Pitchmarks Verdict
The FORB Winter Golf Tee Frame & Hitting Mat will substantially upgrade your home practice setup. Featuring a heavy-duty steel frame and a choice between standard or winter mats, it offers a large, stable hitting area with a realistic turf feel. Adjustable legs ensure a level surface on uneven ground. Ideal for backyard practice.
Check Price at FORB GolfFor many golfers, home practice is the most convenient way to dial in their game. All it takes is a net and a hitting mat to form your personal driving range.
The FORB Winter Golf Tee Frame & Hitting Mat goes a step beyond your typical home golf practice setup. Combining a sturdy steel frame with a durable hitting mat, it offers a large and stable hitting area. It’s the ultimate home driving range experience.
First Impressions
On first look, this is quite clearly a substantial bit of kit!
Arriving in four modular quadrants, the heavy-duty FORB Winter Golf Tee Frame bolts together to form a large 1.65m x 1.65m (5.4ft x 5.4ft) hitting area.
Until now, my home practice setup has been a net and a small hitting mat. This requires standing on the grass and below the level of the ball, often causing me to hit it fat.
While the FORB Winter Tee Frame is intended primarily as a winter tee box solution, it’s also perfect for a home garden setup. The enormous hitting area allows you to stand on the same level as the ball, providing a far more comfortable and realistic experience.
Here’s what’s included in the package:
- Steel frame with adjustable legs
- Rubber base for shock absorption
- Hitting mat (standard or winter options, to simulate fairway or rough lies)
- Boot brush to keep the mat clean
Heavy-Duty Steel Frame
One big problem with using practice mats on grass is that the mat often flexes too much. To simulate firm golf course turf, you ideally want a stable base under the mat.
The Winter Tee Frame is made from heavy-duty galvanized steel and has a modular design that bolts together in minutes. Once secured, the base feels so solid underfoot.
This solid base helped me focus entirely on my swing, without worrying about stability. It feels a lot like having a concrete base, with the added benefit of being able to move the mat around when mowing the lawn. Side note, this is a two-person job!
The frame itself is powder coated in a gloss black finish, which looks highly premium. It also helps the mat blend into the environment, without being an eyesore.
Perfect for Uneven Ground
Not only does the frame offer a stable base, but it can also be set perfectly flat. Nine adjustable feet can be individually altered to form a level surface on uneven ground.
This is particularly useful if you have lots of slopes in your garden. By adjusting the legs and setting the hitting mat dead flat, you can recreate the optimal driving range setup.
Realistic Hitting Surface
The Winter Tee Frame can be paired with either a standard or a winter golf mat. Essentially, the standard mat closely simulates the fairway, while the winter mat mimics the rough.
One fantastic feature is that tees can be used with both mats. I much prefer hitting my driver off real tees, as I find plastic driving range tees don’t feel quite as realistic.
Having tested both hitting mats for several weeks, I’ve found them to be equally durable with no visible signs of wear. Over time, I plan to rotate the frame around to spread out the wear across all four sides of the mat, without concentrating on one specific area.
Beneath the top layer, an EVA foam rubber base locks the mat in place and offers shock absorption. This base adds some compression, which is good for your wrists at impact.
Final Thoughts
Simply put, the FORB Winter Golf Tee Frame has transformed my home practice setup. It gives me a stable platform to hit balls, without worrying about damaging my turf.
It’s as close as possible to a home driving range experience.
And don’t be put off by the term “winter” — I intend to use this all year round!
