What We Tried
The SIGPRO Softy, a golf hitting mat sold exclusively through The Indoor Golf Shop.
Your SIGPRO Softy Tester
Tony Covey. MyGolfSpy Editorial Director and a guy trying to make the most out of a golf simulator in a limited-height environment.
The Requisite Background
Before we get into the details, I want to give you some quick background.
Just over a year ago, my wife and I moved into a new house. The project started with her desire for a new kitchen. At the time, building was a better option than renovating so we decided that in the new place, she’d get her dream kitchen and I’d get a space for a golf simulator.
As is the case with many things, when we got deep into things, compromises had to be made. And so, yada, yada, yada, my wife got her kitchen and I got a basement with an 8’6” ceiling..
One of us got hosed on that deal.
Anyway, this will be the first in a series of reviews of indoor/golf simulator components. While they should be applicable to anyone looking to create a space to hit balls in their house, they come from the perspective of a guy who has less space—or at least less height—than is ideal.
About the SIGPRO Softy Golf Hitting Mat
As the name implies, one point of emphasis of The Indoor Golf Shop’s SIGPRO Softy hitting mat is softness. While a good bit of that comes from the Softy hitting insert, it’s worth pointing out that the hitting platform is constructed from a dense foam with a turf overlay that provides some measure of softness.
It’s a bit different from the hitting mats I’ve encountered in the past but it provides what is, in my opinion, a stable hitting platform with a little bit of give. I’m going to tell you it’s just right though I’d be remiss not to point out that at least one reviewer found it too soft.
For context, I’m just a little over 200 pounds (If I don’t get back to my Tonal, I’ll be more than a little over 200 before Thanksgiving) and I don’t find myself sinking. It’s just a slight give.
As I said, I like it but it may not be for everyone.
The SIGPRO Softy is a bit taller than most hitting mats, which can be an issue in limited height environments.
My narrowly applicable criticism of the SIGPRO Softy golf mat design is that it’s thicker than most. It’s not lost on me that the thickness is a key aspect of the design but, for some, the 2 3/8” thickness may be an issue.
For context, the Softy hitting mat is roughly ¾” thicker than The Indoor Golf Shop’s Fairway Series mat. If height isn’t an issue in your space, then it’s no big deal. If you’re in a limited-height environment like I am in my basement, a thinner mat is going to allow you to hit longer clubs.
If you have plenty of height (like I do in my garage), it’s not an issue.
The SIGPRO Softy Insert
What I’d say is that the insert has a springiness that provides a bit of give at impact.
If the Softy insert isn’t your thing, The Indoor Golf Shop has two other insert options. The 3D Hitting Strip ($149) is designed with durability in mind while the Preferred Hitting Strip ($99) seeks to mimic the performance of natural grass while still reducing joint strain.
Easy on the Joints?
The SIGPRO Soft insert provides a bit of give on impact to reduce stress on your joints.
The Softy insert is intended to be the easiest on your joints and, while I don’t have enough evidence to either support or dispute the claim, I will say it should be something you consider when buying a hitting mat. There is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that as indoor golf/simulator use has increased so, too, have joint injuries like tennis and golf elbow.
And while that’s been good for business over at Fiix Elbow, my non-medically qualified advice is to do whatever you can to minimize your risk.
Performance
The SIGPRO Softy works with a standard golf tee.
Full disclosure: I haven’t done a full analysis to see how closely my SIGPRO Softy numbers match my outdoor numbers. History has taught me that I’m about a full club shorter indoors with the irons and that’s with just about every mat I’ve hit off.
If game improvement is your objective, as long as you understand the differences between what you see indoors and what you get outdoors, you should be fine.
The Softy insert doesn’t have any premade holes for an adjustable-height tee but you can use a standard tee. As you’d expect, it will go flying so you’ll probably want to use something like TeeClaw or BirTee.
Hitting Every Club in the Bag
For me, the more important (and overlooked consideration) when buying a hitting mat is how well it responds to every club in the bag. With some mats, we’ve found you simply can’t reliably hit some of the clubs in your bag off them.
For example, I can’t hit a fairway wood off the mats at my home course to save my life. And just so you don’t think that’s a unique-to-me kind of problem, several years ago we had to replace all the mats in our facility after discovering that nearly all of our testers struggled to hit clean shots—again, with fairway woods.
For what it’s worth, I’ve hit every club in the bag off the SIGPRO Softy and nothing has jumped out as unusual.
And I guess that’s the ripple with buying something like a golf mat.
A good bit of the stuff we buy for golf is, to some extent, “try before you buy.” You can demo just about every club, you can see and touch a good bit of the other stuff at your local pro shop or big box store, but almost nobody stocks a full selection of mats or provides an opportunity to test options to see what feels/works best for you.
As a result, when you’re looking for a golf hitting mat, you’re largely at the mercy of online reviewers to steer you in the right direction and so here we are, I suppose.
Options and Pricing
The SIGPRO Softy is available in 4’x10’ and 4’x7’ sizes. It’s a modular design with the larger mat having three pieces and the smaller one two. The 4’x10’ provides enough room for both right- and left-handed hitters with plenty of space for a side-sitting launch monitor like GC Quad, Launch Pro or SkyTrak+.
Users of rear-placed launch monitors like Mevo+ and Rapsodo MLM2 Pro will need to check their manuals to find out if they need to elevate the device to match the extra height of the mat.
What sets The Indoor Golf Shop’s SIGPRO Softy apart from other large mats is the weight. If you’ve ever dealt with full or even mid-sized hitting mats, you know they’re heavy and awkward.
The three-piece Softy weighs just over 30 pounds in total which, in addition to making it much easier to move in a general sort of way, makes it ideally suited to pack-away situations and other non-permanent installations.
The lightweight, modular design of the SIGPRO Softy golf hitting mat makes setting-up and tearing-down a snap (literally).
For example, if you have a wife who occasionally wants to park her car in your simulator bay, it’s helpful if your mat is easy to move and stow.
Despite the relatively light weight, the SIGPRO Softy hitting mat is relatively stable. On my concrete floors, it’s moved a little over time but certainly not with every swing. It’s easy enough to tap back to where you want it but if relocating the mat isn’t a concern, it ships with a couple of adhesive pads which should help lock everything down.
The 4’x10’ SIGPRO Softy sells for $1,099 and while that’s not a small number, it is quite a bit less than similarly sized mats from some competitors.
The 4’x7′ SIGPRO Softy, which should be large enough for most use cases, is $899.
The Indoor Golf Shop’s Fairway Series mat (I’ll post a review of that as well) is a bit more affordable at $549.
The Takeaway
If you’re in the market for a golf mat, the SIGPRO Softy is one to consider, especially if your hitting area is something other than a permanent installation.
The SIGPRO Softy golf hitting mat is sold exclusively through The Indoor Golf Shop.
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