I’ve been a big fan of the PuttOUT Pressure Putt Trainer for quite some time, but the mat was a big letdown.  It developed a groove down the middle fairly quickly, which truly impacted the usefulness of it.  That didn’t stop me from using it, but it it did get to be annoying trying to find a line that didn’t have a groove worn in it.

Why buy another mat from PuttOUT when the first one didn’t work out?  Well, it’s been over three years since I tested the original PuttOUT mat, and I wanted to give them another chance.  87% of the Amazon reviews are 4 or 5 stars.  And one of the 1 star reviews complained about the fact that it didn’t come bunded with the Pressure Putt Trainer.  It’s not PuttOUT’s fault that guy can’t read and only looks at pictures.

The Slim is the same length as the Medium, 7’ 11”.  The markings are exactly the same as the markings down the center of the Medium.  It’s just wide enough to hit putts, but that’s really all you need.  And in fact, if you like to get close to the ball when you putt, you won’t be standing on the mat like you do with the Medium.  I don’t know if it’s the smaller width of the mat or the fact that Rita’s gotten taller over the last four years, but she’s not standing with her toes on the mat anymore.

Just like the Medium, the thick TPR rubberized backing ensures that the Slim lays out flat coming straight out of the packaging.  You can keep it rolled up in the packaging and out of the way when it’s not in use, then pull it out and get right to practicing.  The speed of the mat really is a perfect 10 on the stimpmeter.  I’ve used it for about five hours now, which is about when I noticed the groove forming down the middle of Medium mat.  So far, so good, no groove.  

If the PuttOUT Slim Mat were playing a match against its closest portable mat competitor, it would win the match on the 18th with a birdie to finish 1 up.  But given the past history of PuttOUT mats, there will be a rematch.  Stay tuned.

By Mike Eovino