The Best Training Aids for Putting
There’s no excuse not to practice your putting. You can work on your putting stroke 365 days a year, inside or out, morning or night.
Not only that, but improving your putting is arguably one of the quickest paths to shooting lower scores. If the full swing is a house of cards that can crumble when any one of a hundred movements falls out of sync, the putting stroke is a relatively simple movement that can be engrained and maintained. And you'll tap into those gains on every single hole you play.
If you're ready to improve your putting, and your scores, check out the best training aids for putting.
The 6 Best Putting Training Aids
These are our six favorite training aids for putting. Practicing with these aids will sharpen your putting skills from breaking putts, to the fundamentals, perfect speed, and the ultimate moment of truth, impact.
The best part is, all of these are conveniently available on Amazon, and most putting training aids are relatively affordable.
|
Product |
Standout Feature |
Price |
|
Breaking Ball Putting Mat |
Practice breaking putts |
$120-186 | SHOP NOW |
|
PuttOUT Devil Ball |
Train the perfect strike |
$29 | SHOP NOW |
|
KINGTOP Golf Putting Mirror |
Sharpen fundamentals |
$16 | SHOP NOW |
|
Putting Stick |
Train fundamentals and strike |
$79 | SHOP NOW |
|
GoSports Putting Gates |
Consistently hit your line |
$17 | SHOP NOW |
|
PuttOUT |
Practice pressure putting |
$39 | SHOP NOW |
Breaking Ball Putting Mat
Me And My Golf: $120-186 | SHOP NOW
Practicing the mechanics of your putting stroke is great, but the Breaking Ball Putting Mat takes putting practice to the next level by forcing you to practice those pesky breaking putts. Between the three side-weighted balls – light, medium, and severe break – that come with the mat, and one regular ball, you can practice seven different putting lines from your own home.
How to Putt in Golf: A Complete Guide From Stance to Speed
Pros
If you use the Breaking Ball Putting Mat regularly, you’ll gain confidence and improve your skill on short and mid-range breaking putts.
It also forces you to learn and practice an effective pre-shot putting routine using an alignment line.
Cons
To use the Breaking Ball Putting Mat as designed, you must find a level area of floor, which can be harder than you might think in some homes.
Devil Ball
PuttOut: $29 | SHOP NOW
The Devil Ball from PuttOut is quite devilish, indeed. The unique shape of the ball forces you to hit putts with a perfectly square clubface, or it will veer wildly offline.
Depending on the difficulty you practice with – there are Pro, Intermediate, and Beginner settings – the Devil Ball can be frustrating to train with, but once you learn to hit perfect putts with it, you’ll see the impact on your scorecard.
Pros
Once you can putt the Devil Ball straight, you’ll notice better putting on the course. Three levels of difficulty make it appealing to all level of golfers.
Cons
The Devil Ball makes short putts about twice as hard to make, so it requires some patience and persistence during your practice.
Putting Mirror
KINGTOP Golf: $16 | SHOP NOW
A putting mirror is one of the most fundamental putting training aids around, and this one from KINGTOP Golf gives you everything you need to practice better mechanics on the putting green.
The putting mirror gives you feedback to train the proper setup, alignment, tempo, and club face at impact.
Pros
The gate slots train your ability to hit the center of the putter face, and the tee holders in back train a proper and consistent backswing length, all while building the ideal setup. It has a small profile, so it easily fits in your golf bag for putting practice wherever you go.
Cons
While the putting mirror helps you build great fundamentals with your putting stroke, it does not offer the immediate feedback on your stroke and strike that some other putting training aids do.
Putting Stick
TPK Golf: $79 | SHOP NOW
The Putting Stick from TPK Golf takes putting mirrors to the next level. When you place your ball on the Putting Stick, you’ll notice the reflective mirror to check your eye position and setup, along with the adjustable backswing length trainer, just like with a Putting Mirror.
That, however, is where the similarities end. The Putting Stick trains not only pre-shot, but impact fundamentals. Think of it as a combination of a Putting Mirror and the Devil Ball. If you hit a putt with an open or closed club face or path, the ball will fall off the side of the stick. Strike it perfectly, however, and it will roll beautifully down the entire stick and off the end. When you can roll all your putts off the end of the Putting Stick, you’ve taken your putting game to the next level.
Pros
The Putting Stick is one of the best all-around putting trainers. It forces perfect stance, posture and backswing fundamentals, and a perfect strike and roll.
Another great feature of the Putting Stick is you can use it indoors and outdoors. Train your stroke using the Putting Stick at home, then recall those perfect fundamentals on the practice green before you start your round.
Cons
At 46-inches long, the Putting Stick does not fit in any golf bag pocket. To bring it to the course, you’ll need to toss it into a club slot. If you already carry 14 clubs and a couple alignment sticks, space up top could be limited.
Putting Gate
GoSports: $17 | SHOP NOW
One of the most common pieces of advice on the putting green is to aim for a target a few feet away. On longer putts, that’s easier said than done. Practicing with the Putting Gate, however, forces your focus to first part of the putt, or wherever you set the gate.
This set from GoSports includes three different gate widths, for short, medium, and long putts, or various difficulty. Just pick your line, set your gate, and get to work.
Pros
Weighted feet on the gates make this Putting Gate ideal for indoor or outdoor practice. You can also stake it into a putting green with the tee slots on each side.
Cons
The Putting Gate is a great aid for practicing where your putts go, but it doesn’t do much for your mechanics and fundamentals. If that’s your issue, there are other putting training aids on this list that will probably help you more.
PuttOut Premium Pressure Putt Trainer
PuttOut Premium Pressure Putt Trainer
PuttOUT: $39 | SHOP NOW
There are three elements to a putt. First, you’ve got to be able identify the right line, then you’ve got to be able to hit the right line. We’ve got plenty of training aids on this list that will train your skills at each of these. However, the final piece is hitting putts with the right speed. To practice that, we recommend the PuttOut Pressure Putt Trainer.
The PuttOut is the same size as a golf hole, 4.25 inches, and to hit the micro-target just past the hole, you must putt with the perfect speed. The beauty of the PuttOut is that the ramp will send your ball back the same distance as a miss would go past the hole. After a little practice with the PuttOut Pressure Putt Trainer, you can kiss those 5-foot come-backers goodbye.
Pros
Train your speed and line by practicing with the micro-target just beyond the hole, and pay attention to how far past the hole your misses are. With the small target mindset, and training the perfect speed, you’ll become a much more consistent putter, and should reduce those just-outside-the-comfort-zone come-backers.
Cons
Like the other PuttOut product on this list, the Devil Ball, this Pressure Putt Trainer can be difficult. Ultimately that’s a good thing, because when it starts to get easier, you know you’ve improved your skill, but at the beginning, it can take some getting used to, and require some patience and persistence. If you stick with it, the results will be worth it.
We’re Talking About Practice
It’s not like you needed more reasons to practice your putting, but these are six great putting training aids that we wholeheartedly believe will help you improve your putting fundamentals, skills, and results, and help you lower your scores.