Best Golf Mats 2021
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A golf mat is a necessary investment if you plan to do any type of real golf practice at home, or anywhere other than a golf course/range for that matter. Your grass and/or carpet can only take so much abuse before getting completely ruined.
But trust me when I say all golf mats are not created equal. There are many different types that vary in material, size and quality. They can also differ in the type of surface they are trying to emulate, e.g. fairway, rough, sand, etc. And of course, you will find price differences depending on the quality and size of the mat.
We use golf mats every day, for ourselves as well as for our students. We tested dozens of different mats that vary in each of the areas mentioned above. Below you will find the results of our testing, including our reviews and recommendations.
Our Picks for Top Golf Mat
Our #1 Pick for Best All-Around Golf Mat
Dura-Pro Commercial Premium Golf Mat
Review
The Dura-Pro Plus Premium Golf Mat comes with a nylon surface that is 100% knitted. To date, nylon is the highest quality material used for artificial turf. Many mats you find out there will actually be made out of woven nylon. So, what's the difference between knitted and woven nylon? Quality. Knitted nylon provides a more realistic feeling surface as well as better durability. With the Dura-Pro, you get 100% knitted nylon.
Another feature that adds to the quality of the Dura-Pro Plus Premium is that it is manufactured using a thermal welding process, rather than a gluing process. When two items are glued, they are connected with a glue layer, creating 3 layers (one item on top, one item on bottom, the glue in the middle). The glue loses its efficacy after repeated use or exposure to warmth from sunlight. With glue, the question isn't whether it will delaminate (come apart), but when.
Thermal welding is a process that heats up the two items being connected and fusing them together. The result is two different items being joined to create a single layer result. Thermal welding is much more resilient and infinitely less likely to delaminate than glue. Thermal welding results in a more durable product that is far better quality.
The Dura-Pro is one of the thickest mats we tested. At 1 ¼" thick, it is more durable than most other mats. It also provides better absorption of club shock, which results in a more realistic feel.
Also included with a Dura-Pro mat is a golf ball tray that holds a couple dozen or so balls. The tray keeps the balls out of the way, yet easily accessible for the next shot. You get a 3" rubber tee for drivers, a 2 ¼" rubber tee for your woods, and a third adjustable wooden tee holder which allows you to use your own tees. And with your choice of 3' x 5', 4' x 5', and 5' x 5' (we always recommend 5' x 5'), there's plenty of room to swing everything from your wedges to your driver.
The Dura-Pro Plus is our preferred mat, and it has been our preference for a couple of years now. It is extraordinarily durable and provides really good feel. It's the one we use and it's the one we always recommend our students and others use.
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Best Golf Mat for Portability
Rukket Tri-Turf Golf Mat
Review
The obvious main feature of the Rukket Tri-Turf Golf Mat is that it provides 3 different types of hitting surfaces. These hitting surfaces are meant to represent the fairway, the rough, and the fringe. Hitting off of each surface definitely gives you three distinctly different feels.
Another prominent feature is its size. At 25" x 16", the Rukket golf mat is meant to be hit off of and not stood on. Because it's not meant to be stood on, it is much smaller than most of the mats we tested. This also makes it the most portable. You can quickly and easily put it in a different room, take it outside, or throw it in your car.
The durability of the Rukket was also impressive. While not quite as durable as the Dura-Pro, it still withstood our testing with almost no visible wear.
We had no problem hitting woods, iron, or wedges off the rough and fairway surfaces. Each surface had more than enough surface area to handle a full swing with any club. While not perfect, the different hitting surfaces definitely felt closer to the surfaces they were emulating than your typical mat.
The Rukket Tri-Turf mat has another cool feature. It comes with 12 tees in 3 different lengths that you use on the mat just like you would on grass. It also comes with 12 practice balls.
One downside is that because you don't stand on this mat, you will have to prop yourself up somehow, or you'll be standing on a lower level than your ball is sitting on. We just ended up using a different golf mat to stand on and would recommend you do the same.
Overall the Rukket Tri-Turf mat is a really nice product. It is very durable, compact and portable, and gives 3 different, somewhat realistic hitting surfaces, something most other products cannot say.
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Golf Mat with Most Realistic Feel
All Turf Super Tee Golf Mat
Review
The All Turf Super Tee Golf Mat we tested was 5' x 5'. This is our favorite size for a hitting mat. There is plenty of room to swing any club and you never feel cramped or restricted. The only downside to this size is it is slightly harder to move.
The All Turf Super Tee mat had two standout features. The first standout feature is a pretty big one: of all of the mats we tested, this surface was the most realistic. Even more realistic than the Dura-Pro. A weakness of many, if not most, mats is they don't properly slow down the club head upon impact. The Super Tee did not have that problem.
The second standout feature is that you can use your own wooden tees. That's right. You don't have to use those weird, oversized rubber tees or any other type of synthetic ball holder. You can stick any wooden tee into this mat. This means replacing tees for use on the mat is much less expensive.
This is another really good quality mat. The quality of the surface is second to none, as it is the most realistic feeling surface we've ever hit on. Overall quality from top to bottom is really good. We'd put it at second best, just a notch below the Dura-Pro.
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Best Value Golf Mat - Budget Friendly
PGM Emerald Par Golf Mat
Review
The PGM Emerald Par Golf Mat we tested was 5' x 5'. It has a thickness of 1/2" and the turf is 100% nylon. This means you will get similar durability to some of our other top picks. You also get a realistic feeling hitting surface. The nylon also slows the club head nicely at impact, similarly to the way grass does.
The base of the Emerald Par mat is constructed of foam, rather than the typical rubber. This helps lower the price, but also negatively impacts the overall durability.
You are getting a great mat with the PGM Emerald Par. The combination of its quality construction, 100% nylon hitting surface, realistic feel, durability and size is what makes it our budget pick for best value golf mat.
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Best Training Golf Mat
Align Right Golf Mat
Review
The lines on the Align Right golf mat can be extremely useful as a training aid. This hitting mat will help you really ingrain in your head how far away you should stand from the ball with each club. It will help you out a ton with proper alignment (just make sure the line your ball is on is in line with your target!). And it will help you learn proper positioning of your feet in relation to the ball.
At 4' x 5', there is enough room to use all of your clubs. Although not quite up to our other recommendations, the quality and durability were still good with this mat.
The feel wasn't as good as some of our other picks. It wasn't terrible, or even close to as bad as some of the worst ones we tested. It feels like a typical synthetic hitting surface.
This is a nice mat and the lines make it a great trainer.
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FAQ
Hitting off a mat can cause injuries as well as club deterioration. This is why we recommend buying a high-quality mat and never swinging full power off a mat. Keep your swings at 70% power or lower. This will also reduce the chance of the club sliding on or bouncing off the mat. If you start noticing significant wear, you should replace the mat as injuries and club damage are more likely to occur.
The best all-around golf hitting mat is the Dura-Pro Commercial Premium. If you want the mat with the most realistic feeling hitting surface, go with the All Turf Super Tee mat. Scroll up this page for our reviews on both products.