Mats in Winter

Lairdy wrote: I think a lot of it is down to having to play off a mat for shots on closely mown areas,

eh? Never heard of this. Are you playing in Iraq or something? Is this normal?

Lairdy wrote:

raycastleunited wrote:

Lairdy wrote: I think a lot of it is down to having to play off a mat for shots on closely mown areas,

eh? Never heard of this. Are you playing in Iraq or something? Is this normal?

Sorry I meant closely mown areas through the green. Winter rules I'm afraid. Takes away some fear of the duff depending on what mat you use though.

Sorry still don't get this. Are you saying that you have to carry a mat around your golf course in winter? Never heard of this before. Isn't that heavy?

Ray, are you serious, lots of club require you to play of a mat, about 5 inches wide by 12 inches long during the winter, usually just off the fairway though.

super_realist wrote:Ray, are you serious, lots of club require you to play of a mat, about 5 inches wide by 12 inches long during the winter, usually just off the fairway though.

Seriously, have never heard of this until now. Don't know any courses in the south that do this. I once read somewhere about how some soldiers in Afghanistan or somewhere had built their own course and used a mat to hit from, so thought it might be similar.

I had images of people lumbering around with driving range mats to stand on, but I get the picture now, I guess it's a bit like walking around with a carpet tile. Sounds a bit rubbish, but it's better than nothing if the alternative is to close the course.

Mats are common place up here in the west of Scotland away from the coast. Too cold and too wet for the grass to grow back if folk are taking hefty divots out the fairway all winter. Usual rules are play off the mat from the fairway or lift and place the ball in the semi. Will be playing off mats from mid October (usually start of Nov but it was especially wet in Oct) up until first medal at end of March. It is a bit rubbish but our fairways tend to be fairly narrow with light semi rough and no real heavy rough unless you end up in the trees so tends to be you probably will play about 1 shot a hole of a mat. Not too bad and better than doing the weekly shop with the Mrs.

You've probably never played on winter greens either then? The small temporary greens cut on the fairway, usually on the side of a hill. Ever had to sink that putt just outside gimmie range, small undulations everywhere, lumps of sand, fluffy grass, no grass, all half frozen for the win? You southern jessies. You dont know what real golf is!

The only time i've ever lumbered a matt around was playing golf in the Maldives! It was so hot and my hands were so sweaty that i only played one round of using the club like a baseball bat before enough was enough.

I didn't realise it happened it this country either!
Have used winter greens though. You see that the hole is the size of a bucket and think that'll be easy until you get down to have a look at your putt and leave the first one 20 feet short!!

Apologies but split these from the Tips/Hints etc 'sticky' as would be good to try and keep the Tips on-topic.

My club is hosting the Curtis Cup next year so mats have been introduced. It remains to be seen whether or not they become a permanent winter fixture.

Not terribly impressed thusfar but only because the damn thing doesn't lie flat enough so it's a bit disconcerting.

However, in one way, it's a lot better in that we now have a choice of whether to lift off to the side and place in the rough or play from the fairway with the mat. One benefit to having such an option is that it ought to result in fewer divots in the rough lining the fairways.

I think you'll see the benefits in the summer Gael, one of my clubs doesn't have them and the course looks fairly scruffy come summer due to the number of divots compared to my other club which does use them.

I think roping off popular landing areas is also a good idea. Elie do it and the fairways are usually are in great condition.

NBS - good idea.

MPB - we dont even get the bucket holes in our winter greens. Regulation size!

Gael - I think the cheap plastic astro mats are better than the ones that more resemble range mats. My plastic mat has plastic spikes to imitate grass rather than the more tightly knitted artificial grass mats. Hit the ball slightly fat on my cheap plastic mat and the few plastic 'blades of grass' dont really effect things much. It also sits fairly flat.

Make sure if you are right handed you have a right handed mat too

super_realist wrote:I think you'll see the benefits in the summer Gael, one of my clubs doesn't have them and the course looks fairly scruffy come summer due to the number of divots compared to my other club which does use them.

I think roping off popular landing areas is also a good idea. Elie do it and the fairways are usually are in great condition.

Selected areas of the fairways have been roped off for many years now so the decision to introduce mats may have been more to do with protecting the rough at the side of the fairways.

"Make sure if you are right handed you have a right handed mat too."

You may well joke Lairdy but I have to admit to a bit of this before deciding which way it went, so to speak.

Lairdy wrote:MPB - we dont even get the bucket holes in our winter greens. Regulation size!

Seriously? Harsh!!

The thing I thought was weird about using a mat is the ball is always an inch higher than it would normally be! Changing the impact point of your swing by an inch is quite a lot! Do you have to have a summer swing and a winter swing?!

Add me to the list of people who have never heard of mats in this country. I think I'd give up for the winter rather than play that way!

Having said that I'm very lucky with my club in that they seldom even use mats for tees in the winter (one or two exceptions in the wettest part of the course) and seldom have temporary greens too unless the main green is actually being worked on.

Even in the hardest frosty conditions they tend to put the flags right at the very front of the green proper rather than have a temporary. Only in really exceptional conditions do they go to temporaries and by then it's touch and go whether the course is open at all.

They're not actually that bad Davie, it's amazing how seldom you actually have to use them, due to being in semi, 18 tee shots, putts, only really leaves fairway shots and chips when you miss the green.

On a plus side they help ball striking and you can get silly spin off them.

I saw one idiot use one out of a bunker once.

MustPuttBetter wrote:

Lairdy wrote:MPB - we dont even get the bucket holes in our winter greens. Regulation size!

Seriously? Harsh!!

