PUTT-A-BOUT Par Three Golf Putting Green (3' x 9') vs SKLZ Putting Green: Which Is Worth It?

Walk into any golf store and you will see a wall of putting mats about the width of a doormat. I have owned two of those, and I used both until the printed lines wore off. They teach you one thing: how to hit a perfectly straight putt on a perfectly flat surface, which is maybe 5 percent of what putting actually is. The other 95 percent is setup, reading a little break, and trusting a putt that starts outside the hole. A doormat cannot teach you any of that. So when I decided to replace the mat in my garage, the PUTT-A-BOUT Par Three Golf Putting Green (3' x 9') kept coming up in every conversation, and the SKLZ Putting Green kept coming up right beside it. I spent the better part of a season rolling putts on both. They solve the same problem in completely different ways.

Here is the short answer. If you want to practice putting the way you actually putt on a course, with a real stance and putts that break, buy the PUTT-A-BOUT. If you want fast reps on a straight line and the easiest storage in the house, the SKLZ is a fine tool and it usually costs less. I kept the PUTT-A-BOUT, and I would buy it again tomorrow. Here is why, and where I honestly think the SKLZ has the edge.

How I Tested Both

I set both mats up in the same spot on my garage floor, next to the workbench, and used each one for about three weeks before switching. I did not measure strokes gained or keep a spreadsheet. I just paid attention to three things: what I actually practiced, how long I kept at it, and whether the work showed up on the course. I am a 14 handicap and I walk nine holes twice a week at my local public course, so I had plenty of real putts to compare against.

The test was not scientific. I am a retired HVAC contractor, not a launch monitor, and I do not pretend to have a perfect stroke. I have a repeatable one, most days. What I know is how a putt feels when it leaves the face, and these two mats could not feel more different underfoot.

I started the first week of March, when the course was still too wet to walk, and I switched mats every three weeks through the middle of April. On the last evening with each mat, I ran one simple drill: ten putts from 4 feet, ten from 6, ten from 8, and I wrote down how many dropped. It was not a formal test, but it gave me a number to beat when I switched back.

	PUTT-A-BOUT Par Three (3' x 9')	SKLZ Putting Green
Putting surface	3 feet wide and 9 feet long, room for a real stance and putts with a little arc	narrower mat built for straight putts on one line
Cups	three holes, a par 3 course you can play solo or against a buddy	one cup with a ball return ramp
Ball return	no return, you walk to the far cup to collect your ball	putts feed back to you, so you can hit 30 in a row without moving
Roll	firmer with a bit of texture, closer to a typical public course green	fast and smooth, more like a tournament surface
Storage	rolls into a big tube, fine for a garage or basement	tighter roll, easy to slide under a couch or into a closet
Durability	base has held its shape through months of daily rolls	lies flat when stored properly, but edges can curl if you leave it bunched
Best for	golfers who want home practice to feel like the course	players drilling speed control on straight putts

How They Feel Underfoot

The PUTT-A-BOUT rolls firmer and a little slower, with just enough texture that a slightly off-center putt tells you about it. It reminds me of my home course in late spring, when the greens are healthy but not lightning fast. That realism is the whole point. You practice on a surface that behaves like the one you play on, so the putts you hit in the garage look like the putts you hit on Saturday.

The first time I rolled a ball on the PUTT-A-BOUT, I thought the surface was too slow. Then I realized the ball was tracking, not gliding, the way it does on a real green. A putt hit off the toe came up short every time, exactly what happens on the course when I get lazy with my release. That feedback is the reason the mat is still in my garage.

The SKLZ is faster and smoother, closer to a tournament green or a hotel carpet that has been rolled a thousand times. Putts glide, which makes it excellent for speed control, but it also forgives a bad stroke. You can hit a putt off the toe and it still reaches the cup. On the course, that same putt dies short. I noticed that difference within the first week, and it changed what I practiced on each mat.

How I Set It Up

Setup is the same for both mats, and it takes about five minutes. You unroll it, give it a few minutes to lie flat, and put a couple of heavy objects on the edges if it wants to curl. I put a rubber work mat under mine on the garage floor, which keeps it from sliding and gives the ball a truer roll. No tools, no assembly, no instructions worth reading.

The only real difference is storage. The SKLZ rolls into a tight tube that fits behind a door. The PUTT-A-BOUT rolls into a bigger tube, and I hung it on two hooks on the garage wall. If you are deciding between the two, picture where it will live when you are not using it, because that is where the SKLZ wins for most people.

