Improve with a Christmas gift
Putting and chipping aids can make a better golfer of you over the Christmas holidays
When it’s cold, wet and miserable outside – bit like today, actually! – the incentive to pull on your thermals, lined jumper, and waterproofs isn’t quite there, even though you’re desperate to play golf. Next best thing is to improve your game in the comfort of your own home and one of a handful of devices might just be the thing, to make best use of your time in and around Christmas.
Price: £120 (standard 33 or 35-inch shaft) Recommended by Tour winner Peter Lonard and top coach Pete Cowen the unique For practice you simply place the ball in the cylindrical hole behind the clubface and practice your release as the ball rolls towards its target. Not only does the club help build tempo and control to train a repeatable takeaway and stroke release, it gives instant feedback on your alignment of the putter face and your swing path. | |
The beauty of this training aid is that it’s also usable on the course, with its low-weighted head delivering a balanced swing and polymer face producing maximum feel off the clubhead. Also available is an The Zen Oracle Tour putter, which comes complete with instruction pack, video, headcover and Winn grip, is also available with a 34 and 48 inch shaft, both costing £150. | |
Price: £14.99 A new world putting record was set by 21-year-old assistant golf professional David Cavanagh from Saddleworth Golf Club in Yorkshire, holing an amazing 120 consecutive three-metre putts using the PuttMaster mat, a training aid which more than 40 European Tour professionals regularly use. The astonishing 50-minute putting marathon was witnessed by a big crowd of golf club regulars and was the latest chapter in an extraordinary underground challenge among club pros to beat the previous record of 104 putts set by Anthony Millar from Lymm. PuttMaster is a unique A4 envelope-sized training mat that encourages the golfer to swing the putter squarely through the impact zone. | |
Price: £49 Similar but a little more intricate and expensive, is this device from Premium Golf, which also features a mirror for eye and shoulder alignment, as well as attachable rails to train the correct swing path. It comes with a smart, protective cover and can be used equally well on the carpet at home or office, as on the putting green. | |
Wizard clubhead weight Price: £15 If you have a little more room at home to fully swing a golf club The extra weight serves to enhance your feel of the movement. The Pro version is 20% heavier than the standard and is recommended for stronger players. | |
ProAim virtual alignment trainer Price: £20 While the ProAim’s ability to project gridlines on to the ground is as much an aid to practising from 125 yards out as it for a three foot putt. It helps focus the golfer’s mind and steady his rhythm. Said one player: "Keeping the clubface between the horizontal lines on the way back, through impact, and then through the horizontal lines in the forward motion, helps my short game, by keeping my head still." Says ProAim’s Chris Lundin: "You get the instant feedback with your alignment from almost any distance." |
