Equipment
London design firm introduces PuttOut training aid
In the pantheon of indoor putting aids, you’ve basically got the glass laying on its side and this thing.
Not requiring electricity and a heckuva lot more aesthetically pleasing than our old green friend above is PuttOut. Developed in-house by London-based design firm Therefore, PuttOut is a simple, inexpensive (primarily) indoor putting solution.
I spoke with Cam Slaughter from Therefore about the training aid and its development.
BA: First of all, tell me how this thing works.
CS: Essentially, there is a silicon disc at the base of a slope that is “the hole,” however, the real aim of the product is to get the ball to stay within the micro-target half way up the slope. To do this, the ball must go in at an exact pace (only a putt close to what would be 18-inches past the silicone disc/the hole) and exact line will suffice. Because this is a difficult achievement, on a missed putt to the micro-target the ball rolls back down the slope and returns back to you, saving bending and reaching to draw back the ball every time.
The ingenious part of PuttOut is that although the goal is to get the ball to stick in the micro-target, whenever the ball is rolled into the opening of the slope this would indeed be a made putt on a regulation hole, so the user is practising twice as hard without realising it!
So who at Therefore came up with the initial idea?
CS: The inventor of the product is one of the four key founders of Therefore, Martin Riddiford. A keen player himself, playing off four, and has a bit of a history with golf. In fact his grandfather, Cecil Hayward, made it to the 1926 English Amateur Championship at Walton Heath G.C, and his mother, Pru Riddiford, was twice crowned British Senior Ladies’ Open champion. Now 90-year-old and still walks the course daily at Royal Ashdown G.C!
What was the basic concept?
CS: Originally Martin was just going to create a better putt returner; the ball would simply go up the ramp and return, similar to the electric version that still sells 20k+ units a year, but more aesthetically pleasing, easier to carry and didn’t have those strange whirring and pinging noises.
The creation of the product which we now know as PuttOut originally came about as Martin was only playing very sporadically and not having a chance to get to the course to practice putting at all (not great in any case but certainly more stressful the night before a foursomes match, which is more of a thing over here in the UK). After fiddling around at home with different objects to aim at, he decided he could do better than the existing training aids on the market, which largely lacked either desirability, convenience, a chance to actually get get better or even all of the above.
I understand Martin also wanted to go a step further?
CS: Upon deciding it could already be a good product (simply by creating a better version of what was already available), Martin believed that he could go a step further. Here is where the idea for the “micro-target” came about. Having a repetitive putting stroke is what we all strive for, however, there’s very little use for it if you’re not aiming with a very particular purpose and not practicing toward a very specific aim point. Introducing a smaller target meant the opportunity to do this, but it also meant PuttOut could now include a game element to the practice (i.e. how many putts would it take to get three balls to stay in place on PuttOut), and hence the first edition of PuttOut was complete.
PuttOut will be at the PGA Show (booth 2176) and is taking orders currently.
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Gollie
Apr 30, 2017 at 5:28 am
I have a 14’x5′ piece of synlawn pro putt in a high traffic area at home (no hole). Before this I used to hit 14 balls in several different drills (speed drills and putt at a quarter). With Puttout I use one ball and because it’s coming back to me I get many more reps per time invested. This is so simple it’s brilliant.
J.R.
Jan 30, 2017 at 2:12 pm
I got mine in last week so far so good. the Micro target is pretty cool. Can’t wait to see the results on the course.
Tony P
Jan 26, 2017 at 2:09 pm
Shank
Dill Pickleson
Jan 25, 2017 at 2:29 am
nice product.
S Hitter
Jan 24, 2017 at 10:04 pm
If you’ve ever putted on Stimp of 13 or 14, it ain’t 18″, I can tell ya.
And who wants to look at this human-tongue looking thing spit the ball back at you as it mocks you when you don’t get it up and into the small hole.
Really horrible idea, looks terrible, you really don’t want the visual of a ball being spat back you etched into your brain. Seriously. We all want to see it go in the hole. Go buy a conventional putting mat with a rise and a proper hole, which are so much better.
Nobody is going to carry this in their bag
the Sheriff
Jan 25, 2017 at 9:05 am
S Hitter, you are a moron. 18 inches past the hole is 18 inches past the hole regardless of green speed. also this is mainly for home use. why don’t you just go and and try and break 120 at a mini putt course, it would be a challenge for you I’m sure.
S Hitter
Jan 26, 2017 at 2:30 am
Nah. I’ll continue to play scratch golf from the back tee and watch you miss 2 footers on deadly 14 stamp greens that run poor putts past the hole 6 feet as you try to hit it past 18 inches and I will enjoy saying buh-bye to you
Rano
Jan 30, 2017 at 4:21 am
cringe…
Bert
Jan 24, 2017 at 7:23 pm
Poor roll back – bad eye training.
S Hitter
Jan 26, 2017 at 2:30 am
Precisely
Perry
Jan 24, 2017 at 5:19 pm
18″ past is Pelz logic. Aim point is 6″. Too bad they don’t have a 6″ past version.
Mfj the great
Jan 24, 2017 at 3:27 pm
I have one of these and use it regularly. Highly recommended!
Seb
Jan 24, 2017 at 1:27 pm
I can’t buy it in Canada…This would have been awesome especially during the winter storms.
Smith
Jan 24, 2017 at 2:30 pm
I tried as well. WHYYYY?
Cam
Jan 24, 2017 at 3:02 pm
Hey Seb and Smith,
How about you message us on twitter @puttoutgolf and we’ll see what we can do to help.
Frank
Jan 24, 2017 at 1:00 pm
Mine will arrive by 4pm today. Been looking at this for months.
Mike
Jan 24, 2017 at 12:44 pm
Looks pretty cool to me. I doubt you’d be hitting the micro-target too often or you wouldn’t be using a training aid. So it wouldn’t be too big a deal to walk down and grab your ball every 10 putts.
Steve
Jan 24, 2017 at 12:08 pm
Mark Crossfield loves this thing and it’s only $24 on Amazon.
Ann Matthew
Jan 24, 2017 at 11:32 am
This is a lovely invention and I cannot wait to purchase one. Thank you for a fine product that will be so much fun to use and does incorperate that spirit
of competition against yourself for the game later. It is also lovely to look at.
Eddie
Jan 24, 2017 at 11:17 am
Similar to the boomerang.
Kevin
Jan 24, 2017 at 9:54 am
They don’t even sell in the US. Shank!
Cam
Jan 24, 2017 at 10:36 am
Hey Kevin, at the moment we’re only selling in the US through Amazon, but they will be there with a more permanent link soon! https://www.amazon.com/PuttOut-Pressure-Putt-Trainer-Perfect/dp/B01N9BXYW3
Smith
Jan 24, 2017 at 2:33 pm
What about Canada?
SEGA69
Jan 26, 2017 at 12:14 pm
Says out of stock FYI
Rano
Jan 30, 2017 at 4:23 am
Email them and ask for shipping estimate. Then you can pay them the amount in paypal and they’ll send it off.
DB
Jan 24, 2017 at 9:51 am
So if you hit into the micro-target, then the ball is stuck and doesn’t roll back?
Large chris
Jan 24, 2017 at 8:03 am
I know some ladies who would love this ????