50 Words or Less
The Me and My Golf Breaking Ball Putting Mat brings something genuinely new to indoor putting practice. Carries a fairly heavy premium over similar mats. Definitely worthy of consideration.
Introduction
It’s rare to find a straight putt on a golf course, yet most golfers spend most or all of their indoor practice on straight putts. Me and My Golf aims to bring more on-course realism to indoor practice with their Breaking Ball Putting Mat. Is it a gimmick or a truly effective way to improve your putting? Let’s find out.
Me and My Golf offers ball striking help, too. Full review HERE
Set Up & Ease of Use
Companies like PuttOUT have raised the bar for putting mats in the last couple years [review HERE], so I was eager to see if the Breaking Ball Putting Mat could keep pace. I was pleased to learn that it does. It feels a bit thinner than the PuttOUT mats, but it rolls out perfectly flat almost all the way to the edges.
The other main component of this kit is the sleeve of breaking balls. Each of the three balls is designed to break a different amount. The color of the balls aligns with the colors on the mat, showing you where to aim to “make” the putt with break.
Additionally, with the mat you get access to a series of mini-lessons from Me and My Golf. There are five videos, all 2-3 minutes in length. They cover the basics of set up and stroke fundamentals. While they don’t add much in my opinion, I’m sure fans of Me and My Golf will enjoy the extra content.
Effectiveness
Let’s start with the basics. The putting mat itself is quite good – it’s flat, rolls true, and is quick (they state it stimps around 11). I also like the markings. There is a dot at every foot, the distances are clearly marked, and I particularly like the small white dot inside the blue “hole” because I felt it boosted my focus.
Next, the breaking balls. They have a weight placed in one side (see below), and they do break noticeably and predictably. There is a clear difference in how much each different ball moves, too. The balls are a touch firmer than a premium ball, but with all the putts being inside ten feet, that’s not a deal breaker.
In my testing, I found that the breaking balls were useful and effective. What surprised me is where I found them most beneficial. My expectation was that they would be most impactful on longer putts, but I got more out of practicing the shorter putts. I found a lot of value in aiming at the edges of the “cup” from three to five feet. It’s hard to commit to a target that isn’t the middle of the cup at this short range, and I found the Breaking Ball Putting Mat was helpful in this regard.
Marrying the right line and speed was surprisingly challenging on longer putts. Part of the reason is that you also need to set the ball up perfectly. This is my one major complaint with this trainer – the need to aim every putt before you strike it. After missing a longer putt, I found myself questioning if the fault was in my stroke or the way I aligned the ball. Some will argue that this isn’t a bug, it’s a feature – the mat is forcing you to go through a routine before every putt. I do see value in that, but as someone who doesn’t aim a line on the ball, this trainer is trying to impose a routine that isn’t my own.
Longevity
The longevity of the Me and My Golf Breaking Ball Putting Mat is undoubtedly better than any other putting mat. All of the things you like about a “normal” putting mat are here, plus you have the breaking putts.
My expectation is that most golfers will end up using this mat in a variety of ways. Some days, they will use the breaking balls, other days they will putt standard balls. Having options is a great thing, especially for golfers facing long off seasons.
Value
The Me and My Golf Breaking Ball Putting Mat retails for between $130 and $200 dollars. The price varies with size – $130 for 7.5′, $170 for 11′ and $200 for 14′.
Comparing the 7.5′ version to the 8′ PuttOUT mat indicates that Me and My Golf is charging $40 for the breaking balls. I do think that they add a significant value to this product, but for that much money I would have liked them to include at least two of each color.
Get more breaking balls and more fun with the Games Putting Mat HERE
Conclusion
If you’re seeing too many putts slide past the hole, or if you need to add more variety to your indoor practice, the Me and My Golf Breaking Ball Putting Mat is worthy of consideration. It is more expensive than comparable mats, but the added functionality may be worth it for serious golfers.
Visit Me and My Golf HERE
Matt Saternus
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How did your work with the mat translate to the course? I.e. seeing the ball move versus seeing the slope in the green is different, so did the practice with mat help?
I don’t have enough rounds or hours on the mat to make a definitive conclusion.
-Matt
I would never try this training aid. It just doesn’t make sense for how I approach the game.
I practice putting with the same balls I use on the course. It’s key to establishing feel and distance. Practicing with a different ball is a terrible idea and one that is weighted to curve is an even worse idea.
I also view every putt as a straight putt. So do the vast majority of good putters. That’s why historically the indoor training aids are nothing but straight putts. Learn to hit a straight putt, learn to read a green, then hit your putt straight to the mark and it will break into the hole. Find me a top putting pro or three who intentionally put side spin on their putts to curve it into the hole and maybe I’ll reconsider this approach. This isn’t bowling.
The only golfers I can see this being good for are those guys with a mad slide who aim 75 yards left of the fairway to find the center.
Think you’ve totally missed the point here and are clearly so good at golf, that your arrogance refuses you an open mind or accept any kind of innovation. Personally I think the encouragement of a pre-shot routine and an opportunity to practice breaking puts at home is a great idea… but hey I’m willing to embrace innovation, just as millions of other golfers are. Enjoy your boring straight puts ;-)
I agree that developing a pre-shot routine and being able to practice at home are very important. For decades, golfers have been able to accomplish both of these things as well as practicing breaking putts without using “aids” that don’t make sense.
I’m more than willing to embrace innovation but sometimes people just have terrible ideas that lead to regression instead of progression.
Sounds like you work for one of the other ‘Straight Putting Matt’ brands or just a disgruntled golf pro that wonders what life would have been like with a YouTube channel of their own :-)
Either way, your comments hold no substance given the fact you’ve clearly not tried it… I for one will be giving it a go and most likely enjoy it. Whilst you’re entitled to your opinion, its very little help to anyone.
I don’t work in the golf industry. I’m just a guy who built himself a custom 4×12 indoor putting green because I think all of the stuff out of the box is overpriced.
I don’t need to try it and while you may not find my opinion to be helpful, many others probably will and it will save them $130-$200 not buying this gimmick.
Just wow! I cannot wait to get one of these. How has no one come up with this earlier? I have seen lots of companies try to change the floor level to achieve the same thing as this. Very clever changing the ball rather than the ground. Well done.
Would love to give these breaking balls a try! Its so difficult to practice breaking putts.