INDOOR putting aids

I live in Idaho, with hot summers and long, cold winters. I would like to improve my putting in this offseason, so I was thinking about purchasing an indoor putting aid.

Are there any indoor putting aids you use that have been helpful?

I've looked into things like the Eyeline golf laser, but I don't know if that would only assist in shorter putts...

I found two books to be useful:

Zen Putting: Mastering the Mental Game on the Greens Hardcover – by Joseph Parent

Dave Pelz's Putting Bible: The Complete Guide to Mastering the Green

I currently use an indoor rubber putting cup as my only putting aid. Before our family moved, however, we used to have a plaid rug in the gameroom. I found the lines on the rug to be exceptionally helpful when practicing my putting for a straight back, straight through stroke.

I have a metal yard stick with a hole at one end.   I'm working with it this week.   So far, so good.

I like the puttingstick.

Have received good results on the course since I began using it over the last 3 months.

http://www.tpkgolf.com/Articles.asp?ID=251

Will do a review soon...

If you have any kind of indoor, level surface that will relate well with putting green turf, then drop a dime a foot or two in front of the ball, and practice rolling the ball over the dime. All the putts I have ever encountered have been straight putts to a target that may, or may not be the cup. If you can aim, and hit the dime, then you are hitting a pretty straight putt.

Another way I have practiced putting indoors is to use the small end of a red fire brick. (8"X4"X21/4") The small end is about the same width of golf cup. I would set it up 3-6 feet a way and try to hit the small end (4")  of the brick with the ball with enough force to have the ball bounce, and roll back to me.

What ever works.

I am currently "hors de combat" due to a surgery, and have been using a putting mat for two months. I use it every day. I keep it in a room and every time I walk by, I putt a few.

At first I didn't notice any difference, then I seemed to get worse, well, I did get worse. Then I noticed that almost all of my misses were just about exactly two inches to the right. I added a little thing where I sort of raised my left shoulder a tiny bit at the end of the stroke, kind of a follow through, and now I am deadly, from 7 feet... on a flat straight putt.  Before writing this comment, I just went in there and hit ten in a row without a miss.

That is not the same as reading greens, or controlling distance, but as for accuracy, and a nice roll, just a plain old putting mat has made a difference for me.  I can't wait to try it on a real green. But I am thinking that what you need really depends on where your game is. My putting had just fallen apart since I had focused on my driving and irons, and I had become erratic, having no idea where a putt was going, so I worked on what I needed.

I am thinking the putting stick might be the next thing for me.

I just drilled a hole in my floor, bought a 4.25" hole saw, plugged in the drill, done... right through the rug.

Actually I'm kidding, but the thought has crossed my mind,

Let's nominate a 'patron saint of putting'.  We can see the famous futball players (soccer) making the cross or kneeling on a mat before the big game in hopes their particular deity, or his rep, could intervene that very day and produce some goals.

My wonderful mother, now long gone, always invoked St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, when things with dad went sour.  Maybe he, St.  Jude, can help us all on the green.  If not, it's a lost cause for sure.