Cheap and Effective Putting Aid

[cwojtowicz]

This isn't necessarily one of your traditional putting aids but I have found it to be extremely effective and I have noticed a huge improvement in my putting since I started using it. It's kind of a cheap, no gimmick thing but it gives you instant feedback on how well you are rolling the ball. Previously, I have used some roll up artificial grass putting aids but I always felt like they weren't transferring well to the course. I have always struggled with putts 5 feet and in, I think a lot of it was due to not getting the ball rolling in the right direction to start with. This has helped tremendously with my alignment and ability to focus on rolling the ball to a specific spot. 

 

Here's the benefits that I have noticed: 

 

- As with other sports, aiming for a small spot is where it's at, it keeps your misses significantly smaller. When practicing putting, I found myself usually just aiming for the entire hole but after using this for a few weeks, I noticed that I was picking a specific spot on the hole that I wanted the ball to fall in to.

 

- If you are mishitting the ball at all, you'll know right away. Any deviation from a perfect roll and the ball is going to slide off the measuring stick. I previously had a habit of slightly pushing the ball on short putts and that has all but gone away after using this. 

 

- You get audible feedback on how well the ball is rolling. I know, it sounds weird but after rolling putts on this for a little while you can tell if you are applying anything but perfect top-spin on your putts. 

 

- The yellow gives you a good color contrast and I have noticed that I kind of picture it when lining up short putts on the course. Again, seems weird but I have noticed that I am able to picture the yellow line going straight to the hole and more often than not, it goes there.  

 

The hole that is traditionally used for hanging it in your garage allows you to place the ball so that it doesn't roll away (I mean it is just a measuring stick, after all...)

 

 

72in Swanson Straight Edge 

 

I picked one up at Lowe's for about $12, here's a link

 

I suppose this might not work for everyone but given the price of most putting aids, I thought I would share this with you all. Nothing is more frustrating than constantly missing 3-5 foot putts on the course and this has helped me with that problem significantly!

 

 

[HighFade]

That's a great idea for practice. I assume this is a wooden measuring stick? Then we just hit putts on it for instant feedback. Brilliant

[Badfish]

When I was in school I played with a gentleman in his 80's.  He still played from the white tees, and still shot in the 70's.  One day I was struggling with 4-5 footers.  About an hour after I got home he showed up with an 8ft. 2X4.  He set it on end (vertically) and told me to putt it down the board until I rolled 2 in a row off the end.  45 minutes later I still hadn't come close.  He left..I burnt the board.

[DawgDaddy]

Great idea. 

[The Dansome]

This is a great idea.

[cwojtowicz]

When I was in school I played with a gentleman in his 80's.  He still played from the white tees, and still shot in the 70's.  One day I was struggling with 4-5 footers.  About an hour after I got home he showed up with an 8ft. 2X4.  He set it on end (vertically) and told me to putt it down the board until I rolled 2 in a row off the end.  45 minutes later I still hadn't come close.  He left..I burnt the board.

Haha, fair enough! Trying to putt down a vertical 2x4 sounds absolutely brutal. 

[tony@CIC]

When I was in school I played with a gentleman in his 80's. He still played from the white tees, and still shot in the 70's. One day I was struggling with 4-5 footers. About an hour after I got home he showed up with an 8ft. 2X4. He set it on end (vertically) and told me to putt it down the board until I rolled 2 in a row off the end. 45 minutes later I still hadn't come close. He left..I burnt the board.

Now that's funny (the burning part)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

[cnosil]

Yardstick; metal or wood, is a good training aid.  I personally used a dime and just put it about 20" in front of a ball and try to hit the dime with different stroke lengths.  Great practice at home and on the course.   I also putt over a dime as part of my warmup.