This really is some piece of kit – the Exputt RG putting simulator comes with endless possibilities to improve and stimulate your putting.
Your initial thought might be that it will be time-consuming to set up and fiddly to operate but it’s the complete opposite of that. Everything is packaged and labelled perfectly and the user manual (which is detailed but essential reading) makes things very straightforward.
Just roll out the mat, attach it to an HDMI port and position the high-speed camera, either on top of your TV or free standing via the tripod, to allow it to synch up with the mat. Again, this could be a niggle but it was surprisingly easy to get right (again, read the instructions!).
Once you’ve created an account you will most likely head to the Classic option and Practice category. This allows you to hit putts from any distance, with uphill or sidehill breaks, and whatever speed you want. So, if your local course offers greens that Stimp at 11, then you can replicate that.
You can adjust the hole size if you’re looking to get your kids into hitting a few putts, or by cutting yourself a bit of slack, and the overall feedback on any putt is off the charts. Helped by placing two stickers on the putter face and the identifier lines that frame the putting mat you are then given detail on your ball speed, launch direction, distance, putter path, impact angle and tempo with excellent visual feedback on your face and path. This sounds a lot to take in if you’re a bit of a novice at interpreting putting date but it’s relatively easy to pick up and the level of detail is incredibly accurate.
A good tip, if you do want to work on your stroke, is to hit putts from 10 feet as if you’re more than one degree out either left or right then you won’t make it whereas obviously five-foot putts allow for more margin for error.
Most of us have some sort of idea of what we tend to do with our putting but there’s nothing as immediate as this that we might be opening or shutting the face or whether we are cutting across the ball. There’s also a heat map and an Analysis section which collects all your data from different distances which will tell you very precisely on where you will need to practise.
Some of us won’t want this level of detail and will be stimulated by the challenge of hitting and holing more putts and the Exputt is also fantastic for this. The really impressive aspect about this is how challenging it is; on the face of it you are hitting a collection of putts no longer than four feet into a foam cushion but this is very quickly forgotten. In the space of 24 hours I will have hit more putts than I have done all year and I even gave it a little fist pump when I managed to knock one in from 20 feet.
Also in the Classic section are the Play 9 and Challenge (where you get three putts at three different distances and are there marked accordingly) options. Here you might be hard pressed to look beyond the choice of tackling the Pebble Beach front nine courtesy of a grid system on each green. Here you can use the remote control to give yourself an idea of the break of a putt or by hovering your putter/sticker above the question mark on the mat and then use the arrows, also on the mat, to show how much break there is – and then either set it up as a straight putt and hitting to that break or by actually hitting it left or right.
This sounds more complicated than it is and there is an element of trial and error to it but you will soon get the hang of it and there is also the visual aid of where the high and low ground is in the top right corner. I much preferred using the remote for this aspect of it in terms of speed and functionality.
Other than the Classic option on the homepage are the Multi and Explorer choices. The former offers you the chance to play against others all over the world and take them on in a variety of challenges and there’s even monthly and yearly rankings while the Explorer is a fantastic addition to the product.
This allows you to select nine holes, all with different undulations, and you can pick the pin position and where you’re going to putt from. So you can give yourself some very funky putts.
For such a neat product the opportunities really are endless here. It is a lot of money but you do get an awful lot for that money. The graphics are quality and the ease of use is brilliant given how much data and functionality there is under the bonnet here. The beauty is, if you want to take a deeper dive into your putting, then this is a brilliant way to get some hard facts together and is the perfect present to help your local pro on what’s happening with your stroke.
Finally there’s also a new app and mobile feature so you don’t even need a TV screen and you can take advantage of your Exputt on your phone if you’re away from home.
