Hitting Strips for Fiberbuilt Hourglass Pro

[Shane Cavitt]

Can you use other hitting strips in the Hourglass Pro instead of their grass strip? Would something like a SIGPRO Softy or Holy Grail fit and work?

[JoeyC1977]

I wish you'd gotten some responses on this one. I'm researching the same thing wondering if the sigpro softy hitting strip will fit in the fiberbuilt hourglass pro mat. I don't like the huge, thick bristles on the "grass" version of the fiberbuilt mat but that mat fits my little setup pretty well and I'd like to upgrade that hitting strip.

[Canada8888]

looks like the Sigpro is 2 and 3/8 inch high and the fiber built is 1.75 high?

[txbadger]

I have the sigpro softy (its 12" x  28") and as mentioned above, its close to 2.5" thick.  I just bought a fiberbuilt grass series studio mat.   That insert is 12" x 48" and is 1.5" high (just the insert).. in the mat its about 2".     So in my case the inserts are not compatible, which is fine with me because I personally think the sigpro softy isn't that great.   Had it for about 9 months and regret buying it over the fiberbuilt.

 

Edited April 22 by txbadger

[eRey]

On 4/21/2024 at 7:30 PM, txbadger said:

I have the sigpro softy (its 12" x  28") and as mentioned above, its close to 2.5" thick.  I just bought a fiberbuilt grass series studio mat.   That insert is 12" x 48" and is 1.5" high (just the insert).. in the mat its about 2".     So in my case the inserts are not compatible, which is fine with me because I personally think the sigpro softy isn't that great.   Had it for about 9 months and regret buying it over the fiberbuilt.

 

@txbadger hey, I’m looking at a sigpro softy vs fiberbuilt grass hitting strip. I’m looking for injury prevention plus a relatively realistic feel. What makes you prefer the fiberbuilt over the sigpro?

[txbadger]

1 minute ago, eRey said:

@txbadger hey, I’m looking at a sigpro softy vs fiberbuilt grass hitting strip. I’m looking for injury prevention plus a relatively realistic feel. What makes you prefer the fiberbuilt over the sigpro?

the fiberbuilt is much better imo for hitting feel and injury prevention/minimization.   The downside is when it comes to putting, or at least the grass series mats.. its not really realistic for that and I would give that edge to the sigpro softy easily, but for me that isn't really in the realm of concerns.    The big problem I have with the sigpro softy is that its just too spongy.  It is a better mat than you might find at your local driving range and surely better for joints and such than a range mat, but it still isn't nearly as good as the fiberbuilt.    I'm not sure if I am helping with this commentary so if you have any specific questions, let me know. 

 

I looked into fiberbuilt before I bought my sigpro softy and just thought.. well.. the fiberbuilt is just a bunch of long green bristles.   I fell for the sigpro technology on how it is constructed, etc..    It just didn't deliver on the realistic feeling (both mats you can still get away with fat shots, but the fiberbuilt is a bit more realistic in that sense).    Also, my insert (after not even 9 months) started to "mushroom" (if you took the insert out, the edges of the insert started to creep over the edge).  It still fit in the slot just fine, but thought that was odd.  

 

 

[eRey]

4 hours ago, txbadger said:

the fiberbuilt is much better imo for hitting feel and injury prevention/minimization.   The downside is when it comes to putting, or at least the grass series mats.. its not really realistic for that and I would give that edge to the sigpro softy easily, but for me that isn't really in the realm of concerns.    The big problem I have with the sigpro softy is that its just too spongy.  It is a better mat than you might find at your local driving range and surely better for joints and such than a range mat, but it still isn't nearly as good as the fiberbuilt.    I'm not sure if I am helping with this commentary so if you have any specific questions, let me know. 

 

I looked into fiberbuilt before I bought my sigpro softy and just thought.. well.. the fiberbuilt is just a bunch of long green bristles.   I fell for the sigpro technology on how it is constructed, etc..    It just didn't deliver on the realistic feeling (both mats you can still get away with fat shots, but the fiberbuilt is a bit more realistic in that sense).    Also, my insert (after not even 9 months) started to "mushroom" (if you took the insert out, the edges of the insert started to creep over the edge).  It still fit in the slot just fine, but thought that was odd.  

 

 

This is very helpful! Thanks! I currently have a cheap tiny mat from Amazon so either will be an upgrade. I’m having elbow and wrist pain, so I’m leaning towards maximum joint protection which sounds like the fiberbuilt grass. Do you have any thoughts on if either mat translates better to the golf course? I don’t have a sim, so I’m just using the mat to practice hitting into a net at home. I want to make sure the mat doesn’t allow me to get away with swings that wouldn’t work out on real grass if that makes sense

[txbadger]

6 minutes ago, eRey said:

This is very helpful! Thanks! I currently have a cheap tiny mat from Amazon so either will be an upgrade. I’m having elbow and wrist pain, so I’m leaning towards maximum joint protection which sounds like the fiberbuilt grass. Do you have any thoughts on if either mat translates better to the golf course? I don’t have a sim, so I’m just using the mat to practice hitting into a net at home. I want to make sure the mat doesn’t allow me to get away with swings that wouldn’t work out on real grass if that makes sense

no problem.   I agree that either mat will be better than a cheap mat.   The fiberbuilt grass translates a little better imo.  Having said that, neither one is like real grass and earth.  If you have a fat shot both of these mats will let you get away with it to some degree.. but like I said, the fiberbuilt is better... its just that no mat will be able to duplicate the real thing