The Best putting trainer is an essential tool for any avid golfer who may be a good touch on the fairway but lacks the finishing moves to get the ball into the hole from the green without needing three putts to do so. Losing a birdie because of a lousy putting game is not something anyone is proud of, and so there are numerous putting assistant tools to use for training purposes.
The basic principle behind best putting training aids is the same with each product: to help the golfer line up the shot more accurately. In the process, they’re likely to putt at a better angle across the putting green and into the hole. Now, with that said, greens have their own feel and movements, so putting in a straight line at the professional level isn’t necessarily going to achieve the ball in the hole results you’re looking for. With that said, being able to line up correctly, putt straight and reach the hole on greens that don’t undulate is at least a good start.
Putting is almost an afterthought for many golfers. It’s the thing they either don’t put much effort into or never practice. Maybe they own a golfing practice net and put in a few hours with it each week, but putting? Well, that’s more or less forgotten when it comes to training and improving their technique. This is where the putting aid comes in to change all that.
Well-known golfing coaches frequently use putting tools to help better train their students. Being able to see the line you should be taking is an obvious first step. From there, students begin to have more confidence (without getting overconfident) and judiciously use the right tools to improve every aspect of their golfing game.
There are many competing products in this category. We’ve selected the best ones to help narrow the field down for you. Here are a few of the better putting training aids on the market.
TIBA Putt – Putting Aid for Golf – Portable Golf Putting Alignment and Aim Practice Training Tool
The TIBA Putt is a simpler putting tool than some other products in this category which are typically much larger and more obvious on the green. The product is available in multiple colors too:
• Orange
• Pink
• Blue
• Purple
The aim of any putting alignment tool is to help players improve their judgment when it comes to targeting, so they’re better able to get putts on target when playing unassisted. The tool does this with slim guides either side of the ball.
For many seasons, PGA professional golfers have used this product including noted player Lydia Ko. The way the tool works is it helps the golfer line up their putts to hit the right spot before firing the ball across the green. Mainly, one seems in better control over distance shots rather than closeup ones, but improvement is typically seen with both types of position.
It doesn’t matter which swing is used or the type of putter that’s your favorite because the tool is adaptable. One distinct advantage with this product is that it’s so small when compared to other putting aids, which means it slides into your golf bag without any difficulty. This avoids the tendency to leave a large putting aid at home to reduce weight and deal with luggage size constraints when traveling or flying to a destination and wanting to take all your golf gear with you.
The focus with this product is the swing stroke right before and just after hitting the ball across the green. It has been found that this area is the most critical to send balls straight, true, and the appropriate distance towards the hole. Flaws in the putting stroke is an area that the tools help to address which will appeal mostly to players who find that putting is the weakest part of their golfing game and they don’t feel that they get enough practice with putting. However, whereas most putting aids improve the full putting swing and stroke, this product only addresses the moment right before hitting the ball and the follow through.
The design of the product is a simple. Normal golf tees are used to maintain the position of the guide which makes them easy to replace should they become lost either during a game or in the golf bag somewhere.
Given the use of tees to penetrate the earth to secure the tool, it is not expected that this putting aid will work on artificial greens.
Genuine EyeLine Golf Putting Alignment Mirror
The Genuine EyeLine Golf Putting Alignment Mirror holds the record as the most frequently used tool by PGA Tour participants for almost a decade now.
The product has a mirror that can be seen by the golfer to setup the proper alignment of their feet and the putter with the hole. Given that the most significant reason for missing putsis the putter was misaligned with the direction of the hole, the use of this putting aid gives a new level of confidence for players.
The ball sitsin front, with a circular opening to slide the putting aid in behind it. It measures 12 inches by 6 inches and can be used on artificial putting greens because it doesn’t get secured by tees into the ground. The mirror and lines help confirm that the face and body alignment is correct, with the proper placement of the putting aid ensuring a straight shot on the hole.
