Is Country Club Elite that bad?

[NorthTXGolf]

picked up another sim after a few years off.

 

Previously had a fiberbuilt and while it was ok I found it to be fairly unrealistic feeling. I know no mat is going to be fully realistic. I am not super old (early 30's) but I see a ton of people complain about joint pain or things from these types of mats.

 

I need to stay somewhat budget conscious as the wife already sees this as a pointless purchase lmao. Costco has the Country Club elite 3x5 for only $270. Is that a good purchase? I have looked at a few like the monster mat and EZ Tee hybrid but those are quite a bit more pricey

 

Thanks!

[HulaGolfMom]

We have the CCE elite from Costco and we like it. Haven’t had any wrist issues. And the best part is you can return it no questions asked to Costco.

[Pepperturbo]

I have a much smaller, not nearly as costly chipping mat & net in my office.  The smaller mat has the ball 3/4" above my feet, necessitating I choke down to make solid contact. 

 

May buy the Costco mat, it's high quality. 

 

But the best quality mats are NOT like turf.  Do yourself a favor, tweak your mechanics so you're sweeping, not digging to China, jarring your teeth loose during each strike. 

 

It has been my observation that the individuals who express dissatisfaction regarding injuries caused by hitting off mats are themselves the root cause of issues.  Good luck.

[GoBlue102]

19 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

 

 

It has been my observation that the individuals who express dissatisfaction regarding injuries caused by hitting off mats are themselves the root cause of issues.  Good luck.

This is true in the sense that “some people’s golf swings are steeper than others and more likely to lead to injuries.” I wouldn’t perceive it as a personal fault, and I don’t know that changing your golf swing, which might be totally appropriate if you choose to play golf on… grass!! is the best path. 
 

I cut disliked the CCE mat so I cut a fiberbuilt flight-deck-shaped hole. This is much more tolerant of my *normal* golf swing than the CCE was.

 

[bbury10]

Used to have the CCE that i also got at Costco few years back. Now have a fiberbuilt preferred. As you said, neither is the real thing, but Fiberbuilt is several tiers above the CCE. With the CCE any type of “trying to take a divot” or fat shots will wear quickly on your elbows. If you go the CCE route, I’d recommend cutting a piece out and inserting one of those divot action strips - probably way more cost effective.

[ENedo]

3 hours ago, bbury10 said:

Used to have the CCE that i also got at Costco few years back. Now have a fiberbuilt preferred. As you said, neither is the real thing, but Fiberbuilt is several tiers above the CCE. With the CCE any type of “trying to take a divot” or fat shots will wear quickly on your elbows. If you go the CCE route, I’d recommend cutting a piece out and inserting one of those divot action strips - probably way more cost effective.

How’s your Fiberbuilt holding up? 

[bbury10]

47 minutes ago, ENedo said:

How’s your Fiberbuilt holding up? 

 

Only had for about a year now, but so far so good.

Edited February 3 by bbury10

[HarborMike]

It’s an okay mat. Also depends what type of swing you have as it relates to steep vs. shallow, little to no divot. I’ve owned mine for about 3 years now. I liked it initially when I was more of a sweeper and took little to no divot. Now my angle of attack is much steeper where I take little to medium divots and noticed in the CCE, it now feels a bit hard and grabby and fighting to get through the ball. On my sim, I basically have to set it on a flat plastic tee to get realistic numbers as I would in the course, otherwise the mat just grabs my club if I’m just barely coming in early. Even if I’m not, harder to finish my follow though swing. When doing simulated rounds, I now just use the flat plastic tee/disc if im in the fairway or move the ball directly on the CCE if I’m off the fairway (e.g. rough, sand), so I really have the feeling I’m punished if I don’t land fairway.

 

So far I haven’t experienced joint pain, but don’t want to risk it any further and have a SIGPRO softy hitting strip on order now. I will likely be cutting out a section in the CCE and replacing the hitting area with the strip. 

[denglishdoc]

i never noticed any pain. its not uncommon for me to play 4-5 rounds a week on the sim plus range time. (i dont like sitting on the couch after the kids go to bed). i have a skytrak so when my mat started getting worn around my laser dot i got a holy grail strip. after cutting it in and installing it, night a day difference. less sore and i noticed less pain in my elbow. i also pick the ball pretty clean most of the time. 

