What Are the Must have Features of an Office Putting Set?
Just like all Golf courses, all office putting sets are not equal. With the range in price from around 50 to 200 Dollars comes a choice of a whole host of features, options and materials some of which are essential, some are desirable and some are a gimmick. We will take a look at the features you need for an office putting set.
An office putting set should be cost effective and have a smooth surface closely resembling the grass on a green, durable material, adjustable height, non-slip grip, and easy assembly. It should also have a stable base, a return mechanism for the ball and as optional extras a scoring or feedback features.
We will go into the purpose of the features below. However we will split it into must have and desirable so you don’t go out and just buy the most expensive. It is unlikely you will need all the bells and whistles if you aim is to just practice your putts more often.
Key Features Of An Office Putting Set.
Office putting sets come with a whole host of different features, from the most basic putting matt made of cloth with a hole cut out, to ones that incorporate slopes, return mechanisms, scoring and even advice.
There is a chance that when VR headsets become lets cumbersome and pricey they may become redundant, but as that day is not here then they still serve their purpose. So we take a look as the features they have and see if you can make use of some or all of them below.
A Realistic Putting Surface:
The putting surface should be, where possible, similar in speed and smoothness to those found on the putting greens of an actual golf course. They will come with different variations of this, some with be austrotruff or artificial grass, others will be felt or simialr and although we prefer thin astroturf it will be a personal preference.
As long as the surface is smooth, and of decent quality it will allow you to practice your putting stroke under realistic as possible conditions ( inside of course) and help you prepare for playing on a real course, as least to develop muscle memory and power control when putting
Multiple Balls:
Some sets will come with a putter and a set of balls. The set of balls, as expected, are not the best quality you can find and are only really useful if you have the office putting set as your first foray into golf or as a garden or home toy for you and the family.
However, whether you sue the balls that come with the set or ones you use out on the course it is better to have more than one. If you have a few you can save time in walking to collect it each time (if it misses the hole that is) and it will help improv your consistency.
So if you are just trying out golf then the 3 or so balls the set usually comes with will be fine, if you are already playing regularly use your own and plenty of them!
A Built-in Target:
All putting green sets will come with a target to aim at. these will vary from a cup or hole in the surace to a more useful auto return mechanism in the hole so you don’t have to fetch your ball each time (if you get it in the hole)
A target of any description is useful as it gives you a visual reference for aiming your putts and can help you gauge your accuracy. However the more feature rich putting sets will be able to offer feedback and keep score (if that’s useful or not is another matter) We have an article on the usefulness of office putting sets here on the site.
Some putting sets will also have the ability to be raised and lowered to give you some practice on putting on slopes, this is a useful feature and putting uphill obviously requires more power in the stroke and this can be difficult to master on the full course and more practice even on artificial surface like this will help you on your full rounds.
Alignment Aids:
Some office putting sets, again usually more expensive ones will have alignment lines, including ball travel and even stroke travel showing the path of the putter – or the recommended line of travel anyway. These are perhaps more useful for a beginner rather than if you have had experience on a course, or putting green at least.
Some even come with gutters like a ten pin bowling ally so stop the ball heading off the surface of the putting green, which is hopefully a pretty rare event!
Feedback features:
Some of the higher end office putting sets may come with features that aim to provide some level of feed back to a golfer. These sets are usually on the higher end of the price scales.
The features can include digital score cards, or sensors that can measure how fast of the break of your putts. They may be able to offer limited advice on how to correct these aspects as well.
However these higher end sets are slowly being over taken with Virtual reality options that even cheaper VR headsets are able to judge. We actually have a VR headset, a quest 2, and have tried a few of these on that. We will link to an article on our thoughts oN VR and Golfing when we have it here.
Portability:
An office putting set should be portable and easy to set up and store, so that you can practice anywhere and not have to worry about it taking up too much space.
Some can be rolled up, others can be folded up but even if you plan on keep it set up in your home and office it is still useful to be able to store it when needed as most the other greens on a office putting set can be up to 10 feet long.
Durability:
Unlike a putting green an office putting set can not grown back if it is worn down, and cheaper ones will not be made of such strong materials. it is worth bearing this in mind if you intend on using the set a lot, buying a higher quality of matt will keep you putting for longer.
Also the less moving parts and the less things that can go wrong, so if unless you really need all those extra features it may be worth considering a good quality but basic putting matt without all the bells and whistles.
Optional Features of An Office Putting Set
While the features that each person feels are important will differ between each person, we have some of the less essential features of an office putting set that we feel are more of a happy bonus than a must have.
Realism:
It is not essential for a putting set to look real, in fact it is difficult to achieve. It may be green, it may have a putter but it won’t be mistaken for a golf course by any one. If you wanted something that makes you think you are at Flushing Meadows, or St Andrews then perhaps consider a VR headset, and get that air con blasting out.
Look for a set that closely replicates the feel and speed of a real putting green.
Adjustability:
Some putting sets, often pricier, come with adjustable settings that all you to change the slope or even the placement of the hole. While useful, they are not essential, and the ability to build muscle memory is more important than actually providing a challenge on the matt. Slope may be more of use than placement to give you at least a rough idea of what to expect when putting up a slope.
Affordability:
Look for a set that fits your budget, but also consider the value for money. If you are really planning on using it a lot then stretching that wallet a little more might get you something that actually turns out cheaper in the long term.
Either way they are usually comparable to the price of one round of golf, and you will get more than 18 putts out of it no matter how much it costs!
Guarantee or warranty:
Look for a set that comes with a guarantee or warranty, this will give you peace of mind knowing that the product is backed by the manufacturer. However a lot of this requires you to send the item back which could make the cost of postage as much as the cost of the putting set, depending where in the world you are.
If you buy one with less moving parts you will reduce the risk of anything going wrong and avoid all this anyway.
Size
Putting sets can be from about 3 feet upto 10 feet long, and while we think the longer the better of course not everyone has the space needed for a long putting set. (we look at this in more detail on our how big is an office putting set article)
However if you do have the space for a larger set then it will likely come with more options for putting practice, different hole positions, even gradient adjustments, and all these little challenges can help you practice different situations you may come across in putting on a real course.
Other Resources on Office Putting Sets
We are developing, in the theme of our sites title, a one stop guide on Office putting sets, and you can find other useful information in the list of articles below.
- How big is an office putting set
- Office Putting Set Vs. Practice Putting Green
- Must have Features of an office putting set
- Do you need your own putter for an office putting Set
- Do office putting Sets improve your putting
- Why Do putting Sets Have Ramps?
- Is an Office Putting Set Worth It?
- How to Practice putting on a balcony.
Conclusion
An office putting set can potentially improve your putting performance by allowing you to practice your stroke repeatedly in a convenient and stress-free environment. The repetition and feedback provided by an office putting set can help you ingrain good habits and muscle memory, leading to more consistent putting on the course.
However, it is important to keep in mind that an office putting set is not a replacement for practicing on an actual golf course. The greens on an office putting set are likely to be much smoother and faster than those on a real course, and the lack of slope and undulation means that you won’t be able to practice handling breaks and other challenging shots.
So take it as what it is, a fun activity that will help you develop your putting game a little, however it if you rely on it solely you might be a little disappointed if how you do on your office putting set doesn’t directly translate to how you do when you get to the course.
