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Perfect Practice Putting Mat Review: The New Sensation

perfect practice putting mat review

Putting practice is one part of golf that almost every player can do at home. As such, there are TONS of putting mats and training aids available now. So much so, that it’s hard to sort out what’s worth your money and what isn’t. Over the past year, a new product called the Perfect Practice Putting Mat has risen above the noise and taken social media by storm.

After meeting with the co-owners of the product at the PGA Show recently, I discovered a cool story of entrepreneurship. A couple of guys were sick of the poor quality of putting mats on Amazon, so they set out to design a product that addressed all their flaws. With the help of a clever social media strategy involving pro golfers, they now have one of the more coveted putting products out there.

perfect practice putting mat

After spending hours putting on the Perfect Practice mat, I’m impressed by its quality, challenge, and addictiveness. In this review, I’ll address all of its key features and help you decide whether or not it’s worth spending a little extra money on compared to other products out there.

The Buzz

It’s not too often that a putting product gets a lot of attention on social media. The only other brand that’s “blown up” recently has been PuttOut Golf.

If you’re on Instagram, you may have seen a video of the Perfect Practice Putting Mat; that’s how I first heard about the product. In the short time that it’s been out, they’ve managed to rack up some nice testimonials from professional golfers. Marc Leishman, Vijay Singh, Charles Howell III, Lydia Ko, Joaquin Niemann, and Jimmy Walker are a few of the names that have come out with positive testimonials.

perfect practice putting mat
A collection of their public testimonials from tour players

 

On top of that, world #1 Dustin Johnson is now the official ambassador of the product.

As you know, tour validation is one of the key selling points of just about any golf product. Most of the time, it is through endorsement deals. When I stopped by the Perfect Practice booth at the PGA Show I asked the co-founder Oren Kantor how they managed to get all of the testimonials from tour players. He told me it was just through a lot of hustle. They kept reaching out to pros to see if they’d be willing to try out the product.

Smylie Kaufman was the first player to post a video to his 200k followers, and they managed to keep getting it in the hands of other players. Oren said all of the messaging from tour players is unpaid and 100% authentic.

I can tell you what they’ve managed to do is extremely hard. Whatever small amount of notoriety this website has managed to garner, I continuously get offers from inventors of training products. I can’t imagine how often tour players get badgered. The fact that so many have been willing to try the product, posted videos of themselves using it, and allowed the company to use their testimonials publicly, speaks volumes.

perfect practice putting mat review

The strategy has succeeded pretty quickly. Since launching in January of 2019, they’ve sold out several times, according to co-owner Ed Mileto. Whoever gets the product, whether they are a tour pro or a regular golfer, seems to enjoy putting on it and keeps spreading the word.

My curiosity was peaked, so I just had to try it for myself.

What I Like About the Mat

There are a lot of subtle touches about the Perfect Practice Putting Mat that make it a viable at-home practice aid. I’ll summarize the main features I noticed after spending many hours putting on it.

Here’s a quick video of several putts so you can see how it functions when you make, or miss putts:

The Surface Gives a True Roll

Perhaps the most crucial part of this product is the quality of the surface they used. Compared to budget putting mats I’ve tried, the artificial turf on the Perfect Practice is a much higher quality. You can expect a faster, more true roll, which is essential when you’re working on your putting stroke.

One thing you should know is that it will take about 24 hours for the mat to flatten out. You can make that process go a little faster if you use an iron (not the golf kind).

perfect practice putting mat review

Another thing I noticed is that it works well on either a carpet or a hardwood floor. The material is quite thick and resists slipping, which makes it viable on multiple surfaces.

While I would say both surfaces will give you relatively fast speed, a hardwood surface will quicken the pace.

perfect practice putting mat review

Also, you should know that there might be subtle breaks based on where you place it. On my carpet in the basement, depending on where I put it, there would be a small break in either direction, which honestly is not such a bad thing when it comes to practice. You can probably expect to get little or no break on hardwood, but that depends on your floors (not every floor is perfectly level).

