We might be in the midst of a third lockdown but golfers across England, including me, are still trying to come up with ways to work on their game from the confines of our won home.
Of course we don't all have the luxury of installing artificial putting greens in our back garden and simulators in garages, but it would be nice to have something a little more sophisticated than practicing our putting across my carpet...
On top of that, it's always good to know that when 'practicing' indoors we're actually aiding our putting strokes rather than just compounding a fault.
That's where the Pure2Improve Putt Path training aid comes in...
What's It All About?
The idea is a very simple one, you get a plastic 'putt path' board which has four holes either side of where you would normally place the ball. You then simply place the tees which are supplied in the box into the holes on the board and these give you a visual indication of how long your stroke should be both on the back-swing and through-swing in the putting stroke.
For most golfers, you're aiming to take the putter head back the same distance as you allow it it to swing through after impact, so that your stroke gains a little more consistency and to try and get rid of any over-accelerating or decelerating during the most important parts of the stroke.
I suppose the main premise of this putting training aid is to help you improve your putting by simplifying your stroke. If your stroke is more consistent on the greens, the chance are you going to hole more putts.
This can be used indoors like I have done on a carpet, rug or hard floor, but there are also two slots on the sole of the device which allow for the smaller tees to be inserted, which means that you could take it outside onto the grass and fix it into place too which is a nice option to have come the summer months.
So if you like to spend time on your putting green at the golf club, then you can simply take the device down to the club with you and set it up there so that you get the true pace of a green and you can aim at one of the holes (instead of the corner of your sofa...)
Pure2Improve Putt Path Practice Aid Review
The box contains just two different components, the board itself and the tees used to practice stroke length, and so it is really easy to set up and use as you'd imagine. No instruction manuals needed here!
If you're not taking this out to practice on a green, all you need is a small free space indoors to get cracking. Luckily I had some spare room in my attic to get it installed, with a flat floor so that I could see the ball rolling off towards my target.
Despite being simple, I liked the versatility of the board as you are able to move the tees around in order to suit the putting stroke that you need to work on. For example if you struggle with decelerating on shorter putts, you can set the tee on the 'through-stroke' right to end to make sure that you finish off your stroke properly. The same goes for people who may not complete their back stroke properly.
It also works well just as a basic tool to work on your putting path too, to make sure that your stroke stays relatively neutral. If you tend to take the putter back too far from the inside or you cut across the ball, this is a great way to help dampen that down a bit.
I could see this pairing really well with Pure2Improve's Putting Mat so that you can incorporate a proper target into your practice and see some kind of end result, and it'll also be easier to see if the consistency of your putts is improving the more you use it.
After using the board for the last week or so, I would also suggest that you alternate between using and not using the tees during your practice, as you can get too reliant on them. If you can learn to keep the same stroke when you take the tees away then this is where you should see quicker improvement.
I used it by first placing the heel of the putter right against the bottom of the board and made a few practice strokes with the putter sliding across it, to get the feeling of a neutral path and the length of stroke required to avoid hitting the tees.
After a few putts like this, I then moved the ball forward slightly so that the putter was no longer touching the board, before hitting a few putts again to see whether I could replicate the same stroke without the added help of the board.
This seemed to be a good way of 'grooving' the feeling of the correct stroke without it feeling too different to a normal putting stroke, because of course as soon as you get back onto the golf course it's just going to be you, the putter and the ball.
Pure2Improve Putt Path Practice Aid Verdict
All in all, the Putt Path board is a simple and pretty effective tool to get a little more out of your at-home putting sessions. Could you make something similar yourself? Yes of course but it's a pretty smart bit of kit, and at £30 it's not going to break the bank and is bound to kill plenty of indoor hours over the winter months.
If you're bored during lockdown, or just looking for something else to take your at-home putting practice to the next level then I'd recommend that you consider investing.
Is it going to transform your putting stroke? No, probably not. Golf has been around for a long time and we've never seen the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Tiger Woods - three of the best putters in history - using aids like this - correct me if I'm wrong...?
If you're dedicated to improving and are willing to put the hours in with quality practice, you don't necessarily need aids like this. However if you're looking for a simple, easy visual aid to point you in the right direction when it comes to putting path and stroke, to use in addition to your normal putting practice, then it may well be worth checking out.
Pros
- Very simple to set up and use
- Lightweight and portable
- Can be used in a variety of locations
- Doesn't take up too much room
- Great way to improve putting path and tempo
Cons
- Could've been slightly longer for practice on longer putts
- Board tended to mark up a little after time
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PuttOut Pressure Putt Trainer Practice Aid Review
TaylorMade Spider FCG Putter Review