GOLF GADGET REVIEW! – Provoto Champion Putting Green

Introduction

(Written By: GolfSpy Matt) Every longtime golfer has a putting green in their house.  It’s that crappy little roll of “turf” that your grandmother bought you for Christmas that’s now gathering dust in a closet or is buried under your kid’s video game collection.  Didn’t do much for your game?  Thought not.  Even before it was buried, it was lumpy, uneven, and the ball would roll straight through the hole leaving you A) unsatisfied and B) having to go fetch it.

Today I bring to you a review of a REAL indoor putting green: the Provoto Champion Putting Green.  Whether the goal is to shave strokes off your game or just add something unique and awesome to your man cave, you definitely need to check out Provoto.  Here’s why:

Ease of Use/Set Up

How do you use the Provoto putting green? Putt the ball to the hole.  Pretty easy.  The ball even comes back to you, whether you make it or miss.

Let’s talk more about set up.  The green is 10 feet long and roughly a foot wide.  This seems like a lot to move around, but it does fold in half to make the moving more manageable.  The green weighs 65 pounds, so it’s not feather light, but it’s nothing a couple average people couldn’t handle easily.  After you unfold it, you need to raise both ends, level it off, and set the platform next to it.

Your first try will take 5-10 minutes.  Subsequent set ups won’t take more than 2 or 3.

Ideally, you would set up the green once and leave it there permanently.  If you don’t have the space (or a tolerant spouse), you can easily fold the green up, put it to the side, and bring it out when you want to use it.

Score: 8.5/10

Effectiveness

Usually the “Effectiveness” section is the longest.  This time it will be very short.  Will practicing putting make you better?  If the answer is “Yes,” and I would suggest that it is, than this is an effective product. Provoto makes it possible for you to get real, meaningful putting practice without leaving home.

Score: 30/30

Longevity

The first element of Longevity is, “Will this product last?”  Unequivocally, yes.  The Provoto is handmade with American hardwood and good quality hardware. There’s no reason this won’t outlast you.

The second element is, “Will you use it for a long time?”  Obviously, this always depends on the individual, but I would still answer this with a yes, though perhaps not quite as firmly.  I think that the fact that the Provoto green can live in your house definitely helps: you’re going to see it on a regular basis which will remind you to practice.  The only drawback is that you can only hit one putt (yes, you can adjust the break, but ultimately you’re always putting down the board).

Overall, I think the Provoto rates well, but not perfectly, for Longevity.

Score: 17/20

Value

The Champion Putting Green comes two choices of turf: the “Fan Fare” turf, seen here, or a billiard cloth.  The price for the putting green and stand is $599

Even more than normal, assigning a value score to this product is difficult.  For a lot of people, this type of item is simply a non-starter because of space and/or money.

I am rating “Value” with an eye to two things:

1) Is this a useful practice tool?  I think the answer is “Yes.”  We all know how important putting is to your score, and if you can practice putting easily, conveniently, and with no excuses, you should be a better golfer.

2) Is this a well-made product for the money?  Again, I believe the answer is “Yes.”  Everyone who has seen this putting green has started their response with a, “Wow,” literally.  It is an extremely well-made product that should last a lifetime.  As a woodworker, I know the costs associated with making something like this, and I think the price is very reasonable.

On those two premises, the Value score should be very high.  I will even go one step further and say that to get a green of similar quality (with regard to quality of the surface, flatness, etc), you will spend at least $300 or $400, and, unless you’re single, there’s ZERO chance that it’s going to go anywhere other than the garage…which means you won’t use it…which means it was not money well spent.

One other note: (for instructors) a Provoto green could pay for itself through indoor putting lessons in the winter (or the summer for that matter).

Score: 19/20

The Peanut Gallery

As I mentioned above, the Provoto green drew a “Wow” from everyone who saw it, which is a heck of a way to start a Peanut Gallery.  Everyone in the group has seen in home putting greens before, but never like this.  They were all impressed with the ability to change the break of the putt and the quality of the construction.

Obviously this is not a product that everyone in the “Peanut Gallery” is going to own, but it’s definitely something they all want to own.

Score: 19/20

Conclusion

Overall, the Provoto Champion Putting Green is an extremely well made product that can help you get better at putting.  It provides a perfectly flat surface with the ability to simulate breaks, and you can even change the slope to modify the speed of the putt.  It’s also utterly unique in that it’s an indoor putting green that your wife might actually let you keep, you know, indoors.

Score: 93.5/100