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I recieved my Boomerang Putting Aid in the mail last Friday. I've been using it for about thirty minutes a day and I've got to say I'm incredibly impressed with it. I've seen some brief reviews of the Boomerang on the "other" golf site, and I wasn't horribly impressed. It seemed so simple, just lag the first putt in, and strike it out with the second. I was really wrong. The Boomerang is marked by simplicity in design, but extreme difficulty in execution. I'll try and explain this further.
What you get
The Boomerang comes in a package with the actual Boomerang unit, an 8 foot synthetic mat, and an instrucitonal "DVD."
When I say simple design, I mean it. When you first get the boomerang and see how it works, it's one of those, "Why couldn't I think of that!" moments. All it essentially is, is a ramp with a putting cup that's adjustable in depth. If you miss the putt, it comes rolling right back to you. If you "make it" you can strike it out with a second ball, and both golf balls come right back to your feet. There are no batteries, cords, cables, or need to go and retrieve balls even if you miss.
The key is the adjustable "putting cup:"
The whole base moves up and down on a screw. You can make the boomerang as difficult or as easy as you want just based on the screw. Setting it up is a breeze. All you have to do is start with the putting cup in a positon, take a ball, and drop it from the center of the cup. If the lip catches it, it's okay. If the ball rolls out, just turn it down a 1/2 to a 1/4 turn deeper. The base is also easy to center. When the ball is at rest on the lip, it should point to exactly six o'clock. If it does not, you can adjust the feet so that it does. Luckily that was not needed for me.
Using the Boomerang is straight forward. Just set it up, roll out the mat and hit putts. It sounds easy, however, the Boomerang requires what all good putters have, PERFECT line and PERFECT speed. The Boomerang produces what is difficult to achieve even on most practice greens- a perfectly straight putt. Not only that, when combined with the artifical mat, it retains that straight putt, but is also very fast. Easily close to a 10 or 11 on the "stimp." My pro always reccomends putting on fast greens because they're not forgiving for speed which in turn dictates line. All you guys who play on slow munis and some times struggle transitioning to fast greens like I do should take note. This is a consistently fast putting surface you can have in your house and simply roll up and store on a shelf when not in use. The speed of the system may be the boomerang's biggest benefit. Trust me, it takes perfect speed to stop a ball in the Boomerang if adjusted properly. A little too hard, and it will simply run through the cup and back down to your feet. Too soft, and it won't get there and again rolls right back to your feet. You need to just barely crawl the ball over the edge of the lip to get it to stop.
If you're a master at controlling your speed, it's still not enough to conquer the Boomerang. It also needs perfect line. The back of the cup is enclosed, so if you push, pull, hook, or slice your putts, "lipping out" is a real issue. Much like a real putt, you can make it with an improper path; however, it is exponentially more difficult than with proper lilne. I often struggle with short putts, either taking the club too far to the inside and hooking it, or not completing my follow through and pushing it. The Boomerang exposed my flaws immediately and really made me concentrate on making a good stroke towards the hole.
So once you hole your putt, you simply get another ball, and hit it as hard as you can right? Wrong. Although it is markedly easier to strike a ball out than it is to get the first one in the cup, you still must have decent speed and more importantly, proper line. If you get too far outside or inside, you will "lip out" the first ball, and end up with the second one sitting all alone at your feet. It takes a fair amount of concentration.
I've experienced a renewed sense of confidence in my putting stroke since "figuring out" the Utley on plane stroke, and I've been putting pretty well before recieveing the Boomerang. So wether or not the boomerang has been beneficial to my putting game remains to be seen. However, it is a lot of fun, and it is VERY challenging.
The Boomerang also came with an instruction sheet and a "DVD" which turned out to be a VCD. I tried playing it on my TV, and it didn't work, but in my laptop it worked perfectly. It is a short film that has tips on setting up, using the Boomerang, and tips on making a fundamentally sound putting stroke. It also has some games you can play like a timed challenge, but I made my own. I merged the ladder drill with the boomerang, placing two balls every foot all the way out and tried to make and strike out each. Really makes you focus on controlling your speed.
