Okay, let’s talk about my little adventure with the SAM PuttLab. My putting, honestly, it was a mess. Felt like I was leaving shots out there all the time, just burning edges or pushing putts way off line. Heard some guys talking about this SAM PuttLab thing, supposed to be some high-tech gizmo that analyzes your stroke down to the last detail.
So, I decided, what the heck, gotta try something. Found a local pro who had one set up in his studio. Walking in, I saw the setup – computer, sensors, special putter attachment. Felt a bit like stepping into a science lab, not a golf lesson. Kind of wondered if this was overkill just for rolling the ball into a hole.
Getting started was pretty simple. The pro clipped this little triangle thing onto my putter shaft. Then he had me stand on a mat and hit some putts towards a target. The system uses sound, I think, to track the putter. No lasers flashing everywhere, which was nice. I just hit maybe 10 putts like I normally would.
Seeing the Numbers
Then came the interesting part. He turned the screen around. Man, there was a lot of information. Graphs, numbers, percentages. It showed things like:
- Where my putter face was aimed at address.
- Where it was aimed when I actually hit the ball.
- The path my putter took back and through.
- How consistently I hit the center of the putter face.
- My timing, the rhythm of my stroke.
Honestly, it was a bit overwhelming at first. But the pro walked me through it. The biggest shock? My alignment. I swore I was aiming straight, but the PuttLab showed I was consistently aimed a couple of degrees left every single time. No wonder I kept missing right – I was probably pushing the ball back online without even realizing it!
My stroke path wasn’t too bad, but my face angle at impact was all over the place. Sometimes open, sometimes closed. Just super inconsistent. The data didn’t lie, it was right there in black and white (well, mostly colors on the screen, but you know what I mean).
Working On It
Seeing the data was one thing, fixing it was another. We spent the rest of that session just working on alignment. Using the PuttLab’s feedback in real-time was incredibly helpful. Hit a putt, see immediately if I aimed left again. Adjust. Hit another. It gave instant feedback that you just don’t get practicing on a regular green.
I went back a few more times over the next couple of months. We tackled the inconsistent face angle next, working on keeping my hands quieter through the stroke. It wasn’t magic, mind you. Still took a lot of practice and conscious effort. Some days felt like I was going backwards.
But slowly, things started to click. The visual feedback from the PuttLab really helped drill in the right feelings. I started trusting my setup more. On the course, I felt more confident standing over putts because I had a better idea of what ‘square’ actually felt like, backed up by that machine’s data.
Was It Worth It?
For me, yeah, it was. It cut through a lot of the guessing. Instead of just thinking I knew what was wrong, the PuttLab showed me exactly where the problems were. It gave me specific things to work on. My putting isn’t perfect now – whose is? – but it’s definitely more consistent. I’m not haemorrhaging shots on the green like I used to.
It’s a tool, right? Not a magic wand. You still have to put in the work. But having that objective data and feedback? It made my practice way more effective. If you’re serious about improving your putting and feel like you’re stuck, finding someone with a SAM PuttLab might just give you the breakthrough you need. That was my experience, anyway.
