REVIEW: The BirdieBall is the Rolls Royce of At-Home Putting Mats

If you are anything like me and you love the game of golf, you want two things: good weather so you can practice and a way to improve your game at home in case the climate does not want to cooperate.

With Summer coming to a close and Fall officially here, I truly believe the best time of the year for golf has finally “fallen” upon us, pun intended. Yeah, I hate the aerated greens and trying to find a ball under leaves as much as the next person, but there’s nothing better than a brisk morning, a hot cup of coffee, and 18 holes at sunrise with a few of your best buddies.

Unfortunately, there are mornings or even days when it is just too chilly or windy, and there are days when the temperature is right, but it might be raining. In these cases, ranges might be an okay option, but sometimes we don’t want to leave the house. Instead, we have to find solutions at home

Luckily for me (and now you), I have found what I believe to be the Rolls Royce of putting mats for your home. I have had several in my house, everything from the cheap Maxfli golf mats to Perfect Practice’s at-home and travel mats. While they all have their advantages, nothing is quite like the BirdieBall putting mat.

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Building Your Mat

BirdieBall offers numerous-sized mats, and they let me pick basically what I thought would be most suitable for me. The widths for the mats vary, and you can choose 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, or 8 feet, and with the 3 or 4-foot options, you can go as long as 30 feet.

You can also choose a variety of cup placements. For me, I have three on one end and one on the other.

You can build your mat here.

Arrival and Setup

My mat got here to Pennsylvania in about five days and arrived in a nice big box delivered right to my front porch. The mat, the rubber ends, and the flags were all in the same box, and it weighed maybe 30 pounds with everything in it.

It was easy to bring inside and wasn’t an awkward carry into the house or down the stairs to the basement. If you’re younger or have a bad back, definitely lift it with a buddy, but don’t expect it to weigh hundreds of pounds and expect it to be a stressful process to get it to wherever you’re planning to put it. 

Setting it up also took me less than 10 minutes and was extremely easy to do on my own. My mat is 4 feet by 24 feet, and it was not a hard set up to do without anyone here. I am not someone who loves a bunch of assembly (even though 90 percent of my house is IKEA), but this was not a difficult process, even in the slightest.

I even did a timelapse of the setup:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Joey Klender (@klendergolf)

Quality and Materials

Many of the reviews I read online before mine arrived indicated the material was a lot like a putting noodle, and that’s pretty much exactly how I’d describe it. 

Using their patented Roll Tech Foam, BirdieBall mats roll true and better than any other putting mat I’ve had. Perfect Putting mats use more of a “carpet” material, which is nice but doesn’t necessarily simulate putting greens as well as the BirdieBall does. I always enjoyed my Perfect Putting mat for working on things like 3-to-6 footers, but I never enjoyed the ramp up to the holes, and I didn’t enjoy how much it shifted, even with the grip on the bottom.

You won’t really have that issue with the BirdieBall. While I was lucky enough to have the room for a long mat, speed simulation is much better with the BirdieBall, and I feel it gives a much more genuine feel in terms of practice and is not so “simulated.” 

Simply put, I don’t feel much of a difference between going to the range and using the practice green there and using the BirdieBall. The only difference is you will get more real-world practice on an actual green, and you have more of an ability to practice lag putting and breaking putts.

@jklendsholla Lunch break putting practice with the @Official Birdieball Tiltok ⛳️ #golf #golftok Review coming to @golficity ♬ C.R.E.A.M. (Live Instrumental) – OMA

It is great not to have to drive to the range on my break or after work. I can just walk downstairs with a sandwich and a drink and practice basically any length putt.

The holes are also an interesting feature because BirdieBall includes several with your mat. I got one “Deep Cup” that I have placed in the middle of the three-hole side, and I prefer to use that for practicing anything under 15 feet.

I feel that this is a great cup to use for that length of practice because these are putts that, ideally, we should be making about 20-25 percent of the time. The PGA Tour average from 11-15 feet was 30.1 percent in 2019. I found with the standard shallow cups, the balls don’t always stay in when they should, and it’s simply due to the fact that you don’t have much of a drop for the ball to find a place in. Sometimes it might be too much pace, other times, it might be the fact that the cup is just too shallow.

I also had problems initially with balls heading straight for the cup, only to turn and basically ride the boundaries of it. A putt that was traveling dead straight for 18 feet would all of a sudden turn at the very last second.

BirdieBall suggests the following solutions:

1. Don’t be afraid to counter-bend the ends of the mat towards you to take out the slight curl from shipping. You can firmly counter-roll the ends back up towards you to get that curl out from shipping.
2. To fix the slight break around the hole when the cups are installed, remove the cup from the hole and use only the base of the flag in the hole (either with or without the flag stick). With the cup removed, any extra break caused from the bottom lip of the cup will be removed, and the base will still dampen the ball when a putt is made.

I still had a few issues after using these tips, but I summed it up as more of an adjustment period from the shipping process. Putting mats are never going to be perfectly flat, but over time they will get pretty close. My BirdieBall got pretty close to flat after about a week and a half. I even walked on some of the parts that were giving me a headache, and it helped without a doubt.

My Nitpicks about the BirdieBall

I only have two real complaints with the BirdieBall, and they come down to speed and issues with accumulating debris. These are both things that can easily be fixed.

Speed

There are three stimps: Slow, Medium, and Fast, and mine is Medium. Medium is still a very slick green, and it will take some time to get used to. However, it is no different than going from course to course and being challenged with different green speeds. 

It takes time to get used to, but, in my experience so far, the speed has made me a better putter and forced me to adjust my stroke accordingly. You can also use BirdieBall’s Stimp Maintenance Brush, which they are sending me currently, or any “stiff-bristled broom or brush” to slow the green down. Just be sure to be gentle with the foam.

Debris

I have had issues with pet hair, as my best boy Finn has been joining me downstairs for putting practice when he’s not barking at the UPS guy for dropping off packages for me to review.

The foam is, unfortunately, like a magnet and attracts all of his hair. I thought about taking my Shark vacuum over the BirdieBall mat, but it’s pretty easy to pick up with your fingers if it is not overwhelming. If it is, BirdieBall suggests you use the Stimp Maintenance Brush to collect the debris and remove it.

Final Thoughts

This is a really great way to practice at home, and BirdieBall offers so much versatility that it is truly the mat for everyone. No matter what your price point is, how much space you have, or whether you want an indoor or outdoor mat, they have something for you.

There are also so many add-ons, like a stance mat if you don’t want to stand on the green itself, even though I haven’t had an issue with doing it in socks or slippers or even Crocs, contour shims for some practice with breaking putts, and even a storage bag that is perfect for the non-permanent putting mat.

It’s really a great product that, for me, has been a godsend because my golf club is a half-hour drive, and when I’m working late or just don’t have the energy to make it over, I don’t have an excuse not to practice.

Taking out my nitpicks and the early issues with the holes, the BirdieBall is the best putting mat out there, and I don’t know when I’ll find another that is even remotely comparable.

You can also use code GOLFICITY10 at checkout for 10% off your order!

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