Equipment

Korean Gadget Report, Pt. 1: Meet the Puttist

Published

1 week ago

Nov 13, 2020

Since the days of Marco Polo, the Far East has been a source of mysteries, full of new wonders and…OK, that intro seems a bit much for today’s context, but nonetheless, I think a lot of GolfWRX readers in English-speaking countries will appreciate the many interesting golf gear available here in Korea.

With that said, I would like to share my experience with one of the most effective putting aids I have seen here in Korea, and something I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Just say NO! to three putts with the ‘3 putt killer’

Direction vs Speed

What aspect of putting would you say is more important – direction or speed control? If you have three-putted as often as I have, I’d venture that you chose the latter. And most pros I spoke to also agree that speed or the amount of “weight” you put on a ball is more often the deciding factor of a good putt.

I consider myself a semi-serious golfer and put in a fair amount of practice towards both putting accuracy and distance control. I have bought many training aids over the years and have always had a large putting mat at home and the office for those days I couldn’t make it out to a practice green.

But looking back, I realized that all of my putting practice revolved around putting towards a hole or a target for accuracy. I couldn’t recall a single training aid or a putting lesson that really taught me how to control my putting distance. Most often, I would hear “it’s a matter of practice” but nothing more specific than that.

In addition, practicing longer lag putts necessitates that I visit a real putting green, and even then I would only be getting accustomed to that particular green speed only to start all over again on another course.

I had thought I was a pretty good putter from within 6 feet, but my score wasn’t reflecting it. Simply, my problem was not that I couldn’t make 6-footers, but that I was leaving too many 6-footers from the hole on my lag putts.

(Sturdy and portable to take anywhere, the Puttist allows lag putt practice of up to 50ft)

Enter the Puttist

The Puttist is a portable and rechargeable digital putting aid that helps golfers build muscle memory to consistently roll the ball to any distance between 6ft to 50ft. It is also labeled the world’s first”putter meter” as it uses a putting surface of only about a meter long.

Attached to the end of the putting surface is a smart sensor, an innovative technology that translates the force of the impact and displays the distance the ball would have rolled on a real green.

Similar to other putting mats of this size, the Puttist requires only one ball that allows you to stay relatively in place without having to go and fetch the ball from the hole after each putt. This provides a more effective putting session because I can save time while focusing more on maintaining the feel for the putt, stroke after stroke.

In addition to being easier on my back, the machine also offers a variety of putting games that mocked challenged me to putt better. For example, one game presents 7 random distances between 3~9 meters, and only the putts that go past the hole (but not beyond 50cm) are considered as successful putts. Like the saying goes,“never up, never in.” In terms of accuracy, the LED shows whether your putt was slightly pulled or pushed with an arrow if you miss the center of the “hole.”

(Puttist offers three speed settings of Slow, Average, and Fast at about 8, 10, and 12 on the Stimp meter)

I have been using the Puttist for over a year now, and I still find it tough to walk by without having a go at one of its games. The immediate feedback of whether a putt was successful or not, coupled with a visual total score after each game made for a powerful motivator. To this day, I have yet to get the Holy Grail score, which requires the perfect distance right on the number, seven times in a row.

Eventually, my body began to form its own baseline sense of “putting distance,” and I was able to visualize the amount of backswing and follow-through I needed to register a certain distance on the Puttist.

That’s all well and good as a game, but does this help on an actual course? After all, the green speed on golf courses will vary on any given day with some being painfully slow, while others may be as fast as glass.

(LPGA star In-Kyung Kim says the Puttist has helped her to win the 2017 Women’s British Open Championship)

The answer soon became evident on the practice greens before a golf round. While I was hitting some practice putts, I learned that the ingrained “feel” for distance only needed to be tweaked a bit to get accustomed to the different speeds of the green. For example, if my 10-foot putting stroke only rolls eight-feet, I’d simply adjust to hit my putts to 12 feet for that day.

In this simple manner, I was able to decrease the number of 3-putts from five or six times a round to almost zero, since I was now effectively lagging all my putts to tap-in distances. And it didn’t matter whether the greens were fast or slow as I just had to adjust for the new speed and let my ingrained muscle memory roll the ball to the distance I wanted.

To be sure, I wasn’t making one-putts any more than what I was used to. But the immediate absence of three-putting visibly improved my score.

I am sure there are many putting training aids out there that help golfers, but the Puttist was the only one I have encountered that helped to control my putting distance.

