Putt for the dough? I’d have gone broke recently! I was on the lookout for a solution. It sounds simple enough, get a putting mat, roll a few putts at home, build confidence, take it to the course and show the results there.. But as with most things in golf, the reality is a little more complicated.
Like many golfers, my relationship with putting has gone through phases. When I first started, it was predictably erratic. Then, over time, it became one of the stronger parts of my game, particularly when my long game was struggling, I leaned on my putting. I became the kind of player who was often putting for a single point and walking away satisfied. I was at one stage, what you might call a clutch putter.
Then things changed. A (long) dip in form led me to switch from a blade to a mallet putter. I went through a proper fitting at PXG, found something that suited my stroke, and for a while, it felt like the late summer, my partner and I took a joint putting lesson. His struggles? Fixed. Mine? Not so much.
That’s when I turned to a putting mat. The idea was simple .Practise every day, build consistency, sharpen up. In reality, practising daily proved harder than expected. Life gets in the way, and motivation isn’t always there, especially when you’re rolling putts across the same strip of carpet night after night.
But when I did practise, there were clear benefits. A putting mat gives you consistency. The same line, the same pace, the same environment. And that repetition does start to ingrain certain habits, particularly around strike and distance control.
On that front, I saw real improvement. My ability to judge pace over short distances became noticeably better. But there’s an obvious catch. A putting mat is controlled, a golf course isn’t.
(Image credit: Genelle Aldred)
Out on the course, you’re dealing with slopes, grain, subtle breaks, changing green speeds, pressure, and context. A perfectly flat mat can’t recreate that. And that’s where the limitation lies. If you rely solely on a mat, you risk becoming good at one very specific type of putt and not much else.
But, all was not a waste of time! Because I did see some progress and the biggest change was inside six feet….
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