If you are like one of the millions of golfers of the world, chances are you neglect your short game. Most golfers will take a trip to the driving range on a regular basis, but will ignore the practice putting greens while they are at the golf course.
If you truly want to improve your golf game, practicing your putting is essential. This is where matches are truly won and lost. One of the best ways to improve your putting is to install an indoor or outdoor putting green at your home.
You may be thinking that you do not have the space to install an at home putting green at your house. However, these indoor or outdoor putting greens can be easily created in a game room, your garage, a spare bedroom, or in a small area of your backyard. Often times, installing a putting surface in a spare room is going to be cheaper than installing new carpeting.
When it comes to golf, putting is often described as being a game within the game. Hitting a short putt for par on a green into the center of a cup is certainly different than the challenge of smashing the ball with your driver to the center of the fairway. However, it does not matter if your shot is going 300 yards or just a few inches, both will go on the scorecard.
If you are going to improve your overall game of golf, practicing your putting is just as important as practicing your drives. However, the importance of practicing putting is often overlooked or underestimated entirely.
The main reason for this is because most people think that putting is simple when compared to the complexities of driving the ball with a full swing. Do not let yourself fall into this trap. Nearly half of all golf shots will take place on the putting green. This is one area of the game that really deserves your attention.
Fortunately, it is possible to improve your putting stroke at your own home. You can practice your putting while listening to your favorite music and drinking a beer after you get home from work. Installing a putting green at your home is a great way to not only improve your short game, but it also provides a great way to relax after a long day at the office. It is also a great way to have fun with some of your friends or your family.
In this article we will look at some of the best indoor and outdoor putting greens available. These range in price from as little as $40 up to $400. You can choose the one that will best meet your budget as well as your needs. This article will also discuss some of the more important points to consider when choosing the best putting green for your home.
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5 Points To Consider Before Purchasing Home Putting Greens
When you are considering an at home putting green to use to practice your putting, there are several things that you will want to take into consideration first. These points will help you discover how exactly an at home putting green can fit into your home space. Here are five tips about choosing a home putting green to help you get started.
Price
As with purchasing any type of item for your home, price is going to come into play. The good news is that there is an at home putting green that will fit within any type of budget. There are small portable putting greens available for just a few dollars reaching up to custom made greens that cost several thousand dollars.
The price of an at home putting green will typically reflect the quality of the product. However, this does not mean that you cannot get an effective and realistic product for a lower price. If you are on a tight budget, there are some higher quality options available. One is the SKLZ accelerator, which costs under $50. You can read more about this indoor putting green further down this page.
Storage And Size
The next thing to consider during your search for the perfect putting green is the size and how it can be stored. There are portable home putting greens available in all different shapes and sizes.
Before purchasing a home putting green, measure out the space in your home or your yard where you plan to install it. You will need to make sure that you have enough room to be in your normal putting stance while you are using the green. If any of your friends or family are left handed, make sure that they will have enough room to put as well.
If you are planning to install the putting green indoors, there are several portable types that can be simply rolled up and stored when they are not in use. For those that have a dedicated space for their putting green storage will not be an issue.
Surface Quality
When it comes to choosing an at home putting green you will want to choose one that has a surface that is as realistic as possible. Of course, you will also need to consider your budget when trying to find one with the best and most realistic surface.
When it comes to ball movement, the closer the surface area is to real turf, the better it is going to be.
If you are installing the putting surface outdoors, you will need to prepare the outdoor area first. You should try to create as level of a surface as possible, unless you want to putt with breaks.
If you are installing your putting surface indoors, you will want to remember that the type of flooring that you have will affect the speed of your putting green. If the home putting green is placed on a spongy carpet, the ball speed is going to be slower. If it is placed on cement or on a hardwood floor, the ball speeds are going to be faster.
Contour
The next thing that you want to consider when purchasing a home putting green is the type of putts that you want to practice. Do you want to practice uneven putts that break, straight putts, or both?
Some of the higher priced home putting greens come with accessories, which will let you change the contour of the green. This will allow you to create different putting options so that you can train yourself to hit those tricky sloping putts that you encounter when you are out on the golf course.
