2023 Official Member Review: PuttOUT Devil Ball

[ejgaudette]

23 minutes ago, cnosil said:

In my spare room I have setup a station using on of the putting templates so I can do some putting assessment using the Devil ball.   My goal is to  work on setup to help determine what helps me deliver the club with the best face position.   I am doing this because I have been struggling with face control on short putts and missing way more than I should.  I noticed that I was setting up closer to the ball.   The one nice thing about the setup is that the lines on the template help me get the Devil Ball setup correctly.

 

 

 

I love the set up for how that will help line you up and that is one thing I have actually found the devil ball itself helps with make sure you face is square at address. I think your problem is also perfect suited to the Devil Ball. It excels I have found at those shorter putts get the feedback and are easier to find a straight flat putt that will work well. As I have gone longer too tough to find a truly flat putt. You can feel the ball start one way a bit but hard to tell if it would miss, sometimes it is a huge miss and you know it, and then other roll clearly end over end, but it is hat in-between that is an issue.

[RjGolf4Life]

Congratulations Testers! Just might have to try this Devil Ball

[JohnSmalls]

You guys are doing a great job of putting the devil ball through its paces.  Have any of you used it as a warm on green(ish) grass yet?

[ejgaudette]

On 2/11/2023 at 2:25 PM, JohnSmalls said:

You guys are doing a great job of putting the devil ball through its paces.  Have any of you used it as a warm on green(ish) grass yet?

I wish, still covered in snow up my way. @Micah T I believe has had a chance for some outside practice if I remember correctly.

[cnosil]

On 2/11/2023 at 2:25 PM, JohnSmalls said:

You guys are doing a great job of putting the devil ball through its paces.  Have any of you used it as a warm on green(ish) grass yet?

I have used it on a real green but nit for a pre round warm up.  Probably wouldn’t use it as a warmup aid since I am typically just trying to get the feel for the green and not work on mechanics.  
 

i think I prefer indoors as I have a little more control of the environment and don’t need the space that a real green provides.  

[TylorJudd]

On 2/11/2023 at 11:25 AM, JohnSmalls said:

You guys are doing a great job of putting the devil ball through its paces.  Have any of you used it as a warm on green(ish) grass yet?

There are a few greens open near me but they're hairy, more like putting in the fringe right now. The devil ball won't help outside yet up here.

[GolfSpy BOS]

Question,  It's been a few weeks now... does anyone feel more confident in their putting now than at the start?  Do you feel like you have more control over the starting line of your putts?

[Micah T]

5 hours ago, ejgaudette said:

I wish, still covered in snow up my way. @Micah T I believe has had a chance for some outside practice if I remember correctly.

I used it on vacation in Vegas: it has been a very snowy winter in Salt Lake City:  first winter in recent memory where all the courses have been closed/snow covered.

5 hours ago, cnosil said:

I have used it on a real green but nit for a pre round warm up.  Probably wouldn’t use it as a warmup aid since I am typically just trying to get the feel for the green and not work on mechanics.  
 

i think I prefer indoors as I have a little more control of the environment and don’t need the space that a real green provides.  

I used it pre round in Vegas so I would have video: I don’t know if I’ll continue that going forward. I use my putt-out gate pre round, so it’ll be one or the other, but not both. I do use it every day on my birdie ball mat and prefer that environment for practice.

 

3 hours ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

Question,  It's been a few weeks now... does anyone feel more confident in their putting now than at the start?  Do you feel like you have more control over the starting line of your putts?

I’m sinking way more putts in practice: I usually keep rolling putts on my mat at home until I’ve made 3 consecutive 10 footers, and that is only taking 3 putts as of late. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I feel like I’m going to make every putt: hasn’t translated to my rounds yet, but 4 vacation rounds in the middle of my off season isn’t enough data.

[GolfSpy_APH]

Everyone still having fun with this one? I saw the Devil ball finally at the local shop and they even had one on the practice green for trying. Unfortunately there were a bunch of others trying it so I didn't have a chance to roll it, but hoping to go back this week and give it a go and maybe pick one up. 

[cnosil]

3 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Everyone still having fun with this one? I saw the Devil ball finally at the local shop and they even had one on the practice green for trying. Unfortunately there were a bunch of others trying it so I didn't have a chance to roll it, but hoping to go back this week and give it a go and maybe pick one up. 

I am using my pretty regularly.  As I mentioned earlier in the thread,  I have a station setup that when I walk by or need a break I hit 5 or 10 putts and work on my stroke and delivering a consistent face angle.   It seems to be helping as I am able to get good rolls on the advanced setting pretty consistently.   

It does seem to be helping on the shorter putts which I believe is where it is primarily designed to help.  I was missing too many in the 5-12 foot range and really wanted to improve those distances.    

