Guides · Enclosures, mats and hitting surfaces
Fiberbuilt vs. SIGPRO Softy: How Do the Hitting Surfaces Differ?
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Fiberbuilt and SIGPRO Softy solve the hitting-area problem in different ways. Fiberbuilt sells complete studio mats with the stance area and hitting section designed together. The SIGPRO Softy is a hitting strip sold both as a replacement for SIGPRO mats and as an insert for DIY subfloors. The real comparison is a full mat system against a replaceable insert, and how each fits your floor height, handedness, and room footprint.
Fiberbuilt can give you the whole hitting platform
Fiberbuilt sells studio mats in single-, center-, and double-hitting layouts, in standard sizes from 7 by 4 feet to 12 by 4 feet, with some Grass Series mats 6 feet deep. That is convenient when you want the stance area and hitting surface to arrive as one coordinated system.
The cost of that convenience is space. A full studio mat occupies more floor than a small hitting insert, so its footprint matters in a garage or narrow simulator room.
SIGPRO Softy is easier to build into a custom floor
The SIGPRO Softy strip measures 28 by 12 inches and 2½ inches thick. It is built in layers, starting with a soft foam insert under 1-inch Teeline turf, and it takes a real tee.
Because the strike area is separate from the stance floor, it can be replaced without rebuilding the entire hitting area. That is useful in a permanent simulator, where the spot under the ball wears faster than the surrounding turf.
The tradeoff is installation planning. A thick insert has to finish level with the floor around it. If you decide on the strip after the turf and subfloor are already built, matching the heights becomes harder.
Floor height comes out of the ceiling
Every layer under your feet reduces the usable ceiling height. In a room with plenty of headroom, a thick mat or insert may be irrelevant. In a marginal nine-foot room, another inch or two can change how comfortable a driver swing feels.
Compare the finished standing height of the complete system, not just the turf thickness shown in a product photo. Fiberbuilt lists its 9-by-4 Grass Series center-hitting mat at 2 inches finished height and its Player Preferred 8-by-4 single-hitting mat at 1.75 inches.
Handedness can decide the layout
Fiberbuilt’s center- and double-hitting layouts can make a shared right- and left-handed room easier to manage. Fiberbuilt also calls the center-hitting layout ideal for down-the-line radar units such as Trackman and FlightScope.
A SIGPRO strip gives a DIY builder more freedom to choose the exact ball position, but the stance floor still has to remain level on both sides. If players switch handedness often, design that movement into the floor instead of making people drag heavy mats between shots.
Comfort is personal
Both product lines are sold on the feel of striking down into the surface instead of a hard practice mat. That can matter over long sessions, but the way a surface feels depends on the golfer, the swing, and the floor underneath it.
If possible, hit from the surface before committing to a large permanent floor.
Compare the cost of the finished floor
A complete Fiberbuilt studio mat and one SIGPRO Softy strip are not equivalent purchases. Price the stance area, hitting surface, base, surrounding turf, and any material needed to bring everything to the same height.
Fiberbuilt lists its Grass Series 9-by-4 center-hitting studio mat at $1,499. The Indoor Golf Shop sells one Softy strip for $249.99, before any stance floor or base around it.