 

im sure most of the soft hitting inserts will have the same affect. 

[mgoblue83]

16 hours ago, denglishdoc said:

i never noticed any pain. its not uncommon for me to play 4-5 rounds a week on the sim plus range time. (i dont like sitting on the couch after the kids go to bed). i have a skytrak so when my mat started getting worn around my laser dot i got a holy grail strip. after cutting it in and installing it, night a day difference. less sore and i noticed less pain in my elbow. i also pick the ball pretty clean most of the time. 

 

im sure most of the soft hitting inserts will have the same affect. 

The injuries come from high swing speed and a steep AoA. If you pick the ball you could play off concrete without any issues but if you try to take a divot out of a mat like the CCE it's very violent toward your wrists and elbows. Additionally the way it usually works is that you feel great until you don't and once it hits that point it's a LONG recovery involving PT and not playing golf. 

[kenwiggins11]

I have CCE I haven't had any elbow issued knock on wood.  It holds up well.  My favorite is True Strike on the higher side for price but can build and replace sections. 

[CSagan]

I have the 3x5 CCE from costco for about 4 years now. I've hit probably 20 brazillion balls on it with no issues. I am fairly shallow player tho, take small divots no deeper than 1/2-3/4 of an inch.

[TacoCarl]

I like mine. Got the 3x5 and it feels pretty good, more similar to turf than most of the ranges I visit. I haven’t had mine long though so tough to tell how well it holds. I do keep mostly outside but covered

[CamPar2Pro]

Hi there, the Country Club Elite by Real Feel has proven to be one of the most reliable and durable mats on the market today. Well known for being one of the first mats that enabled the user to directly place in a tee, the Country Club Elite features a Long Dense Fiber System, replicating the turf interaction that you would find on a Country Club fairway. While this 'real feel' is great for most golfers looking to get the most realistic surface to hit off of and ball launch for their sensors to read, some users with injuries / sensitivties may want to look at alternate options like the TrueStrike or Fiberbuilt mats which we offer. For more info and to view the size options visit https://www.par2pro.com/shop/index.php?cPath=23_25_69&sort=3a&filter_id=32. We can also help you go through the options and find the best option for your needs - contact us at email [email protected] or toll free 1-877-417-2161.

[Canada8888]

I use the CCE for the realistic strike and readings with a GC3.

 

To protect my joints I have 2 layers under it ...  layer 1 is a  rubber fatigue mat with holes in it, layer 2 is the net return golf mat

 

Bit of overkill but you can really did down without any ill effects

 

[nitram]

I've never had any pain from a CCE and I've hit at least 500 balls a week off of it for the past 3 years.

[golfpractitioner5]

22 hours ago, Canada8888 said:

I use the CCE for the realistic strike and readings with a GC3.

 

To protect my joints I have 2 layers under it ...  layer 1 is a  rubber fatigue mat with holes in it, layer 2 is the net return golf mat

 

Bit of overkill but you can really did down without any ill effects

 

So, I will be doing something similar to your set up.  I will have a 6x4 half in nonslip yoga mat under my net return 6/10 golf mat.  I was going to place my CCE mat on top of that. 

 

Have you had any issue with the CCE mat slipping on top of the net return mat?

[coreyhr]

I've been out of the simulator game for a few years now, but continuous use of the CCE left me with horrible wrist tendentious that sidelined me for over a month. It also created reoccurring neck issues. I tried every trick in the book, including cutting out the middle of the base layer and inserting motorcycle seat gel. That didn't help either. Finally made my own divot action style insert and while I didn't love the feel, it did alleviate the issues I was having.

[Canada8888]

1 hour ago, golfpractitioner5 said:

So, I will be doing something similar to your set up.  I will have a 6x4 half in nonslip yoga mat under my net return 6/10 golf mat.  I was going to place my CCE mat on top of that. 

 

Have you had any issue with the CCE mat slipping on top of the net return mat?

The CCE mat is not slipping ...but I have the 5 by 5 size so there is a bit of mass there

 

The 5 by 5 is great as i can rotate it every few sessions ...the wear is more even that way

 

The 5 foot width also fits nicely on top of the 6 foot wide net return 

 

I did the base layer all the way to the front ...the base sections are 3 by 3 feet so I have 9 of them ... left a bit of space so they stick out from the sides of the net return 

 

the holes in the base layer give the entire set up a lot of give