People often overlook how important the hitting mat is to an indoor golf simulator. Not only do you want it to look good but it will also affect every single golf swing you take.
You want it to feel as realistic as possible AND look good in your golf simulator room. Playing lots of indoor golf on mats can also cause injuries to your arm and wrist that could keep you from playing golf.
I decided I wanted to find the best golf hitting mats for my home simulator by testing out 7 of the most popular options.
After all my testing I decided that the SIGPRO Softy is the best all around hitting mat. By “all around” I mean I think that it’s the best hitting mat for MOST people.
Even though I think most people will be very happy with the SIGPRO Softy, there are still reasons why you might want to consider a different mat and there are some other great options out there.
Keep reading below and I will summarize what I’ve found.
Table of Contents
- Best Golf Hitting Mat Overall – SIGPRO Softy
- Best Golf Hitting Mat for Good Golfers – Fiberbuilt Player Preferred
- Best Golf Hitting Mat for Injury Prevention – Fiberbuilt Grass
- Best Feel – Carl’s HotShot Mat with Gel Insert
- The Holy Grail Hitting Strip
- EZ Tee Hybrid
- True Strike
- Golf Simulator Hitting Mat Buying Guide
- Final Thoughts
Best Golf Hitting Mat Overall – SIGPRO Softy
The SIGPRO Softy was designed by the Indoor Golf Shop, a company focused on nothing but golf simulators.
It features a simple design that’s lightweight and easy to pick up and store when not in use.
In all my testing I found the SIGPRO Softy hitting strip to be the perfect balance between softness and realistic feel. You can also use a real golf tee.
It was definitely a favorite of mine and I felt that this would be the mat I could recommend to almost anybody, no matter what they’re looking for.
New Options: SIGPRO Softy Lite & SIGPRO Super Softy
The Indoor Golf Shop has expanded the Softy lineup with two new options:
SIGPRO Softy Lite
The SIGPRO Softy Lite is a thinner hitting strip. It’s a good fit if you like the Softy design but need something with a lower profile to drop into your simulator flooring.
SIGPRO Super Softy
The SIGPRO Super Softy goes the other direction. It uses the Softy XL hitting strip which is identical to the original except it’s longer, 12″x48″.
The Super Softy mat also features a non-slip rubber base for those that are worried the original will move on the ground.
I’ve published full reviews on both, and they slot nicely into the lineup depending on how much forgiveness your body needs.
Read the SIGPro Softy Lite vs Super Softy review.
Best Golf Hitting Mat for Good Golfers – Fiberbuilt Player Preferred
Fiberbuilt is known for high quality and mostly known for their Grass Series mats. The Player Preferred mats are targeted to better players who are looking for a more realistic feel.
They feature a luxurious 2’x4’ hitting area that gives you plenty of room if you have a launch monitor with a larger hitting area like the GCQuad or Uneekor Eye XO.
The hitting area is definitely one of the most firm that I tested but impact felt really nice. I felt like the SIGPRO Softy felt closest to soft fairway and the Player Preferred felt like firm fairway.
This was the most expensive mat I tested but it may be well worth it for it’s large hitting area and high quality.
- Multiple sizes and configuration
- Real feel
- Clean look
Best Golf Hitting Mat for Injury Prevention – Fiberbuilt Grass
I used the Fiberbuilt Grass mat for almost year after I developed tennis elbow from the first mat I tried in my garage golf simulator.
The Fiberbuilt Grass can best be described as an upside down broom head. Rather than turf, it uses bristles which allows you hit through the ball with almost no resistance.
To me it feels like you’re hitting out of light rough with ball propped up.
Ultimately I decided to make a change because my elbow got better and I wanted something that felt a little more realistic.
- Multiple sizes and configuration
- 4×7 Studio Mat is perfect for Foresight and Skytrak launch monitors that sit on the side
Best Feel – Carl’s HotShot Mat with Gel Insert
If pure feel is what you care about most, the Carl’s Place Hot Shot mat with the gel insert stands out from everything else I’ve tested.
At impact, it does a remarkably good job of mimicking the sensation of hitting ball-first and then taking a shallow divot. There’s resistance there, but it’s controlled and smooth, not harsh or jarring.
What makes the gel insert different is how it displaces under the club. Instead of feeling like you’re hitting into something solid, the gel compresses and moves forward slightly, which creates a much more natural transition through the strike.
It’s one of the few mats where you can immediately tell when you’ve caught it clean versus a little heavy, without sending a shock up your arms.
This mat won’t be the right choice for everyone, but if your top priority is realism and feedback, the Carl’s Place Hot Shot with the gel insert earns its spot as the best-feeling hitting mat I’ve used so far.
If you’re like the HotShot Mat system but want a different hitting strip, I recommend the foam hitting strip for most people. It’s got a nice foam cushion and is probably most similar to the SIGPro Softy.
Carl’s Place is also a great company and every interaction I’ve had with them has been great.
Read the review of the Carl’s Place HotShot Hitting Mat system.
- 4×5, 5×8, 4×9, 6×10
- Choose standard, foam, or gel hitting insert
- Non-slip base available
The Holy Grail Hitting Strip
The Holy Grail Hitting Strip is almost identical to the old Carl’s Divot Hitting Strip (discontinued) except the Holy Grail doesn’t come in different softness options. It’s very soft and would be closest to the Beginner version of the Carl’s Divot Hitting Strip.
