Putting
Wellputt Mat Review: Is It Worth It in 2026?
The Printed Training System, the Real Prices, and Who Should Skip It
September 2, 2026 · 8 min read · Stephen Pickering
The Printed Training System, the Real Prices, and Who Should Skip It
September 2, 2026 · 8 min read · Stephen Pickering
Key takeaway: The Wellputt mat’s value is the printed training system, not the turf — target zones, gates and distance markers that turn a strip of grass into structured practice. Verified on the US store on 2 September 2026: 13ft Start $109, Wellplay $129, up to $299 for the 16ft Fitting mat. Worth it if you use the markings; an expensive ordinary mat if you ignore them.
Most putting mats are a strip of turf with a hole at the end. You roll balls at it while the television is on, you feel like you have practised, and nothing changes. The Wellputt mat is the main exception, and the reason is printed on the surface: target zones, gates and distance markers that tell you what to do rather than leaving you to invent it.
Developed with coach Cameron McCormick, it is the mat you see in tour bags and coaching studios. It is also two to three times the price of a supermarket mat. This review covers what the printed system actually trains, what each mat costs as of September 2026, where it falls short, and who should save their money.
Strip away the marketing and the turf itself is unremarkable in a good way: flat, true-rolling, at a speed close to a decent green. Plenty of mats manage that.
What you are paying for is the printing. The surface carries distance markers, gates for start-line work, and target zones for speed control — so instead of aimlessly rolling putts, you are working to a defined task with a pass or fail attached. That is the whole difference between practice and pastime, and it is why the mat gets used in coaching bays rather than gathering dust behind a sofa.
The distance-control zones are the strongest part. Speed is the hardest skill to train indoors and the one that costs amateurs most on the course, and having a marked band to finish in gives you something to actually score.
Checked on the Wellputt US store on 2 September 2026:
Prices move with region and promotion, so check before you buy. Measure your hallway first, too. A 13-footer needs 13 feet plus room to stand behind it, and that catches people out more often than the price does.
For how Wellputt stacks up against the other mats worth owning:
Best Putting Mat 2026: 5 Ranked →Three honest limitations, none of which are secrets.
It is a mat, so it cannot teach you greens. No indoor surface gives you break, grain, or a downhill six-footer on a fast green with your card in your pocket. Mechanics, start line, face control and short-range confidence all transfer. Reading a green does not.
Speed transfer is approximate. The mat runs at a set pace. Real greens do not — they change with the weather, the mowing and the time of day. Train speed on the mat by all means, but do not expect Tuesday’s calibration to survive Saturday’s greens.
The price only makes sense if you use the system. This is the big one. If you buy the mat and then roll balls at the cup ignoring every marking on it, you have spent $109 on a $35 mat. The printing is the value, and the printing requires you to work.
Buy it if you are a committed golfer with winter to get through, you have the floor space, and the idea of structured drills appeals rather than bores you. It is a genuinely good bit of kit and it will still be flat in five years.
Skip it if you have not yet proved to yourself that you will practise indoors at all. Two tees as a gate on a flat carpet costs nothing and tells you honestly whether you are the sort of golfer who does this. If you are still doing it in a month, buy the mat then.
A mat gives you a surface and a set of tasks. What it does not give you is an answer to the only question that matters: is your putting actually getting better?
You can complete the zones perfectly all winter and have no idea whether you are holing more from six feet than you were in October. Feel is not evidence. The average 15-plus handicapper three-putts more than three times a round, and that number only moves when you can see it move.
That is where Scoring Zone comes in, and the two work together rather than competing. Run the drills on whatever surface you have — Wellputt mat, cheap mat, carpet — and score them: the Five-Foot Circle, where ten in a row or you reset to zero; Lag King, ten putts from 40-plus feet counting how many finish inside three feet; the Clock Drill for the short ones. Each session produces a number, benchmarked to your level, feeding a Putting Handicap that falls as the work pays off.
Real targets. Real stakes. The mat is the practice ground; the score is the proof.
For the eight drills to run on it, including the ones that need no mat at all:
How to Practice Putting at Home →If you will use the printed training system, yes. The markings turn a strip of turf into structured practice with defined targets and distances, which is the difference between rolling balls at the telly and actually training. If you were only ever going to hit ten-footers at a cup, a cheaper mat does that for a third of the price.
Checked on the Wellputt US store on 2 September 2026: the 13ft Start is $109 and the Wellplay $129, up to $299 for the 16ft Fitting mat. The smaller aids are cheaper — 8.2ft Stroke Master $50, Wellstroke $69, Wellvision $59, Wellgate $29. Prices vary by region and promotion, so check before buying.
Longer than you think, and measure the space first. Most pressure putts on the course are three to eight feet, but a longer mat lets you ladder between distances instead of grooving one length. The 13ft mats are the sensible middle ground for a hallway; 16ft and up belong in a dedicated room or fitting bay.
Wellputt runs a companion app with exercises and games built around the mat’s printed zones, so the two are designed to work together. Worth knowing the limit: it structures drills on that surface. It does not track your putting on the course or give you a handicap for the part of your game the mat exists to fix.
Stephen Pickering
3-handicap golfer with 25 years on the course. Built Scoring Zone to bring structure and pressure to short game practice. Writes about what actually works from the practice green, not the press box.
Turn winter reps into fewer putts — scored drills, streak pressure, and a Putting Handicap that drops as you improve. Free for 7 days, no payment required.
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