2020 Official Member Review: Exputt putting simulator

[sirchunksalot]

6 hours ago, cnosil said:

I like new toys!






To bad I have to go back to work and can’t really get it setup for a few more hours

That's a great looking setup and I think I would have had a hard time not coming down with golf-itis and staying home. Glad to hear you did the responsible thing. It'll be interesting to hear how easy it was to set up and calibrate (if you have to). Have fun with it and I can't wait to hear more!

[cnosil]

3 hours ago, goaliewales14 said:

I can't wait to follow along with this review!  I'll be curious what type of data you'll get out it in terms of your putter.  I wonder if you could almost do a putter fitting with it.  Also, does this allow you to compete with others?  Could all of you get online and have a putt off?

It is in my list of items to try;  Here is my current list of things to examine and experiment with    Probably not legible,  but keep checking in and you will find out what all of this stuff says. 

 

[cnosil]

About 20 minutes into playing and it is a fun and addicting training aid. Only issue so far is lighting; had to take the shades off on if the lamps. Still think it is an issue as the path doesn’t always get shown. Here is my setup for now. Birds aren’t chirping in surround sound

[revkev]

 

My approach is a bit different. I control distance by length of stroke. I do think like swing to big toe, outside of back foot, hands to thigh, hands to outside of thigh. I calibrate the distance of those marks prior to the round.

 

I don’t think anyone is a 100% feel player, nor do I believe anyone is 100% mechanical. We all fall someplace within that spectrum.

 

My approach is more mechanical leaning, but still has a feel aspect for distances that aren’t in my stock measurements.

 

Oh I’m on the spectrum alright. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[PMookie]

Mine arrived tonight as well! My back hurts from putting so long! The cord wasn’t long enough for me to get it set-up in a comfortable spot, so I moved our bed just so I could straddle the corner and try out the EXPUTT. Both my 13 year old, and 9 year old came in to the bedroom to play as well. I went through all three modes and it was fun!!!! Tomorrow’s goal is to find a LONG cord!!!!

Here are some pics. I have my hand in one of the pics so you can gauge the size of the camera and stand.

[cksurfdude]

Just an FYI - the testers received a really nice email from one of the co-founders of ExPutt .. offering their direct support with any questions .. seems like they're truly interested in what we're doing here (eg. vs simply passing out product just to get the name out there).

Thought that was pretty cool.

[Golfspy_CG2]

15 hours ago, goaliewales14 said:

I can't wait to follow along with this review!  I'll be curious what type of data you'll get out it in terms of your putter.  I wonder if you could almost do a putter fitting with it.  Also, does this allow you to compete with others?  Could all of you get online and have a putt off?

I'll answer the compete question and I'm sure all of us will have some examples of it.   But yes, there is a Play mode, where up to 4 players putt against each other for 9 holes for a cumulative score.

What's really cool about  it.   It shows an overhead shot of the green before you begin each hole and say you have 2 players in this case.  Player A (White Ball) Player B (Yellow Ball) you will be in two different areas of the green but similar distances.  That keeps player B from going to school on Player A's putt.  And it's realistic as you and your real life playing partners are often on different parts of the green.  

Right now it can only do up to 4 players on the same unit.  There are plans to try and make it virtual so that say you and I could be logged on each of our units at the same time and compete against each other.   There are some pretty smart people behind the tech of this!

 

[Golfspy_CG2]

Here's pics of my quick setup at home.  I have also set it up at work 

 

[PMookie]

Hooked mine up and putted for over an hour.

Same as CNosil, the cord is way too short for any TV we have in the house, so thankfully this was free and I’m not adding another $50-$60 to the purchase for a longer cord.

I also had issues when for periods of time the unit didn’t show putter path. 
 

When in game mode, and selecting the “?”And then the “H”, I never had anything change on screen with the H, and the putts didn’t read while ? was open. 
On the big side benders, with my putter turned 45*, it wouldn’t read the putt. I had to keep the putter face square, then putt way in-to-out/out-to-in which was not accurate putting at all.

Overall, VERY addicting. I’d love to see a drill set-up for improving my path and face angle at impact!!! Something with simulated pegged tees around my putter head where I could work on just takeaway and impact without caring about distance or holing anything.

