The 5 Best Indoor Putting Mats & Greens

To stay on top of your golf game and especially putting you must practice regularly. When the weather or working conditions do not allow for time to get to the golf course or driving range often, it is important to have one of the best indoor golf putting green and putting mats to fine-tune your putting stroke.

What is an Indoor Golf Putting Green or Putting Mat?

An indoor putting green is a mat coated with a mock turf surface that simulates putting greens found on golf courses. These mats are offered in a diverse range of shapes and styles providing you with an all-round experience of what can be anticipated in real life.

They generally comprise of gradients, flat surfaces and raised perspectives for enhanced speed control. There are mats available that will aid you in refining the alignment of your putter and feet.

Golfers around the world have experimented with every conceivable area that is available to simulate putting on various surfaces to mimic putting greens conditions as closely as possible.

Choosing the best-putting green to cater to your needs will not be an easy task, but once you have selected the correct one you will definitely realize the benefit of having your own personal putting green at home.

We aim to provide you with some guidelines to consider when selecting the right putting green for your home

Will Using A Putting Green Improve My Skills?

Regular practice with a putter is vital in honing your putting skills sharp and having a putting green at hand to putt on at any time of day or night, no matter what the weather is, will certainly preserve if not improve, your putting skills.

Is a Putting Green Essential?

Although you can turn any surface into a putting surface, this will not provide you with the natural feel that you will experience on a dedicated putting green. The importance of putting skills cannot be denied. It is probably one of the easiest ways to improve your score.

How Should I Practice My Indoor Putting?

Putting is all about repeating the stroke, reading the lines and the speed of the putt. Always set an objective. Set the aim to sink a set number of balls, for instance, 5 balls in a row from a preset distance, for example, 3 feet, and then move on to the next distance, for illustration 6 feet, and repeat the routine. If you miss a putt, start again until you hole out all the balls at the distance you are on.

This video will give you some handy putting practice tips.

What to Look For in a Putting Green or Putting Mat

Quality of Surface

Mats that are thinner and lower in density are much less likely to provide you with a good feel as to what it is like putting on an actual green. The ball will not roll quite like it would on a green and could upset your rhythm and speed when you get to the golf course.

Thicker and denser mats that are constructed from synthetic materials will mimic the feel of the actual green closely and provide the opportunity to hone your putting skills to suit the real situation.

The artificial or synthetic materials used in the construction of the greens will furthermore provide more protection to your putter than a normal carpet or tile will do.

Portability and Storability

Unless you are one of the 1% of extremely fortunate people, space will be at a premium and you will have to move the putting mat and store it when not in use. For this reason, you should consider the size of the mat that you want to make part of your practice equipment and whether it can be rolled up into a sensible size for storage. The mat should also be of fair size that you can take it outdoors on a sunny day and allow you to practice in the fresh air.

Several mats provide additional functionality such as a ball return cup or undulations which will in all probability influence your storage capacity.

Is it Easy to Use?

You want to practice your putting stroke and enhance your putting skills and not spend hours to set up the practice mat. Evaluate the time it will take to sink your first putt form the time that you get to the golf mat. Furthermore, keep in mind that you will in all probability have to roll up the mat after practice and place back into storage.

Other than the setup and break down features, look out for functionality that will ensure that you get the most out of your practice time instead of walking up and down collecting balls.

Most Desirable Characteristics

The alignment feature that will aid you in getting your alignment and setup fine-tuned is probably one of the most desirable characteristics that you will find in a golfing mat.

The next feature to look out for is whether it provides information on the distance to the hole. This will aid you in getting your speed set for certain distances from the hole.

A ball return feature that will return the ball to you once it falls into the cup will remove a great amount of frustration and add to the number of repetitions that you can fit into the time allotted for practice.

The Steadiness of the Mat

The majority of golf mats have some resin on the bottom side to prevent it from slipping or moving around once set for a practice round. In addition to keeping the mat immobile, it adds an extra coating of material for enhanced structural integrity while it diminishes the possibilities of the mat curling over at the end and producing folds in the surface when folded up for storage.

