Fiberbuilt practice Station

[Yzmerf]

Got one of these coming, anyone used it. Honestly one of most thought out mats I’ve seen

[Deuce3]

If you've already bought it, I'm not sure you want my honest opinion, but here goes. The fibers on this one are different than the hitting strips on the normal fiberbuilt mats. The fibers on this are looser and I think even more widely spaced. Not even close to the same product, which explains the dramatically different price point. Might be fine for hitting off a tee, but the mat itself is not good. Don't feel bad - I have the small disc-shaped mat myself, minus the rubber stance mat, and it's now in storage. But who knows, maybe you'll like it.

[extrastiff]

Also, it’s not a very long strip so chances of catching lips

[Yzmerf]

I got it at Costco so easy return!

[Philomathesq]

I'll have to disagree with the above poster. I've played on traditional Fiberbuilt mats and I own the practice station; the turf is the same. I love working on the practice station. The one thing to watch for, though, is making sure you find a level place to put the practice station.

[Deuce3]

Maybe something has changed, because I also own both and there's a distinct difference. That said, don't take my word for it - go to their website. If you click on the product pages below, the Practice Station (Flight Deck put into a rubber mat) is listed as Fiberbuilt Grass (poly) and the traditional and performance hitting mats are listed as Fiberbuilt Grass (nylon). There's a few product that aren't specifically listed, so maybe some of those are poly as well. My advice - buy one that specifically says it's the nylon, because in my opinion they're leaps and bounds above the poly version.https://fiberbuiltgolf.com/collections/studio-golf-mats/products/5-x-4-performance-mathttps://fiberbuiltgolf.com/collections/studio-golf-mats/products/practice-station

[FairwaysToHeaven]

Look into a TrueStrike

[Krt22]

Weird. Also from their website. Poly vs Nylon could just be related to how they secure the fiber to the base

 

"The Flight deck is constructed with the same turf as our large-footprint studio mats, providing the same realistic impact conditions, ability to hit down and through, and avoidance of turf shock".

[Deuce3]

Hmmm. I think I cracked the code. They qualify it with "large-footprint" studio mats, which means it could be different from the smaller studio mats as well as the performance mats. I think it's some slick product description that doesn't tell the whole truth. Both performance mats say nylon in their description. If you look at all the studio mats that are 6' wide, none of them specify. The 4' wide ones all do say nylon. Thus, the distinction of "large-footprint." I have the Flight Deck, which clearly says poly, and the 3-foot grass panel, which clearly says nylon. There's a night and day difference in the fibers on my two products, which matches the definition when I googled it, since I didn't know the difference - "Nylon is softer than polyester but also stronger, while polyester is faster drying, easier to dye and abrasion resistant." Therefore, my advice stands - only buy one that clearly says nylon in the description. That said, you shouldn't have to know that, and it's not very obvious on their website, which is a pity, because it's a good product.

[Krt22]

Poly doesnt always mean polyester though. Is the nylon one more dense/firm? I have the flight deck and have no issues with it, but cant say I've compared it to the larger ones

[Deuce3]

 

Side by side comparison. Color, density, and texture are all different. Notice you can see the base of the flight deck through its fibers as it's much less dense and it's much more filled in on the component panel. Plus, the flight deck poly fibers are really stiff like those industrial brooms versus the significantly softer nylon fibers in the panel.

[Krt22]

Very interesting. May give the 3ft strip a whirl when my flight deck wears out.

[NevinW]

Is the turf actually at the same level and the standing surface? If not, how much of a difference?

[Philomathesq]

Yes. It looks deceiving, but after laying mine out, I took a 6 foot level to verify and it is level, at least from where I stand when hitting driver.

[John Kreese]

I've been through many practice mats and now have the Fiberbuilt practice station with (my second) Flight Deck. Only issue with the Flight Deck is the tee can break if you're not careful. Not a big deal. Otherwise it's been an awesome hitting mat. Everything is going to wear out eventually, including your net, so best thing about the Flight Deck is you can drop a new one in there.