The thing I thought was weird about using a mat is the ball is always an inch higher than it would normally be! Changing the impact point of your swing by an inch is quite a lot! Do you have to have a summer swing and a winter swing?!

I tend to grip down a little when playing off my mat. It must help with right to left shots as well having the ball sit slightly higher. With our smallish fairways and more expansive semi rough I dont find myself hitting many full shots off the mat anyway and its mostly short irons. Better than nothing and the banter tends to be better this time of year!

Davie wrote:Even in the hardest frosty conditions

I remember as a junior playing on icey temp greens in the winter. One time, I was all square with a mate going onto the last. I holed a flukey putt from off the super icey slippery temp green (only about 15ft) for a par. He was 10ft away for a birdie but took 26 putts to get it down. Basically, after the 4th attempt with the ball sliding off the side of the green at the slightest of touches, he went into an OCD rage and refused to pick up until he'd holed out. It was entertaining for a bit, and he got a big cheer from the group behind us when he finally holed out.

Only once have I played a course with bucket holes on their temps. It was waaaay to easy. MPB, the eclectic's all yours!

I dislike playing off mats but they serve a purpose. If i've the option, and it doesn't block out a shot to the green, I'd always choose to play from the semi instead - especially if i've anything more than mid iron in my hands. As super says, for the odd shot you need some silly-spin they can be quite handy.

Lairdy wrote:

Make sure if you are right handed you have a right handed mat too

Did you get fitted for your mat? I assume there is a whole range available, from Axminster to Lino

My course didn't even need to use temp greens last winter. Hoping for the same this year. If the weather gets bad they move the pin to the front of the greens, if really bad then temp greens but I would say the course would probably be unplayable anyway for that to happen. The benefits of good natural drainage! I would have thought links courses in Scotland would be able to cope with this.

raycastleunited wrote:

Lairdy wrote:

Make sure if you are right handed you have a right handed mat too

Did you get fitted for your mat? I assume there is a whole range available, from Axminster to Lino

I didnt and I'm starting to worry it doesnt fit my swing speed. The lino ones curl up when it gets warmer in spring.

Ray, last winter was awful. Most courses were shut for ages. One of my clubs for about 60 days. So although there were no winter greens, the course was shut in any case.
At St.Andrews they are poofs when it comes to the weather. Tiniest bit of frost and it's shut.

BanBam

I wish!
My place is like Davie's. No winter greens at the mo and there only will be if there's work to be done. It's more likely to be closed than on winters. They also move a lot of the pins to the front to stop people walking all over the green.

I've been a member nearly 3 years and have only played 5 holes on winter green over than period, 3 of them in one round

super_realist wrote:only really leaves fairway shots and chips when you miss the green.

How can you possibly miss the greens at Stan Drews? They are the size of football pitches!!

Difficult to miss greens on TOC granted, but on the proper courses like the Jubilee and New, it's a bit more difficult.

I concur, the New is a tough test!

ban_bam wrote:

Davie wrote:Even in the hardest frosty conditions

I remember as a junior playing on icey temp greens in the winter. One time, I was all square with a mate going onto the last. I holed a flukey putt from off the super icey slippery temp green (only about 15ft) for a par. He was 10ft away for a birdie but took 26 putts to get it down. Basically, after the 4th attempt with the ball sliding off the side of the green at the slightest of touches, he went into an OCD rage and refused to pick up until he'd holed out. It was entertaining for a bit, and he got a big cheer from the group behind us when he finally holed out.

Only once have I played a course with bucket holes on their temps. It was waaaay to easy. MPB, the eclectic's all yours!

Not great for the putting stats!

gael,
Now we know exactly whom to blame if the Curtis Cup is not won in fine style next summer, to go with the Solheim, Walker and Ryder trophies.

I'm in Essex and if the course is open we are on the tees and on the greens.

It is great not to have to play off mats or have temporary greens in the winter but I do feel that the condition of the course suffers as a result come the Spring...

The proprietor of a club fairly close to me has a reputation for keeping his course open in conditions when it really should be closed.

Two or three winters ago during a particular rainy spell of weather, my club and practically all in the area were waterlogged and had been closed for about a fortnight. A couple of mates and myself were desperate for a game and I phoned this club to enquire if it was open.

"Oh yes Sir" the disgruntled employee replied, "Tim will only close the course when the tills are flooded!"

kwinigolfer wrote:gael,
Now we know exactly whom to blame if the Curtis Cup is not won in fine style next summer, to go with the Solheim, Walker and Ryder trophies.

Not quite following you here kwini.

Tell you what though ... I'm probably about the only one who's not looking forward to it. Two reasons: 1) we keep getting creamed! and 2) they're too bloody slow!

gael

what does the pace of play have to do with it? You won't be allowed on the course until after the event is finished, we had the same situation this year with the Carris trophy.

Eh? Whit are ye bletherin' aboot d4s? The Carris Trophy is a stroke play event.

I'm talking about the course being closed, no access for members. Isn't that what you are talking about?

No! I was referring to the team players pace of play.

I attended the last one when it was over here (St.Andrews). The pace of play was dire and this together with accompanying awful weather resulted in a fair number of frozen tushes, including mine! Not a pleasant experience.

That's them as amateurs.....it'll be even worse when they turn pro

Indeed. They are, in essence, using these events as training grounds in preparation for turning pro.

The Cooncil courses where I play have a pretty good system.
Lift off the fairways and place in the semi, then from 50yards to the pin its normal play. They get a lot of play but come spring the fairways are generally quite good.
They stay on the greens whenever possible which is just as well as the temps are usually horrid.

For some reason greenkeepers don't seem to realise that you have to change the holes BEFORE the 5'' frosts.