[ejgaudette]

I am in a similar spot as I have struggled to come back with any new observations. I am still using it and finding the practice is a great way to check in on both alignment and face control for a few putts. It feels to be translating in my indoor practice. I think unsurprisingly this is targeted training aid. If you struggle a bit with alignment and face control when putting then it can help.

[TylorJudd]

On 2/2/2023 at 1:05 PM, GolfSpy MPR said:

Jumping in late here, so this might have already been noted, but I've found that upslopes—like the ramp of the PuttOut Pressure Trainer or the upslope of the Perfect Putting Mat—also exaggerate the error. If the ball isn't dead on line when it begins rolling up the ramp, the ramp itself (again, it seems to me) pushes it more offline, more than it does a "normal" ball. Anybody else have this experience?

I found the level of the floor can counteract that. I've had devil ball move 2" left then right to be back in the pressure trainer

[TylorJudd]

On 2/13/2023 at 7:42 AM, GolfSpy_BOS said:

Question,  It's been a few weeks now... does anyone feel more confident in their putting now than at the start?  Do you feel like you have more control over the starting line of your putts?

Like already mentioned, practice putting feels confident. Hasn't translated to the course, as @cnosil mentioned, I don't believe this is targeted at 5-12'. Difficult to test at the upper range limit there and a lot more variables come into play the longer the devil ball needs to roll. Speed at the end of a long putt really affects outcome.

[TylorJudd]

On 1/24/2023 at 5:02 AM, cnosil said:

You must have great start line control if you don’t occasionally miss hit the flat side of the ball and didn’t se a difference between the easy and difficult position.  Did you wife struggle hitting it with a square face? 

We had similar results from a toe hang blade to a high MOI mallet. The difference was more noticeable for her but honestly not close to what I expected.

[cnosil]

26 minutes ago, TylorJudd said:

Like already mentioned, practice putting feels confident. Hasn't translated to the course, as @cnosil mentioned, I don't believe this is targeted at 5-12'. Difficult to test at the upper range limit there and a lot more variables come into play the longer the devil ball needs to roll. Speed at the end of a long putt really affects outcome.

I’d propose that the devil ball doesn’t need to roll the distance of the putt since we are not checking distance control.  Face angle impacts the ball as soon as the ball leaves the face whether it is a 1 foot or 20+ foot putt.   Comparing to start line gates,  I can put a gate a foot away and check if the ball has rolled through the gate and can ignore the overall putt length provided I make a stroke that meets my intention.    In my practice setup, I am only rolling the ball about 3 feet and can easily evaluate my face angle for any length putt.   

[ejgaudette]

On 2/27/2023 at 10:18 AM, cnosil said:

I’d propose that the devil ball doesn’t need to roll the distance of the putt since we are not checking distance control.  Face angle impacts the ball as soon as the ball leaves the face whether it is a 1 foot or 20+ foot putt.   Comparing to start line gates,  I can put a gate a foot away and check if the ball has rolled through the gate and can ignore the overall putt length provided I make a stroke that meets my intention.    In my practice setup, I am only rolling the ball about 3 feet and can easily evaluate my face angle for any length putt.   

I agree that the feedback is instant on if you hit it square, now how offline you hit it relies on if you make that 3 footer on a flat surface. I have had some come back due to an uneven floor , but I know I missed it if things were flat. Though with a gate you have the same issue that unless you pick a flat putt the ball might go off line due to slope and pace than face control. Still valuable information but again need to be careful how you use it.

[GolfSpy BOS]

@TylorJudd nice review!  I didn't even think that it could get frustrating after how addictive the Pressure Trainer is, but that is some serious improvement through the gates!

[Peaksy68]

Thanks for the reviews team. Sounds like PuttOut have another winner. I might have to add a Devil Ball to my existing PuttOut setup.

[ejgaudette]

11 minutes ago, Peaksy68 said:

Thanks for the reviews team. Sounds like PuttOut have another winner. I might have to add a Devil Ball to my existing PuttOut setup.

Yes I agree worth having as a tool in the toolbox for most

[TylorJudd]

On 3/6/2023 at 11:36 AM, GolfSpy_BOS said:

@TylorJudd nice review!  I didn't even think that it could get frustrating after how addictive the Pressure Trainer is, but that is some serious improvement through the gates!

Gates with a devil ball is one of the more frustrating things I've done regarding this sport hahah

[Golf2Much]

Very good reviews.  Well written and very thoughtful.  I just installed a backyard putting green to practice and have several Putt Out products to help me with my putting.  This may be missing link!

Thank you again for your reviews,

[GolfSpy_APH]

On 12/15/2022 at 11:17 PM, PingMD702 said:

Hey Everyone! My name is Jordan and I, like all of you, are masochists when it comes to the game we all love and hate at the same time haha!

