How do you feel about fairway mats? This might surprise you – and don’t hate me for it – but I’m a bit of a fan. No squidgy lies. No muddy fats. A nice, clean, reliable lie every time you hit a shot.
I pick the ball, rather than delve a divot, so it suits me and, frankly, makes winter golf bearable. But each to their own.
Increasing numbers of golf clubs are starting to take matters into their own hands – assisted by a Local Rule that makes the use of mats compulsory in parts of the course that are cut to fairway height or less.
The logic is divots don’t heal in winter because grass growth slows. By using mats, the turf is in far better condition once the spring rolls around.
So many of you will now be striking shots from fairway mats through the winter. But that does raise the question: how far can you take it? If you can use an iron, or a wedge, what about a putter?
If you’ve got a damp lie on the fringe – which, remember, isn’t part of the putting green – can you pop your ball onto a mat and roll it with your putter?
Fairway mats rules: Can you use a putter?
If you thought you’d found a winter cheat code, think again. The Local Rule that requires the use of mats doesn’t just say when they are to be used – it also says what can’t be used.
It states a mat must be used “when a ball lies in a part of the general area cut to fairway height or less and a putter is not being used for the stroke”.
So there you are: you can’t use a putter from a fairway mat.
Can a club tighten things up even further, and use it to clamp down generally on where putters can be used? The guidance is very clear: “It is not authorised to restrict the use of putters to specific areas.”
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So while mats are mandatory when this Local Rule is in force, you’re free to roam with a putter – just not from the mat itself.
Got a question for our expert?
Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I’ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column.
What do you think of these fairway mat rules? Let me you what you think, and send me your own rules questions, by emailing me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com or by leaving us a comment below, or on X.
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