Nobody has ever said: “I bought the Garmin G82 specifically for the putting feature.”
They bought it for the GPS (43,000 courses, green contours, virtual caddie). They bought it for the range data (ball speed, club speed, carry distance, no subscription). The putting metrics — stroke length, tempo, club speed, ball speed — are a bonus. A genuinely cool bonus. But a bonus.
The Exputt is the opposite. Nobody buys the Exputt for GPS yardages. They buy it because they want a putting lab in their living room. A high-speed camera pointed at their stroke. Real course greens rendered on their TV. Online competitions against strangers in Japan at 11 PM.
These are two different products for two different golfers.
What Each Device Actually Does
| Exputt RG | Garmin G82 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $469 | $599 |
| Primary purpose | Putting simulator | GPS + range launch monitor |
| Putting data | Ball speed, putter direction, clubface angle, putting path | Stroke length, tempo, club speed, ball speed |
| Needs a TV? | Yes (HDMI) | No (built-in 5“ screen) |
| Online play | Yes — compete against other Exputt users | No |
| Course greens | Real course greens with slopes | N/A (GPS has course maps) |
| Simulator support | No | No |
| Works outdoors | No (requires mat + camera setup) | Yes (range + course) |
| Subscription | None | None |
| Battery | Plugged in | 25hr GPS / 8hr radar |
The Exputt: A Putting Lab for Your Living Room
The Exputt is a high-speed camera on a tripod, a putting mat, and software that turns your TV into a practice green. You set it up in front of the TV (about 5 feet from the screen), roll out the mat, and start putting. For the full picture on every putting monitor available, see our best putting launch monitors guide.
The data is real. Not estimated. A camera watching the ball and clubface at 60Hz. It tracks four things:
Ball speed — how fast the ball comes off the putter face. This is the most important putting metric nobody talks about. Most amateurs hit putts way too hard past the hole or leave them short because they don’t know their speed. The Exputt gives you that number on every putt.
Putter direction — the path of your putter through impact. Are you cutting across it? Pushing it right? Pulling it left? It shows you immediately.
Clubface angle — the face at impact. This is the difference between starting the ball online and starting it off. In combination with putter direction, it tells you exactly what your stroke is doing.
Putting path — the arc or straightness of your stroke. Indoor/outdoor path, over-the-top, perfect arc. It shows the shape.
The course greens are real. St Andrews. Pebble Beach. Augusta. You’re not putting on a flat strip — you’re reading actual slopes. The green speed adjusts. You putt from different distances. It’s the closest thing to practicing on a real green without leaving your house.
And the online mode is genuinely fun. You can play against other Exputt users in real time. World rankings. Skins games. It turns a solo practice session into something competitive.
The downside: it’s a single-purpose device. It does putting and nothing else. It needs a TV (HDMI). It needs floor space in front of the TV (about 5 feet deep). And the mat is 44 inches long with a ball stopper at the end — it’s not portable enough to take to the range.
The Garmin G82: Putting as a Bonus Feature
The G82 puts your stroke on a 5-inch transflective screen. Not your TV. The small screen built into the device.
The putting data is real — the G82 uses its optical sensor and accelerometer to track stroke length (how far back you take it), tempo (ratio of backswing to downswing), club speed, and ball speed. Four metrics that answer “am I putting better than last week?”
The G82 was designed to be a range tool and GPS first. The putting mode requires you to line the ball up just right, the radar needs a clear path to the ball, and the feedback is numbers on a small screen — not a visual representation of your stroke.
It’s useful. I’d rather have it than not. But it’s not the same experience as seeing your putting path drawn on a 50-inch TV with St Andrews fairways in the background.
The G82’s putting is a feature. The Exputt’s putting is the whole product.
The Real Question
Buy the Exputt if:
- Putting is your biggest weakness
- You want to see your stroke visually, not as numbers
- You have a TV and 5 feet of floor space
- You want to work on green reading and distance control
- Online competition motivates you
Buy the Garmin G82 if:
- You want one device for the range AND the course AND some putting feedback
- You’re a weekend golfer who cares more about yardages than stroke mechanics
- You don’t have floor space for a putting setup
- You want GPS with 43,000 courses and no subscription
- The putting data is a “nice to have” not a “must have”
Buy neither if:
- You want a home simulator (buy the Garmin R10 at $499)
- You want a full putting setup with a real putter and no TV (buy the Perfect Practice mat at $99 and practice putting into a cup)
The Verdict
The Exputt is better at putting because putting is all it does. That shouldn’t be a controversial statement.
At $469, it’s $130 less than the G82 and delivers a genuinely better putting experience. Real course greens. Visual stroke feedback. Online competition. It’s a putting lab that fits in a closet.
The G82 is a better all-around device — GPS, range data, putting — but the putting part is secondary. If you want to drop three strokes off your handicap by improving your short game, the Exputt is the better tool. If you want to know your carry distances and play better course management, get the G82.
For the full rundown on every launch monitor that tracks putting — from the Garmin Approach R50 to the Exputt to the Uneekor Eye Mini — check out our best putting launch monitors guide.
The Exputt makes you a better putter. The G82 makes you a smarter golfer. Most guys need both. But if you can only buy one, start with the one that fixes your biggest problem.
For most of you, that’s the Exputt.
Looking for a dedicated putting LM? Check out our best putting launch monitors guide for more options.
Buy the Exputt RG on PlayBetter → Buy the Garmin Approach G82 on PlayBetter →
Need the full picture on costs? 5-Year Total Cost of Ownership → with software subscriptions, mats that wear out, and the hidden expenses nobody talks about.