[MysteryV]

I have the 4x4 (ish) fiberbuild mat with panels that screw to the metal frame it's hands down the best purchase I've made for my game (in conjunction with the net of course). I've hit thousands of balls and the panels still look relatively new.

A bit off topic, but thought I'd throw in my $0.02 as I'm quarantined at the moment. Thanks Corona.

[Yzmerf]

Got it last night. Very impressed, weighs a ton!

[FlyingBasset]

Just my opinion - I've had mine for ~8 months now and use it constantly. I even leave it outside through all kinds of weather and it still plays like the day I got it.

For $200 from Costco, with the option of replacing the mat portion for $50 if it (somehow) ever wears out, it's a no-brainer for me. I had a CCE strip previously and was getting serious elbow pain from using it regularly. No longer a problem with the Fiberbuilt.

I also really like the design and layout of the holes and lines for use with alignment sticks. Just overall a fantastic product IMO.

[Yzmerf]

My net should be here today i think so ill finally get to try it. This would have been a great tool for teaching.

[Yzmerf]

I found standing on the ball before i hit it made it feel a little more realistic, less"teed up" . I think it will get better as the fibers get weathered a bit.

 

[br61]

Thanks for this info, I hadn't heard of this mat but I'm interested in it now. I plan on putting it on my back patio if I pull the trigger. Are there any issues with it moving on concrete while swinging or it stays pretty much in one place?

Looking for a net, too many choices out there! Ha

[Yzmerf]

Doesn't move at all its actually really heavy. On the net i bought this one because i wanted something tall enough for wedges at at least 8 ft away if i get a Mevo plus down the road. It is kind of a pain to set up but works well once its set. Wind doesnt affect it at all

[br61]

Thanks, I bought Fiberbuilt Practice station and Rukket net. They probably will arrive in a week or so if they do not get delayed.

It does get windy here and I'll get couple sandbags for the net. It will be fun to hit balls with my son who's forced to leave upstate NY few weeks ago.

[Zlax45]

I ordered from Rukket on Friday and still waiting for a tracking number and it is late Tuesday night.

[Yzmerf]

Got this one from Target, $92

[gerrypez]

I built a golf mat with a fiberbuilt insert. I hesitated because of the high cost of their "3 panel" product. But I'm glad I did, because it's very durable and I can hit down into the ball some.

 

 

[SlickT73]

Has anyone tried the Fiberbuilt Hourglass Performance Turf mat?

 

I'm assuming most of the reviews are for the "grass" versions rather than this one.

 

I like that you can use a real tee - but am thinking the lower price point may indicate some disadvantages.

[Deep Sunoji]

@Yzmerf How do you like it so far? Has this helped with your swing and how does it convert to the actual course? I have ordered one from Costco myself to work on my iron game. Thanks.

[Wolfhammer]

20 hours ago, Deep Sunoji said:

@Yzmerf How do you like it so far? Has this helped with your swing and how does it convert to the actual course? I have ordered one from Costco myself to work on my iron game. Thanks.

 

Not OP but I have one and it's awesome. Others talking about it not being level, that's not my experience at all. It definitely transfers to the course in the sense that it gets me swinging when I otherwise wouldn't. Does it perfectly replicate grass? Of course it doesn't. It does give enough when struck that it doesn't feel like a range mat. 

[Deep Sunoji]

5 hours ago, Wolfhammer said:

 

Not OP but I have one and it's awesome. Others talking about it not being level, that's not my experience at all. It definitely transfers to the course in the sense that it gets me swinging when I otherwise wouldn't. Does it perfectly replicate grass? Of course it doesn't. It does give enough when struck that it doesn't feel like a range mat. 

Thank you very much @Wolfhammerfor summing it up really well for me, my expectations are more or less the same. I have had bad experiences hitting from the mat at the driving range I go to( they allow hitting from the grass on Thu, Fri and Sat only). My swing hasn’t been very consistent with the irons and I hope to work on it and be able to make the range time more useful. Also, does it matter that it’s made of poly vs nylon which apparently is a better material? This is based on what I read and no first hand experience.