It’s Challenging and Fun

My number two observation after hours of practicing on the mat is the level of challenge it provides. The combination of the faster speed along with the option to putt to a smaller hole increase the difficulty.

Years ago, when I had the SKLZ Accelerator mat, I eventually lost interest in using it because it got monotonous. The lack of speed made it easier to sink putts over and over again continually, and ultimately, I lost interest because there was no way to make it harder.

perfect practice putting mat review

No matter what level of putter you are, I think you’ll find it is hard to make many putts in a row either on the conventional-sized hole, or the smaller one.

For example, I had my wife (not a golfer) try out 10-20 putts from the longest distance on the mat (around nine feet). She only made a couple of them. Because the surface is faster, you have a smaller margin of error on your start line.

During my sessions on the mat, I found myself going back and forth between the larger and smaller hole, depending on the distance I was putting from. For whatever reason, when I tried to stop, I kept having that “just one more putt” feeling come on – similar to an addictive game on your phone that’s hard to put down. Overall, I think that’s the product’s strongest feature; it’s engaging and fun.

The Ball Retrieval Is Nice

I’ll confess; when it comes to putting practice, I can get lazy. Despite having a nice platform set up in my basement that resembles a real green, I still invested in a small gadget that spits the ball back at me. For me, one of the best features of the Perfect Practice mat was no matter what kind of putt I hit (short, in the hole, or missed long), I could retrieve the ball within an arm’s length of where I was standing.

Some of the other premium putting mats out there do not have any ball retrieval system or any type or border. So if you’re practicing on a hardwood floor, and putt off the back end of the mat, you’ll be chasing your ball down the hallway. Or, once you’ve gone through your 3-6 balls of practice, you have to walk to the other side and pick them all up.

Other cheaper mats do feature a similar retrieval system to the Perfect Practice Mat, but they don’t function quite as well, and you’d be putting on a less realistic surface.

I think the combination of the retrieval system and the quality of the surface is what makes this product reasonably unique in the current marketplace. You’re able to get both. If you keep anywhere between 3-6 balls in the tray, you can keep putting on repeat for as long as you want without having to bend down and pick up a ball.

The Design

When you’re working on putts inside of 10 feet, you’re alignment and ability to start the ball on your intended line become even more critical.

Like some of the other premium mats out there, I think the Perfect Practice has some excellent design features. Having the distances marked, along with the various alignment lines and borders, helps give more structure to what you’re practicing.

perfect practice putting mat review

I would recommend experimenting with putting outside of the lines as well. For example, I found it even more challenging to putt across the mat to the hole on the opposite side. So if my ball were on the left side, I would aim at the smaller hole on the right, and vice versa. You’ll challenge yourself to align yourself properly without the help of the lines.

perfect practice putting mat review

Premium Appearance

Aside from the functionality, another thing the Perfect Practice Putting Mat has going for it is its appearance. How it looks may or may not be a big deal for you, but it could be for your significant other.

The combination of the finished wood on the exterior, and the grass design on the turf, make it look a lot nicer than black plastic and the deep green you’ll find on budget mats. So if the mat will be prominently displayed in your house or apartment, it will fit in a bit nicer in the room.

perfect practice putting mat review

Again, this might not be a vital feature for some people, but after the product sat in my house for a couple of weeks, I did notice it was less of an eyesore than some other products I’ve tried.

How I Would Use It

Practicing your putting inside of 10 feet is very important. These are the distances where golfers have a decent chance of making putts.

I often bring up these stats to give people perspective on putting, and its difficulty:

putting stats
Source: Mark Broadie

Using these percentages as a guideline can help benchmark your progress. There are plenty of different games you can play to keep yourself engaged and challenge yourself to build your putting skills. Here are a few you can try out:

  • Line up six balls roughly a foot apart. If you make the first putt, move on to the next one. Each time you miss, you have to start all over again. See if you can make it to the last putt. To add a challenge, you can keep going with the smaller hole, or add to the number of putts you have to make on each station (2, 3, or 4 in a row).
  • A variation of this game is to slightly change the position of each ball to force yourself to re-align before the next putt (pictured below)
  • Pick a distance on either the standard cup, or the smaller one, and see how many putts you can make in a row. Have a leaderboard to keep track of your best scores from each distance.

