Looking for an at home putting mat/practice setup. What is everyone using?

[LoopySwing13]

Have dove down the rabbit hole of Birdie Ball, Big Moss, Prime Putt and PuttOut on the forum, most of them are dated. Looking for up to a 4’ x 12’ and maybe something slightly smaller to put in the house.
 

Main concerns are:

Consistency

reasonable value 

performance

 

It will be not accessible to pets or kids so no real concern on external durability other than walking. It will also go on concrete floor so flat not an issue. Not opposed to something smaller or slightly more expensive if worth it.

 

Main models considered:

big moss Augusta 410

prime putt 3x12

birdie ball tour turf outdoor 4x10

puttout mat and add a raised cup or putt out perfect putt trainer

 

Appreciate any feedback! 

 

 

Edited January 6 by LoopySwing13

[BHI 99]

Perfect Practice has been pretty good. 

[iteachgolf]

Would not recommend birdie ball at all. I use custom well putt mats in my studio

[NewGuy412]

Had a putt out mat for a while and it served its purpose but now have a 3’x12’ PrimePutt and I love it. I think it rolls very nice for what it is, it’s not super fast but not slow. A plus for me is that I can stand on it and it doesn’t create lasting marks where I was standing. They always have discount sales on them too.

[bayrat88]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086NHWMGQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

I have 2 of these Ottomanson runners, 1 from Amazon, 1 from Lowes. They roll exactly the same as a Wellputt for a fraction of the cost.

[LoopySwing13]

1 hour ago, bayrat88 said:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086NHWMGQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

I have 2 of these Ottomanson runners, 1 from Amazon, 1 from Lowes. They roll exactly the same as a Wellputt for a fraction of the cost.

Interesting idea.. what do you use for a cup? Any long term issues with “grooving?” 

Edited January 6 by LoopySwing13

[bayrat88]

No grooving at all after 3 years and about 100 putts a day. I putt to soup/tomato sauce cans or a puttout trainer.

[kmay__]

For my basement I picked up a big chunk of synthetic green like they use for backyard putting greens. Then I put down 1" osb under it to give the holes some depth. 

 

 

 

 

[bayrat88]

Here are some pics of the setup, I putt to one of the cans or trainer 

[mshills]

I have a Big Moss, 12’ with one full size cup, one smaller cup, and one very small cup.  It fits into an area of my home office like it was designed to be there.  I like it very much.  Nothing beats a grass putting green, but the Big Moss has been really helpful.

[LoopySwing13]

8 hours ago, kmay__ said:

For my basement I picked up a big chunk of synthetic green like they use for backyard putting greens. Then I put down 1" osb under it to give the holes some depth. 

 

 

 

 

Apologies, is OSB like wood sheet? I’m debating and starting to lean the homemade route. 

[bayrat88]

14 hours ago, LoopySwing13 said:

Apologies, is OSB like wood sheet? I’m debating and starting to lean the homemade route. 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/OSB-7-16-Application-as-4ft-X-8-ft-Sheathing-Panel-386081/202106230 

 

Plywood

[kmay__]

On 1/7/2025 at 7:33 PM, LoopySwing13 said:

Apologies, is OSB like wood sheet? I’m debating and starting to lean the homemade route. 

Yea the cheap stuff that's shredded wood glued back together lol. Was a big shipping crate that came in at work that I took apart and brought the sheets home. 

[Tar_Heel_93]

I have been using a birdie ball putting green since 2019 and it has been great. I built a frame with adjustable feet so I can adjust the break. I would not recommend birdie ball if you plan on standing on the putting green as it isn’t very durable. I use a separate stand so it works for me. 

[LoopySwing13]

3 hours ago, Tar_Heel_93 said:

I have been using a birdie ball putting green since 2019 and it has been great. I built a frame with adjustable feet so I can adjust the break. I would not recommend birdie ball if you plan on standing on the putting green as it isn’t very durable. I use a separate stand so it works for me. 

Beautiful setup! I had fears about the standing issue with the OG birdie ball. I think I have to go turf if any of the premium mats.

 

Thanks for sharing! 

[Warrick]

Had the Big Moss Augusta for years, fantastic for winter blues.

