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Golf Putting Mat: How to Choose One, Set It Up to Roll True, and Five Drills That Work

A golf putting mat is the cheapest way to save shots, because putting is the one part of the game you can practise properly in a living room. The mat that helps most is long enough for 10-foot putts with room to roll past, about 3.5 metres; true enough that a ball does not wander off line; and close to the pace of a real green. A regulation hole is 108 mm across, so a mat with a smaller cup makes the course feel easier. Here is how to choose one, how to set it up so it rolls true, and the drills that make 15 minutes a night worth it.

Length: the number to get right first

Many mats sold for home use are under three metres long, which is fine for three- and four-footers but leaves no room to practise the putts that cost most club golfers shots: six to ten feet, and lag putts that need to finish close. Ten feet is just over three metres, and you want some mat beyond the hole so a putt hit at the right pace (finishing 30 to 45 cm past if it misses) has somewhere to go. That is why we suggest around 3.5 metres if you have a hallway or garage that takes it. If you only have room for a short mat, use it for start line and short putts, and do your pace work on the practice green.

Speed: how a mat compares with a green

Green speed is measured with a Stimpmeter: a 36-inch bar with a notch 30 inches from the end. The ball is released from the notch, rolls down the bar and across the green, and the average distance in feet over three balls each way is the reading. Readings on most American courses range from about 7 to 12 feet, and speeds vary with grass, weather and season. Mat makers often quote a "stimp" figure; treat it as a guide rather than a measurement, because the surface also changes with the floor beneath it and with wear.

What matters at home is consistency. If your mat is much quicker than the greens you play, you will practise a short, soft stroke that leaves putts short on the course. A quick check: on the mat and on the practice green, hit a putt with the same length of backswing and compare how far each rolls. If the mat rolls much further, practise start line and short putts on it, and leave pace work to the course.

Surface and set-up

• Lay it on a flat, hard floor if you can. Thick carpet underneath makes a mat soft and bumpy. A laminate floor or a sheet of hardboard under the mat helps it roll true.
• Unroll it a day before you use it. Rolled mats hold a curve at the ends; weight the corners with books until it lies flat.
• Check it is level. Roll a ball gently along the centre line. If it drifts the same way every time, the floor slopes; turn the mat round or use the slope to practise breaking putts.
• Be wary of ramps. Many mats have a raised cup or ball-return ramp. A ball rolling up a slope to the hole behaves differently from one dropping into a flat cup, so if yours has a ramp, practise to a coin or tee laid on the flat part as well.

Features worth paying for, and ones that are not

Five drills for a putting mat

1. The gate drill. Push two tees into the mat just wider than your putter head, about 15 cm in front of the ball. Hit putts through the gate without touching either tee. It tells you at once whether the face is square at impact.
2. The clock drill. Place four balls around the hole at three feet. Hole all four in a row; if you miss, start again. Move to four feet when it becomes easy.
3. The ladder. From the far end, putt three balls so the first stops short of the hole, the second just past, the third in between. This builds touch even on a mat that is quicker than your greens.
4. One-handed putts. Hit ten putts with the lead hand only, then ten with the trail hand. It shows which hand is taking over the stroke.
5. The pressure finish. End every session with ten putts from four feet and write down how many you hole. The number is your benchmark.

An alignment stick laid along the mat helps with the gate and start-line work. Our guide on how to read a green covers the part a mat cannot teach: slope and grain.

Mat practice versus the real thing

A mat is excellent for stroke, face angle and start line, and for building the habit of practising little and often. It is weaker on pace and break, because a mat is flat and its speed is fixed. The best routine combines both: short nightly sessions at home, then a warm-up on a real green before you play. At Lullingstone, the pitch and putt and short-game area is the place to check your pace against real grass, and our practice plan to lower your handicap shows how to split the time.

Choosing a putter to go with it

If you are putting on a mat every night, it is a good moment to check your putter suits your stroke: a face-balanced head for a straight-back-and-through stroke, a toe-hang head for an arcing one. Our putters guide explains the difference.

Hole and ball sizes: R&A Rules of Golf, definition of "hole" (108 mm across, at least 101.6 mm deep) and the equipment rules. Stimpmeter method: USGA. Checked 22 October 2026. Back to the Lullingstone Park Golf homepage.