Buying guide
Eight training aids for winter practice: putting, tempo and speed
Eight training aids from EyeLine Golf, Wellputt, Orange Whip and SuperSpeed Golf, from $39.99 Strike Spray to a $199.99 overspeed set, for the months when the course is cold, wet or closed.
Wellputt began with a child’s chalk drawing on a carpet. The company says its founder, Boris Pansart, a French golfer who had played at national level, saw his daughter’s lines and turned the idea into a putting mat that trains aim and speed together. Wellputt was founded in 2010. The spare room is the easiest place to practise once the clocks go back.
The eight training aids below are for the months when the course is waterlogged, frozen or dark by half past four. Four are for putting, the part of the game you can rehearse properly indoors. The other four are for tempo, swing path, strike and clubhead speed, and need more space, a net or a range mat. All prices below are the brands’ US-dollar listings at the time of writing; buyers in the UK and Europe should allow for shipping and import duties.
Putting: the practice that works best indoors
EyeLine Golf Groove Plus Putting Mirror, $79.95
A putting mirror shows whether your eyes are over the ball, whether the face is square and whether your shoulders are aimed where you think. The Groove Plus is EyeLine’s larger mirror, with gates and posts for start-line and contact drills. Six white indoor posts and a carry bag are included, and it suits both right- and left-handers. An add-on shoulder mirror, for full set-up feedback, takes the price to $99.95. If you buy only one putting aid this winter, make it a mirror.
EyeLine Golf Groove Plus Putting Mirror
EyeLine Golf Roll The Rock 8-Foot Putting Mat, $89.95
EyeLine’s mat has what it calls a Tour Grain Velvet surface, with five marked putting stations, distance and face-alignment guides and a centre line for start-line work. The cup is designed to accept putts at the right pace and reject those hit too hard. It rolls up into a drawstring bag, so it does not have to live on the living-room floor.
EyeLine Golf Roll The Rock 8-Foot Putting Mat
Wellputt 10ft Start, $89, and 8.2ft Stroke Master, $199
Wellputt says its European-made fabrics run at between 10ft and 11.5ft on the Stimpmeter. The 10ft Start has a printed Wellstroke guide for stroke path, three starting points for putts from 3ft to 9ft, and a “good zone” beyond the hole that rewards putts that finish past it rather than short. It weighs 1.6kg and has a latex backing to stop it creeping on a hard floor.
The new 8.2ft Stroke Master is larger and more elaborate. It adds a ball-return ramp, which Wellputt says extends practice to putts of up to 15ft, a removable Wellguide, a Wellhole with a zero-tolerance training mode, and an app with six levels, 18 drills per level and five games. It is on a launch offer of $199, down from $249. Both mats are for right-handers only, so left-handers should look at EyeLine instead.
Wellputt 10ft Start · Wellputt 8.2ft Stroke Master
Tempo and swing path
Orange Whip Trainer, $119.99
The Orange Whip is a flexible shaft with a weighted orange ball at one end and a counterweight at the grip. The company says it develops rhythm, tempo, balance and swing plane, and that an off-plane swing feels heavy and awkward while a good one feels light. The brand suggests five to ten minutes a day, including as a warm-up before a round or range session. Length matters indoors: as well as the 47in full-size model, there are 43in mid-size and 35.5in compact versions at the same price, and a 38in junior model for $99.99. Check your ceiling before you swing anything in the house.
Photo: Orange Whip
EyeLine Golf Speed Trap 2.0, $99.95
The Speed Trap is a polycarbonate base with adjustable foam rods on either side of the ball. Set the rods for the path you want, and a slicing or hooking swing clips them. A centre slot encourages ball-first contact with irons, and tethers keep the rods attached after a miss. EyeLine says it works with every club from driver to wedge, on grass or mats. This one needs a net, a simulator or a heated range bay, not a living room.
Clubhead speed and strike
SuperSpeed Golf Speed Sticks PRO, $199.99, and Strike Spray, $39.99
Speed training suits winter: SuperSpeed’s programme runs over weeks of short sessions and needs no golf ball. The Speed Sticks PRO set consists of three weighted sticks: light (green), medium (blue) and heavy (red), swung in sequence on both your dominant and non-dominant sides. SuperSpeed says its Inertia Matching System lets you set the sticks to match your own driver. The brand recommends 15 minutes three times a week and quotes an average gain of 11.1mph among app users who completed 25 or more sessions; treat that as the company’s figure, not a promise. The free app includes more than 35 training protocols, and a bundle with a PRGR launch monitor costs $399.99.
At the other end of the budget, SuperSpeed’s Strike Spray comes in a three-pack for $39.99. Spray the clubface, let it dry for about ten seconds and each shot leaves an imprint showing where you made contact. Wipe it off with a damp towel afterwards. It is the cheapest way here to find out whether your misses come from the heel or the toe.
SuperSpeed Golf Speed Sticks PRO · SuperSpeed Golf Strike Spray (3 Pack)
Training aids and the Rules of Golf
Rule 4.3a(6) of the Rules of Golf bars using a training or swing aid during a round in any way that could help you prepare for or make a stroke. The Rules give an alignment rod and a weighted headcover or “donut” as examples. Warm up with the Orange Whip or the Speed Sticks by all means, but leave them in the car when you head to the first tee.
Start with the putting mirror and mat
EyeLine’s mirror and mat cost less than $200 together and fit in a cupboard. Left-handers should go for the EyeLine pair; right-handers who want structure and games will get more from the Wellputt Stroke Master. Add the Orange Whip for tempo. Choose the Speed Sticks only if you will commit to three sessions a week until spring.
Sources
- Wellputt: About
- Wellputt: 10ft Start
- Wellputt: 8.2ft Stroke Master
- EyeLine Golf: Groove Plus Putting Mirror
- EyeLine Golf: Roll The Rock 8-Foot Putting Mat
- EyeLine Golf: Speed Trap 2.0
- Orange Whip: The Orange Whip Trainer
- SuperSpeed Golf: Speed Sticks PRO
- SuperSpeed Golf: Strike Spray (3 Pack)
- R&A: Rules of Golf, Rule 4 – The Player’s Equipment
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