Okay, so let me tell you about this thing called SAM Puttlab I messed around with recently. I’ve been golfing for a while now, consider myself pretty decent, but putting? That’s always been a bit of a rollercoaster for me. Some days I’m sinking everything, other days I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. So, I figured, why not try to get some actual data on what the heck I’m doing?
That’s where this SAM Puttlab thing came in. I’d heard whispers about it, some fancy system that tracks your putting stroke with, like, lasers or something. Sounded high-tech, so I booked a session at a local Club Champion. I brought my own putter, the one I’ve been using for years. Felt kinda weird walking in there with all these shiny new clubs everywhere, but I was there for science, not shopping… at least not yet.
The guy running the show, the fitter, was cool. He got me set up on the Puttlab, which looked like some kind of futuristic putting green with sensors all around. I spent about an hour, first just hitting putts like I normally do. They call this the initial analysis, just to see where you’re at without any adjustments. Felt like I was being graded! They had me try a bunch of other putters, too, about ten different ones, just to see how different setups felt.
After the initial analysis, this machine spit out a whole bunch of numbers and graphs. I’m not gonna lie, most of it looked like alien language to me. But the fitter, he translated it all. It turns out my stroke was all over the place. Sometimes I’d open the face, sometimes I’d close it. My aim was off, my impact was inconsistent, the whole nine yards. The data was, well, a little overwhelming.
- Face Angle: This thing measures if your putter face is open, closed, or square at impact. Mine was a mixed bag, which explained why some putts went left, some went right, and very few went straight.
- Path: This tracks the direction your putter is moving during the stroke. Ideally, you want a nice, smooth arc. Mine looked more like a rollercoaster track, especially on longer putts.
- Impact Spot: This shows where on the putter face you’re actually hitting the ball. Center strikes are key for consistency, and let’s just say I wasn’t exactly nailing the sweet spot every time.
I had some emails and videos exchange with the instructor for over a year, and he also reviewed the report and gave me some advice.
Honestly, seeing all that data laid out in front of me was a real eye-opener. It’s one thing to feel like you’re inconsistent, but it’s another to have hard evidence staring you in the face. This SAM Puttlab thing really showed me where I was going wrong. This thing is a game changer. It’s not just about tracking your stroke, it gives you a score, like a real game, so you can see how you stack up and where you need to improve. I heard some people saying it’s like the gold standard for analyzing your putting, and I can see why.
Now, I’m not saying I went out and bought a whole new putter right away. But this whole experience definitely changed how I think about putting. It’s not just about feel anymore, it’s about understanding the mechanics. Now, I’m practicing with a purpose, trying to get those numbers to look a little more, shall we say, professional. I’m still not sure if it was worth the money, but it was definitely an interesting experience. It’s like they say, putting is 40% of the game, so maybe it’s time I started treating it that way. And who knows, maybe I’ll even end up getting that new putter after all.
