Putting boards

golfman1 · Jun 28, 2006

Noticed in bayhill pics

Noticed in the Bay Hill pics on this sight the pro's putting on a what looked like a felt board. Can anyone tell me the thery or what it does. And by the way awsome pics of the tournament

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KMoney34 · Jul 23, 2008

Are you referring to the Rife putting boards? It shows the bouncing off the putter face and how soon the ball starts to roll smoothly.

GolfWRX · Jan 1, 2005

golfman1 · Jun 28, 2006

Thats it, notice it was a rife putter stand that those were at.

petter7 · Nov 21, 2005

Here's a pic.

Chappie · Mar 23, 2009

Purchasable?

RookieBlue7 · Mar 1, 2008

Very much buildable.

502 to Right · Jan 9, 2007

RookieBlue7 wrote on 28 March 2010 - 12:48 AM:

Very much buildable.

What fabric would you use?

GolfWRX · Jan 1, 2005

pga43 · Feb 25, 2011

Chappie wrote on 27 March 2010 - 11:35 PM:

Purchasable?

The Rife Tour Rep makes them and has sold a number of them to some of the PGA Tour Players. I'd contact Rife, thru their web site, if you don't want to try to build one.

Greg

RookieBlue7 · Mar 1, 2008

502 to Right wrote on 28 March 2010 - 01:56 AM:

RookieBlue7 wrote on 28 March 2010 - 12:48 AM:

Very much buildable.

What fabric would you use?

Pool table felt.

pga43 · Feb 25, 2011

RookieBlue7 wrote on 28 March 2010 - 01:09 PM:

502 to Right wrote on 28 March 2010 - 01:56 AM:

RookieBlue7 wrote on 28 March 2010 - 12:48 AM:

Very much buildable.

What fabric would you use?

Pool table felt.

It's not felt. More like a velvet/valour (sp?) material.

Greg

Shwagin1066 · Mar 29, 2006

How does this thing show when the ball starts rolling smoothly?

J13 · Mar 8, 2009

it's just a smooth carpet type material. Think of your carpet at home when you vaccum you can notice a change in color when the carpet is pushed to one side or the other. Basically then putt on it and you can see the line of the putt because it created a line in the carpet. A solid line means the balls rolling, if it a broken line that means the ball is bouncing while it rolls. Pretty basic and cheap to make. Go to home depot or a carpet shop then some thin plywood and bing bango.

Or just hit your local course in the morning when dew is on the grass and you'll get the same effect.

GolfWRX · Jan 1, 2005

Shwagin1066 · Mar 29, 2006

J13 wrote on 28 March 2010 - 03:57 PM:

it's just a smooth carpet type material. Think of your carpet at home when you vaccum you can notice a change in color when the carpet is pushed to one side or the other. Basically then putt on it and you can see the line of the putt because it created a line in the carpet. A solid line means the balls rolling, if it a broken line that means the ball is bouncing while it rolls. Pretty basic and cheap to make. Go to home depot or a carpet shop then some thin plywood and bing bango.

Or just hit your local course in the morning when dew is on the grass and you'll get the same effect.

Ahh I see...clever

hbear · Jul 28, 2005

I'd guess by tracking the marks the ball leaves on the felt.

E.g. a few spots (ball is skipping) then a smooth line (now rolling fine).

Chappie · Mar 23, 2009

In fine with building it, just need to know how exactly he does it.

/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> I love the concept.

RookieBlue7 · Mar 1, 2008

J13 wrote on 28 March 2010 - 03:57 PM:

it's just a smooth carpet type material. Think of your carpet at home when you vaccum you can notice a change in color when the carpet is pushed to one side or the other. Basically then putt on it and you can see the line of the putt because it created a line in the carpet. A solid line means the balls rolling, if it a broken line that means the ball is bouncing while it rolls. Pretty basic and cheap to make. Go to home depot or a carpet shop then some thin plywood and bing bango.

Or just hit your local course in the morning when dew is on the grass and you'll get the same effect.

See, I was thinking that because of what was stated above that it was felt, so that's why I said pool table felt. I didn't pay attention to the lines from the material being pushed away when the ball was rolling over it.

That said, I'd probably use velvet, something like this: http://www.rosenberryrooms.com/350-velvet-green-upholstery-fabric-by-the-yard.html?CS_003=2593844&CS_010=350-velvet-green-upholstery-fa

I'm sure you could find some velvet by the yard at Michael's or another fabric store. Just go in and rub across it and see which one changes color/texture, with light pressure. That's the one to buy. I might just build one when I have time to go to a fabric store in the next few days, and I'll post a DIY. I'm thinking that I might use MDF, though it'd be tough to use outdoors. Maybe some shelving board that's firm in at least 1/2 inch thickness. Perhaps I can make the Truth board I'm building(which I only have materials for and haven't started yet) into a combination of this idea and the truth board. There's a thought.

J13 · Mar 8, 2009

yeah if you'll notice the boards they probably brush it and it erases the lines then putt and repeat. I'm not sure what would be best to use but I'm sure you could go to a carpet store or craft store and find something. The important part is that you also make a platform to stand on that's the same height. All in all this would probably cost you like $15

GolfWRX · Jan 1, 2005

Cwing · Aug 10, 2007

Why not just draw a line on your ball and watch it roll end over end over and over again? If the line is not wobbling your stroke it great.

J13 · Mar 8, 2009

Cwing wrote on 28 March 2010 - 07:16 PM:

Why not just draw a line on your ball and watch it roll end over end over and over again? If the line is not wobbling your stroke it great.

they are looking for if the ball skips or immediately starts to roll forward. The line won't necessarily show you that.

rifeme · May 8, 2009

I am the Rife tour rep. and the only fabric we can find is at Jo Ann's and it is called Premium Velvet and cost $ 26 per yard.

newportbeach · May 2, 2005

Interesting thanks rifeme. What type of wood are you using?

