2020 Official Member Review: Exputt putting simulator

[BMart519]

One week on the Exputt leads to a 31 putt round with 10 GIR gaining over 1 stroke versus scratch. 
 

Also had a birdie lip out and left another 2” short. Can’t say enough about this system and making practicing engaging. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

An exciting update,  Heard from the owners over the weekend, they will be launching  the next generation Ex Putt in the next couple months and will be interested in doing another forum testing! 

Stay Tuned, Details to Come

This is a great product to do winter time tests!

 

[cksurfdude]

23 minutes ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

An exciting update,  Heard from the owners over the weekend, they will be launching  the next generation Ex Putt in the next couple months and will be interested in doing another forum testing! 

Stay Tuned, Details to Come

This is a great product to do winter time tests!

That sounds great! I'm looking forward to finding out how much better the next version is, and .. .. how much of our user feedback they've Incorporated into it.

[gavinski91]

Looks like the new version is out in the wild!

The mat looks the same, but that camera has a different shape to it. Biggest software change seems to be the addition of a tempo tracker of some kind (bottom right of the interface). Will be interested to see all the changes when more details are released!

[cnosil]

Looks like a new update to the product is out.  Wireless options, support for mobile devices, and ability to adjust slope/slant in practice mode to name a few things.   Wondering if there is a way to update the current model?

[cksurfdude]

On 11/26/2021 at 1:21 PM, cnosil said:

Wondering if there is a way to update the current model?

That would be great, but.... I'm taking a guess that new features may be "locked in" to the new hardware version..??

Plz let us know if you find out more....

[cnosil]

Going back a couple of years and updating a review.    

I have been struggling with my putting for roughly the past month so I broke out the ExPutt to see if I could identify anything.  Basically what I found out was that everything was a mess.   Have spent the past couple of days rolling putts and making adjustments.    On the ExPutt I have gotten my distance and startline more dialed in and I am ready to head out to the course this weekend to see if it has helped.   

People on the forum have often asked if using a launch monitor is beneficial.   I consider the ExPutt a launch monitor for putting and as long as I am not chasing specific numbers,  I believe they can be extremely beneficial to help see the details you can't necessarily see on a course or practice range.  

 

 

[cksurfdude]

That sounds great, and hope it does all translate to the course! 

Used mine just a few times over the Winter, and only in Practice mode, to look at one of my big problems which is face rotation back and through...

..eg. too much and doesn't match up on the through side so face can be left slightly open (more typical) at impact...

Agreed that the absolute #s not so critical vs working towards consistency of delivery.

And, oh - yes - I was seeing some minor improvement over a year prior!

[cnosil]

17 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

Used mine just a few times over the Winter, and only in Practice mode, to look at one of my big problems which is face rotation back and through...

I only use practice mode and typically use random distance up to 50 feet.   

[gavinski91]

50 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I only use practice mode and typically use random distance up to 50 feet.   

I do the same. I’m looking at face angle at impact to make sure that my start line is good, and from there it’s all distance control work. 

[OHgolfer2]

On 4/21/2023 at 9:39 PM, cnosil said:

Going back a couple of years and updating a review.    

I have been struggling with my putting for roughly the past month so I broke out the ExPutt to see if I could identify anything.  Basically what I found out was that everything was a mess.   Have spent the past couple of days rolling putts and making adjustments.    On the ExPutt I have gotten my distance and startline more dialed in and I am ready to head out to the course this weekend to see if it has helped.   

People on the forum have often asked if using a launch monitor is beneficial.   I consider the ExPutt a launch monitor for putting and as long as I am not chasing specific numbers,  I believe they can be extremely beneficial to help see the details you can't necessarily see on a course or practice range.  

 

 

@cnosildid you notice a difference?  I got an Exputt back during Covid and have used it on and off.  When my lag putting speed control is bad, I'll use the Exputt (practice mode, random distances between 20-50 feet) for a few days and that will usually do the trick.  I probably should just commit to 5 mins a day of Exputt speed control practice during the season.  

Only thing I wish is that the Exputt practice mode would also allow for randomized uphill/downhill putts (e.g., 25 footer that's 4 inches downhill, then a 38 footer that's 2 inches uphill, etc.) instead of all flat putts.  

[cnosil]

25 minutes ago, OHgolfer2 said:

@cnosildid you notice a difference?  I got an Exputt back during Covid and have used it on and off.  When my lag putting speed control is bad, I'll use the Exputt (practice mode, random distances between 20-50 feet) for a few days and that will usually do the trick.  I probably should just commit to 5 mins a day of Exputt speed control practice during the season.  

Only thing I wish is that the Exputt practice mode would also allow for randomized uphill/downhill putts (e.g., 25 footer that's 4 inches downhill, then a 38 footer that's 2 inches uphill, etc.) instead of all flat putts.  

Yes, I did notice a difference; in my opinion ideal practice for distance control without having to go to the course.    
 

I believe the new version of the exputt allows for slope adjustment in practice mode.   

[cksurfdude]

39 minutes ago, OHgolfer2 said:

Only thing I wish is that the Exputt practice mode would also allow for randomized uphill/downhill putts (e.g., 25 footer that's 4 inches downhill, then a 38 footer that's 2 inches uphill, etc.) instead of all flat putts.  

Yes! That was one of the items on my "wish list" when I did my review - I would've liked to able to practice side slope putts .. both R2L and L2R.

 

13 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I believe the new version of the exputt allows for slope adjustment in practice mode.   

Ahh nice! May have to upgrade....

[cnosil]

5 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

Yes! That was one of the items on my "wish list" when I did my review - I would've liked to able to practice side slope putts .. both R2L and L2R.

 

Ahh nice! May have to upgrade....

It's there.   Here are the practice settings on the new model:

[cksurfdude]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

It's there.   Here are the practice settings on the new model:

Oh that is very cool! ..and def a very nice enhancement!

[OHgolfer2]

@cnosil

@cksurfdude

 

To be clear, I have the new (RG?) version.  And, in practice mode, they DO allow you to select different slope/slant that are fixed.  However, I don't see that you can do random slope or random slant.  That is, you can set distances to be random, but it will not randomize the slopes nor will it randomize slants.  Rather, you have to select one slope/slant (e.g., 2 degrees) and then you can hit random putt distances at that one slope/slant.  And then you have to go back into the menu and change to a different slope or slant.  Not awful, but slightly annoying.

I've emailed them multiple times about this but they never respond.  Ideally, you could have random distances, random slopes, random slants, AND some putts from fringe (e.g., a first putt that is a 30 footer on 11 stimp, uphill 1.5 degrees, left-to-right breaking 0.5 degrees, starting through 2 feet of fringe that rolls at 6 stimp...followed by a second putt that is a flat 8 footer on 11 stimp, right-to-left breaking 0.5 degrees...followed by a third putt that is a 50 footer on 11 stimp, downhill 2 degrees, and right-to-left breaking 1 degree, etc.).   I think that would adequately replicate the random putts you'd see on a course.

[cksurfdude]

@OHgolfer2 - all great questions, but I cannot answer as I've not seen the newer version...

What I can tell you is on the version I have is "Challenge" mode .. in addition to Practice and Play .. which puts you in random spots on greens with varying distances and slopes/breaks to the hole.

If your version has this mode check it out!

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Since my putting has been crappy lately, wanted to look at this. Is it hard to get this to relate back to the course since you are putting on a short mat or is the feedback on the TV pretty realistic?

[cksurfdude]

4 minutes ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Since my putting has been crappy lately, wanted to look at this. Is it hard to get this to relate back to the course since you are putting on a short mat or is the feedback on the TV pretty realistic?

