Little Green Mats - con?

[billyg]

Hello All,

just got back from a holiday in Wales and visited a couple of courses while away. Came across these funny little mats we were obliged to use from the fairway and fringe (in conjunction with temporary tees).

Ive never come across this sort of thing before and i'm a bit bewildered to be honest. Yes, they save the course from divots and all that but is it really golf?

If I was forced to use these throughout winter i'm sure my striking would go to pot come summer! A perfect lie every time, attempted shots I would never try usually as a novice - flop shots and 3 woods off the deck...well mat anyway. No bare lies, no rough.

No surprise then when I came in at the lowest score ive ever managed to date- by some margin at that

To a beginner this has got to be worth roughly 10 strokes a round and the idea of building a handicap off this sort of game is a blinkin' joke right?

I suppose it could be argued that it's just an extension of pick and place but little mats?- profolactic golf anyone?

As far as protecting the course i'm in two minds. I'm expected to pay a full green fee yet the only grass I get to strike a ball off is the green. Sure the course will look mint come summer but it's a golf course ffs not the lawn at Windsor- bit of a rip off if you ask me.

Any of you poor b%ggers forced to do this through winter and spring? If so , you have my deepest sympathy- i'd have taken up tennis by now

 

[birdieman]

Billy, only had the misfortune to use these once at the Old Course during March. I am surprised they helped you, I hated them, made the ball sit too high so you have to choke down on the grip to account for the elevation of the mat, what a palaver too. It was better to hit your drive into the semi-rough just to play some real golf.
They should be banned.

 

[johng]

Hi Billy.

Which courses did you play and encounter this on? Our club enforced this for a few winters, as it was seen to protect the course. Thankfully they changed their minds this winter, change of committee personnel, and we played as normal.
The club noticed a drop in green fee revunue over the last winters and this was a factor. I suppose they needed to weigh up lost revenue against increased expenditure on fixing divots.
The mats certainly made hitting some clubs a lot easier, and presented golfers with an even surface for each shot. By the time I got used to them we were going back to the full course and conditions.

On the topic of divots the course recently advertised for voulunteers to help fill old divots for a morning, bacon roll and pint for the effort. I feel this is a bit cheeky when i pay over £700 for membership and make sure i fill my own divots, apparently only 7 people turned up.

John.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I've seen players carry little mats of astroturf round in far away places like Bahrain etc where the courses are mainly desert and the greens are actually browns (some sort of soil, tar mix baked to form a hard smooth surface).

I've never heard of it in the UK and to be honest I echo your sentiments. I'd rather go to the range for a bucket of balls than pay a full green fee for a glorified practice session.

Surely if you replace your divots there isn't going to be a huge issue. I imagine there is still where and tear on the fairways from the amount of traffic (players walking and trolleys) to negate the desired effect of decent fairways in Summer.

Not a course on my list to visit!!

 

[Sam]

My local course has a much better idea - free place of your ball half inch behind nearest divot!!

 

[toonarmy]

The only time I've come across this is when I played in Bahrain this year at Awali. It was either a little green mat or hit off hard-baked stony ground - not much of a contest.

Being asked to do it on a grass course is a downright liberty and there is no way you should be charged full rate for half the experience. Courses run like this deserve to be closed down.

 

[theeaglehunter]

I'd have thought that it would make you worse due to the matt slipping as you strike the ball, although I suppose you would always have a nice lie. Uphill and downhill lies would still affect you though surely.

Either way, its definitely a con and not proper golf.

 

[mboy1980]

My course makes you use mats during the winter.

But I just play from the fairway and use my mat for the approach shots to the 9th and 18 where I am within view of the Clubhouse and Pro Shop..

 

[DCB]

"My course makes you use mats during the winter."

well that obviously doesn't work too well given the rest of your answer.

Our club tried the mats a few years back. It was the old boys who carried most infulence and it was scrapped after one season. We now have staked areas of fairway during the winter and if you're between the stakes you lift and place in the rough at the nearest side of the fairway.

One major down side to this is that the rough on several holes takes a lot of heavey use/abuse over the winter asnd it takes a long time to recover. It can mean a very poor lie if you land / run into that sort of area in the first couple of months of the season.

My personal preference would be for mats to protect the fairway.

 

[RGuk]

Hi billy.....I'm still confused as to what these mats are, never having seen one. Do they have inbuilt tees or are they just round/square/other? shaped bits of astroturf you carry around. Any chance of looking on google images and posting a link....I'm well confused...