(Dr. Kim Dong-guk says he was motivated to invent the Puttist to stop 3-putting, while finishing his Doctorate at
the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in advanced sensor technology)

As for the price, it is about 170,000 KRW, which would be about $150. Personally, I think it is well worth the price, as golf lessons aren’t cheap these days. And even then, it is difficult to learn the feel for distance, as it isn’t something that can be taught easily.

The Puttist has now entered its 10th year in existence and has been voted as one of the best golf training gadgets here in Korea. And with Winter just around the corner, I predict we are going to be seeing a lot more of each other.

Now if I can only find an equally good putting aid that helps me to read the breaks on the green, I’d be golden come spring… Any thoughts?

Stay tuned for more golf gadget updates from Korea!

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Equipment

2020 GolfWRX Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts for the Golfer Looking to get Better

Published

1 hour ago

Nov 23, 2020

GolfWRX Staff

It’s that time of year again, GolfWRX members, the moment we start filling our wish lists with the golf gear we want this holiday season.

The GolfWRX Holiday Gift Guide was created to ensure that our readers give (and hopefully receive) the very best golf gifts on the planet. These gift ideas will suit any budget, and each item was hand-picked by our staff.

In an effort to provide more value and tailored recommendations, we’re presenting our guide as a series this year, targeting “the purist,” “the gearhead,” “the value seeker,” “the golfer looking to get better,” and “the big spender.” (Editor’s note: remaining installments to publish tomorrow)

You know the golfer looking to get better by his/her closet full of every infomercial training aid and a pursuit of forgiveness that would put the most penitent sinner to shame.

Here are our best recommendations for “golfer looking to get better” in your life.

Get a lesson

James Oh

Former tour player and now Southern California based coach to a number of fast-rising players in college and on tour, James teaches not only the swing, short game, etc., but he is also arguably one of the best Golf IQ coaches out there.

Book a lesson here.

George Gankas

Get on the mat with the hottest teacher in the U.S. and longtime coach to Matthew Wolff and Akshay Bhatia. In a few years, these appointments will be few and far between.

Book a lesson here.

James Ridyard

Short game teacher to the best—notably Francisco Molinari. A private session with James is expensive, but it’s worth the investment and then some. The best way on the planet to get your short game dialed.

Book a lesson here.

Marcus Potter

Young and nimble, Marcus Potters career has taken off via word of mouth and Instagram. Schedule an in-person or video-based session with Marcus, and you will be putting like a young Ben Crenshaw.

Book a lesson here.

Get Better at Home

PlaneMate

The hottest training aid in 2019 continued to be fire in 2020 as players are now learning how to utilize it over the winter to hit the ground running in the spring.

Buy here.

Gankas G Box

If you really want to learn how to rotate like the best players in the world, there is no better and easier-to-use aid in the market. Good indoors and out.

Buy here.

Get Faster

SuperSpeed Sticks

No longer a secret tool on tour, the SuperSpeed Sticks offer adults and juniors the ability and training program to truly hit it longer. If you want to build true speed and learn how you hit it farther, the SuperSpeed Sticks are a necessity.

Buy here.

At-home practice facility

If you’ve got the dough to do it, building a Foresight hitting bay at home is almost like cheating. Not only can you dial in your swing, your clubs, and a create sound practice routines, you can also have some fun and play multiple iconic tracks over with your friends in the comfort of your own home.

Buy here.

Wellness

Urban Golf Performance

For the SoCal crowd, buying a membership at Urban Golf Performance in Los Angeles puts you in an all-encompassing golf ecosystem that works with your body, your game, your mind and your bag. Its Equinox for golfers—and oh yeah, Collin Morikawa works out there amongst a bunch of other PGA pros and college stars.

Book here.

For the .com crowd

Me and My Golf online membership

It’s a rabbit hole of tips, tutorials, and insight for golfers of all levels. Arguably the biggest golf platform on YouTube now offers you the VIP experience.

Buy here (7-day free trial).

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Equipment

2020 GolfWRX Holiday Gift Guide: Golf gifts for the Value Seeker

Published

1 hour ago

Nov 23, 2020

GolfWRX Staff

It’s that time of year again, GolfWRX members, the moment we start filling our wish lists with the golf gear we want this holiday season.

In an effort to provide more value and tailored recommendations, we’re presenting our guide as a series this year, targeting “the purist,” “the gearhead,” “the value seeker,” “the golfer looking to improve,” and “the big spender.” (Editor’s note: remaining installments to publish tomorrow)

You know the value seeker by his/her eschewing of anything that will put a significant dent into the wallet while still getting the most from their game, this includes equipment, practice tools, or anything else you might find filling out a golf bag – maybe even the golf bag itself.