Briefly.. yes *and* no! The most info will be in the reviews, but consider things like --
.. since the mat has a bumper on the front end you're free to strike the ball with the full intended amount of effort;
.. the hole on the sim on the screen does appear smaller or larger based on distance from you buuut .. being a 2D sim of a 3D environment does have its limitations;
.. however, visual guides on screen provide more clues to distance, slope and breaks.

My personal take was I found I'm more of a "feel" putter vs "mechanical", in that I did have trouble seeing the distance to the hole and it seemed I had to rely more on calibrating my putter stroke -- *which in the end was a good thing* -- as that practice did trickle down into my on-course putting.

 

[gavinski91]

20 minutes ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Since my putting has been crappy lately, wanted to look at this. Is it hard to get this to relate back to the course since you are putting on a short mat or is the feedback on the TV pretty realistic?

It depends on both your putting style and how you've been missing lately.

I can say with confidence that using the Exputt will improve your ability to hit putts on your intended line. The key component for that is face angle at impact (with a little bit of nuance related to centered strikes, especially if you use a low MOI putter).

As far as practicing distance control, I found the Exputt incredibly helpful, mainly because it allowed me to identify an easy way for me to control putt speed based on stroke length (rather than trying to hit the ball harder or softer). My review post on the first page goes into this in a bit more detail, but basically depending on how far back I went in my backstroke relative to my back foot, I would get different ball speeds, and could correlate those to distances. Now, part of my pre-round routine is finding a flat spot on the practice green and getting an idea for how far a putt will go at 3, 4, 5 mph, etc.

[OHgolfer2]

1 hour ago, gavinski91 said:

It depends on both your putting style and how you've been missing lately.

I can say with confidence that using the Exputt will improve your ability to hit putts on your intended line. The key component for that is face angle at impact (with a little bit of nuance related to centered strikes, especially if you use a low MOI putter).

As far as practicing distance control, I found the Exputt incredibly helpful, mainly because it allowed me to identify an easy way for me to control putt speed based on stroke length (rather than trying to hit the ball harder or softer). My review post on the first page goes into this in a bit more detail, but basically depending on how far back I went in my backstroke relative to my back foot, I would get different ball speeds, and could correlate those to distances. Now, part of my pre-round routine is finding a flat spot on the practice green and getting an idea for how far a putt will go at 3, 4, 5 mph, etc.

Same experience for me.  I was never a good feel putter and I don't have the time to practice lag putting at the course 3 days/week.  So, the Exputt is a shortcut in that I now know, for an 11 stimp green similar to my course, how to correlate stroke length to distance.  Likewise, you can correlate uphill/downhill putts to flat putts (e.g., a 30 footer downhill 3% is the same as a flat 19 footer) and even fringe putts.  I can roll 20 putts (random distances from 15 ft to 50 ft) on the Exputt for 5 mins a night for a few days/week, and my lag putting will be rock solid.  Probably saving 2-3 strokes per round since I started Exputt.  

Unfortunately, as discussed above, they could improve the practice mode by adding random slope/slant but haven't.  

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, OHgolfer2 said:

Unfortunately, as discussed above, they could improve the practice mode by adding random slope/slant but haven't.  

In  my mind, while not perfect,  this is a great product for assessing and improving putting skills. Based on what I have read the new version is better than the current as you can get updates to the product and it has slopes.   Our version is locked with no slope and no ability to get updates.    Perhaps one day they will add that feature; perhaps they won't.   They have to look at what are considered to be beneficial improvements.   I personally wouldn't use the feature that you described with everything being random.    You want more of what is provided with a full simulator but focused on putting.   I have tried it on a GCQuad and felt it was more frustrating than beneficial.   