Honestly, when I first got the Boomerang, I wasn't expecting too much. It seemed easy. What I found was a fantastically simple and very effective putting aid that was very addictive. It's so easy to set up, and it's a lot of fun to use. It makes you focus on both line and speed which every golfer could use, and it provides a 12 foot putting surface that runs very fast which you can use year round for the price of around $40 shipped!
What you get
The Boomerang comes in a package with the actual Boomerang unit, an 8 foot synthetic mat, and an instrucitonal "DVD."
When I say simple design, I mean it. When you first get the boomerang and see how it works, it's one of those, "Why couldn't I think of that!" moments. All it essentially is, is a ramp with a putting cup that's adjustable in depth. If you miss the putt, it comes rolling right back to you. If you "make it" you can strike it out with a second ball, and both golf balls come right back to your feet. There are no batteries, cords, cables, or need to go and retrieve balls even if you miss.
The key is the adjustable "putting cup:"
The whole base moves up and down on a screw. You can make the boomerang as difficult or as easy as you want just based on the screw. Setting it up is a breeze. All you have to do is start with the putting cup in a positon, take a ball, and drop it from the center of the cup. If the lip catches it, it's okay. If the ball rolls out, just turn it down a 1/2 to a 1/4 turn deeper. The base is also easy to center. When the ball is at rest on the lip, it should point to exactly six o'clock. If it does not, you can adjust the feet so that it does. Luckily that was not needed for me.
Using the Boomerang is straight forward. Just set it up, roll out the mat and hit putts. It sounds easy, however, the Boomerang requires what all good putters have, PERFECT line and PERFECT speed. The Boomerang produces what is difficult to achieve even on most practice greens- a perfectly straight putt. Not only that, when combined with the artifical mat, it retains that straight putt, but is also very fast. Easily close to a 10 or 11 on the "stimp." My pro always reccomends putting on fast greens because they're not forgiving for speed which in turn dictates line. All you guys who play on slow munis and some times struggle transitioning to fast greens like I do should take note. This is a consistently fast putting surface you can have in your house and simply roll up and store on a shelf when not in use. The speed of the system may be the boomerang's biggest benefit. Trust me, it takes perfect speed to stop a ball in the Boomerang if adjusted properly. A little too hard, and it will simply run through the cup and back down to your feet. Too soft, and it won't get there and again rolls right back to your feet. You need to just barely crawl the ball over the edge of the lip to get it to stop.
If you're a master at controlling your speed, it's still not enough to conquer the Boomerang. It also needs perfect line. The back of the cup is enclosed, so if you push, pull, hook, or slice your putts, "lipping out" is a real issue. Much like a real putt, you can make it with an improper path; however, it is exponentially more difficult than with proper lilne. I often struggle with short putts, either taking the club too far to the inside and hooking it, or not completing my follow through and pushing it. The Boomerang exposed my flaws immediately and really made me concentrate on making a good stroke towards the hole.
So once you hole your putt, you simply get another ball, and hit it as hard as you can right? Wrong. Although it is markedly easier to strike a ball out than it is to get the first one in the cup, you still must have decent speed and more importantly, proper line. If you get too far outside or inside, you will "lip out" the first ball, and end up with the second one sitting all alone at your feet. It takes a fair amount of concentration.
I've experienced a renewed sense of confidence in my putting stroke since "figuring out" the Utley on plane stroke, and I've been putting pretty well before recieveing the Boomerang. So wether or not the boomerang has been beneficial to my putting game remains to be seen. However, it is a lot of fun, and it is VERY challenging.
The Boomerang also came with an instruction sheet and a "DVD" which turned out to be a VCD. I tried playing it on my TV, and it didn't work, but in my laptop it worked perfectly. It is a short film that has tips on setting up, using the Boomerang, and tips on making a fundamentally sound putting stroke. It also has some games you can play like a timed challenge, but I made my own. I merged the ladder drill with the boomerang, placing two balls every foot all the way out and tried to make and strike out each. Really makes you focus on controlling your speed.
Honestly, when I first got the Boomerang, I wasn't expecting too much. It seemed easy. What I found was a fantastically simple and very effective putting aid that was very addictive. It's so easy to set up, and it's a lot of fun to use. It makes you focus on both line and speed which every golfer could use, and it provides a 12 foot putting surface that runs very fast which you can use year round for the price of around $40 shipped!