The material used is plastic, with the mirror on the other side, so one does need to take care of the product to ensure it doesn’t get broken. Given that it’s mainly plastic, it doesn’t weigh that much and so it quite portable. There is a bag supplied to keep it protected when driving to a golf course or when traveling and taking your golf equipment with you.
To rule out any confusion, instructions are also supplied to get you started using the product, and there are plenty of instructional videos available online.
One issue that golfers often have is not aligning themselves properly with their eyes directly over the ball. The benefit of the mirror is that it ensures your head and eyes are in the correct position to take a more accurate shot. Particularly, it’s a matter of getting the left eye over the ball to help make this improvement. This single change is often enough, with a little practice, to create more consistency and better putting results to complete a round of golf. No more three putts to get the ball in the hole ruining a possible birdie. Worth every penny in pleasing game results.
Pelz Golf DP4007 Putting Tutor
The Pelz Golf DP4007 Putting Tutor is a device that is laid out on the green ready for use. The tutor is used by Phil Mickelson who also endorses the product. The intention of this putting training aid to not only improve your aim on the green but also to benefit how you’ll be able to read the green’s undulations to improve results.
The black slightly triangular shape of the black matches a thick red circle at the widest point to position the golf ball. When placing the golf ball down, it naturally sits inside the red circle while not obstructing the ability to strike the ball cleanly with the putter. On either side of the red circle are two white lines that help initially line up for the direction the ball should be hit.
At the other end of the mat are two clear marble balls on either side to guide you. There is a thick white line along the full length of the mat from the wider end to the slimmer end which follows the line of the green towards the hole.
Striking the ball along the white line to the end, between the two marble balls, allows you to become accustomed to hitting the ball in an absolutely straight line for the first few centimeters which sets the golf ball rolling correctly towards the target. There are three pin holes on either side at the wider end to insert marbles where they’re needed.
With the marbles correctly positioned, any hit that is not in line with the direction intended will strike either side of the marbles and knocked them out of the aid and onto the green. This process confirms when the aim is correct or incorrect. Often, a golfer will read the green well, but fail to line their putter up correctly to strike the ball in exactly the direction that they intended to, based on their reading of the green. Using this tool, it’s possible to practice over and over to eventually match the ball strike and trajectory with the planned line taken when reading the green.
There are three gate positions for the marbles are based on a Standard, Professional, and Super Professional rating. The better one improves, the time will come to reposition the marbles to the next level up until your strike accuracy with the putter sending the ball in the correct direction perfectly.
While this putting training aid lacks the mirror effect of some other tools to help check that you’re lined up properly, it does help improve accurate striking. Poor directional striking is then easier to adjust accordingly.
Putt-A-Bout Grassroots Par Three Putting Green (9-feet x 3-feet)
The Putt-A-Bout Grassroots product is a little different to the earlier putting aids. This tool is an artificial kidney-shaped putting green that one can roll out to its full 9 feet length (only 3 feet wide) and use as a putting practice area. The green is made using types of foam on the underside to give it a spongy, bouncy feel while gripping either the indoor carpet/wooden floor finish or the patio or grass outside. The green turf used on the top side has a smooth feel and finish to let the golf ball roll along nicely.
There are three recessed holes at the end of the green to aim for. It’s possible to start putting from many positions to vary up your putting experience ahead of a game match.
A curved moon-shaped area with the a sharp incline set at the end of the putting green has its own recess to catch shots that overshot the mark. The inclusion of this mock sand-trap is helpful to save time chasing after golf balls. It is divided into two sections to cover the area better.
The green mat rolls up easily and can be thrown into a suitcase or the back of the car with a spare putter. The length of the Matt means it is not suitable for an airplane carry-on bag, but a duffel bag or suitable will be the best solution. It weighs not much more than 5 lbs.
Be sure not to roll up the matt too tightly or fold it, because otherwise the folds won’t come out and this will prevent the ball from rolling smoothly. Practice your putting in the hotel room after taking off-site meetings. The green is flexible enough to use almost anywhere.
