just the surface on the right. 

 

 

Most people (at least 95%) I see there hit from the stance mat. Most people don't use the one on the edges.  The fiberbuilt model is this one I think.  

 

https://fiberbuiltgolf.com/products/4-x-6-traditional-double-sided-mat-system

 

They replace them once a year and move the old ones to their outside range.

[DustinJP]

On 2/11/2023 at 12:29 AM, ChipDriver said:

Go to a carpet store and get 2 remnants for cheap, and put them under the hitting mat.

 

But if you can spend the money - I'd suggest the GoSports 5x4 hitting mat from Amazon.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BXBDRDY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I've hit about 1,000 balls a week for the past 2 years with zero issues...and it is durable, you can hit down, and there is very little signs of any wear and tear whatsoever.   Terrific mat - and I hate mats.   🙂 

 

 

My experience with the GoSports mat has been really good too.  I've used it for the last month on a concrete patio.  It has a 15mm foam pad that's pretty forgiving and I've had no issues with wrist or elbow pain--but I am conscious to not hit a ton of mid/short irons to avoid the impact, and based on the suggestion above I'm going to get an anti-fatigue mat to place underneath for more forgiveness.  It's been great for work on fairway woods on/off the tee and the driver. 

[Skrimpdelite]

I use a Rawhidegolfball mat with some foam padding underneath and it has been pretty comfortable for me. They're the same mats at topgolf 

[coreyhr]

On 2/14/2023 at 5:55 AM, Stuart_G said:

 

Actually, if you look at it that way, there are 3 surfaces.   The hard surface is just a stance mat - it's not really meant to be hit off of (at least in terms of the companies intentions).    Then there is a "fairway" surface to hit of off (right in the picture below).   The fibers are just slightly less than about 1" long.  The ball sits up nicely on it but it doesn't grab the club quite like real turf might.  This is the one that's real easy on the joints.   Then there is a version with longer fibers ~1.75" long to simulate the rough (or sometimes used to simulate sand shots).   The ball can sink down into it a little bit making clean contact difficult (just like real rough) and it can grab the club much more than the fairway turf.    Sounds like Top Tracer is skimping by not using the fairway mats?

 

 

 

 

 

I don't see the 1" version on their website, only the 1.75" panels. I bought some individual panels a few years ago and they're the longer fibers. Would be interested in building a new mat with those shorter ones. 

 

I've tried them all. I made my own divot action and currently using it. I previously used a CCE strip with the underneath cut out and replaced with motorcycle seat gel. I'm convinced there's not a magic bullet. All have drawbacks. The fiberbuilt being that the grass is so tall. 

[Stuart_G]

7 minutes ago, coreyhr said:

I don't see the 1" version on their website, only the 1.75" panels. I bought some individual panels a few years ago and they're the longer fibers. Would be interested in building a new mat with those shorter ones. 

 

All I can say is call them.  Their customer service was very good when I worked with them.

 

7 minutes ago, coreyhr said:

I've tried them all. I made my own divot action and currently using it. I previously used a CCE strip with the underneath cut out and replaced with motorcycle seat gel.

 

I thought about a DIY divot action or one of the others - but just got too lazy and went with the fiberbuilt.

 

I would think you'd want a thinner turf over the gel - from what I've heard, the CCE turf can be grabby.

 

7 minutes ago, coreyhr said:

I'm convinced there's not a magic bullet. All have drawbacks. The fiberbuilt being that the grass is so tall. 

 

Well the taller fiberbuilt grass was never meant to simulate fairway hits so that's understandable that you wouldn't like it.  But I would agree they all have their pros and cons.  The fairway "length" fiberbuilt isn't perfect either.   The club goes through it much easier than it would real turf.  So while it's great on the joints it's not as easy to judge (by feel) the quality of the face impact.  You can get a little heavy and not really notice all that much.  At least you'll still hit it high on the face so the ball flight wont be quite as unrealistic as hitting fat off of a hard mat - but you still wont loose much of the club head speed prior to impact.

 

 

[Rod Dandy]

I have a net in my backyard and started out placing various mats on the concrete patio…too harsh. I basically then did a DIY divot action type setup…I had a small strip from Synthetic Turf International, the EZ Tee Hybrid. I bought a 1” yoga mat off Amazon, and added that to the strip, and then anchored it to the ground in a small recessed area I had scraped out. This has worked well for my purposes.