Tech Head

Unless you’ve got an enormous yard, you can’t practice golf at home. Putting, though, is 40% of the game and working on it at home is another story--but not if your home practice green is just some strip of Astro Turf. To develop real skills, you need a variety of holes, with different breaks and inclines.

GL Tech’s Electronic Putting Challenge, a computerized , 7-foot green offers 72 different holes. Set the machine for one to four players, choose nine or 18 holes, amateur or pro level. The putting surface sits over motors and gears that alter the terrain, with a mix of left to right, right to left, and even double breaks, as well as various uphills and downhills, all computer-automated. EPC automatically keeps score.

Each player gets one putt per hole, and, based on where the balls end up, the machine determines whether it’s a hole in one, or a two or even three putt. After each putt, the back end raises 45 degrees, returning the ball to the tee for the next player, and the green morphs into its next shape. All you need is a putter and a ball--and the desire.

$1,195. Information: www.gl-tech.com or (888) 372-7888.