If you are in the market for a golf mat, then we recommend checking out some of these models.
Best Golf Mat
Having a good golf mat is essential for someone who is looking to practice often at home or who already has a good practice studio set up.
A good golf mat is one of the best golf accessories you can have if you’re looking to get as much practice in during the winter too.
You might be after a golf mat to accompany your home studio, you might be looking for a golf mat to protect the lawn at home whilst you practice, you might be looking to have one to use to protect the fairways in winter, or you might be looking for a golf mat to practice your putting on.
In this list we have combined a number of different of the best golf mats to suit all abilities and budgets whilst offering a golf mat to suit all the options listed above.
Here we have some affordable options to help you work away at your game as well as some mats that are more of an investment that a spur of the moment purchase.
Whether it be putting technique, or you want to work on your swing, the best golf mat designs on the market are there to help you practice your ball striking in any setting, whether that be at home or on the course.
Additionally also take a look at our guides on the best golf net, best golf launch monitors or the best golf training aids to further add your practicing experience.
Best Golf Mat
PuttOUT Putting Mat
+ One of the best putting mats on the market
+ Great for pace control
– Need a lot of space to use
Complete with printed alignment guides, target points and distance markings, the mat replicates a medium-to-fast green. Improve your putting stroke and work on drills in the comfort of your own home.
It runs at exactly 10 on the stimp meter, which gives you a consistent and relatively faced pace green to practice on and translate into more putts holed when you get out onto the course. Interestingly, we found this mat runs faster when placed on hard floor rather than carpet so, if you have the room, you can alter the pace slightly.
Pair this with the PuttOut Pressure Trainer – a device which acts as a golf hole and fun drill – and you’ve got yourself an ideal home putting studio to work on the most important part of the game from the comfort of your own home.
Champkey Golf Mat
+ As close as possible to interacting with real grass
+ Ideal, portable size
– Some might want a bigger hitting space
During testing we found the Champkey Golf Mat to be well made. The artificial grass isn’t too long or heavy so you get a realistic fairway-like feel as you strike the ball. It is also a good weight – heavy enough not to fly up off the ground as you hit the ball but not too onerous to carry and move around. It also sits flat on the ground.
For us, one of the big keys to this mat is the size. It is compact (some may prefer a slightly bigger option) so it doesn’t take up a lot of space on the lawn and is easy to store. We thought it provided ample room for the club to interact with the mat through impact.
TrueStrike Single Mat
+ High quality and built to last
+ Ball holder for convenient practice
– Quite large for a home space
The fundamental design of TrueStrike is that it’s built to last and reacts like grass at impact which gives you some great feedback on your shots. There is something called a ‘suckable’ top surface and a gel-filled divot which accurately recreates your shots from turf.
So if you are like many of us where you always hit it well off a mat but then struggle when you get out on the course then this might work for you. It also comes with a ball tray.
Perfect Practice Putting Mat
+ High quality materials
+ Golf ball comes right back to your feet
– Needs a large space to use effectively
Who better to advertise your product than the newly-crowned Masters champion Dustin Johnson? This features train track alignment lines, an auto-ball return and the hole is a reduced size to help narrow your focus.
This can run at up to 14 on the Stimpmeter – it features a unique crystal velvet material to produce a great pace – depending on the underlying surface and you can take it anywhere on your travels as it simply rolls up.
When a putt is holed, the ball rolls down the side track and right back to your feet, so no back
Also if you need to update your wand, then be sure to check out the best putters on the market too.
Zen Green Stage
+ Innovative way to practice all kinds of putts
+ Practice your least favourite downhill sliding putts all day long
– Takes up a lot of space
You might recognise this fantastic bit of kit from Sky Sports Golf and, if the purse strings are up to it, then this could be the making of your new, hopefully sizeable, home.
Zen have produced a specially-customised 16x8ft model of the 2021 Green Stage and it gives Nick Dougherty and co the opportunity to recreate some famous shots and testing putts.
