Check out this major-champion approved putting aid

This may sound like boasting (OK, it kind of is), but one of the many perks of being GOLF’s Instruction Editor is the copious amounts of training aids that I get to test out.

From swing trainers to golf tech to putting aids, I get to try the latest and greatest stuff to improve my game.

But all of this isn’t just for me, of course. I have a duty to give an honest review of the training aids that prove most effective to help golfers of all abilities — which is why I think every golf bag needs a Putting Alignment Mirror to dial in their stroke on the practice greens.

Putting Alignment Mirror

$27.99 (was $39.99)

 
What is the one training aid that every professional golfer carries with them? A putting mirror!

Keep your game sharp at home.

It pairs great with the Perfect Putting Matt

Buy Now

View Product

It’s one thing to take the suggestion for a putting mirror from a 15-handicap like myself. But it’s another when it’s also recommended by a major champion like Brian Harman, who uses one himself to improve his stroke with the flat stick.

Remember, Harman’s the same guy who dominated the greens at Royal Liverpool during last year’s Open Championship, making a mind-blowing 58 of 59 putts from within 10 feet. That’s just as absurd now as it was then — because that’s next-level precision.

Prior to capturing his first-ever major victory last summer, Harman was asked about his putting excellence, with the 37-year-old mentioning the putting mirror as his secret weapon.

“Yeah, I found this — it’s a silly looking mirror where it’s got like a little better release pattern,” Harman said.

Talk about the best kind of endorsement, right?

So how does a putting mirror work? Why is it so clutch to have one in your bag to practice with? I tapped golf instructor (and putting guru) Ralph Bauer to help provide some answers — so take a look below at what he told me.

How a putting mirror will help dial in your stroke

Mirrors are great for a number of reasons, as they help you improve your alignment and also provide amazing feedback to make sure your starting position is the same each time.

I strongly encourage my students to start their practice sessions with a mirror on a straight putt, which helps set a baseline for the day. I suggest starting from about six feet away from the hole, setting up the putting mirror so that it points towards the middle of the hole.

Once you get set up, you want to make sure your eyes are just slightly inside the middle of the golf ball.

In a perfect world, we’d have our eyes directly over the middle of the golf ball, but if we make a mistake and our eyes get on the outside part of the ball, then we’re in real trouble — since our view of the target will be skewed. It’s good to have a slight bit of insurance on this, so always have our eyes slightly inside the target line. The mirror will help us be consistent with this.

Another way to build more consistency on the putting surface is to stand the correct distance from the golf ball. With a mirror, it’s relatively easy to measure where your toes should be in relation to the golf ball, and a good rule of thumb is to have your toes 8-10 inches from the center of the golf ball (depending on your height and comfort level at address).

If we stand either too far away or too close, our posture suffers, which makes it more difficult to control the stroke with our shoulders.

Finally, the putting mirror can help us with ball position, ensuring that it’s in the middle of our stance. We want to hit the putt on the upswing, so having the ball one inch forward of the middle of our stance allows us to do this without having to make any in-stroke adjustments.

If you’re looking to shave strokes (quickly) off your scorecard, improved putting is the name of the game. So it might be smart to take Harman’s recommendation and see if this putting mirror can help you groove your stroke and knock in more putts.

Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor