The Putting Alley: What’s more fun than blasting a bucket full of balls with your driver? Nothing! Unfortunately it is also a huge waste of time since we all know the key to scoring is putting. Not only can good putting save a bad round but it is really the only way to go low. So unless you are disciplined enough to cut into your range time, you need to find another way to improve your putting. Well, help comes in the form of the Putting Alley.

While there are tons of putting aides, most are fairly weak in terms of being a true representation of the game. For me, I believe that if you can master a 27″ line you are halfway home to being a good putter. The folks who developed the Putting Alley are clearly of the same mindset. The Putting Alley is a simple 27″ inch putting surface which due to its construction lets you know exactly if you have hit it pure, pulled or pushed it. Here’s how it works.

The Putting Alley comes in both a plastic and wood version but the key is the metal rod that runs down the center of the alley. This metal rod has two sides which have a flat surface that is either 1″ or 1/2″ wide. Now you would think rolling a short putt would be stupid simple, but you will quickly find out that you have more yipps in your stroke than Vijay Singh has putters in his garage. Starting out with the 1″ side I quickly realized that I had my putter face slightly closed because I was pulling every single putt. The Putting Alley clearly showed this to me because with each putt the ball would roll half way down the alley then fall off of the rail on the inside edge.

Simple 27″ putt – not so much.

Once I made this adjustment my putting improved dramatically, but still, rolling 5 to 8 putts in a row is no easy task. Because there is less room for error, the Putting Alley not only improves your stroke but also your concentration since any mistake will result in the ball not reaching the end on the metal bar. Hence, setting up little games such as seeing how many in a row you can make will really improve your mental focus.

So here is the beauty of this training aid: the folks at the Putting Alley say rolling a pure putt on the 1″ side is equivalent of rolling a 10 foot putt and the 1/2″ side is equivalent of a 20 foot putt. Therefore, you can actually practice longer putts with just a small training aide. Moreover, rolling putts over and over again gives you great confidence when you have to face those 2 foot putts during your weekend skins game.

Below is our video explaining how the Putting Alley works.

As I mentioned, the Putting Alley comes in both wood and plastic. The wood version shown here has been through a ton of trade shows but still looks great. This is a product that absolutely stands up over time and will never be an eyesore.

While the wood versions are not cheap at $159, the plastic version is under $50. Not only is this a great tool for individuals but for a teaching pro it would be a fantastic putting tool. So fear not, you can blast that bucket of balls all day long, just make sure you leave some time at home to work with the Putting Alley.

You can learn more about the Putting Alley on their website.