 

[evita4]

The ones I have come across are about 8 inches long by 4 wide with a hole in the front and back where you can stick a tee peg through to hold it to the ground. Then you stick the ball on it and away you go with a fat or thin shot as they are bloody awful for ball striking. A Couple of clubs around here moved away from the mats and now allow free placement from fairway to the first cut of rough.

 

[RGuk]

According to this club...it is permitted to tee the ball up if you wish...

http://www.golf-whitburn.co.uk/winterrules.php

I'd like this all year round!!

 

[grumpyjock]

Last year I went and played a few rounds at Arbroath and they insisted you use a mat off the tee and fairway.
You could pick and place on the mat within a club length.
Maybe as a former greensman I could see the point of them.

 

[RGuk]

In reference to billy's initial conclusion....I'd say a mat (and therefore a perfect lie) would make life easier....but it's not exactly real golf is it? I'd happily use one...it'd be like being at the range, only a bit wierd..

 

[billyg]

Phew!

Thought I was going to be in the minority on this one but seemingly not.

It wouldn't be fair to name the course John G as your's sig. puts you smack bang on that 'manor'. To be fair it was a stunningly laid out course and the staff and members were really friendly. It wasn't Maccynis or CM (sorry about spelling...the Nichlaus one anyway) but I won't be anymore specific.

As far as the mat itself it was about 12" long and about 5' wide with a couple of apetures for putting a tee through it. It was covered in rubberised spikes about 3/4' long.

All a little bit galling when there were 'no trolley' signs and yet there were people out with hedgehogs on. Still , you live and learn and we'll be checking the mat rule from now on before booking.

Off shortly to the home turf (couldn't resist it) to put in another 100+ round and get back to where I should be and feel comfotable i.e. rubbish

 

[TonyN]

I've seen players carry little mats of astroturf round in far away places like Bahrain etc where the courses are mainly desert and the greens are actually browns (some sort of soil, tar mix baked to form a hard smooth surface).

Karbul golf club! didnt the mag do a spread on this a few months back?

Me personally would never dream of playing with these little mats. Its just not golf, I hate temp greens, thats enough to put me off, playing off them mats aswell, I would be asking for half of my fee back if i had to spend all winter playing crazy golf!

I have one of these little mats in my garden i use with my net, it was forever flying away with the ball. Even pegging it down didnt work.

Just shat i think!

 

[McCojac]

Used one of these Mats for 4 months when I was in Cyprus and when i returned to my home course afterwards had problems as I'd developed a habit of picking the ball clean off the mat rather than hitting down on the ball as this had a tendency to send the mat skiting about 50 yards further than the ball if you were a fraction out. It wasn't proper golf but it was as close as I could get regularly for that 4 months the course had rock hard astro-turf greens which are ok to putt on but impossible to land the ball on and expect any stop especially when picking every iron shot off the top of a mat. However at that course their was little grass so you just had to put up with it tried a few times without the mat and the damage on my clubs made me realise just to accept the mat. Still insist the course was in the best location of any course I've been lucky to play.

 

[Tommo21]

I play two courses, one inland and the other is a links course. The inland course uses mats during the winter months and the links course uses a 'preferred lie' rule.

The links course has many divot marks the inland does not. So, mats are a pain but it lets the course recover during the winter months in time for the competition season.

It's all about giving you a good course when you really need it.

Where is our green keeper forum member?

 

[johng]

Hi again Billy,

were you aware that mats were in use when you booked the rounds? Not to sure how well advertised the clubs make this fact known.
I admire the restraint in not naming the clubs, personally i'm all for freedom of information, your just making a fair observation of a course condition, may help others avoid the same experience?????

Other than that I hope you found your holiday enjoyable and were well recieved by the boyo's!!

i'd still like to know what courses you played!!

John.

 

[billyg]

JohnG,

I did indeed have a great time. I'm always a little cautious when I head out west as the perception can often be that the English are a bunch of snotty idiots and probably quite deserved sometimes.

I mind my P's and Q's and am never disappointed by the warmth and honesty I get back. There's a refreshing jocularity and earnest spirit that jumps out at a jaded Londoner such as myself.

The Welsh are proud to be Welsh and fair play to them for it. I even got a t-shirt with 'Cymru' across the back !

The courses are seriously under-rated there too. Stunning tracts and huge skies the likes of which I haven't seen since visiting Glencoe.

I'm still struggling to get my tongue round Gwenesaneithew (or similar ) for Services but Tacsi is easy enough

Toc for bread and Bara San for fried bread are useful but I think i'm having my gently leg pulled over 'poppety ping' for microwave

Would seriously recommend a visit to anyone looking for a golfing break or holiday.

Bora dah