PuttLink Smart Golf Ball Practice Aid

[billchao]

https://www.puttlink.com/

I will be reviewing the PuttLink Smart Ball, winner of the Best New Product award at the 2023 PGA Show. It is a golf ball with an embedded computer chip that tracks the roll distance, speed of the putt, and other information. It pairs with an app on your smart phone that has several different practice modes on it. 

The packaging is fine. It's not Apple quality or anything but it's good. The ball can be a little tricky to get out of that pocket but most people are only doing it once, so it's not a big deal. The QR code on the outer sleeve takes you to their website where there are links you can use to download the app and instructions on how to use the product I may or may not have read before using for the first time.

Included is the Smart Ball itself, a tee you use to turn it on, a magnetic insert you put inside a hole to detect if the ball is holed, a phone holder, and a pouch to put everything in. My phone has a case on it that makes it slightly too thick to sit in the slot well, but YMMV on that. It does have an Apple Watch app that I am not able to test at the moment because my watch is too old and the app requires software version 9.0 or later. I will revisit this in the near future. There's an additional option to purchase it with an infrared emitter accessory for use indoors with low-light conditions, but it did not come with the one I was given to review.

As far as the ball itself, it does a good job of mimicking a golf ball. It weighs about 45g or 1 5/8oz (note: my kitchen scale is not a precision instrument), which is the exact same weight as the Snell MTB Prime I tested. Off the putter it feels slightly hollow, which I guess makes sense. It felt closer to putting a range ball than it did the MTB Prime, but the difference isn't really significant. There is a red line you can use for alignment if you wish to, or you can simply flip the ball the opposite end up and putt without it, which is what I prefer to do. Using the ball is pretty intuitive. It is important to set the ball up with the PuttLink logo up as that is where the optical sensors are located (there are two, on opposite sides) for accurate distance measurement. This is something @iacas and @boogielicious made fun of me for not doing at first because I was too dumb to read the instructions before I started using it for the first time. You want to strike the ball on the plain side of it, which is the opposite side of the power button.

It does require a decent amount of lighting to use so that could be an issue if you're using it indoors to practice at home. There was not enough lighting in my hallway for the ball to register movement but I was able to get it to work in the master bedroom that is well-lit from a large window. As long as you're following directions, the measurements are pretty accurate. It seems to under-read the distance occasionally, but I think that may be due to the ball skidding or sliding in the initial phase of a putt and the sensors are not detecting rotation. It also measures stimp well. I measured my carpet with a homemade stimpmeter some time ago to about 11.1 and the PuttLink gave me an average stimp of 11.6. The hole insert is exactly what you think it is. You put in inside of the hole and when the ball hits it, it registers that it's been holed. You use in some practice modes where you're trying to hole the putt and the app will keep track of your make percentage as well as the total length of putts made.

The PuttLink Smart Golf Ball is $199. It has a built-in battery that is not rechargeable, but according to their website, should last up to two years and over 1,000 putts. A one-year battery warranty is included with the option to extend it another year for $25. The IR emitter is available as an add-on for $25, but I do not see an option to purchase it separately. I'll post more thoughts as I use it more but for now I wanted to get my initial thoughts up.