Review: Spurk Golf fairway mat is a winter game changer

Spurk Golf fairway mat review

If you play golf in the UK during winter months, then you’ve almost certainly had to use a fairway mat at some point.

For the most part, they’re a real pain and I’ve suffered using them in the past. Poor quality pieces of plastic that make hitting tricky shots near impossible.

However, I do completely appreciate why we use them through the winter. The last thing we want, particularly when conditions are wet, is to have the fairways chewed up during winter golf, leaving golf courses in poor condition come springtime.

For that reason, I was excited to give the Spurk Golf Mat a shot. Founded by two golfers Kev Shelton and Andy Sears, the pair decided they had had enough of poorly designed winter mats that were spoiling their rounds in the off-season. They wanted a mat that didn’t move, and didn’t disrupt their shots.

I took the Short Pile grass mat, which is one of two options Spurk offer, out on the course for a test run.

Let’s take a closer look at it.

The First Look

The first thing you notice about this mat is the spikes that come from the base of it. These serve an important purpose, as they allow the mat to sit in the ground and not move when you hit a shot from it. They aren’t too long, however, that they get in the way when you store your mat in the Spurk Golf bag, which you can buy with the mat.

The Spurk is certainly more compact than traditional winter golf mats. That’s definitely a positive, as you only need something small to place on the ball on.

Overall, you can tell this is a well made product, and it certainly inspires confidence that is going to last you much longer than just one winter.

The Tech

Here’s what Spurk Golf say about their mat.

Our patented golf mats have been designed uniquely, with six spikes that lock into the grass at an angle, providing a consistent stable surface. Injection Moulding delivers a secure quality finish, resulting in a golf mat for play without compromise. Spurk is the only golf mat not to move when hit and the closest thing to playing off grass. It is suitable for use on club fairways and your own back garden.

With the Fairway Winter Mat, there’s zero damage to the course and zero damage to your game.

The bunkered Verdict

As I said, I’ve had plenty of experience using winter golf mats, and for the most part, I really don’t like using them. They’re annoying to carry on the course, make hitting standard shots difficult and you can end up walking 20 yards down the fairway to pick your mat up after a shot.

The Spurk Golf does a really good job of getting rid of these problems.

For a start, it doesn’t move when you hit shots from it, thanks to the six spikes that lock into the fairway. This is one of the worst parts of using a traditional mat. After hitting wedge shots, iron shots and fairway woods from this mat, it certainly wasn’t moving, so that’s a big plus.

The next thing that traditional mats do, which is a real problem, is take the ball a long way from the fairway and put the ball well above your feet. The Spurk does a really good job of stopping this. The spikes mean that the mat sits almost at the level of the fairway, making it pretty realistic. Of course, it’s never going to be quite the same, but it’s a whole lot better than what you might be used to.

Another thing I noticed about the Spurk is how easy it is to generate spin from it, compared to a regular mat. The mat is firm, which is great for durability but also makes it really pleasing to hit from, especially with shorter clubs. I noticed a big difference in levels of spin compared to the Spurk and a normal mat.

Overall, this piece of kit is very impressive, and I can see why so many golfers enjoy using it. You might think that the price is steep, but if you’re someone that plays a lot of golf through winter at a course that requires mats, a Spurk mat is a worthy investment.

The Details

RRP: £27.50; £35 (includes mat and bag)

Available: Now

More Details: Here

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