HotShot Hitting Mat System vs Country Club Elite Mat (5×5)

Both are 1-3/4 inches thick, and they are built in two different ways. The Country Club Elite from Real Feel Golf Mats is a single piece: 1-inch-pile turf over a 5/8-inch high-density foam backing, with a three-year prorated limited warranty according to Indoor Golf Outlet's listing. The 5×5 is $599 at Rain or Shine, Indoor Golf Outlet and Amazon. Carl's Place's HotShot puts the hitting area on a separate strip, 12 by 30 inches, that lifts out of the mat. Carl's lists the system from $499.95 in 4×5, 5×8, 4×9 and 6×10; Indoor Golf Outlet sells the 6×10 at $1,059.95. There is no 5×5 HotShot.

The strip is the HotShot's case. When the hitting area wears, you replace the strip rather than the mat, and Carl's prices replacement strips from $79.95. You also choose the surface: Standard, a Foam Divot strip Carl's calls its most forgiving on the joints, or a Gel Divot strip it calls its most realistic, which it says can wear faster for golfers who hit behind the ball. The catch is the tee. Carl's says the Standard strip, with three pre-punched tee holes, is the only one that takes a real tee. The CCE takes a real wooden tee anywhere on the turf, and the 5×5 also has holes for rubber tees on all four sides.

The HotShot's starting price is about $100 under the CCE 5×5, but in a different size, and its sizes run longer, up to 6×10. If you tee up on a real tee and want one surface with nothing to swap, the CCE 5×5 is the simpler buy. If you would rather replace a strip than a mat, or want a foam strip under the ball, the HotShot is the better fit.