Hints and Helps

[Tijoli]

Do any of you have practice putting mats in your home and have they made an impact on the course?  We have one but it seems so different than the greens that I haven’t used it much. (Plus it’s in the cold, damp basement). I’d love to hear if they’ve made a difference for anyone.

I saw some posts about short game struggles and have found that a local par 3 golf course has made a big difference for me.  It may seem like a step down from a regular course but it’s a way to spend time with friends who are intimidated by or don’t have time for 18 regular holes.  And it really helps me in my short game!  The longest hole at our par 3 is 80 yards.  I love that it only takes an hour or so and the benefits are amazing!

[Tom the Golf Nut]

Putting mats help in regard to grooving your stroke and alignment. The downside is that they are a set speed and typically do not represent the speed of the greens you are playing on. Especially if it a heavily used public course or the par three you mentioned you are playing. Courses with heavy play typically keep the putting surface grass a little taller making it slower. This is so it can hold up to the heavier traffic. If you play private courses then the speed is pretty close.

Par three courses are an excellent way to improve your short game like you mentioned. Not to mention having many chances at a hole in one. Many years ago my company at the time had a golf league at a par three course. It was an 18 hole course with the yardage ranging from 98 yards up to 250 yards. Extremely fun, challenging, and helped most of my game. The only driver hole was the 250 yard hole with 200 of it across a pond. Its pretty much where I learned to play. You gain so much confidence which helps you to transition to the big courses.

[cnosil]

I have had practice putting mats in the past but never found them that beneficial.  Like you indicated, never really transferred to the course.  I think it is because of the lack of feedback and lack of skill building.  Essentially they are not very long; unless you room allows for a 20+ foot mat,  so you can’t practice long putts and the error tolerance on short putts is pretty wide so you get little input there.   To enhance the experience, leverage something like a gate for the putter head and ball to help with center face contact and face angle control or roll the ball down a metal yardstick.   If I had the room I’d build a platform that I could raise/lower to create realistic break.   I have an exPutt system which does a great job helping to learn speed control.

As I have learned more about golf, par 3s are great to learn the short game and policy those skills.   There used to be one close to me but I never took advantage befor it closed 

[MsWalkrOfSky]

I putt on my thicker carpet at home. I've found putting at home a lot more useful if I don't concentrate at all on speed control. Instead, I focus on putting on my line. I don't try to make it in a hole, but instead putt towards a cup, so I can vary the speeds that I'm putting and make sure that I'm holding the line that I've chosen within a certain degree of tolerance. If I miss the cup, I've messed up my stroke. I vary the speed of the putt without much control in mind for distance, but lots of thought into hitting the cup. Speed control in my experience should be worked on out on the course on the type of greens you typically play, not on one surface type only.

I play on a local executive course that I love; it's just gotten new owners and it's been really fun to see some life breathed into the course, with new signs on the holes, new pins and flags, new clubhouse items, etc. The owners that had it before were super picky to try to find people that would maintain it as a golf course, and I'm really grateful towards them for being patient and looking for the right people to buy. Shoutout to Marks Par Three!!!

[Tijoli]

Love the idea of the carpet…don’t have any in my home…nor area rugs. But I love the idea of keeping the line over speed since that changes based in course and condition.  Something to thing about…

[Swood1994]

I putt in my basement on a Berber style carpet. Similar to @MsWalkrOfSky I don’t focus on speed but I’ll set up alignment sticks or golf balls about a fingers-width from the toe and heel of the putter and make a stroke and work on squaring the face at impact and making solid contact. If you hit the “guardrails” then it’s instant feedback for improper face position/path at impact
 

When I go to the course I I’ll hit a few putts on the practice green and then really focus on the the speed the first hole to set a baseline for the first nine. I normally play in the early morning so by the second nine the green have dried up and gotten quicker. I’ll be a little more defensive with speed on 10 & 11 and then set a new baseline.  

[Tijoli]

Like the guardrails idea…I definitely need to invest in some carpet, even if it’s just a remnant.  Thanks for the idea!