For some reason recently, I’ve found myself in possession of six different indoor putting mats. Three of which having never been opened. Listen, I love practicing my putting indoors, but I definitely do NOT need six different putting mats. A couple of the unopened mats were actually in for training aid reviews, so I said “alright, I need to get to work on these” and brought them over to my designated putting area in my basement. Though this may seem insignificant to most people, I had this weird moment of reflection of how crucial this tiny little hallway in the back of my basement has been to not just my putting practice, but so much of the content that fills this website. So it only felt right to officially acknowledge the “Bill Bush Putting Emporium” on DRH.
About the Putting Emporium
At the bottom of the basement stairs, there’s a small hallway that leads to our laundry room. That hallway also leads to my closet of an office and a bathroom. Lining the right wall, you will find an old dresser of mine and some shelves that serve as a stand for three turtle tanks. (Don’t even get me started on that…maybe we’ll save that debacle for another blog someday.) You’ll also always find a few bags of random clubs in this area. Clubs ranging from repairs to reviews to current backups and spillover. You never know what random treasure you might find!
This out of the way “corridor” is also a great place to work on rolling the ball. Space is slightly restricted, so putting mat options are limited, but it’s a straight shot and it’s generally out of the way for the rest of the household. Being it’s right outside of my office, this actually plays a key role in any review involving putting on this site. In fact, I would say pretty much every single putter review starts here. The box gets delivered to my house, I open it up, then I roll a few putts in the basement. Every time. Not most of the time. All of the time.
Many first impressions are established here before I head out to course with a new wand. A lot of those impressions are likely to change once I get outside, but this is still a crucial step in the process. Then as I’m typing away, I can step outside my office door and refresh my memory with a few putts.
Final Thoughts
I know this post likely falls into the self-serving “who cares?” category on this site so thank you for humoring me. We moved into this house roughly seven years ago and I’ve been rolling putts here ever since. Aside from helping with content for this site, the Emporium has been clutch during frozen Midwestern winters. Though I can’t get much in terms of contours and different targets, I can still focus on basic mechanics. Making sure I keep the stroke quiet with a good tempo and path, I’m able to maintain a feel for the putter throughout the offseason. This helps me a TON at the start of every season.
A lot of greats have come through this hallway. Tommy O’Connell, Jon Heise, Josh Rivera, Drew Bogren, Dan Maurer, my dad…this list goes on. I’ve never really realized how important this dumb little hallway has been until having to work through this batch of putting mats. My “Putter Emporium”, though it may not be the most impressive, has served me well and will continue to do so. The least I could do was metaphorically tip my hat to it on the very website it has contributed to so much over the years.