 

perfect practice mat
Variations you can do to challenge your alignment and stroke

Is It Worth The Price?

Like most reviews I do on premium products, the question always comes up, “Is this thing worth the money?”

In a random coincidence, one of my friends randomly sent me this text message a few days before I even got the mat.

perfect putting mat review
Let’s get straight to the point! But who’s Matt?

The Perfect Practice Putting Mat retails for $169.99, but they’ve given me allowed me to offer Practical Golf readers a 10% discount here.

But $150+ for a putting mat isn’t exactly cheap. There are plenty of products on Amazon for $40 – $70 that have similar features. Those mats were the inspiration for this product, and I believe that they made a much better version.

While I can’t account for all of your budgets, I think if you invest the extra money, you’ll get a better overall experience. My hunch is you’ll get to practice more effectively, but more importantly, you’ll stay more engaged and use it longer. If your goal is to improve your putting at home, investing a bit more could be worth it. That’s not to say the budget mats are entirely worthless, though; this is just a better mousetrap.

Also, there are some other considerations from other premium mats. There are a lot of mats that have a similar quality turf in the $80 – $100 region. But some don’t have a real hole or a ball-return feature. I think the primary considerations are the ball return element and having a “safety net” for your putts. If you don’t feel like walking to the other side of the mat to retrieve your balls, or if you are putting on a hard surface and don’t want to chase a golf ball down the hallway, then investing the extra money could be worth it for you.

Overall, I think the Perfect Practice mat combines many of the features missing from some of its competition into one product. You’ll pay more for them, but I suspect that is the main reason why this product has been so popular as of late.

You can purchase the Perfect Practice Putting Mat here with a special 10% bundle offer for our readers. Also, they have released a Compact Edition (8ft) and XL Edition (15 ft 6in) if you are interested in different sizes.

Want to Get Exclusive Discounts on Some of the Top Golf Products?

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About the Author

Jon Sherman is the owner of Practical Golf, a website dedicated to being an honest resource for the everyday golfer who is looking to enjoy the game more, as well as improve. He is the author of the bestselling book 101 Mistakes All Golfers Make (and how to fix them). You can find him on Twitter here - @practicalgolf, where he is happy to chat about golf with anyone.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Abraham J Hoellrich says

    February 12, 2020 at 1:14 pm

    Please tell your readers to NOT order from any other site purporting to be selling this mat. There are a bunch of bogus sites that are using the pictures of the nice mat and will send you a crappy plastic version. Because the real mat sells out quickly its tempting to order from another seller that says they have them in stock. Thanks for your awesome site!

    Reply
    • Jon says

      February 12, 2020 at 2:29 pm

      Thanks for letting everyone know! The link in the article is to their official website so that is your best bet of making sure you are buying from the source.

      Reply
  2. Babs says

    February 12, 2020 at 2:23 pm

    Are the lines a good or bad thing for practicing? I can see getting the ball rolling on the right line is important, but on a real green you don’t get any help like that lining up your putt…

    Reply
    • Jon says

      February 12, 2020 at 2:29 pm

      For practice, they can be beneficial to make sure you are hitting your start line and help with your alignment. That is also why I suggested putting to the oppositive hole on the mat to test yourself without the help of the line.

      Reply
  3. Babs says

    February 12, 2020 at 3:09 pm

    True. I’ll give it a go!

    Reply
  4. Joseph Florence says

    February 16, 2020 at 2:21 am

    I purchased this item from a dealer on Facebook. I paid for it January 19, 2020. It is now February 15, 2020 and I have never received it. I have had to file a complaint wit PayPal over this matter. In my humble opinion, this is a scam.

    Reply
    • Jon says

      February 16, 2020 at 3:02 pm

      Joseph – I think you might be the victim of a scam, but the product itself is not one. The link I have in the article goes to the official website. Often times when a product becomes successful online you’ll have a lot of people who pose as an authorized vendor but are not legitimate.

