HotShot Hitting Mat System vs Country Club Elite Mat (4×5)

This is the like-for-like size: both come in 4×5 and both are 1-3/4 inches thick. The Country Club Elite 4×5 from Real Feel Golf Mats is $479 at Rain or Shine, Indoor Golf Outlet and Amazon. Carl's Place lists its HotShot system from $499.95, and 4×5 is the smallest size it makes.

The construction is what differs. The CCE is a single piece of 1-inch-pile turf over a 5/8-inch high-density foam backing, and Indoor Golf Outlet's listing gives it a three-year prorated limited warranty. A real wooden tee goes anywhere on the turf, and there are holes for rubber tees on two sides. The HotShot puts the hitting area on a strip, 12 by 30 inches, that lifts out. When it wears you replace the strip, from $79.95 at Carl's, not the mat, and you 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. Only the Standard strip, with three pre-punched tee holes, takes a real tee.

At this size price doesn't separate them, so how you practice does. If you tee up on real tees and want one surface with nothing to swap, the CCE 4×5 is the simpler buy for a little less. If you hit enough balls to wear through a hitting area, or want a foam strip under the ball, the HotShot's replaceable strip is worth the small premium. Either way a 4×5 is a one-player mat; both lines come in bigger sizes if the room allows.