Written by Steve — a low-handicap club golfer at Clandon Regis GC in Surrey, with nearly 40 years in the game. Every review is independent and written for UK club golfers.
Putting is where scores are made and thrown away, yet it is the part of practice most club golfers skip — because tapping balls across a carpet and then trudging over to collect them is dull. The PuttOUT Pressure Putt Trainer sets out to fix exactly that, and it has become one of the best-selling training aids in the game by doing so. It is small, it is cheap, and it tells you the truth about every putt you hit. Here is an honest look at what it does, where it falls short, which version to buy, and whether it earns a place in your practice.
We have not worn one out ourselves, but we have gathered what the review sites, teaching pros and thousands of everyday golfers report after living with one — the good and the frustrating.
What is the PuttOUT Pressure Putt Trainer?
The PuttOUT is a small, curved plastic device that you place on the floor or a putting mat in place of a hole. It has a parabolic ramp that curves up and back, and a tiny target disc at the very bottom, right where the ramp meets the ground. The clever part is that the disc is the same width as the middle of a real golf hole.
Roll a putt into it with the right line and the right pace and the ball climbs the ramp, slows, and rolls back to you the exact distance it would have finished past the hole. Miss your line or hit it too hard and the ramp rejects the ball and fires it away. Hit it perfectly — dead centre with ideal pace — and the ball is captured on the micro-target and stays there. There is no hiding from it: every putt is instantly graded on both line and speed.
It folds flat, weighs almost nothing, and fits in a bag or a drawer, which is a big part of why people actually use it.
How the PuttOUT works
The genius of the PuttOUT is that it trains the two things that decide every putt — line and pace — at the same time, and it makes the feedback physical rather than theoretical.
The ramp is calibrated so that a putt struck with the ideal pace, which for a real hole means finishing around 15 to 18 inches past, is the one that gets captured on the target. Hit it too softly and it will not climb far enough; hit it too hard and it is spat back at speed. Because the ball returns to you by the same distance it would have run past the hole, you get an immediate, tangible read on your speed control — a firm putt comes back a long way, a perfectly weighted one barely trickles back.
That combination of instant feedback and the ball always coming back to you is what makes it work. You are not walking to fetch balls, so you hit far more putts per session, and every one of them is scored. It is the reason so many golfers describe it as genuinely addictive.
What the PuttOUT does well
Its greatest strength is honest, instant feedback on line and pace together. Most putting drills train one or the other; the PuttOUT insists on both at once, which is exactly how putting actually works on the course.
It is also brilliant for pace control specifically, which is the part of putting most amateurs neglect. The return distance gives you a clear picture of your speed on every stroke, and dialling that in is often worth more strokes than obsessing over line.
Practicality is a huge point in its favour. It is compact, folds away, and can be used on any reasonably true surface — a hallway, an office, a hotel room, or clipped onto a mat at home. And because it keeps score and returns the ball, it turns a chore into a game, which means you practise more. It has won awards from the likes of Golf Digest and Golf Monthly for precisely that reason.
Finally, it is inexpensive. Compared with most training aids it sits firmly at the budget-friendly end, which makes it one of the easiest recommendations in golf for the value it delivers.
Where the PuttOUT falls short
It is narrow by design. It trains line and pace on short putts extremely well, but it does nothing for your actual stroke mechanics — path, face angle, arc or setup. If your putting problem is a technical flaw in how you swing the putter, you will feel the poor results but the PuttOUT will not tell you why. It is a feedback tool, not a stroke doctor, and many golfers pair it with a putting mirror or gate for that reason.
It is also very much a short-putt tool. It is superb for the three-to-ten-foot putts that decide most rounds, but it cannot help you practise genuine lag putting over the longer distances, simply because you need a much bigger space and a true surface to do that.
Surface quality matters, too. On a thick or uneven carpet the ball will wobble off line and the feedback becomes unreliable, so you really want a flat, true surface — which is where the PuttOUT mat comes in, at extra cost. And a fair warning: it can be humbling. The target is small and unforgiving, and some golfers find the constant rejection of near-misses more frustrating than motivating.