The Holy Grail Hitting Strip does come in multiple sizes so you can find the perfect fit. One of those sizes makes a perfect replacement for Fiberbuilt Grass sections so you can replace the grass bristles without having to buy a whole different mat.
EZ Tee Hybrid
The EZ Tee Hybrid is different from all the other options I tested because it is nothing but a strip of turf. There are no other layers like foam or rubber.
That means it’s easy to get in almost any size you need and the longer fibers mean you can use a real golf tee to tee up your ball.
I found it to feel very realistic when hitting but a bit too “grabby” for me which made me pretty cautious about potential injuries to my lead arm.
True Strike
The True Strike mats are modular, meaning each mat is built with sections that are interchangeable so you can add more sections to make your mat larger if you’d like.
I found the gel section which is the part you hit on to be rather unimpressive and not what I was hoping for.
Overall, I felt that there were much better options for similar or less money and was pretty disappointed with the True Strike mats.
Golf Simulator Hitting Mat Buying Guide
I find that there are at least 3 main factors to consider when choosing the right hitting mat for your golf simulator: Injury Prevention, Realism, and the Fit Within Your Simulator.
Injury Prevention
When I put together my first practice setup in my garage I spent all my time choosing the right launch monitor and very little (or no time) considering which hitting mat to get.
While the launch monitor probably still is the most important piece to your golf simulator you will realize very quickly how important a good hitting mat is if you develop an injury from a bad hitting mat.
That’s exactly what happened to me. About 30 days in, I developed some brutal tendonitis in my lead elbow. After some googling I discovered that tennis elbow and golfers elbow are extremely common injuries resulting from hitting golf balls off of mats.
I quickly replaced my mat with a Fiberbuilt Grass mat and after about a year along with physical therapy my elbow is finally in pretty decent shape. I for sure would have rather spent more money upfront and skipped the injury.
To prevent injuring your lead arm you should go with a reputable mat that is either widely used for home golf simulators and/or used in commercial golf spaces. Avoid no-name Amazon purchases, it’s not worth it.
If you already have some pain in your arm you’ll probably want to go with something on the softer side like the SIGPRO Softy.
If you’ve got a real injury that you’ve been dealing with for a while, the Fiberbuilt Grass series has basically zero impact. Unfortunately you are giving up a little bit of realism for that lack of resistance though.
Realism
Everybody wants their hitting mat to be as close to the real thing as possible, but unfortunately no mat is perfect.
Some, however, are much more realistic than others. To me, the way to think about this is how well will the feeling you get indoors translate to the course.
If your hitting strip is too soft you might get on the course and use your golf club as a shovel – digging straight into the ground.
If it’s too hard you might start avoiding impact and develop a bad habit of “picking” the ball clean with no divot on the course. Or worse, you might develop an injury.
Unfortunately it’s almost impossible to try out every golf mat before you buy so try to consider your own golf swing and what might be best for you. Read lots of reviews to get a sense of how it feels.
If you have questions, ask me! Leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer.
Want to skip the research? I found the SIGPRO Softy to be both very realistic AND soft, which is why I think it’s best for almost everybody.
Fit Within the Golf Simulator
Another factor is will it fit and look within your golf simulator? Some people spend a ton of money on building a high end golf simulator in their home and of course they want it to look good.
Obviously the look of the mat will be subjective but you may want to consider the sizing and especially the height.
It’s very common to use puzzle piece foam flooring as a sub-floor for golf simulators and you may want the flooring to line up flush with your hitting mat so that you can putt from the mat all the way to your screen.
If that’s important to you you’ll want to consider the mat height.
Other considerations might be the size of the hitting strip and whether you need a center-hitting mat so that lefties and righties can both use it.
Some launch monitors like the Foresight GCQuad and the Uneekor EyeXO have pretty large hitting areas and it might be nice to use a mat like the Fiberbuilt Player Preferred which has a 2’x4’ hitting strip.
Final Thoughts
Don’t overlook the importance of a good hitting mat when planning your golf simulator.
Not only does it affect every shot you take, it can also cause injuries that can keep you from playing golf for quite a while.
Please take the time to read the reviews on this site and let me know if you have any questions.
If you’re wanting to skip the research – my top 2 are the SIGPRO Softy and the Fiberbuilt Player Preferred.
I think the Fiberbuilt Player Preferred is great but probably too firm for high handicappers and the SIGPRO Softy would be great for just about anybody.
Any of these rated for outdoor use under a covered patio?
The Fiberbuilt Grass and TrueStrike are ok for outdoor use for sure. The EZ Tee Hybrid should be ok as well. I would check with the companies before buying but I believe all the others would be for indoors only. You could probably get away with them being under cover as long as they don’t get wet.
Any thoughts on the Uneekor trouble mats?
I’ve never actually used it. Maybe if they have them at the PGA Show this year I’ll try them out.
Have you reviewed the Country Club Elite mat? How does it stack up against these?
I have not. I’ve heard of a ton of injuries from it so I did not want to bother with it.
Carl’s Hot Shot Hitting mat was mentioned to be the most realistic hitting mat. Is there a reason it was not listed as a potential top mat. What are the downside issues with it.
Specifically the Gel insert is the most realistic to me. Not a ton of downside. If you are concerned with elbow/wrist injury it might be too firm. In that case I recommend the Foam insert instead. I’m not a big fan of the stance mat portion. Being able to roll it up might be nice for some but I prefer the rigid stance mat of the SIGPro Softy. For realistic feel alone, the gel insert has been my favorite.