Maintenance

A meticulous maintenance procedure will keep the synthetic grass performing like it is fresh and new. Prevent any dirt and grime from coming in contact with the mat while in storage. Purchase the essential tools to rake and sweep the turf clean before placing it into storage. Keep the mat as dry as possible to prevent mold building up while it is not in use. This maintenance routine will protect your mat from deteriorating at a rapid speed.

The 5 Best Indoor Golf Putting Greens and Mats

We read countless reviews as well as feedback, both positive and negative, from customers that have bought and used the leading options. This allowed us to give you unbiased and accurate feedback. We took all of the above factors into consideration when evaluating the popular models. Here are our top 5 picks.

1. VariSpeed Putting System

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Pros:

• Effortless set up and break down the process
• Perceptible trace lines displaying the path that the ball traveled
• Speed and undulation management

Cons:

• No ball return functionality
• Relatively expensive
• Not the heaviest of the mats resulting in edges lifting off the ground

Verdict

A great and versatile putting mat that may require some high maintenance to keep the functionality of speed and traceability available after every 12 shots.

Even with some of the adverse comments, this is a major contender to be rated as the best golf mat available.

As one of the most complete and comprehensive putting systems on the market, the VariSpeed putting system provides everything required to promote a great putting stroke and more holed putts. It measures in at roughly 10 feet long and 1.5 feet wide.

The major feature offered by the VariSpeed system is the option to enhance your speed control by effortlessly changing the stimp reading setting through brushing the green in a particular direction and thereby control the speed between 7.5 and 13.

A second feature is a trail that is left on the mat as the ball rolls over it thus allowing you to view the route that every putt has undertaken. This allows you to evaluate the influence of speed differences on your putt should you have some sloping built-in.

The third feature to take note of is the capability to build in some undulations to deliver a lifelike response on how the ball will break on slight undulations.

On the downside, some features are absent that could have made this an even better putting system.  There is no slope built-in towards the hole to slow the ball down. This is substituted by a thick rubber section and backstop preventing the balls rolling off the back of the matt.

2. PuttOut Pro Golf Putting Mat

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Pros:

• Extremely portable.
• Rolls up and stores in a carry bag
• Simple to follow alignment and distance markers

Cons:

• No backstop resulting in balls rolling off the back
• Ball return feature is lacking

Verdict

This is an excellent quality golf mat where the roll is true. It rolls up small and is stored in a carry bag for high portability. The price is inexpensive, and this makes it a highly competitive golf mat that will find many golfers adding the PuttOut to their golf training gadget regimes.

Designed as an unpretentious and efficient training aid and offering a quality golf mat that will retain its quality even when stored unlike many of the lesser quality mats available today. It is manufactured with a hard-wearing heavy rubber backing to smoothen it out on most surfaces. The quality cut-pile mat is planned to truthfully mimic a medium-to-fast green running at approximately 10 on the stimp meter.

It measures in at 7.87 feet long X 1.64 feet wide and comes in green and grey featuring the company’s logo on both ends. There is a graphic prompt indicating the path that the putter is to follow throughout the stroke for the best result. This comes in the shape of a “gate” marking that runs vertical to either side and there are 7 markings that are one foot apart to aid in distance control.

3. SKLZ Accelerator Pro Indoor Putting Green with Ball Return

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Pros:

• Great ball return feature
• Training guides with alignment and distance markers help with accuracy
• Slim and compact with effortless roll out the mat
• Extremely durable surface

Cons:

• The steep slope before the cup
• Plastic on ball return mechanism is flimsy

Verdict

This is an incredibly useful product with a ball return system that will return balls to your feet even on missed putts.

The SKLZ Accelerator putting green is a highly popular putting mat and measures in at 9 feet long X 16.25 inches wide making it ideal for narrower areas and can be quite comfortably be set up in most homes and garages.