Some home putting installations provide the option of being able to create your own contours as desired. You simply will fill a ziplock bag with sand to place under the putting green to create a new challenge for you to practice with.
Cleaning
One of the best parts about installing an artificial putting green at your home is that the maintenance is fairly simple. Most artificial home putting greens can be simply hosed off or washed using a detergent. Some can even be vacuumed.
If installing an outdoor fake grass putting green you can simply hose it off when it becomes too dirty and use a rake on it.
Putting Green Installations
If you are installing an outdoor putting green at your home, it is important that you make sure that you install a base for it that is about one or two inches thicker than a normal base for artificial turf. In order to create an isolated area of your yard for your putting green use a road base first. This will help create a compact, hard surface for your home putting green installation.
Once the base is complete you will need to install about an eighth of an inch of silica sand on top of it. If you have chosen a Nylon or Polyputt putting green, you will want to set the cups at the grade level. If you are using a Trueputt product you will want the cups to be about 5/8ths of an inch above the final grade level.
Next, you will need to cut and shape your green and attach the fringe. A viper plate should be used in order to place the sand infill into the fake grass putting green material.
Installation of a fake grass putting green will take about a day to complete.
If you are installing a putting green inside your home you will still need to prepare the area where the putting green will be placed. You want to have a designated area for the putting green that is on a hard, flat surface. Once you have cleared the area for the putting green you can then place it in the area and design it with the holes that you want.
A smaller and cheaper artificial putting green will not need much prep work as these smaller greens simply fold out and can be laid on any area in the home.
Now that you have decided to take the step of putting a practice artificial putting green at your home, here are a few products to consider for your at home use.
Top Indoor And Outdoor Home Putting Greens
StarPro’s 15’x20′ 5-Hole Professional Practice Putting Green
Specifications
- Cut from master putting turf, which is the best in the world
- Made to last, comes with 8 year warranty
- 15×20
- 5 inground cups included
- Rolls out flat and putts at country club speed
- Non-directional provides great ball roll
- Feels like a real putting green
- Stimp 9.5 speed
Overview
This 15 x 20 practice green offers 5 holes that you can practice with. The material is cut using a water jet from the Master Putting Turf. It is made from ¾ inch twisted nylon filaments, which are heat set and then cut smooth to one half inch.
The nylon face of the putting green is UV stabilized. It is backed using a scrim fabric, a natural rubber pre-coat, and a mesh. It has a natural rubber base that will not skid. The 5 holes that are included each come with plugs that include 2 tabs that will keep them in. You can choose to have as many holes on your green as you would like.
To install the green you will need two inches of ⅜ minus gravel base and a 15 x 20 space. It can be installed in your yard, by your pool, on a patio, in a game room, and can even be used in gyms or for trade shows and conventions.
You can place breaks in the green by placing a large freezer bag filled with a cup of sand under the surface of the green. Foam water line insulation can be used to create backstops. Simply cut the required length of the tubing and then fit it over the edge of the green.
The speed of the green can be reduced by back raking the green with a leaf rake and then vacuuming it with a beater bar. If you want to increase the speed you can use a sand infill.
This green comes with the rules to 4 putting games that you and your family can enjoy together. If you are a golfer, having your own putting green right in your backyard can be a really great and easy way to improve your game.
StarPro Pro-Am Professional Practice Green
Specifications
- Provides 1000s of long challenging putts from anywhere on the green
- Provides real feel putting practice
- True feel
- Can create breaks
- No folds, ramps, sponge, or other unnatural platform
- Pro-am turf roll
- Country club bent grass
- Measures 3×10
Overview
The StarPro ProAm professional putting green comes with a 3 x 10 putting surface. It includes 5 starballs, 5 starball cups, and five 12 inch flags. The cups all have plugs and 2 tabs to keep them in place. It includes instructions for 5 different putting games.
The turf is made from a 32 ounce nylon face and has a rubber precoat, an action back, and a non-skid base. Out of the box the speed of this green is stimp 10.5. If you want to reduce the speed you can back rake the green and vacuum with a beater bar.