Here are our best recommendations for “the value seeker” in your life.

Tour Edge Hot Launch series clubs

Tour Edge and its Hot Launch line of clubs are one of the undisputed leaders when it comes to offering game improvement technology and value to golfers of all skill levels. The newest Hot Launch 521 Series, which includes the Hot Launch E521 and Hot Launch C521 line, can be broken up into two categories to help players quickly identify which clubs they should most consider, and it goes from drivers all the way down to wedges.

The Hot Launch E Series offers high-MOI, extreme game improvement designs with a singular focus on delivering easy-to-launch performance, which is built around correcting the most common miss in golf: the dreaded slice.

The Hot Launch C Series is designed for golfers who desire classicly shaped clubs that offer optimal launch and spin rates, while still getting all the benefits of easy to hit, forgiving clubs built around maximizing MOI.

Buy here.

Snell golf balls: $28.99 (when you buy 5 dozen)

The premium golf ball market if full of high-end competition from major OEMs, and in the direct to consumer market, there is value to be had at the cost of performance, but with Snell golf balls, you get the best of both worlds.

Founder Dean Snell has been in the golf ball business for over 25 years, and with Snell Golf, you can skip the middle man and go directly to the source—and save money. Beyond just saving money on one dozen, the more you buy, the more you save. When you buy 5 dozen (hopefully that’s at least a season’s worth for most golfers on your list), it breaks down to only $28.99 a box!

Buy now.

Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft Premier putters: $129

Golfers love milled putters, and Cleveland Golf’s Huntington Beach Soft Premier line proves that you can get a milled putter packed with technology for under $150.

The Huntington Beach Soft Premier line is all about enhancing the looks and feel of the putter while continuing to offer familiar shapes and proven technology. The grey satin finish reduces glare and offers a premium look—without a premium price.

Buy here.

GoSports Golf Practice Net: $79.99

Practicing your golf game shouldn’t just be a nice weather activity, and whether it’s winter or summer unless you are a member at a club or have already purchased a membership at a local range, buckets of golf balls can really add up.

Buy here.

Golf Avenue gift card

Golf Avenue is one of the largest online shops for used clubs, and there is no better value when it comes to gear than buying used. They also offer a huge selection of new closeout priced bags, shoes, and accessories to help outfit any golfer with the essentials.

Buy here.

Imperial hat: >$30

The Imperial brand is over 100 years old, but they never rest on their laurels and are constantly working on new designs and partnering with others to create unique collections. From dogs to donuts they have fun graphics and styles to find the perfect fit for any golfer on your list. You can get what amounts to a premium, custom hat at a reasonable price.

Buy here.

Linksoul Gaiter Gift Box: $65

When it comes to premium face coverings that are stylish to boot, Linksoul’s offerings are first in class. And with the average price of a quality poly/cotton-blend gater running in the $20-25 range, take advance of the opportunity to snag four for $65.

Buy here.

Caddy Tek CaddyLite V3 3-wheel push cart: $176

There is no better way to enjoy a round of golf than walking the course, and with the Caddy Tek CaddyLite V3 you can do that in style and at a great price. It’s compact and comes with an umbrella holder along with an undercarriage cooler bag to keep your clubs and accessories at your fingertips as you stroll the course in style.

Buy here.

Gogogo ProGS24 Laser Rangefinder: $90

Nobody wants to be the “What yardage did you get?” golfer in your group, and with the Gogogo laser range finder, you won’t have to be! It can measure larger objects up to 650 yards, but also has a “flagpole locking function” to help get you locked onto the pin inside of 150 yards, along with 6X magnification for ease of use. For less than $100, it’s hard to find a better value and more highly rated (4.5 stars on Amazon.com) laser range finder!

Buy here.

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Equipment

GolfWRX Classifieds (11/23/20): Tour issue TaylorMade M5, Ping G410 LST, Jones Trooper bag

Published

3 hours ago

Nov 23, 2020

Ryan Barath

At GolfWRX, we love golf equipment plain and simple.

We are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment for the game in many ways. It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball, it even allows us to share another thing – the equipment itself.

One of the best ways to enjoy equipment is to experiment and whether you are looking to buy-sell-or trade (as the name suggests) you can find almost anything in the GolfWRX BST Forum. From one-off custom Scotty Cameron Circle T putters, to iron sets, wedges, and barely hit drivers, you can find it all in our constantly updated marketplace.

These are some of the latest cool finds from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules