Indoor Putting Green Carpet

[Royster1984]

Hello All,

I am turning my loft in a practice putting green, However I am a little stuck on which carpet to use, As I am from England we dont seem to have this Indoor Outdoor carpet which is mentioned a lot by others on this forum (or it goes by another name).

What should I buy looking for when purchasing a carpet with solo purpose of being used to practice putting on??

Is something like this any good, http://www.carpetright.co.uk/virgo-light-green-carpets-1.html ??

This is a large carpet supplier for the uk it helps.

http://www.carpetright.co.uk/

Many Thanks

Anthony

[boogielicious]

It certainly looks the part Anthony!  I would recommend feeling it if you can.  The ply should be very tight to approximate a green.  I have a practice mat that is specific for golf and the weave and ply are very tight to promote a smooth roll.

If you can, go to the store and see if they have that carpet with a sample.  Bring a ball and putter!  Tell them what you are doing.  You may find the sales people are golfers too or have had other customers that were golfers.

[Ernest Jones]

I would make sure that:

a) the ply (like @boogielicious said) is tight enough that putts roll true, if its too bumpy or shaggy your ball won't hold it's line properly

b) make sure that it stimps at a reasonable speed, like around a nine or even a bit more. If you're practicing on a super slow (or super fast) carpet, that could screw up your distance control so you want something that is comparable to the green speeds you usually see on your courses.

c) don't build a flat putting green because that would be silly and a waste of time. Make sure you build in some break or have a method adding/removing break.

[Royster1984]

It certainly looks the part Anthony!  I would recommend feeling it if you can.  The ply should be very tight to approximate a green.  I have a practice mat that is specific for golf and the weave and ply are very tight to promote a smooth roll.

If you can, go to the store and see if they have that carpet with a sample.  Bring a ball and putter!  Tell them what you are doing.  You may find the sales people are golfers too or have had other customers that were golfers.

The guy who comes to fit my carpets is supplying me the carpet, I just need to get him a idea of what i need so he can bring me a load of samples to try out.

[Royster1984]

I would make sure that:

a) the ply (like @boogielicious said) is tight enough that putts roll true, if its too bumpy or shaggy your ball won't hold it's line properly

b) make sure that it stimps at a reasonable speed, like around a nine or even a bit more. If you're practicing on a super slow (or super fast) carpet, that could screw up your distance control so you want something that is comparable to the green speeds you usually see on your courses.

c) don't build a flat putting green because that would be silly and a waste of time. Make sure you build in some break or have a method adding/removing break.

Whats the best way to calculate the stimp??

I am thinking of ideas of how to add break looking at 4-5 holes so need a few different breaks in it

[tristanhilton85]

This may help:

http://thesandtrap.com/b/training/build_your_own_8_x_8_indoor_putting_green_cheaply

[timnsr72]

Please keep us updated on your progress and how the green turns out, I would love to put one in my basement.

[Royster1984]

This may help:

http://thesandtrap.com/b/training/build_your_own_8_x_8_indoor_putting_green_cheaply

Yeah I was reading that and plan to do similar thing for break.

[Royster1984]

Please keep us updated on your progress and how the green turns out, I would love to put one in my basement.

Sure thing will get photos each step of the way

[Ernest Jones]

Whats the best way to calculate the stimp??

With a stimp meter, but good luck getting one of those for a reasonable price. If you take an Aimpoint class you'll learn how to measure stimp but I can't explain how without teaching you Aimpoint first. I have an iPhone app call iStimp that seems to work well but I haven't had a chance to test it against a known stimp so I don't know how accurate it is. Just hit some putts on the samples and see if it seems overly slow or overly fast. Ideally you'll want something that behaves similar to the greens you tend to play.

[iacas]

With a stimp meter, but good luck getting one of those for a reasonable price.

And technically those only work on flat areas of the green… which don't exist. They average between 5-10% long.

[Ernest Jones]

And technically those only work on flat areas of the green… which don't exist. They average between 5-10% long.

I thought the standard technique was to run 3 balls in one direction and then 3 balls in the opposing direction and take the average as your stimp?

[iacas]

I thought the standard technique was to run 3 balls in one direction and then 3 balls in the opposing direction and take the average as your stimp?

That's what causes the error. A stimp 11 green might roll downhill 15 feet and 9 feet uphill. That's an average of 12.

It's kind of like how hitting into or with the wind isn't perfectly balanced.

[Ernest Jones]

That's what causes the error. A stimp 11 green might roll downhill 15 feet and 9 feet uphill. That's an average of 12. It's kind of like how hitting into or with the wind isn't perfectly balanced.

Gotcha. Good to know, but this problem would be mitigated to the point of "non-factor" by choosing a "virtually" flat spot on the green right? Like a 1% slope?

[Valleygolfer]

IMHO I would want something that is a little slow running to be able to use your putting stroke effectively. Really fast greens and you don't make a full stroke or it is running off the green or past the hole. Secondly I don't thing a "break" is that helpful. Accuracy and consistency is were your practice lies. The breaks in greens are better learned on the course. Being accurate and hitting your marks will help you make breaking putts.

[Royster1984]

IMHO I would want something that is a little slow running to be able to use your putting stroke effectively. Really fast greens and you don't make a full stroke or it is running off the green or past the hole. Secondly I don't thing a "break" is that helpful. Accuracy and consistency is were your practice lies. The breaks in greens are better learned on the course. Being accurate and hitting your marks will help you make breaking putts.

I am having 5 holes in the putting green so can have 4 with break and 1 flat, so I can mix it up a little.

My home course greens are fairly fast and sloped (not augusta level though), so I will try and get something similar to them.

[bills80]

I have a birdie ball putting mat and I let the uneven basement floor create the break for me :)

[Royster1984]

Finally got round to semi finishing my putting green in my loft space. Pretty happy with it considering it only cost me around £150 to complete.

Here is some pictures and a video. I am currently in the progress of wall mounting the monitor and putting a shelf for the laptop to watch sky go on :D