RookieBlue7 · Mar 1, 2008

I'm building one of these tonight I'll post a diy. The fabric is $10 a yard. I'm using premium suede gives you a better line than the premium velvet.

GolfWRX · Jan 1, 2005

RookieBlue7 · Mar 1, 2008

Alright, as promised, here's the quickie DIY. My camera was dead so I didn't get to take any construction pictures. There's really nothing to the construction other than cutting a hole if you choose (which I did so I could slightly elevate it and would have a target to putt at. I chose a 3.25 inch hole. I measured 5.5 inches in from the end, dead center.

That said, here's the materials list (along with prices)

1. Pre-cut 1/4 inch Luan plywood (I chose the cheapest pre-cut material they had that would hold up). It's a 2 foot by 4 foot piece. Plenty enough for this (If I were to do it over again, I'd probably get it ripped in half for a 1 foot by 4 foot piece because that's all you really need, I chose to go 2 foot wide, again, no biggie). I also chose this material and thickness because I wouldn't need to construct a platform to stand on due to it being so thin. It's durable enough to use for this purpose though. Cost: $5

2. Premium Suede. It was $9.99 a yard. I bought 3/4 of a yard (which was 27 inches wide, enough for this project). It was the width of the roll which was 58.5 inches, long enough to cover the 4 foot run. I brought it home and ironed it opposite of the good side (Ironed it upside down). Cost $7.50

3. 3M spray adhesive. This was used to attach the suede to the board. $6

4. Superglue $1.99 for 4 tubes.

Total Cost: $20

That's it.

As for tools, you'll need a razor blade and a jigsaw if you decide to cut a hole in it.

Construction:

(If you're cutting a hole in the board, cut the hole first and be sure to sand inside edges of hole and outside edges of board)

1.Iron out the suede and lay it face down on a flat surface (I chose the kitchen floor).

2.Spray the face of the board with spray adhesive.

3.Spray the reverse side of the suede with adhesive.

4.Lay the board face down (with the side you sprayed with adhesive facing the suede's back)

5.Position it on the suede and then walk on the board, careful to step on every square inch of wood.

6. Let sit for 5 minutes.

7. Stretch excess around the back and, using superglue, attach it everywhere around the edges.

8. Trim the excess outside of where you superglued it.

9. Let superglue dry.

10. Flip it over and enjoy your new putting board.

It took me 25 minutes to do everything. It was like wrapping a subwofer box in carpet except you didn't have to trim it and fit it to make it seamless because there's one side you'll be using.

The pictures are after putting about 45 balls in a row on it. That's why the mark is so wide. I also decided to take a marker and draw a dot 10 inches in from the end opposite the hole so I'd have a consistent place to sit the ball every time.

Here's the pics:

I ended up propping it up on a 2X4 so the balls would actually fall through the hole and stay. No biggie, I'll end up cutting a back leg to glue to it eventually, but it works great. It looks like a wrinkle in it, but that's where I couldn't get a fold to iron out, so I said screw it and stuck it.

rrkman · Jan 27, 2008

I was watching one of the PGA guys try it out at Bay Hill....think it was Na but can't remember right now. It was pretty interesting to watch. He would hit a a few putts on the board with different putters...then take a look to see what the 'roll' looked like. Did this a few times...kept switching and comparing putters....seemed to be getting something out of it and there was a pretty noticeable difference between how the ball was rolling off different putters.

The other thing is to make sure you use the 'standing part' as well....never really thought of it but you really need to be at the same 'level' as the putting board.

RookieBlue7 · Mar 1, 2008

I just put mine where I can stand in the passageway between my livingroom and kitchen. There is a 1/4 inch difference between he floors because of the type of flooring. Going from carpet to tile there. I could always buy a piece of 1/4 wood to stand on.

GimmieHendrix · Oct 6, 2018

Neither felt nor carpet, it's velvet according to Guerin. You'll want one that shows a high degree of contrast when swiped back so the path is very obvious. Pool table felt, carpet, etc. none of those will work, you need a very high level of detail and visibility left behind by the ball. Cheers.

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Harry Putter · May 15, 2017

Whoa! 8.5 years.

GolfWRX · Jan 1, 2005

GimmieHendrix · Oct 6, 2018

Harry Putter wrote:

Whoa! 8.5 years.

The forums are designed to conduct conversation over time and add to it, reviving topics with current relevance is half the value of the software mate. Cheers.

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Harry Putter · May 15, 2017

Is it really relevant if nobody has discussed it in nearly 9 years? 😝

All kidding aside, have you made or used one of these boards? If so, have you noticed any benefit to your putter selection process or putting results?

GimmieHendrix · Oct 6, 2018

All kidding aside, have you made or used one of these boards? If so, have you noticed any benefit to your putter selection process or putting results?

I'm going to buy some shiny velvet today to make one. I've not used one of these however when I installed my indoor Rymar green I noticed it has a slight shine and I could see the bounce on it similar way. Furthermore since my place is a sound treated recording studio you can really clearly hear the bounce, which is even easier feedback. On my green you can hear very precisely if you have bounced or rolled or pressed. But I want one of these boards anyhow. Sole purpose would be testing to see what a given putter is doing to the roll basically, but it might be a handy training tool too, we'll see. I'll report back.

I also emailed Rife to see if they have any, I can't seem to find them but they have a patent on it so... We'll see if they reply.

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Putting boards

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