[pingadingdong]

I got a Birdie Ball mat from my neighborhood facebook page for $20, and it's been great at that price.  But for what they usually cost, I don't think I'd be pleased with the quality (it's basically a soft foam mat with some sort of weird texture applied to one side, probably by a metal brush/comb of some sort.  The roll is ok, but as someone else mentioned, it's not durable enough to stand on frequently (the one I bought had bad wear marks and dimples in it where the previous owner was standing).  I will also note that it doesn't roll like any greens I've putted on anywhere (Arizona, Hawaii, Washington, California, etc.).

 

I've also used a tight knit carpet runner as someone else mentioned on here, it's not perfect, but it actually seems to work great for alignment practice as it rolls fast, but the balls don't seem to have any issue with the texture knocking them off track. 

[LoopySwing13]

On 1/7/2025 at 11:35 AM, bayrat88 said:

Here are some pics of the setup, I putt to one of the cans or trainer 

Gave this mat an order. If I like it, I may put it on a platform and cut out some holes.

 

thanks for the post and visual! 

[KGolfCT]

On 1/7/2025 at 11:11 AM, bayrat88 said:

No grooving at all after 3 years and about 100 putts a day. I putt to soup/tomato sauce cans or a puttout trainer.

How’s the speed?

 

 

[LoopySwing13]

1 hour ago, KGolfCT said:

How’s the speed?

 

 

He mentioned comparable to wellputt which states 10-11 stimp. I will get mine Thursday and can report back. 

Edited January 13 by LoopySwing13

[Shoegolf]

Anyone use the low pile outdoor carpet from the hardware store? Thinking of Turning my home office  into a full green using that 

[bayrat88]

14 hours ago, LoopySwing13 said:

He mentioned comparable to wellputt which states 10-11 stimp. I will get mine Thursday and can report back. 

I think 10-11 is accurate, prob closer to 10.

[jwat142]

8 hours ago, Shoegolf said:

Anyone use the low pile outdoor carpet from the hardware store? Thinking of Turning my home office  into a full green using that 

I put some on my simulator room floor on top of a plywood subfloor and it is extremely fast. I do putt on it, but it’s like putting a downhill putt on a 12 stimp green. I’d suggest putting a layer of thin padding under it if you go this route to slow it down. It rolls smooth though. 

[Shoegolf]

37 minutes ago, jwat142 said:

I put some on my simulator room floor on top of a plywood subfloor and it is extremely fast. I do putt on it, but it’s like putting a downhill putt on a 12 stimp green. I’d suggest putting a layer of thin padding under it if you go this route to slow it down. It rolls smooth though. 

Thank you, that was my concern 

[KGolfCT]

18 hours ago, LoopySwing13 said:

He mentioned comparable to wellputt which states 10-11 stimp. I will get mine Thursday and can report back. 

 

For $35 I ended up ordering one too, Amazon is pretty good about returns. I'm sure it'll be good, I just want something to practice mechanics over winter, always used my office rug until it was pilfered by a teenager recently...

 

[bpdhlbrg]

I built a 4’x10’ frame out of 2x4s and covered it with 3/4” plywood, then a roll of Big Moss carpet with a custom cut hole slightly offset of center on each end.
 

I wanted actual cups for the putts to drop into, and while I love the little plunking noise and it’s cool for my kids, I’ve come to realize that it’s unnecessary for practice as I mostly use a starting gate and would be fine with a target at the end. 

 

I wrapped the frame with 1x6 baseboard stock to add strength and create a raised edge. I installed 8 furniture levelers (3/side and 1/end) so I can fine tune the roll. My original thought was that I would use them to create breaking putts, and while that does work, I primarily use the levelers to make sure I can dial in a perfectly straight roll to work on alignment and start line (I’ve similarly transitioned to almost exclusively practicing short straight putts on real greens, too).
 

The whole contraption is on retractable casters so that I can roll it around my garage to make room for cars and other projects. I added a couple gate handles on one side so that when I really need extra room I can stand it up on edge. 
 

Garage floors are not perfectly level by design so the levelers are key. With the correct sized hex bit in my cordless drill it takes about a minute after repositioning to go around to each leveler and adjust. but once it’s dialed it will stay that way until I move it again. 