There’s also a battery of interchangeable strike mats which enable presenters to replicate shots from different course conditions and they can hit a variety of full-swing shots from adjustable sloping lies and even double-breaking putts.
Sky say: “Our presenters can really show how speed and slope affect putting and can also explain the different swing techniques and what the average golfer should emulate or avoid. It’s a brilliant TV tool.”
Get a quote at Zen Green
Large Golf Grass Practice Mat
+Can practice any types of shot
+ Good materials mimic a fairway
– Slightly flimsy with not much grip on slippy surfaces
This is a great option to have if you want to have a mat that allows you to hit any kind of shot off it.
Use it with rubber tees for your driver and use it off the deck to practice irons and chipping.
The surface is a bit fluffier than we’d expect to see most fairways, but we actually liked this as it was slightly less forgiving than some mats, making us work harder to hit better shots.
Fiberbuilt Flight Deck
+ Portable
+ Stabilisers make this really solid on the ground
– Not the highest quality astroturf
The flight deck is a portable and affordable oval-shaped hitting mat. It uses the same ‘turf’ as the larger footprint studio mats and these are built to avoid turf shock.
It sits in a heavy-duty base with bumpers to protect your clubs and it includes stabiliser holes to fix the deck down and with an adjustable tee, whatever club you want to hit, you can.
Forb Professional Putting Mat
+ Four different holes to aim at
+ Good quality materials for rolling putts on
– Takes up significant space
This four-hole putting mat has both smooth and rough grass so there’s even scope to work on those delicate chips around the greens. These are designed to last and use 12mm polyethylene to replicate what you might face outside.
Each hole has its own mini flag and it is ideal for all flat indoor and outdoor surfaces.
They come in XL (6.5x13ft) and XXL (9x20ft)
Champkey Pro Tri-Turf Golf Hitting Mat
+ Practice off three different lies
+ Compact and portable
– On the heavy side
This is a great options for a portable mat that offers you three different types of surface to hit off.
The three turfs mimic the fairway, first cut and rough and give you the option to hone your skills of a number of surfaces, not just an easy fairway lie.
This is a great options for chipping off if you want to protect your lawn, but practice your short game out of some dodgy lies, rather than just the bare lies often found on most golf mats.
Fiberbuilt Studio Golf Mat
+ Four tee holes to practice different shots
+ Different surface to practice with irons
– Not as durable as some
This is a 7x4ft single stance mat so is ideal for your home set-up. There are four tee holes to work on all aspects of your game – and the hitting area is one-foot wide so there’s plenty of room to not just hit from the same spot though there is also a 300,000-shot guarantee. There is also room for your launch monitor.
Is easy to assemble and comes tool free which will be music to many people’s ears
Factors to consider when buying golf mats
Size – As you have seen, the best golf mats come in all different shapes and sizes. If you are looking for a large space to fill then there are plenty of options. If you’re looking for a golf mat to fill a home studio with, then we’d recommend getting a large one to give yourself different areas of the mat to hit from. If you’re looking for something to fill a small net at home or protect the grass on the back lawn, a more compact options will be the best.
What do you want to practice – Putting? Chipping? Irons? If you’re looking to focus on a specific part of your game, there will be a mat for that. A long putting mat will obviously be the best option to practice your putting on and we have a great guide on the best putting mats to guide you through even more options on the market.
If you’re practicing chipping, then one of the smaller mats will be ideal to use to protect the lawn. Maybe you want to check out our best golf nets guide to accompany the mat too.
Durability – If you’re looking for a mat to use in a home studio, then the more durable the better but if it’s just for chipping then you’ll find most smaller mats do the job. Of all the putting mats we’ve tested, we find these take a long, long time to wear down as you’re only putting on them rather than striking a ball with an iron or wedge.
Price – No buying guide would be complete without at least mentioning the price factor. Some of the larger mats can be quite expensive, but there is good value for money to be had here as they last a long time.
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