The green sits 1-2 centimeters off the ground with its green felt and foam backing. As a result, if you have young toddlers or children who tend to trip over things easily, be careful using the green around them as they could get their feet caught on the lip of it.
For smoother putting, laying the green down on concrete tends to offer better performance than with carpet, but either work acceptably well.
TPK Golf Training Aid Putting Stick
The TPK Golf Training Aid Putting Stick is a tool to improve putting performance, particularly at the 3 feet, 4 feet, and 5 feet distances. It is 46 inches long and just one inch wide. The tool can be used both indoors and outdoors.
The idea behind the putting aid, it’s straight path and mirror alignment, is to help golfers get the correct feel when hitting the ball straight on a line. It feels differently than when getting the angle wrong. Once this issue is resolved in the putting game, shots become easier to take because reading the green then is the last key for great accuracy.
The back of the stick has a leveling bubble that acts like a builder’s leveling measurement to check that the putting surface is flat. The green ball track is there to receive the ball and let it follow a certain path safely. There is a tiny retaining hole at the back that the ball naturally sits on until it is struck.
There is a backstroke stopping mechanism, which is slide-able forward and back, to gradually change the putting stroke back-swing to adjust its depth.
The eye alignment mirror is positioned at the end of the putting stick at the location where the ball will travel and follow beneath it. It has a black line down the center of the mirror to confirm proper eye alignment when lining up to take a putting shot. With your face set square to the target, the accuracy eventually improves to just a 1% differential for straighter shots.
Putting together this putting aid is simple enough. Just lay out the main line down and check the leveling bubble to ensure the oval bubble is floating between the two parallel black lines on either end. Once level, slot the jagged alligator edges of the base plate on the other end of the track (to disassemble the aid later it’s necessary to lift the stick up and rotate the base plate to free it from its secure position – this cannot be done when the stick is on the ground). Then slot in the mirror and move the putting swing guide to the desired position. Now you’re ready to proceed with your putting practice.
The putting stick is utilized by PGA Tour players like Bo Van Pelt and Andrew Johnson to great success. There is also a 20-minute instructional DVD covering how to assemble the putting aid, how to use it and ways to correct an improper putting stroke.
5 Footer Golf Training Aid
The 5 Footer Golf Training Aid is a lightweight visual putting aid that is an ideal travel companion. It rolls right up into a cylindrical bundle that fits in hand, the suitcase or daypack.
The yellow vinyl strip is placed down on the green. It curves around the back of the hole and then points away across the green to where the golf ball is located. With the aid laid out, two thick yellow lines are evident showing the direction the ball must travel to drop down into the hole.
It’s possible to perform “the ladder drill” which is where three balls are lined up at three feet, four feet and five feet distance from the hole. Then roll one ball across the raised yellow line into the putting area. Strike the ball along the path toward the hole, sinking it. Then taking the four-foot ball, strike that one and sink it. And finally, the five-foot ball and repeating the process. By practicing in this manner, it’s possible to stand straight when lined up ready to putt and learn how to strike the ball smoothly, evenly and on target.
The yellow material is a vinyl that’s been treated to be weatherproof for poor visibility days and durable enough to last long enough to improve your putting game. It’s possible to line up this putting aid to hit the ball on a certain line while still taking into account parts of the green that will pull the ball farther to either the left or the right.
The product is not a great one to use in the hotel because it requires a real green – or artificial one with a hole – to make use of the tool properly.
Use of this putting aid is likely to improve your putting with time. It does lack some of the flashier functionality of other products reviewed above. It doesn’t have a mirror to visually line up your face and stroke. The raised vinyl putting aid can let the golf ball bounce off it, pinball fashion, rather than showing when a ball was off-course. The longer the shot, the more this is a factor. As such, this is a basic putting aid that isn’t perfect and is only really good for outdoor play. However, it is less expensive than some other putting aids.
Conclusion
Improving your putting game is key to taking your handicap to the next level. Whichever golfing aid you choose, making sure you put in enough practice time to make it count and always choose best putting training aids.