Time to really read through the manual to better understand the “buttons” and options! Haahaha!!!!

[JohnSmalls]

Can one of you guys grab a video of a putt and the info displayed on your screen?  Pretty please.

[cnosil]

Can one of you guys grab a video of a putt and the info displayed on your screen?  Pretty please.

I’ll grab on tonight or on one of the breaks in my class this afternoon. if someone doesn’t beat me to it.

[cksurfdude]

22 minutes ago, JohnSmalls said:

Can one of you guys grab a video of a putt and the info displayed on your screen?  Pretty please.

Sorry, too busy putting 

[cnosil]

Uploaded a couple of videos to youtube to show time to setup and a putt to show what is captured.   Sorry for the quality and lack of editing;  I set it up really quickly during a break in a class I am taking

Setup

Putt Capture (at least I made the putt !)

 

 

 

Initial thoughts are  I really think it will help someone’s putting

My negatives at this point are:

• The micro HDMI cable. I have a ton of HMDI cables but if I need more distance it means I have to buy another cable or adapter.
• Lighting requirements. The room I will be using this in isn’t very bright but what I would consider adequate. Going to have to move in some additional lamps to use this in the evening. I had many putts where the path wasn’t displayed and at this point I am assuming that is a lighting issue.  We even saw this during my setup video.
• On my TV the edges of the screen are cut off and I am missing some of the data. I am going to try some more tv/monitors to see if I have the same problem or try and see if I can tweak some tv settings.  Here is a large picture that shows the slight loss of information on the left and right. 

• Wish there was last network capability so we could play against each other.

Other than potential lighting issues and the some of the screen being cutoff it seems like a great product.

Lots if thinks I want to experiment with but initial impression is that this will be something I use long term.

[goaliewales14]

I'm assuming how far the ball goes is how hard it hits the stopper at the end of the mat right?  Would putting the mat on different surfaces matter like if you use hardwood vs. carpet?

[MaxEntropy]

I'm impressed with how things look right out of the box. It seems to me it would be beneficial because it's fun and you end up practicing more often, so even if you don't hyper-analyze things, just the extra reps would help.

[gavinski91]

32 minutes ago, goaliewales14 said:

I'm assuming how far the ball goes is how hard it hits the stopper at the end of the mat right?  Would putting the mat on different surfaces matter like if you use hardwood vs. carpet?

The stopper is just semi-elastic to absorb energy from hard putts so they don't ricochet around the room allowing you to do 20+ foot putts in a really small space. All of the calculations are based on what the camera sees based on the speed of the ball immediately after impact - it calculates distance and ball path by taking into account ball speed, green speed, and slope.

[Golfspy_CG2]

37 minutes ago, goaliewales14 said:

I'm assuming how far the ball goes is how hard it hits the stopper at the end of the mat right?  Would putting the mat on different surfaces matter like if you use hardwood vs. carpet?

No the stopper is just that.  A foam sponge to stop the ball.  All the distance is calculated by the roll captured in the camera.  

[Golfspy_CG2]

38 minutes ago, goaliewales14 said:

I'm assuming how far the ball goes is how hard it hits the stopper at the end of the mat right?  Would putting the mat on different surfaces matter like if you use hardwood vs. carpet?

Great question, I asked this of the owners in our initial call.  Idea surfaces are hardwood floor, thin or short pile carpet.  Something like shag carpeting would not do very well

 

[gavinski91]

40 minutes ago, goaliewales14 said:

I'm assuming how far the ball goes is how hard it hits the stopper at the end of the mat right?  Would putting the mat on different surfaces matter like if you use hardwood vs. carpet?

Once I get to testing I do plan on putting the mat on multiple surfaces to see how it does - the floor in my living room is tile so I wonder if the grout gaps will have an impact on the system's ability to predict ball path. Unfortunately the arrival of the test units coincided with a wedding and a getaway with my wife, so the rest of the testers have a week-long headstart on me!

[cnosil]

52 minutes ago, MaxEntropy said:

I'm impressed with how things look right out of the box. It seems to me it would be beneficial because it's fun and you end up practicing more often, so even if you don't hyper-analyze things, just the extra reps would help.