 

The whole build is very sturdy. I weigh 300 lbs and it doesn’t flex or even creak under my weight. I can get up to a 8-9’ putt in either direction and that’s more than I need. Would be just as useful to me if it were 4x6’, so I’ll chalk that up as a lesson learned, like with the holes. 
 

So far the Big Moss carpet is great and holding up just fine. No grooving and a true roll, even as a putt dies. I clean it with a giant lint roller on a broom handle. Friction keeps the carpet firmly in place so I never had to glue it down. Changing out the surface would be as easy as rolling it up and replacing with something that is the correct dimensions to fit within the raised edge (ie, exactly 4x10’). 

[sheppick.dan]

2 hours ago, bpdhlbrg said:

I built a 4’x10’ frame out of 2x4s and covered it with 3/4” plywood, then a roll of Big Moss carpet with a custom cut hole slightly offset of center on each end.
 

I wanted actual cups for the putts to drop into, and while I love the little plunking noise and it’s cool for my kids, I’ve come to realize that it’s unnecessary for practice as I mostly use a starting gate and would be fine with a target at the end. 

 

I wrapped the frame with 1x6 baseboard stock to add strength and create a raised edge. I installed 8 furniture levelers (3/side and 1/end) so I can fine tune the roll. My original thought was that I would use them to create breaking putts, and while that does work, I primarily use the levelers to make sure I can dial in a perfectly straight roll to work on alignment and start line (I’ve similarly transitioned to almost exclusively practicing short straight putts on real greens, too).
 

The whole contraption is on retractable casters so that I can roll it around my garage to make room for cars and other projects. I added a couple gate handles on one side so that when I really need extra room I can stand it up on edge. 
 

Garage floors are not perfectly level by design so the levelers are key. With the correct sized hex bit in my cordless drill it takes about a minute after repositioning to go around to each leveler and adjust. but once it’s dialed it will stay that way until I move it again. 

 

The whole build is very sturdy. I weigh 300 lbs and it doesn’t flex or even creak under my weight. I can get up to a 8-9’ putt in either direction and that’s more than I need. Would be just as useful to me if it were 4x6’, so I’ll chalk that up as a lesson learned, like with the holes. 
 

So far the Big Moss carpet is great and holding up just fine. No grooving and a true roll, even as a putt dies. I clean it with a giant lint roller on a broom handle. Friction keeps the carpet firmly in place so I never had to glue it down. Changing out the surface would be as easy as rolling it up and replacing with something that is the correct dimensions to fit within the raised edge (ie, exactly 4x10’). 

Would you be willing to share links to the levelers and casters as well as some pictures of your build?

[bpdhlbrg]

Casters: https://a.co/d/c1U29fh

 

Levelers: https://a.co/d/fRKEsiJ

 

Not at home right now so can’t take a pic of the green. I don’t have any of the build in progress but it was really simple if you’ve ever framed a wall. I think I had studs every 18” and some blocking down the middle. I built the frame on a perfectly flat surface then flipped it over to attach the plywood to that side. Got lucky to have no wobbles in the side flipped down, but even if I had that would have been negated by the levelers. 

[scmgoblue]

My wife got me a PuttOut AirBreak as a surprise Christmas gift this year and I've been super happy with it - part of what I was looking for was something that would work on carpet and be adjustable, was about to go down the build-my-own route when we came across this in a store, rolls great, easy to adjust to break, has it's own base and stand so easy to use in a carpeted room and relatively easily folds up / rolls up to store if needed. The cup has it's own auto-return as well if that's something you're looking for. 

 

Stock photo:

 

[sneaky_pete]

I had a Putt Out matt which I enjoyed but found pretty quickly that the ball would create a 'groove' in the matt that the ball would just naturally follow regardless if you'd hit it a bit offline, the groove would just collect the ball and it would go where the rest of them went - not helpful.  I'd have to run something over it to get rid of it, roll more putts and have to do the same thing. 

 

I got rid of the Putt Out matt and bought a Wellputt as I'd heard that it didn't develop a groove.  It does, but it takes a lot more putts to do it so it is a step up from the Putt Out but not perfect.  

 

Keen to see further thoughts on the Amazon runner rug.