Big Moss Admiral Putting Green Reviewed

[jacksonlui]

Motivation:

Now that the golf season is drawing to a close, some of us are trying to find ways to groove their swings during the off period and others are searching for good deals. I'm lucky enough to have an extended season in San Diego but that hasn't stopped me from doing both. I know that I have to work on my short game, especially my putting...something I almost never practice. How many times have you got up to the tee and absolutely bomb it, followed through, and stood there all balanced feeling like Tiger. I do...many times...sometimes I even look to see where Elin is =) Now you followup with a decent approach shot and lands on the first cut. You accept it and say you'll chip it in close for a tap in. Well, that never happens does it. You chip it, and it runs to the other side of the green and you end up with a 3 putt. What the hell... Turned a birdie opportunity on a par 4 into solid...err...6. Well, this season, I've decided to work on some putting and shipping. I had wanted something I can putt and chip into inside the house. Being a father of a 3 year old, time is not something that comes by easily. I already own the Boomerang, it's nice but you can't putt to it and I'm tired of putting that straight putt everytime. I've done some research, and thanks to the nice folks on a few forums, I've decided on the Big Moss. You're suppose to be able to chip and putt as well as add breaks. Pretty neat if you ask me...perhaps a little too perfect. At $430 shipped, it's not too bad. I was torn between this and the Tourlinks. The Tourlinks looks nicer and is raised so it has real cups, but the largest they have is too small and cost a pretty penny. Needless to say, the Admiral Bog Moss was ordered and got it within the week.

Making Room:

I've convinced the wife to move the formal dining table from the living room since we don't use it and turn that room into a putting room. It's perfect because we've already moved that table from the dining room to make it into a play room for my daughter =) I made sure I had enough space for the largest model they had. I've planned for it to lay on top of a carpet where I had a concern. This was made to lay flat on a hard surface or maybe a carpet with a short tight pile. My carpet is medium fluffy and was worried the green will not lay flat and have many low spots. I was also worried that there would be a depression where I stood. I've tried emailing the Big Moss guys but received no response whatsoever. I'm very disappointed in their lack of response and service.

Delivery and Appearance:

When the little brown guy with the bog box came to my door, I was happy as a clam. Not sure why people say that, why are clams happy? Anyways, the box was a lot smaller than I thought. it's a rectangular box that measured maybe 1.5x1.5x7 ft. I opened the box feverishly and poured out the contents. I was disappointed again at what I saw because I had expected something more. In short, the green is nothing more than a carpet, literally. It unrolled pretty flat and looked like the picture. It didn't have a border or platform and doesn't look as nice as I thought it would. The green inclines where the 3 cups laid via a foam backing. The cups are not real cups, just cutouts into the piece of foam and the backing is a white canvas that is held in place by glue. Ok, well, not classy, it doesn't make the room like I had hoped. One thing to keep in mind that if you are thinking of making this a showcase or a piece of furniture, it's not going to wow anyone except for golfers. It doesn't look impressive, a factor which I hadn't put too much thought into. Well, let's see how it performs.

Putting Performance:

Once it laid on my carpet, my worries were semi-dismissed. There was only a little depression where I stood, but the ball rolled very nicely. I would guess the stimp with that incline is about 9-11, pretty true to what I'm use to. The inclined holes will help me stop leaving my putts short. The puttst rolled very nice and true. I struggled with alignment since the green had no imperfections to use as a marker. I've putted to a few holes and it's exactly what I had wanted for putting. It would be a lot nicer if the green was wider. One thing that sucked is that you can't stand on the area where the foam is, it will sink under your weight. I wouldn't suggest putting this green on a really thick plushy carpet. A hard surface is best and tight pile carpet is fine. This came with one long piece of foam to place under the green to create breaks. I've opted to used it as a backstop so the balls don't roll off instead.

Chipping Performance:

The other benefit of having a large green is to work on your green side chips. This thing came with a 3x3ft chipping mat which was really small and not very useful. I'm glad I didn't upgrade my package to pay $30 for an extra break and a larger chipping mat, definitely not worth it. I suggest placing the chipping mat on a carpet so it doesn't shift around. After a few chips, I was ho hum about it. It didn't hold well for me mostly from being hesitant on accelerating into the shot. I think it can really hold chips well if you have the guts and lots of confidence that you won't blade it through the window.

Conclusion:

Overall, I'm content with the purchase. It does what it's advertised to do and will no doubt lower your scores. I'd get it if you want a large surface area to putt with with mini chips. Go with the largest that you can fit. It rolls up easily like a carpet for storage and weighs about about 50 lbs. Don't expect it to look expensive and don't expect any customer service and heed the different gotchas which I've mentioned. For $430, it's a decent buy. If you have really deep pockets, perhaps the Tourlinks would be the expensive choice, they run a few thousand. Here are some pictures that I wished I had when researching this. Hopefully, this review will give you answers to some of your unanswered questions prior to pulling the trigger, enjoy.

Edited December 2, 2007 by jacksonlui

[gocchin]

I'm very happy with mine too, I guessed it was a 9 or 10 stimp, I probably roll at least 20-30 putts a day on it. Great for the winter for sure!