First things first! BIG SHOUTOUT to Putt Out for giving us the opportunity to test this product! I’ve been wanting to try this ever since they opened the tester slots! Of course, I cannot forget to thank the MGS team for giving me the opportunity to report my findings!

Here is a little about me, I am from Las Vegas and I’m really lucky to be able to play year-round. I always block off every Sunday to play 18 anywhere in the Las Vegas Valley. I have been golfing since I was 13 years old. At first, I did not take the game seriously and it was only after college that I started to fall in love again with golf. My current handicap is 6.3. I can confidently say that the WEAKEST part of my game is putting. I am one of those Bettinardi cult followers who always thinks changing putters would solve all my problems. (ABSOLUTELY WRONG! HAHA) I can wholeheartedly say that the “ITCH” is real when it comes to this crazy game! It’s something that I am constantly researching 24/7 on how to tinker or improve my game!

I will be using my Putt Out medium putting mat, premium pressure putt trainer, my trusty Bettinardi Inovai Wizard 8.0 putter & Bettinardi Inovai 6.5 tour prototype, and Titleist ProV1x for this heads-up match with the Devil Ball. When it comes to putting, my miss is usually a push. I believe that it’s due to the fact that the face is open at impact and I don’t have enough to hang on my putter. So to test my hypothesis, I will be using two putters, one with 1/8 toe hang (8.0) vs one with 1/4 toe hang (6.5). I will conduct my testing by using the different putting drills offered by Putt Out. These drills will be conducted indoors as well as outdoor putting green. I am excited to report my findings to the MGS fam and hopefully, along the way, my putting will improve, even if it’s just slightly HAHAHA!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS (9/10)

As a devout disciple of PuttOut training aids, they definitely do not disappoint. The quality of their product is consistent with the products I have grown to love over the years. From the unboxing to getting the Devil Ball in play whether it be indoors or outdoors (for my fellow desert golfers!), you can feel how premium the Devil Ball truly is! What I truly like about the Devil Ball is the portability factor of it. It comes with a handy dandy traveling pouch where it fits the 2 Devil Balls and alignment puck. I also find it convenient that the tag of the pouch has the QR code that will give you access to all of PuttOut's recommended putting drills. This is definitely something I can see myself bringing to the course or on those weekend golf trips to make myself feel even worse about my putting HAHA! 

The first thing that stood to me was the weight of the Devil Ball, the best way to describe it felt like mini medicine balls that provide instantaneous feedback upon impact. Me being the overconfident putter I am decided to start on the hardest setting. As I have eluded to before, the Devil Ball definitely makes me question how could have I ever thought I was a decent putter. I did 20 putts from 4 feet on the Pro setting, and it was a consistent pull. Every miss hit was accompanied by a firm thud in terms of feel off my putter face. My normal miss is push but I am intrigued as to why I pulled about 66% of my putts with this. At this point in my testing, I felt the Pressure Putt Trainer wasn't necessary since I couldn't hold my target line. I proceeded to do another 20 putts on the intermediate and beginner settings. I noticed a slight improvement in the strike and feel as progress to the beginner setting. After 60 putts with the Devil Ball, I can safely say it's making me second-guess my putting ability but in a good way. As with anything new, with constant repetition, I can hopefully not pull putts on the pro setting HAHA! I am excited to report back my findings as the weeks/months go by! 

FINAL REVIEW

AESTHETICS (20/20)

The Putt Out Devil ball is by far the most portable of the putting training aids I have owned. The travel case provided does not take up too much space in the bag and is well-made. The alignment disc and 2 training balls have sustained several putts every day and are still holding strong! This is definitely a GO in terms of durability!

 

PRACTICE/PERFORMANCE (12/20)

My initial impression of the Putt Out Devil ball has remained consistent throughout testing. This is one training aid that will definitely bring you down to earth if you think you’re a decent putter. Prior to testing this, I considered my putting ability to be the weakest part of my game. I’m not going to lie, I definitely lost confidence after the first 150 putts (50 with each difficulty level) with the Devil Ball. Even though the majority of putts with the Devil Ball were all over the place, slowly but surely I started to regain confidence in my stroke. It all boils down to how determined you are to improve your putting. This training aid will definitely test your patience but if you persevere through the rough patches, I believe you’ll be better off in the long run.

