Quick answer

Choose a clear practice question, confirm permitted warm-up areas with the Committee and separate training feedback from help during the round. Rules 4.3 and 5.2, Local Rules and green-reading-material restrictions matter. Put away the training setup before play and take a specific question into the next permitted practice session.

A putting app can be part of your preparation, but tournament day needs a clear boundary between learning and live assistance. Plan where you will practice, what you want to learn and which tools you will put away before starting your round.

Start with one useful question

When we explain PuttMotion, I want the conversation to stay close to the golfer: what will this help you understand? Green reading and ball tracking are part of the product we are developing. A visual line or a recorded result should support a useful practice question, rather than become something you feel you need before every putt.

For your next session, choose a question you can answer in plain language. For example: “Can I describe the break I expect before I watch the ball roll?” Keep that prediction separate from what you observe afterward. This is a suggested way to organize practice, not a validated training protocol or a promise of improvement.

Check the practice area before setting up

A practice green and a green on the competition course are not interchangeable. In stroke play, Rule 5.2 generally restricts same-day course practice before a round; match-play provisions differ. Check the permitted warm-up areas and any applicable Local Rules with the Committee. [2]

Make that check before arriving with a phone stand and a training plan. Ask where you may set up, whether filming is permitted and how to keep the space clear for other golfers. A short session in an appropriate area is more useful than a complicated setup you have to abandon.

Know which help belongs outside the round

Rule 4.3 regulates equipment use, not simply carrying a phone. During a round, measuring elevation changes or using a device to recommend a line from the ball’s location is prohibited. Ask the Committee about the exact function you intend to use. [1]

Saving a screenshot is not a workaround: digital green-reading materials have their own restrictions. Do not assume a saved diagram is permitted just because you created it before play. [3]

Before teeing off, close the training screen and pack away your practice setup. My recommendation is to make that transition deliberate. There should be no need to decide, while standing over a putt, whether a screen you opened is giving you help you should not be using.

Make the post-round review specific

Once the round is over, choose one situation worth revisiting in your next permitted practice session. Describe the putt, your intended start direction and what you actually remember seeing. If you did not observe the start clearly, say so. A ball finishing below the hole does not, by itself, explain whether the read or the stroke was responsible.

That gives the next session a purpose without pretending to diagnose the entire round. You are taking a question back to practice, not using one missed putt as proof that your technique needs rebuilding.

Where PuttMotion fits today

PuttMotion is available on the App Store, with putting drills, camera analysis, green reading and round statistics. This article does not claim that the app is approved for use during competition. Check the rules and the Committee’s instructions before using any function during a round. [4]

Explore PuttMotion through the official website, and keep your preparation simple: use practice to investigate a question, then arrive at the first tee knowing what you will leave out of the round.

Sources and references

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