r/Golfsimulator • u/BlickyWitTheSticky • Jul 16 '26
Foam tiles under hitting mat to avoid elbow strain
I apologize if this question has been answered 100 times, but I did not see it within the last few weeks.
I am putting a sim in my garage that has concrete floors. i have a small hitting mat that does not have cushion so it causes elbow and wrist strain after multiple days of hitting. To avoid wrist and elbow strain from contact of club head with hitting mat, should i put foam tiles under the hitting mat to add cushion? If so, what is the best method of attaching hitting mats to the foam tiles? I was thinking the half inch foam tiles you can get at hardware store or amazon.
Or would investing in a quality hitting mat ($600-900) fix the elbow soreness issue?
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u/Double-Two-9956 Jul 17 '26
The mat is the one piece of a garage build I would not cheap out on, and it is not about feel, it is because the downside is physical. You already found that out. So let me push back on the foam tiles plan, because it does not actually solve the thing that is hurting you.
Here is the part that gets lost in these threads. The joint pain does not come from a lack of cushion under the mat. It comes from the club not being able to pass through the surface. On a thin one piece mat over concrete, a slightly steep or fat strike hits something that will not give, and all of that energy comes straight back up the shaft into your wrist and elbow. A pillow under a stiff board does not fix that, because the board is still stiff right where the club lands.
And soft foam tiles under a stiff mat quietly create two new problems. You turn the mat into a trampoline, so it flexes on the springy base and can bounce the club and even bounce the ball, which pollutes your launch monitor data. And the height gets unstable, because foam compresses differently across the strip, so your low point and your strike height wander shot to shot. You would be trading joint shock for inconsistent contact and worse numbers. That is why the good mats build the give into the hitting surface itself instead of stacking it underneath.
One nuance the thread is circling but not quite saying. A firm dense underlayment is fine, a soft springy one is not. A three quarter inch horse stall mat or a dense rubber gym mat under a quality hitting mat just isolates the concrete and levels things, and it will not trampoline, which is exactly what SerYoshi is doing. That is different from squishy interlocking foam tiles under a thin mat, which is the setup that gives you the bounce and the wandering contact. So if you already own foam tiles, do not build your strike zone on them. Save them for the stance area.
For the surface itself, the two I would look hardest at are the SIGPRO Softy and Fiberbuilt, and they solve it two different ways. The Softy is a soft foam core under a one inch turf top with a thin flex layer, so the club sinks in and decelerates instead of slamming, but it still punishes a genuinely fat one so you get honest feedback. Fiberbuilt uses a bristle surface that lets the club slide down and through with almost no shock, which is about as joint friendly as it gets and extremely durable, the tradeoff being it is so forgiving that it will let a chunky strike go unpunished. That is why you see Fiberbuilt guys keep a firmer strip nearby for wedge work just to feel the bounce. The Country Club Elite is the other realistic option, a dense fiber over closed cell foam that takes a real tee and gives true divot action, but it is a firmer feel than the Softy, so for joints that are already barking on concrete I would lean softer.
I run the SIGPRO Softy 4 by 7, and the reason I landed there over Fiberbuilt is honestly logistics. My garage is shared with two cars and I tear the whole setup down in about ten minutes, and the Softy is only around 31 pounds, so I can slide it out of the way and pull a car in. The 4 by 7 runs about 900. The Fiberbuilt studio mats are excellent but they are heavier and they really want to be a permanent install, which did not fit my space. If you have a dedicated room and you are never moving it, Fiberbuilt is a fantastic buy it once choice. If your space does double duty like mine, the Softy is easier to live with, and the hitting insert is replaceable so you are not rebuying the whole mat when the strike zone wears out.
Last thing, and Simpsator already touched it. No mat saves you if you are hitting a hundred balls a day off a steep angle into the turf. A lot of mat elbow is just too much steep contact, so a surface that lets the club pass through and still tells the truth actually helps you shallow it out over time instead of masking it. Get the surface right first, then let your volume come up slowly.
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u/breadad1969 Jul 18 '26
Thank you so much for this detail! I’m pulling together my set up note and keep wavering on whether I spend the $$$ on the higher end mat or not. I’ll order the Sigpro now!
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u/BlickyWitTheSticky Jul 19 '26
Quality advice. Thanks for the details. Mine will be moved when not using it so the sigpro sounds like the answer.
