Are putting mats useful?

[albatroz]

Carpets work fine for putting indoors . What you should practice is your grip , stance , alinment and touch . try putting from a distance of two feet to a dime . If ten out of ten hits the mark then move back another two feet . See to it that your mind preserves the form that you think works and just duplicate that on the real green .

[WhiteSoxFan]

Carpets work fine for putting indoors . What you should practice is your grip , stance , alinment and touch . try putting from a distance of two feet to a dime . If ten out of ten hits the mark then move back another two feet . See to it that your mind preserves the form that you think works and just duplicate that on the real green .

I don't know man, my carpet runs about a 4 on the stimpmeter. Doesn't really translate real well to the rock hard slick greens at most courses I play on.

[g-funk13]

Holy Crap I am in Heaven!

My "7' putting aid" indoor practice green arrived Wednesday night! http://backyard-golf.com/ send the goods via Fedex Ground and shipping was free.

The $319.00 cost got me:

-The 7' practice green with one cup and one stance rectangle.

-Two alignment aids: a yellow string setup that bisects the green about 5" above the surface, and a heavy plastic block to swing the putter against. The "swing block" featured measurements 12"both ways from the center 0 (to measure back swing and follow through?) There is also a ball marking tool on the bottom of the block, for which backyard golf included a black sharpie.

-Two cup accessories: 18" pin with a plate at the bottom to pull out balls. Plastic ring that fits over the cup, reducing the hole diameter to 1 1/3 balls wide.

It took 1 hour to assemble (with a pizza break). The heavy duty base on which the artificial turf rests features a honeycomb construction that is both light and strong. I have no fears walking all over the base (at well over 200lbs! --too many pizza breaks) The base rises about 2" high off the floor. The 3 piece, snap-snug base is the heart of the product and they didn't skimp. The stance rectangle which is free standing, and can be placed anywhere along the right or left side, is made from the same sturdy base plastic. My only issue is that where there is a raised 1" lip behind the cup to stop balls, the rest of the rectangular putting surface has none, and the balls sometimes get away on my hardwood floors. I am sure my downstairs neighbors love it. I give the base a 9/10.

The artificial green came rolled and pre-cut to fit the base. It rolled on easily, and with some light reverse rolling, the curved edges flattened out in 2 minutes. I was somewhat surprised that the green is not meant to be affixed to the base, but discovered quickly that it does not need to be, and it is easy to lift the green to insert "contour mats" (1/8" thick, 2"-3" wide, foot long foam pads) to create breaks. I was also concerned that the cracks where the base pieces connected would make bumps in the green--not at all! I would guess that this rolls about 10 on the stimpmeter +/- 1. Because the lie is flat, it seems a little less than 10 maybe--but it seems just right. I give the artificial green 9/10 because I wouldn't mind it being another 1/16" thicker.

Alignment tools and extras: The alignment string posts were literally a snap to install, and the stretchy yellow string that runs the length of the green is easy to string up and take down. 9/10

The " stroke block " is heavy plastic, 2' long (marked by inches), and features the ball marker tool on the under side. It can be placed anywhere on the putting surface. It has little teeth on its under side, so the block can be tapped or lightly stepped on to hold its position. This block is something straight back-and-through putters will like a lot. I use it to line balls up on before I putt them. The ball marking tool works just as well as any other I have used, so the block is multi-functional, which is cool. Note: the set comes with 5 decals to put on the trainer, and it would have been nice to include decals to mark the inches on the stroke block. They are just raised black plastic against black plastic--not too clear to see. I give it 8/10

The best extra is the reducing ring . By installing the ring (easy to put in and take out) the diameter of the hole goes from 5" to 3.5". Making putts from the back of this 7' green with the ring on is HARD, requiring line and tempo. After about 3 hours of putting over the last 3 days, 5 in a row in the long putt/reducing ring configuration is my longest streak

In addition to my ProV1s, i have a red foam practice ball on the green of my own, which I can put a longer and/or faster stroke on. The foam ball has proven to be a GREAT tool, as it takes a really true stroke on the ball to roll it straight due to the friction between the foam and the green. Hard to describe, but trust me, its nice.

http://backyard-golf.com/ offers this product in different dimensions. Keep in mind that while this mat is a total of 7' long, the front of the cup is 1 foot from the back lip of the green, so the longest putt possible is 6'.