 

[OHgolfer2]

14 hours ago, cnosil said:

In  my mind, while not perfect,  this is a great product for assessing and improving putting skills. Based on what I have read the new version is better than the current as you can get updates to the product and it has slopes.   Our version is locked with no slope and no ability to get updates.    Perhaps one day they will add that feature; perhaps they won't.   They have to look at what are considered to be beneficial improvements.   I personally wouldn't use the feature that you described with everything being random.    You want more of what is provided with a full simulator but focused on putting.   I have tried it on a GCQuad and felt it was more frustrating than beneficial.   

 

I agree that Exputt is a great tool - it saves me 2+ strokes per round.  My point was that it would be relatively easy for them to allow for randomization of, say, uphill/downhill slope in practice mode on the RG since they already do it for distances.  The benefit to those who use it is obvious - lag putting practice that more closely replicates what is seen on a course.   At least for random distances + random uphill/downhill slopes, the user would have to make a distance adjustment similar to on course.

[BrockportGolf]

I have an original ExPutt and love it.  But, while the camera reads every putt, 50-75% of the putter path and face angle will not read.

I read that the lighting is not ambient, but on the mat.  I have added an LED lamp to sit over the mat at various angles.

It helps slightly, but not much.

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

I have a black putter, but have the the white stickers on the ends.

The post in here about face angle along, not path, makes almost every 10' putt blew my mind.

Thanks!

[cnosil]

4 minutes ago, BrockportGolf said:

I have an original ExPutt and love it.  But, while the camera reads every putt, 50-75% of the putter path and face angle will not read.

I read that the lighting is not ambient, but on the mat.  I have added an LED lamp to sit over the mat at various angles.

It helps slightly, but not much.

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

I have a black putter, but have the the white stickers on the ends.
 

I have a black putter and use white tape on the face and do occasionally have the same problem.  It does seem related to the lighting in the room; I just try to keep my room at brightly lit as possible.    

[gavinski91]

11 minutes ago, BrockportGolf said:

I have an original ExPutt and love it.  But, while the camera reads every putt, 50-75% of the putter path and face angle will not read.

I read that the lighting is not ambient, but on the mat.  I have added an LED lamp to sit over the mat at various angles.

It helps slightly, but not much.

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

I have a black putter, but have the the white stickers on the ends.

The post in here about face angle along, not path, makes almost every 10' putt blew my mind.

Thanks!

Might also be worth playing around with the angle of the camera to the mat - there is a decently wide range of angles that the system will allow you to place the camera at, but some may be more effective than others. 

[cnosil]

1 minute ago, gavinski91 said:

Might also be worth playing around with the angle of the camera to the mat - there is a decently wide range of angles that the system will allow you to place the camera at, but some may be more effective than others. 

Good thought.  My setup is very consistent.   Typically don’t move the camera and put the mat in the same place. 

[BrockportGolf]

I'll have to try different angles.  I have the camera aimed straight down the line, which would seem like the best.
I often putt at night and the overhead, recessed lights aren't super bright, so that is why I added the extra LED light.
The LED light also is used on my SkyTrak.

[cksurfdude]

1 hour ago, gavinski91 said:

Might also be worth playing around with the angle of the camera to the mat - there is a decently wide range of angles that the system will allow you to place the camera at, but some may be more effective than others. 

Yes! ...make sure during the "finding mat" setup you're able to see the whole mat clearly, plus all the white markings on it.

Also in the user guide are a few pages on suggested measurements - eg. height of camera plus distance to mat.

[BrockportGolf]

I had the camera below the TV.  Even though it "found the mat" and allowed me to play, it was about 3-4" lower than the specs called.
Once I mounted it higher than the TV, it worked perfectly.
So, I hate to admit it was a user-error this whole time.

Mounted that high over the TV was a bit difficult.  I used the box on its side plus about 6-books and the stand.
It was like a house of cards back there.
The "TV mount" that came with it is an absolute joke.  I dunno how that would clip to any TV.
It was great to get the full-use of the system and really allowed my to dial-in.
I actually developed a whole new putting stroke.

Thanks for the help!!