Premium, Original or Platinum: which should you buy?
PuttOUT sell the Pressure Putt Trainer in a few tiers, and the differences are worth knowing.
The Original is the standard model and does everything described above. For most club golfers it is all you need.
The Premium is the newer, upgraded version. It is more solidly built and adds refinements such as multiple aim points — central, left and right — so you can vary your practice and work on starting the ball on different lines. If you are going to putt with it regularly, the modest step up in price is usually worth it.
The Platinum is the top-of-the-range option with a premium finish. It performs the same job as the Premium; you are largely paying for the look and feel, so it is more of a nice-to-have or gift piece than a performance upgrade.
For most golfers the Premium hits the sweet spot of build quality and features without overspending.
Do you need the PuttOUT mat as well?
Not strictly — but it helps a great deal. The trainer works on any true surface, so if you have a flat, short-pile carpet or a hard floor you can start straight away. The trouble is that most home carpets have enough nap or unevenness to throw a putt off line, which muddies the feedback.
A dedicated putting mat gives you a consistent, true roll every time, so the only variable is your stroke. If you are serious about using the PuttOUT properly, budget for a mat as well; if you are just dipping in, try it on the truest surface you have first and add a mat later.
How to practise with it: a simple routine
The PuttOUT rewards little-and-often practice far more than the occasional long session. A realistic routine looks like this:
- Warm-up (5 putts): short, straight putts from three feet, just getting the ball captured and grooving a confident stroke.
- Pace ladder (10 putts): move from four to eight feet, focusing only on the return distance, aiming to make every ball trickle back a few inches.
- Pressure game (10 putts): count how many you can capture in a row from five feet; try to beat your record each session.
- Line work (10 putts, Premium): use the left and right aim points to practise starting the ball on a chosen line.
- Finish on a make: never end on a miss — hole one last confident putt so you walk away with a good feeling.
Ten focused minutes a few times a week will do more for your putting than an hour once a fortnight.
Is the PuttOUT worth the money?
For almost every club golfer, yes. It is cheap, it is honest, it takes up no space, and it genuinely makes putting practice something you will do rather than avoid. If your short putting lets you down, or you simply never practise your putting at all, it is one of the best-value purchases in the game.
The only golfers who should think twice are those whose putting problems are technical — a poor stroke path or face control — because the PuttOUT will show you the bad result without diagnosing the cause. Even then, it makes an excellent companion to a mirror or gate rather than a replacement.
If you want to see how it stacks up against the other leading options — including putting mats, mirrors and gates that target different parts of the stroke — we compare the field in our full guide to the best putting training aids for UK club golfers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the PuttOUT Pressure Putt Trainer actually work?
Yes. By capturing only putts struck with the correct line and pace and returning every other putt by the distance it would have run past, it gives instant, honest feedback on the two things that decide most putts. Used regularly, it is very effective for short putting and speed control.
What is the ideal pace for the PuttOUT?
The trainer is calibrated to reward a putt that would finish roughly 15 to 18 inches past a real hole — the pace most coaches recommend. Hit it too softly and the ball will not be captured; hit it too hard and it is rejected back to you.
Do I need a putting mat with the PuttOUT?
Not essential, but recommended. The trainer needs a true, flat surface to give reliable feedback, and most home carpets have too much nap. A dedicated mat gives a consistent roll so the only variable is your stroke.
Which PuttOUT should I buy — Original, Premium or Platinum?
The Premium is the best all-rounder for most club golfers, with a sturdier build and multiple aim points. The Original does the core job well and costs less; the Platinum is a premium-finish version aimed at gifts rather than extra performance.
Can the PuttOUT help with long putts?
Not really. It is designed for the short-to-mid putts that decide most rounds and is superb at those, but genuine lag putting over longer distances needs far more space and a true surface than a home setup allows.