There was a thread about a week ago if people are diving too deep into the numbers on launch monitors;  basically chasing what is considered "perfect"    This product has that feeling as well.  Do you as a player chase the 0 path and 0 face angle at impact?  Or do you work to understand your numbers and tendencies and try to make that work.   The mode I showed in my video is just a straight putt of X distance.  It basically replaces ruler and gate drills.  Set the cup at X feet and roll the ball into the hole;  if you are consistently making those putts your path and face at impact are good.....why do the actual numbers matter?  I would avoid hyper-analyzing and strive to understand.

[cksurfdude]

Surface:
I'm setting up in basement which has a tight berber carpet and I'll start with that, but if the putting looks "funny" then I'll try with a piece of thick ply under the mat.

Numbers:
I agree with @cnosil in that I'm trying to take my current tendencies and make them better and more consistent; eg. if I rolled every putt exactly the same way but say 1* face open at impact then I'd know to always try to set up 1* closed .. but still make "my" putting stroke.

[sirchunksalot]

3 hours ago, cnosil said:

Uploaded a couple of videos to youtube to show time to setup and a putt to show what is captured.   Sorry for the quality and lack of editing;  I set it up really quickly during a break in a class I am taking

Setup

Putt Capture (at least I made the putt !)

 

 

 

Initial thoughts are  I really think it will help someone’s putting

My negatives at this point are:

• The micro HDMI cable. I have a ton of HMDI cables but if I need more distance it means I have to buy another cable or adapter.
• Lighting requirements. The room I will be using this in isn’t very bright but what I would consider adequate. Going to have to move in some additional lamps to use this in the evening. I had many putts where the path wasn’t displayed and at this point I am assuming that is a lighting issue.  We even saw this during my setup video.
• On my TV the edges of the screen are cut off and I am missing some of the data. I am going to try some more tv/monitors to see if I have the same problem or try and see if I can tweak some tv settings.  Here is a large picture that shows the slight loss of information on the left and right. 

• Wish there was last network capability so we could play against each other.

Other than potential lighting issues and the some of the screen being cutoff it seems like a great product.

Lots if thinks I want to experiment with but initial impression is that this will be something I use long term.

Great videos @cnosil! It looks like something you could get lost in and spends a LOT of time doing. How many different green setups does the Exputt come loaded with? 

P.S. With calves like that, I expect you to putt like Phil. 

[cksurfdude]

6 hours ago, PMookie said:

Time to really read through the manual to better understand the “buttons” and options! Haahaha!!!!

I picked it up first (nerd alert!) .. there is some useful info in there, especially about setup.

[Wedgie]

Deleted

[cksurfdude]

Nerd Alert #2:
Just reading thru the user manual has already raised several questions in my mind. 

TBD

[cnosil]

1 minute ago, cksurfdude said:

Nerd Alert #2:
Just reading thru the user manual has already raised several questions in my mind. 

TBD

Matte Red Volviks and pink balls don't seem to work very well  

[cksurfdude]

2 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Matte Red Volviks and pink balls don't seem to work very well  

Ha! You just saved me a few minutes of testing time as I was going to try those exact same two colors that my wife plays!!

[cnosil]

3 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

Great videos @cnosil! It looks like something you could get lost in and spends a LOT of time doing. How many different green setups does the Exputt come loaded with? 

P.S. With calves like that, I expect you to putt like Phil. 

Yes,  you can get lost doing this.  I have started to compare putters and ball speed numbers.   What do you mean by green setups?  You can pick green speeds, then there are different greens for the different modes,  you can be in different positions on those greens, and then the "seasons" change the difficulty.    Reading the manual is definitely beneficial to see how all this stuff works.   

 

As for the calves:

 

[cnosil]

5 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

Ha! You just saved me a few minutes of testing time as I was going to try those exact same two colors that my wife plays!!

It was hit and miss.  Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn;t

 

[sirchunksalot]

25 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Yes,  you can get lost doing this.  I have started to compare putters and ball speed numbers.   What do you mean by green setups?  You can pick green speeds, then there are different greens for the different modes,  you can be in different positions on those greens, and then the "seasons" change the difficulty.    Reading the manual is definitely beneficial to see how all this stuff works.   

 

As for the calves:

 

I think you just answered my questions about greens. I was curious if there was just one stock green with different breaks or if there were different greens (size, shape, breaks, etc...) for you to practice on.