There is a steep upslope at the bottom of the cup and combining the upslope and the true-roll surface it successfully mimics the speed required to hole putts from approximately 9 feet on an actual green. There are markings set at 7 feet, 5 feet and 3 feet for honing your distance and alignment skills and practicing holing putts from these distances taking into consideration the steep incline before the cup.

Whether you hole your putt or even miss it slightly, there is a ball return mechanism that utilizes the slope and runs the ball back to your feet every time. This will save an extraordinary amount of time thus allowing you to get all the practice you want without spending time collecting balls and returning them to your feet.

4. Shaun Webb’s Golf Putting Green & Indoor Mat

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Pros:

• Excellent customer service
• Awesome quality at the price

Cons:

• Lacks features provided by top-end competitors
• Needs quite a bit of space

Verdict

This is a high-end golf mat produced from quality golf materials that will provide you with a very realistic experience.

This putting green was designed and developed by one of Golf Digest’s leading golf coaches, Shaun Webb, who is a published writer and has now entered the golf putting green market.

Measuring in at roughly 9 feet in length X 3 feet in width, it also comes with an elevated putting area. It is one of the larger golf mats on the market and will demand a sizeable volume of storage space. Fabricated from high-quality materials pushes the price into the upper limits and makes it too expensive for many golfers.

The use of the more expensive high-quality materials promotes an extremely realistic feel of what you can expect on the golf course. The material is a lot tougher than cheaper alternatives thus making the putting experience a lot more convincing. It will aid you in improving your stance and tempo during the backswing and follow-through.

There is a natural elevation built into the golf mat resulting in achieving a true roll and you can rely on the ball traveling in the direction that the putter has pointed it.

Unlike some of the competitors, this golf mat has 3 holes providing multiple options to reach the different holes from the same point on the surface. There is a slight uphill section just short of the hole to slow the ball down and enhance the speed control.

5. Abco Tech Golf Putting Green Grassroots Mat – 9ft x 3ft

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Pros:

• Durable mat
• Long alignment line, multiple cup positions with smaller than standard sizes
• Two different sized cups
• Includes three free training golf balls and a mini cup flag
• Portable and durable for easy rolling and longevity

Cons:

• No real backstop
• Too narrow for some
• Pricier than other similar versions

Verdict

The Abco range will cover most requirements and the model assessed will test your putting skills from various distances as well as your accuracy putting to a smaller cup.

The Abco product range for putting greens is quite extensive and we will look at the Grassroots Mat. It measures in at 9 feet in length X 16.25 inches in width. This makes it a perfect fit for areas that are long and narrow such as a hallway or even a garage. It is very flexible which makes it effortless to roll up and store. The mat is fabricated using PP synthetic turf putting that mimics real grass.

There is no ball return system on this specific model but the long grass around the cup serves a dual purpose to provide the look and feel of an actual green while also serving as a stopper for putts that are struck slightly too firm.

There are two cups of varied sizes for improved performance measurements and will aid you to work on various aspects of your putting. The first cup measures in at 4.25 inches in diameter which is the standard cup size found on golf courses. The second cup at the end of a marked line is smaller and will test your putting skills. This will aid your alignment and provide immediate feedback on whether you are able to keep your ball straight.

Final Thoughts

Golf equipment manufacturers have become extremely innovative in providing golfers with equipment to hone their skills in the comfort of their own homes, especially during the off-season. Putting is one department of your game that could easily fall off its peak if not practiced regularly and the variety of golf mats available on the market will be able to provide you with a full test of your skills.

Having a mat at your home will allow you to work on the areas of your putting game that requires the most work while keeping the areas that you are most comfortable with honed and ready for the next season.

The VariSpeed Putting System is the best all-round practice golf mat that will allow you to test your skills at a wide range of measurements while it allows you to build some undulations into the path the ball has to travel. Furthermore, it will track the path of your ball from the time of impact until it drops into the cup.

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