      Reply
  5. Ranny Reynolds says

    March 21, 2020 at 5:38 pm

    Ordered, via the recommended website, on March 17 and received on March 21. Appears to be high quality product. After unrolling, I placed drawer shelves on top for a few hours to make sure it is flat. I also used my four foot level to verify that the floor I am using is level. Thanks Jon for proving the discount code.

    Reply
    • Jon says

      March 22, 2020 at 1:44 pm

      glad you’re enjoying the mat, it’s been keeping me occupied as well!

      Reply
  6. Matt says

    April 14, 2020 at 12:59 am

    Hey Jon,

    What’s the benefit of having a small incline immediately before the hole vs it being flat the entire length of the mat?

    Reply
    • Jon says

      April 14, 2020 at 11:43 am

      I’m not sure there is a benefit (or hindrance), but it does provide an elevation to allow for a hole that gives you the feedback of “making” the putt as you would on the course, which I do like.

      Reply
      • Matt says

        April 14, 2020 at 4:03 pm

        That makes sense. Thanks, Jon!

        Reply
        • Hayes H says

          June 25, 2020 at 10:53 pm

          Also, having that incline gets the ball back to you if you don’t (1) make it or (2) hit it beyond the end where it drops into the return tray. Otherwise, you’d have to go up and retrieve short putts that missed

          Reply
  7. Phillip says

    June 13, 2020 at 4:31 pm

    Just unpackaged my new mat. How do I get the folds to fall out? Should I wet it? Iron it? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Jon says

      June 15, 2020 at 11:15 am

      The best method is ironing it (also it should unfold by itself within about 24 hours)

      Reply
  8. Sully says

    July 27, 2020 at 11:02 pm

    I just received mine last week and am enjoying it, but the incline forces one to putt the ball harder than one would on any green from the distance marked on the mat- especially the short ones, lol. My home course greens are really slick and if I hit the ball as hard as I have to to get up the slope of the trainer and into the hole I’d be 15 feet past the hole. I’m actually marking my mats to say “In” if it makes it to the last three dash lines on either side. I’m also thinking the putt is “perfect” if it just barely drops into the hole on either side. I don’t mind not hearing the sound, and the return feature with the slope (as you mention) brings the ball back to you. I really don’t want to have a 15 foot down hill comeback putt anytime soon. Been there, done that. Nice review overall. It really gives you great feedback on alignment and stroke. I came off a round where I was pulling putts a bit and this thing helped me fix it in 20 minutes.

    Reply
    • Jon says

      July 28, 2020 at 1:31 pm

      Thanks for the feedback! I would say the main benefit of using the mat is working on your alignment and stroke. Speed can be tricky at home, I think you need to be playing/practicing a lot on actual golf course greens to really dial that in.

      Reply
  9. Jasper says

    September 22, 2020 at 4:05 pm

    Is the return track reversible for left hand players?

    Reply
  10. Bill says

    November 17, 2020 at 1:12 am

    Since the weather started getting colder (and my putting seems to be getting worse), I started looking for a mat. Your analysis is the best I’ve read. You covered many of my concerns, particularly laying it on carpet vs a hardwood floor, it’s “flatness” and you made some great suggestions about practice. I had bought one before I read the article so I’ll find out and report back.

    Reply
  11. Teresa howell says

    February 1, 2021 at 11:27 am

    Ive had practice mats in the past but I love this one. The incline is great to practice a solid putt. I’m always not quite getting there with putts on the course!
    I’m fine with the big hole and up to 4 foot distance on the small hole but the 6 foot and 8 foot putts to the small hole I am missing a tiny fraction to the left. Keeps me practicing though! Thanks for the practice tips on your website which stops me from getting bored.

    Reply
  12. Anonymous says

    February 19, 2021 at 10:33 pm

    I have had mine for nearly three weeks, and it still has four “humps’ or memory ridges that just will not flatten. I’ve tried rolling it the opposite way, the iron, weighting the whole thing. Nothing works. I’m pretty well convinced that if it was rolled up long enough before shipping, it will not flatten.

    Reply

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