So imagine sinking 200 5' putts while watching the Colts (or YOUR favorite team) all in a t shirt and boxer shorts (and golf shoes of course)

Dudes, I will not lie. I would recommend this to anyone. I have been putting so much my hamstrings are KILLING me. I am trying all kinds of stuff with it: Tiger's right hand/ both hands drill, 50 3 footers in a row, etc. AND that suffocating feeling that the golf season is ending has gone away!

Relevant to the other thread convos about family and golf, with one 7 year old boy (who loves the green, by the way) and a baby boy due around new years, this is one step in the right direction, streamlining family and golf!

[gortyl]

great review man! love it. i just told my wife to get me one of these for christmas, but i want to put mine outside in my backyard.....a buddy of mine just got one (not from this company) and they installed it in his basement and actually drilled holes in his basement floor. i'll have to dig around and find the company he used....

[Diobacco]

Holy Crap I am in Heaven!

Thanks for your review... I could not wait and I ordered it (9') a couple of days ago

I am glad you were not disappointed! Manufacturer says it is suitable for outdoor standing... Does it seem to be build to last if kept outside all the time? I am a beginner and yesterday I got very depressed counting my 50 putts on a new course I played. Hope this will help!

[g-funk13]

Thanks for your review... I could not wait and I ordered it (9') a couple of days ago

Diobacco: I think so. I guess we won't know how the green will stand up to the elements until it is tested, but it is so easy to remove from the base, I don't see why you couldn't seat the base where you want, and then take the green inside during, say, a hurricane or blizzard.

It might be just fine outside anyway. I think this will dramatically improve my puts within 6 feet. Best of luck to you!

[TCCcaddie]

This thread has just motivated me. I just brought up my dad's old putting mat from the basement. Heres me mat. Nothing like G-Funk's but for the next couple hours i'm puttin. And even though we have winter and snow golf at Kelly's its sometimes just too damn cold out.

[Iphoxy]

I have the 13' Huxley mat it's superbly made very robust and puts like a top quality green but it's a very good pace realistic in feel and yes expensive currently £420 but worth it. Can be used indoors or outside as it's free draining plus the mat itself is replaceable for about £70.

[B-Con]

I have an 8' matt that I've enjoyed. I don't use it nearly as often as I should, but it's been helpful. It helps me get into my putting stance and make a stroke, then measure the outcome. When I don't putt for a long time I usually have a break-in period where I have to relearn my rhythm and such. A putting mat really keep the majority my putting touch, if not improve too. I don't just do the max length putting. I also do shorter putts in 2' increments to keep the feel for shorter putts. I also -- and this is my favorite -- practice chipping on them. Line up from 8 feet and then hit a soft chip so that it only carries about 3' and rolls down the carpet into the cup. At first I thought that was impossible, but that drill helped me with my soft-touch chipping a lot, and I can sit and drain 90% those short chips on the mat. (Now I'm known to hole out with a wedge on occasion.) So yes, I'm a fan. Worth the $20 or $30, IMO. [edit] Whoops... didn't realize that this is such an old thread. Ah well.

[sshadow2]

I have one but I barely use it.

I prefer to put a bunch of SKLZ Putting Pocket Putting Aids on my carpet in my house. Some spots even give me a slight break because the carpet is a bit plush. Now if we are also talking about indoor greens, I'd go that route if you can manually adjust break spots by putting sand filled ziplock bags underneath. These are obviously the ones that carried multiple holes. But these are about a couple of hundred dollars.

[Moppy]

I spent the winter months putting on a mat at least twenty balls a day 'til I got completely bored of it because it got too easy. First I couldn't hit more than half from three feet, until I improved to the point where I started aiming at different sides of the cup from 7 feet to make it interesting.  Now I just putt one or two balls when I pass the room with the putting mat laid out to keep the feel of the stroke. I never miss a straight putt on the mat from 7 ft anymore. Now putting on a green is all about reading it, and I have been hitting some very long putts very close, and usually sink the stuff from three feet in, though I need to work a little more on those short putts that are at a right angle to the fall line, the real bendy ones.

Maybe it is time for AimPoint. I was such a bad putter before it seemed like spitting in the ocean.