Where PUTT-A-BOUT Wins

The first thing you notice is the width. At 3 feet across, the PUTT-A-BOUT is wide enough to stand on with both feet and putt the way you do on the course. My old mat forced me to stand to the side and reach in, which wrecked my setup. With this one, I set up square, take my normal grip, and stroke putts that have a little arc to them. That carries over to the course in a way that straight-line reps never did. I started holing more six-footers in my Saturday round, not because the mat is magic, but because my start line is finally consistent. Then one Saturday in early May, I made four putts from inside eight feet in the first six holes, and one of my buddies asked what I had changed. I told him I had bought a wider mat and started practicing with both feet on the surface. He laughed at me, then ordered one the next week.

The three cups are the other reason I kept it. I play nine holes against myself, or against one of my buddies when he stops by, and I hit more putts in twenty minutes than I ever did on a single-cup mat, because it does not feel like drill work. The base has held its shape through months of daily rolls on a concrete floor, and the ball still rolls true end to end. That is probably why the PUTT-A-BOUT has more than 24,000 ratings and a 4.6 average. It is a simple product that does exactly what it claims, and it does not try to be anything else.

At 3 feet across, it is wide enough to stand on with both feet and putt the way you do on the course.

Where SKLZ Wins

The SKLZ has one advantage I missed every time I walked to the far end of the PUTT-A-BOUT to fetch a ball: the ball return. Putts feed back to you, so you can stand in one spot and hit forty, fifty putts without bending over or walking. For grooving speed control on a straight putt, nothing beats that. If your goal is pure reps, the SKLZ is the better machine, and I say that knowing I chose the other one. I spent one rainy afternoon on it, hitting the same 6-foot putt over and over, and the ball came back to my feet every time. On the PUTT-A-BOUT, that same hour would have meant fifty trips to the far cup and a lot of bending over, which my back noticed at 58.

It is also easier to live with. The SKLZ rolls up tighter, it is lighter, and it disappears under a couch or in a hall closet. The PUTT-A-BOUT is not a burden to move, but a 3 x 9 mat takes up real space, and mine hangs on a garage wall when it is not in use. The SKLZ usually costs less too. If your budget is tight and your floor space is tighter, the SKLZ is the sensible buy, and I would not argue with anyone who picks it.

Who Should Buy Which

Buy the PUTT-A-BOUT if you are a weekend or league golfer who wants home practice to feel like the course. If you struggle with setup, alignment, or reading a little break, the wide surface and three cups give you a place to work on all of it. It is the closest thing to a real green I have found that still rolls up when you are done. I am 58, my back is not what it was, and the width alone is worth the extra floor space.

Buy the SKLZ if your putting problem is specifically speed control on straight putts, or if space is the whole battle. It is a good training tool and an honest value. Just know what you are buying: a practice aid, not a miniature course. If you want to stand on the green, square your feet, and putt the way you do on a Saturday morning, the SKLZ will feel cramped. That is not a flaw in the product. It is just a different job.

The people I would point to the SKLZ are the ones who already have a putting routine and just need a place to do it. The people I would point to the PUTT-A-BOUT are the ones who know they should practice more but do not, because a single straight line of carpet is boring. I am in that second group. I need a little variety to keep me in the garage, and the par 3 course gives me that.

What I'd Change About the PUTT-A-BOUT

No product gets a free pass, and this one has two things I would fix. First, there is no ball return, so you will do a lot of walking to the far cup. I solved it by keeping three balls in my pocket and rotating through them, which is fine, but if you are the kind of golfer who wants to stand in one spot and hit fifty putts, you will want the SKLZ instead.

Second, the PUTT-A-BOUT is not a putting mat for every floor. On my garage concrete it stays put and rolls perfectly. On a smooth indoor floor, you may want a rug underneath so it does not slide. Neither issue changed my verdict. I would buy it again tomorrow, and I have told two of my regular foursome the same thing.

The Honest Bottom Line

If you lined up both mats and asked me which one makes you a better putter, I would say the PUTT-A-BOUT, but only if you actually use it. The best training tool in the world does nothing sitting rolled up in a closet. The PUTT-A-BOUT earns its spot in my garage because it makes practice feel like play. I go out there for ten minutes and stay for forty.

That said, I would not call the SKLZ a mistake. It is the right tool for a different golfer, and it costs less. My advice is to be honest about what you will actually do. If you will practice every day on a straight line, save the money and buy the SKLZ. If you are like me and you need a little game in your practice, the PUTT-A-BOUT is worth the floor space it takes up.