The Putter Wheel was one of the unique training aids I came across at the PGA Show.

Being completely obsessed with the game of golf has its advantages. For one, I get to play and write about the sport I love so much. Other perks include attending the PGA Shows, where I get to meet and socialize with so many outstanding people that I interact with throughout the year.

2014 was the first year I attended the “real” PGA Show out in Orlando, and  I got to witness firsthand just how large and vast the golf industry is. I walked the floor of the convention center for three days, and still have the blisters to prove it. It was incredible to meet so many of the amazing people and the “merchandise” they represent.

The training aid section of the convention is home to more booths per square foot than I think anywhere else in the entire hall. There are so many choices out there with the promise of game improvement. I couldn’t help but be drawn in like a rat to a piece of cheese to see if the mythical perfect training aid exists.

Aside from large robots that guide you through a swing and teach you the proper putting stroke(there’s no way the wife would go for that in our bedroom), I did happen to find what I thought was hands down the best training aid at the PGA Show.

The Putter Wheel was a unique training aid that impressed me.

So simple in its design, it has one of my favorite qualities in a training aid, and that’s the “Why didn’t I think of that?”

You can see by the picture that the training aid is a golf ball that’s missing most of the golf ball. The outer shell is made up of the same composite that the majority of golf balls use nowadays, and they made the weight the same as well. With your eyes closed, there’s no way I could tell the difference between an actual golf ball and the Putter Wheel. It’s not how it looks though that makes it so unique, it’s what it does.

It’s obvious to see that the design is to help you with your putting stroke so you can put a good strike on the ball and get it rolling towards the hole with some consistency. Any miss hit and Putter Wheel goes into a nasty wobble reminiscent of a bent wheel on a shopping cart, and I know how much everyone loves that!

I spent a couple of nights in my hotel room using the wheel.

I rolled it on the carpet to get an idea of how it works, and even in those far from reasonable putting conditions I was able to get the Putter Wheel rolling pretty good. It wasn’t until I got home and put it to the test on my Trueline Green where I saw how useful it could be.

The Trueline green added a real putting surface into the mix.

I was able to see exactly where my stroke was lacking by how the ball was moving after contact. After working with it for a while, I brought out one of my milled putters (which I’m awful with), and in less than five minutes I was putting a stroke on the ball that was dropping the Putter Wheel in the hole with every swing!

Not a 100% satisfied, I decided to bring in my other “tester”. I needed to see how well it stood up to a complete novice, my seven-year-old daughter.

OK, a complete novice may be a bit harsh, my kid’s got some skill, but where she has some issues is her putting consistency. I set up the Putter Wheel for her and explained what the concept was and how if you don’t hit it correctly the ball won’t go where you want it to, and in less than 10 minutes she was putting the ball correctly!

Watching her disappointment with every wobbly stroke was sad at first. But, she fought through it with poise and determination. After a few tips from dear ole Dad, she began to focus much better, and it started to click.

Did it make her a perfect putter? Well no, it certainly didn’t.

It was able to get her to focus on the task at hand much better than I have been of late. For me that was incredible. Now anytime I roll out the Trueline she will, without even asking, go and grab her putter and ask to hit the Putter Wheel.

The people behind this excellent little device didn’t stop with just making an aid that rolls like an adequately struck golf ball. They added this nifty trim ring to the inside of the ball, so when standing over at address and looking down on the ball, it disappears.

Yup, that’s right another aspect of the training aid. For those of you who like to stand entirely on top of the ball, this is an excellent way to determine if you’re in the correct position. See any red, and you’re not there yet.

To top it off the Putter Wheel comes with a unique tool to mark up your golf balls.

Everyone is familiar with the straight line that Tiger (honestly he is the first person I remember to do this so if there was someone prior, please don’t bite my head off) made so famous, well, how about two lines.

When placed on a golf ball and marked up using the guides, the lines it creates on the golf ball will resemble that of the Putter Wheel. OK, say it with me “BRILLIANT!”

It’s the little things like that marking system and the red trim ring and also the fact that my daughter fell in love with putting while using it had me excited to write up this post.

If you’re one of the millions of amateurs out there who struggle with your putting stroke, give this very affordable and what I have determined to be an excellent training aid a try. Visit the Putter Wheel website.

For $39.95 you can pick up a sleeve of the wheels and the tool to mark your golf balls.

Here’s a quick video I shot so you can see how easy it is to use as a training aid. The first putt is a bit off, and if you look closely, you can see it wobble right after impact. The second stroke is much purer, and the Putter Wheel rolls near to perfect as it gets.