Product Compare | Kaizen Golf Tee Turf Vs. 3 Layer (3D) Mat - what's the right golf mat for you?

So you are tossing up whether to purchase the Tee Turf or the 3D Golf Mat?

Well, you are not alone. This is one of the most frequently asked questions by our customers.

In this article we provide a head-to-head comparison between the two products which will hopefully help you in deciding what may be the right Golf Mat for your needs.

First thing first - both the Tee Turf and 3 Layer (3D) Golf Mats are all very high quality products that are built to last. We are extremely proud of these products and we constantly get very positive customer feedback for both of these products in terms of their build quality and value. 

At the same time, they are quite different mats in terms of how they are constructed and features they offer and therefore will suit different golfers dependent on their specific needs. 

The following table is a summary of key differences between the two products as well as the type of golfer they are suited to. If you are after more details, those are provided further below as well.

Construction

Features

When it comes to features, of course the party trick of the Tee Turf mat is the fact that you can insert your own tee anywhere on the mat. 

This certainly does give another element of 'realness' when you are hitting shots off a tee, but more importantly, you can easily dial in your preferred tee height instead of having to compromise with those rubber tees.

Furthermore, having a thick hitting surface means you can hit down and through the turf without experiencing the 'bounce' that you would associate with more traditional driving range mats. This again gives a more realistic feel of taking a divot.

The thick hitting surface also means more padding to dampen the shock at impact. This will reduce the chance of joint pain and injury. 

The 3 Layer (3D) mat on the other hand is based on a more traditional design. However the added air cushion does an excellent job of acting as a "air suspension" at impact. Golfers who tend to have a steeper swing or like to have long practice sessions will definitely benefit from this mat. 

I still clearly remember when I first set up my own practice area at home (pre Kaizen Golf days) and the liberating change from going from the fortnightly large bucket at the driving range to hitting as many balls as I wanted without stepping outside my house soon gave me  excruciating elbow pain as I only had an 'el cheapo' thin mat. 

Having a well made thick golf mat will make a big difference. It certainly did for me, and that's why we founded Kaizen Golf - to provide golfers high quality yet affordable products.

If you want to tee the ball up, the 3 Layer Mat comes with 4 pre-drilled holes for you to insert either a rubber tee or a rubber tee holder. We strongly recommend a rubber tee holder which will allow you to then insert your own tee (see below). But of course, you will only be able to tee the ball up on those fixed positions on the mat.

Feel

When it comes to the all-important 'feel', the 2 mats also have some differences.

Under foot, the 3 layer mat feels a little bit firmer to stand on, whereas the tee turf, due to having a thick top layer, does feel a bit softer. I personally prefer the firmer 3 layer mat to stand on, but it's obviously a personal preference thing. 

In terms of Feel At Impact, as mentioned above, the Tee Turf does feel more turf-like as you can hit more 'down and through'.

With the air cushion, the 3 Layer (3D) mat feels soft at impact, however as the hitting turf is shorter (15mm), you can still feel a slight 'bounce'. 

When it comes to fat shots, both mats provide really good feedback on heavy shots and through testing with our launch monitor, we did also see noticeable drop-offs in carry distance when shots felt heavy.

Ball Flight

For those who are either practicing with a launch monitor or playing simulated golf, we also hit balls off both mats to compare the resulting ball flight data using our Skytrak launch monitor.

Basically, there were no noticeable difference observed between the 2 mats in terms of launch angle, ball speed, spin, peak height and most importantly, carry distance.

You can find all the details of our test in our article - Mat vs. Mat - Do Different Golf Mats Affect Ball Flight?

Final Thoughts

In summary, both our 3 Layer (3D) and Tee Turf mats are excellent products and you really can't go wrong with either product. They are durable, offer good cushioning and provide good feedback at impact. However given how the mats are constructed and their features, they may suit different golfers dependent on your personal preferences:

• Tee Turf Mats - are more suited to golfers who are looking for a more realistic feel. They may be looking at setting up a golf simulator at home and want things to feel as close to real golfing conditions as possible.
• 3 Layer (3D) Mats -  are really suited to golfers who practice frequently and have long hitting sessions. It's solid construction will stand repeated shots and the air cushion will protect your joints in the process.

So this wraps up our head to head compare of 2 of our most popular golf mats. We hope this will help you in choosing the right mat for your personal needs and preferences.

If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to contact us, we'd love to hear from you!