 

THE NUMBERS (20/20)

While I did lose confidence in putting, the varying difficulties provided by the Devil Ball, showed me something GLARING with my putting stroke! My push miss was consistent regardless of the difficulty level. I tend to struggle with scoring putts (less than 10 ft) and even though my push miss remained, it forced me to rethink my set-up, grip, etc. It was only by making changes minor tweaks to the mechanics of my stroke I was able to see a slight improvement (better than nothing HAHA!). My putts 10 ft and less were starting to roll better and on target. I did notice that there was some translation to the course as well. When I miss putts on the course, I am now able to pinpoint where the mistake is. Off-center strikes with the Devil Ball punish you with the putter version of a slice, and when I push putts, I at least understand now what I need to dial in more. After 600 putts (200 per difficulty level) at the various drill distances recommended by Putt Out as well as the stroke change, I noticed an upward trend. Prior to using the Devil Ball, I would drop 50% of my putts from less than 10 ft. After using the Devil Ball, I am happy to see my drop percentage jump up to 65%. Though it may not seem a lot, I have definitely saved a few 3 putts in the rounds I have played because of the Devil Ball. I feel the more time I get with the Devil Ball, I can only hope I can achieve a 75 to 80 % drop rate!

 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE IN-BETWEEN (15/20)

I can wholeheartedly say that the Devil Ball literally changed my approach to putting. With that said, to say that this is a VERY FRUSTRATING training aid would be an understatement. After seeing my putts look like slices on the ground, I felt I needed to adapt to the Devil Ball in order to achieve its true benefit. For someone who originally started putting left-handed to switching back to a full righty, my putting mechanics are all over the place. So I consider this a blessing in disguise since I needed to really analyze everything when it comes to putting. Even though I improved by 15% on my less than 10 ft putts, I feel this is could target a specific demographic of golfers. I also believe that even though the feedback is instantaneous and exactly what you would expect from a training aid, it could be demoralizing for some. Then again, its definitely on the golfer to push past this particular roadblock. Even though it sounds so cliche, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard”, and the Devil Ball definitely pushed me in the right direction!

 

PLAY IT OR TRADE IT (6/10)

I can confidently say I will be keeping this for the sole reason that it is putting me on the right path to being a better putter! Scoring opportunities from less than 10 ft are something I must continuously work on in order to drop my scores even more! This will be my go-to training aid to build my confidence that I can drop the 10-footers for birdie consistently!

 

CONCLUSION

The best word to describe the Devil Ball is a roller coaster HAHAH! The constant up and downs while using this lit a fire under me to start from scratch and lock in! Even though I felt determined to conquer the Devil Ball, it may not be for some. However, if you struggle with putts less than 10 feet like myself, its to jump on the ROLLER COASTER and enjoy the RIDE!

 

FINAL SCORE 82/100

Able to get any photos of your setup or the product as you got it? Always nice to see what you testers setups are like in that we can see if they are similar to ours at home or see areas where we can improve on what we have due to what did or didn't work for you with yours. 

Plus we all love seeing photos of the product even if it is just the golf ball!

[PingMD702]

5 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Able to get any photos of your setup or the product as you got it? Always nice to see what you testers setups are like in that we can see if they are similar to ours at home or see areas where we can improve on what we have due to what did or didn't work for you with yours. 

Plus we all love seeing photos of the product even if it is just the golf ball!

You know I’ve been having problems uploading my converted HEIC pics to jpg. I’m trying to find a way to upload this pics. Just don’t judge my simple set up HAHAHA!

[GolfSpy_APH]

1 minute ago, PingMD702 said:

You know I’ve been having problems uploading my converted HEIC pics to jpg. I’m trying to find a way to upload this pics. Just don’t judge my simple set up HAHAHA!

Just a fyi you can try doing Screenshots as well. For photos that are too large that's what I end up doing!

[PingMD702]

1 minute ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Just a fyi you can try doing Screenshots as well. For photos that are too large that's what I end up doing!

Now there is something I didn’t know! Thank you for the tip! 

[DonnieGolfs]

What I found with my setup was my floor has a slight break to it and I have been unknowingly compensating for it. This caused missing my line a lot of the greens. I ended up just practicing my starting line by putting with the devil ball 3 ft to the perfect putt, with a gate 1 ft from the ball. I chose 3 ft because it was the longest flat stretch I had. This has been helpful starting the putt where I wanted, but my speed and green reading has been a bigger reason for misses since. 

[Glenmore5]

Well done to all on your intensive reporting.

[GolfSpy_APH]

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/hideki-matsuyama-difficult-putting-drill-video

All he needs to add is the Devil ball and he's got the most complicated putting drill ever!

[ejgaudette]

2 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/hideki-matsuyama-difficult-putting-drill-video

All he needs to add is the Devil ball and he's got the most complicated putting drill ever!

Getting some real Tin Cup vibes from that video right there

[donovapreuss]

On 3/9/2023 at 9:03 PM, PingMD702 said:

Now there is something I didn’t know! Thank you for the tip! 

I agree I didn't know that either. Thanks for the advice!