You can choose to have up to five holes on this green. If you want to create different breaks on the green for practice you can simply fill a freezer bag with some sand and place it underneath the green.
If you have a small indoor or outdoor space and you want to quickly add a putting green to practice your golf skills on, this professional putting green is a good choice. It measures 3×10 feet, so you only need a small space to fit the putting green in.
Tour Links Golf Training Aid With Putting Green
Specifications
- Six training tools
- Available in 3 sizes
- Durable plastic base
- Real turf
- 3 year warranty
Overview
This indoor putting green is at the higher end of the spectrum in terms of price. However, if you want to invest in your golf game, this putting green from Tour Links is a great choice. It comes with six training tools that are designed to help you improve your alignment as well as your putting stroke.
These tools include:
- String guide to show you how to correctly align your shot
- Ball marking tool that helps you mark your ball to see if it is rolling properly when hit
- Alignment guide: shows if your eyes are correctly aimed
- Stroke groover block: to help you develop a more controlled putting stroke
- Foam pads: lets you add undulation to the surface by placing the foam pads under the turf
- Cup reducing ring: will make the hole smaller so that you have to aim at the center of the cup.
This indoor putting green is available in three different sizes, 7, 9, and 13 feet. It has a durable, solid, plastic base and the turf is then rolled out on top. It will take about fifteen to twenty minutes to assemble. The base sits up off of the floor, which allows ample room for the cup. There is also a separate area designed to stand on when practicing your putts.
StarPro Indoor/Outdoor Putting Green
Specifications
- Measures 10’ x 3’
- Flexible surface
- Shallow cups that use starball technology
- Easy to store
Overview
If you want a quality home putting green, but do not have a large budget to work with, this indoor/outdoor putting green from StarPro is a good choice. The putting green offers a flexible surface that can easily be rolled up and stored when it is not in use. The rubber base helps keep the mat in place during use.
The speed of this indoor/outdoor putting green is about stimp 10.5. To slow down the speed you can use a beater bar vacuum or leaf rake to change the grain direction.
This green lies flat on the floor so there is no elevation. This means that the cups are shallow and cannot catch a putt. To overcome this the company uses starball technology. The starball will sit inside the cup and trap the ball. This gadget will let you know if your putt was dead center, or slightly off to the left or to the right.
This green comes with five holes that can be placed throughout the green. Placing all five of the holes on this putting surface will limit the room that you have for your stance. For this reason it is recommended that you use only one or two of the holes provided. If this putting green is too small, consider the larger one from StarPro that is listed above.
SKLZ Accelerator Pro Ball Return Putting Mat
Specifications
- 9 foot strip
- Elevated hole
- Easy to store
- Stimp between 9 and 10
- Guidelines
- Ball return
Overview
This indoor putting green may not look like much and comes with a low price tag, but you will be surprised at how well this simple indoor putting surface will work to help you take shots off your game.
The Accelerator measures 9 feet and has stimp reads from 9 to 10 based on where the turf is laid. The hole is elevated, which may seem unrealistic, but it actually will help teach you to accelerate your putts during impact.
The surface area has guidelines at different distances from the hole. This will help you monitor your putting swing and the ball path. Another nice feature of this indoor putting green is that there is a plastic slide that is next to the putting surface where your ball will be delivered right back to you after hitting each putt.
Conclusion
Golf is a game of repetition. Swinging your clubs over and over again correctly is the best way to improve your game overall. Many people spend the majority of their time trying to perfect their drives and longer shots. However, putting should not be ignored.
Putting is a huge part of your golf game and many shots are lost while on the green. Learning how to putt effectively will greatly improve your game overall. One of the best ways to practice your putting is by installing home putting greens.
There are many great home putting greens available. Some are more expensive than others, but there is a home putting green to meet every budget. There are also some that can be simply rolled up and stored when they are not in use. These are perfect for those who do not have a lot of space in their homes or yards, but still want to improve their putting skills.
Overall, installing a home putting green offers a great way to practice your putting skills when you cannot make it to the golf course.