The game of golf is and has been enjoyed by thousands of people around the world. To become good at this game, many people practice. One area of practice is in the area of putting. Every golfer knows that improving your putting will lower your scores, yet it has long been one of the most elusive goals to achieve in golf.
Golfers typically practice putting wherever they can find a suitable surface, either outdoors or indoors. In many cases, a carpeted surface indoors must suffice for practice putting for reasons of inclement weather, time or convenience. In these and similar cases, the golfer has a need for a visually representative putting target that provides feedback on both the line and speed of the practice stroke similar to an actual golf hole. A practice set-up is preferred that does not impede the natural movement of the golf ball significantly.
Many devices that aid in the practice of putting have been created. These devices have tended to be mechanically complicated, expensive to manufacture, or lacked the necessary feedback to indicate to the golfer that the ball was optimally stroked. That is, not only on line but equally as important, at the correct speed to have the greatest chance of being captured by the hole.
To try to meet the need, attempts have been made to produce a putting cup for indoor/outdoor use that would simulate a natural putting cup on a standard putting green. However, there are still some major problems with the putting devices that exist today. For example, many existing devices often have a rear wall or obstruction that prevents a ball putted with too much speed from overshooting the hole, while other putting aides do not provide a realistic feel for the putting speed because they incorporate an exaggerated or raised area towards the cup to provide space for a hole.