Are special mats required for use with your Tee-up machines? If so Why?

The tee height on our machines is adjustable to a maximum of 78mm/3.07inch above the concrete. Made from foam backing and synthetic nylon grass facing, the thickness can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. If a mat is 31.75mm/1.25inch thick then the maximum height for the ball is 46mm/1.82 inches. You don’t want to go much less than this or golfers (especially beginning golfers) will have a hard time hitting the ball. The ball tees up below grade and rises through a 63.5mm/2.5inch round hole in the mat. Most mat manufacturers do not design their mats for use after a large hole is cut into it. The glue joint is not strong enough and after a short period of time golfers hitting 7-9 irons and wedges off a low tee (which they will do) will rip the synthetic turf off the foam backing.
We have found two manufacturers that can provide a conventional mat to withstand these additional requirements, Southwest Synthetic Turf and Wittek Golf. Additionally, Fiberbuilt builds a hard rubber tile system mat that works quite well. This tile mat is somewhat taller than nylon/foam mats so you give up a small amount of tee-height. However they have two advantages, they wear much longer than nylon turf and you can replace 1 tile at a time. Both systems work quite well. The hitting mats/ shot mats are usually ordered in 450-500mm/18-20inch widths.