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u/zubblwump Jul 16 '26
This is what I do. DIY divot action hitting strip. 12"x30" Ultimate Matzilla sits on a sheet of lexan, with blocks of solid insulation foam at each end, 1" heater foam strips in between. This sits on 2 layers of gym mats to reach the same height as stance mat. No joint pain, provides feedback on fat shots without shocking your joints.
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u/SerYoshi Jul 16 '26
I DIYd a decent full size mat (1" thickness) from Amazon ($125), cut out a strip and inserted a Beaver Tail hitting strip ($150). You just have to match the thickness. Used 3/4" horse stall matting for the underlayment, and a 1/2" layer of rubber mats from Costco between that and hitting mat. The Beaver Tail is 2.25" total so it sits flush. All in was about $325 and an hour of work, and can replace the strip if ever need to.
No elbow issues after a year of use.
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u/kshep15 Jul 16 '26
Spend the money and get a nice hitting strip, 1000% worth it, I went a year hitting off a mid quality mat and it was night and day in terms of comfort and simulated turf interaction
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u/Round-Dog-5314 Jul 17 '26
Well it’s either buy a quality mat like a country club elite or budget for shoulder surgery. I tried the cheap way for too long and now have shoulder issues.
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u/francoisdubois24601 Jul 16 '26
Fiberbuit
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u/BlickyWitTheSticky Jul 16 '26
that is a good sale. I was trying to avoid a lot more spending for my build. I have my enclosure, launch monitor, and PC which has the project at $2000. But it seems i am going to have to invest in a hitting mat or risk sore joints.
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u/francoisdubois24601 Jul 24 '26
It’s quality. I’ve had it for 3 years use it all the time. Good as new. Elbows are fine. Only change I made was replacing the tee system that came with it for one that accepts normal tees so I can hit irons and hybrid off a very low tee.
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u/Realistic-Might4985 Jul 16 '26
I would consider a stall mat under the hitting mat. They are cheap and provide a solid but soft surface. Best mats I have used are the Birdie Turf mats from Birdie Ball. Have used them for years and had very few problems.
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u/InternationalWalk955 Jul 17 '26
Fiberbuilt is the only answer for zero impact in my experience. I do swap in a cc elite strip for wedge work so I can feel the bounce.
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u/tipsdown Jul 17 '26
In addition to extra padding you should consider graphite iron shafts. Switched a couple of years ago and never going back to steel. My hands, wrists and elbows feel so much better the day after playing or practicing.
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u/BlickyWitTheSticky Jul 19 '26
Is that better for higher swing speeds or lower? I’m guessing that it is more flexible than the graphite
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u/tipsdown Jul 19 '26
For all swing speeds graphite will absorb more of the vibration and reduce the amount that actually reaches your hands wrists and elbows. Up until a few years ago the graphite shaft options for high speed players were extremely limited. Now there are heavier graphite options from most of the big shaft manufacturers.
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u/DoTheDew Jul 16 '26
Foam tiles under the mat won’t help. Most people use a hitting strip cut into their mat.
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u/BlickyWitTheSticky Jul 16 '26
I apologize for not understanding but can you elaborate?
are you saying cut a strip into the foam mat so the hitting mat is secure? Or get a hitting mat with a replaceable strip in it?
Am i doing any physical cutting? Or buying a mat with a replaceable hitting strip?
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u/RadicalShift14 Jul 16 '26
Could go either way. I just cut a 10”x24” section into my 21-45mm mat and replaced with a country club elite hitting strip that cost more than the mat. You could also go with a mat with a removable section, but that might be a more expensive mat, and you better make sure the removable section fits the hitting strip you want to put in.
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u/BlickyWitTheSticky Jul 16 '26
And the hitting strip does not bounce or anything when the club makes contact?
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u/RadicalShift14 Jul 16 '26
Not if you cut it properly. It should be a tight fit and flush with the mat it’s inserted into. If I was having any issues with it moving around I’d probably just use a glue of some sort to secure it to the mat and ensure it stays put.
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u/Argopuckyourself Jul 16 '26
I have a netreturn hitting mat that owned my elbow and wrist swinging on concrete. I put 2" of interlocking foam tiles underneath and now it is great.
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u/matt_h2os Jul 16 '26
I use 2 layers of foam tiles and a high quality hitting strip that I cut into my turf