50 Words or Less
The Raflewski Tour Putting Mat is a high quality indoor putting surface with markings that address alignment, start line, and speed control. Ten feet long, so make sure you have enough space to use all of it.
Introduction
Gareth Raflewski is one of the most acclaimed short game coaches in golf. With the Raflewski Tour Putting Mat, he’s designed an indoor putting surface that focuses on the drills and skills that he teaches to the best players in the world. I tested one to see how it works for a player who’s decidedly more average.
Set Up & Ease of Use
There’s no set up required for the Raflewski Tour Putting Mat – unroll it and get to work. It has the same construction as the Pelz Player Putting Mat [review HERE] which helps it to lie nearly flat right out the box. I found a couple small undulations in my mat, but they disappeared with a little time under some heavy books.
Effectiveness
There are a lot of markings on the Raflewski Tour Putting Mat. On the left side, there is a series of four dots and a “hole.” These dots are used for Gareth’s eye training drill, which is extremely valuable, though you may come up with other uses as well.
In the middle, there is a 1.5″ wide orange stripe intended as a way to challenge your start line control. There’s also a T alignment aid at the beginning of the stripe. The numbered zones are for speed control drills.
Finally, on the right side, there’s a second “hole” and two T alignment aids at approximately 4 and 8 feet. The Ts will help you to learn how to aim your putter face properly at address.
What I like about this mat is that it addresses all three elements of putting: aim/alignment, start line, and speed control. You can scoff about speed control on a ten foot mat, but there’s a world of difference between leaving every ten footer within six inches and having three feet left.
Overall, I think this is a very good putting mat, one of the best I’ve seen. I like that it’s divided into three distinct sections. This allows you to work on different things in different spots. That small bit of variety is important during the offseason.
Longevity
The Raflewski Tour Putting Mat is well made and should last several years. As with any training aid, it will get more use if it’s easy to use. I’d recommend this mat if you can leave it unrolled. I like the markings on this mat more than most. I particularly enjoy the speed control games, so that gives it a small bump in longevity for me.
If you want to add more longevity to your mat, consider the Pelz Player Putting Cups [review HERE] or the Raflewski Tour Putting Program [review HERE].
Value
The Raflewski Tour Putting Mat retails for $110, which is in line with other mats of this size and quality. As I said with the Pelz mat, I think having a quality putting surface in your house is almost a must for the serious player. If you have the space to use all ten feet of this mat, I think it’s a solid buy.
Conclusion
If you have the space, the Raflewski Tour Putting Mat is one of the best indoor putting surfaces you can buy. It rolls true and has well thought out markings that will promote better practice.
Visit Catalyst Golf HERE
Matt Saternus
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