Putter loft effecting set up and consistency.

[cloran]

I actually have no clue what my loft is, but I'd imagine it's WAY more than most. I just increased it with the help if a vice, bending bar, and two of my Wife's dish rags (luckily it worked and my gamer is still unblemished).

The putter is a MannKrafted Byron Morgan 007. I believe the starting loft was 3* (not certain). Since I've had this putter (June '11) I think I changed my setup a half-dozen times. I just couldn't get comfortable and find a consistent roll off the face. Lots of skipping, bouncing, etc. I was most comfortable with my hand forward and the ball in the middle of my stance (think "impact fix" for you tgm-ers). However, setting up like this brought the face into the ball with a negative loft and I was drilling everything into the ground, lol.

So, despite putting pretty well with it as-is I decided to make a change so I could get a consistent/confident setup. I just kept increasing the loft until I found the point where I could setup with my hands forward and still have a few degrees of loft on the face at impact. Luckily it worked.

I'll attach a pick below. If anyone cares to venture a guess as to the loft I'd love to hear it.

*I really hope LaMont will still speak to me after this, lol*



Pic of setup:



Some videos showing my setup and stroke:

[cwdlaw223]

You need to go on a SAM putt lab device to get that detailed information. Your stroke is fine. If you're putting bad it's due to putting from difficult areas on the green. The pros are perceived better putters because they putt on better greens and generally don't place their ball in bad spots. Nobody makes 20 foot curlers for a living. One Aimpoint lesson is all you should need.

[cloran]

I'd LOVE to hit up an Aimpoint class. I misread greens like it's my job. I had a 15 foot putt for birdie on #17 at Bethpage Black last week. Uphill... should have been able to give it a good run. I read it breaking 6" R-to-L. It broke 12" L-to-R, lol.

One of the guys in the group says "Really? You saw that breaking the other way?"

I just laughed. lol...

[Richie3Jack]

I probably wouldn't go too high with the loft. Adding loft will also get you aiming more to the left. Loft is good to add on slower greens.

Speed is the #1 priority with putting.

The hole itself is 4.25 inches wide. We want to 'keep the hole' wide and we do that with good speed/touch...which is about 6-12" past the cup (more towards 6 on uphill putts and more towards 12 on downhill putts).

Mark Sweeney has a YouTube video showing how hard it is to make a putt when you hit it about 5 feet past the hole. He says that the 'capture width' on a cup with a putt hit 5 feet past the cup is about 1/2 of an inch.

So...you can stroke it great, aim it great, read it pretty well....but would you rather be hitting to a 'cup' that is 1/2 an inch or a cup that is 4+ inches wide?

Obviously, good green reading helps tremendously with speed. But, I do believe you can read putts great and struggle if your speed is off.

I suggest taking note on a day that you're on fire with the putter. You'll probably see that your speed is really really good that day that those putts are falling. It's not a coincidence.









3JACK

[johngrahamgolf]

Aug 3, 2011 20:58:31 GMT -5 cloran said:

I'd LOVE to hit up an Aimpoint class. I misread greens like it's my job. I had a 15 foot putt for birdie on #17 at Bethpage Black last week. Uphill... should have been able to give it a good run. I read it breaking 6" R-to-L. It broke 12" L-to-R, lol.

One of the guys in the group says "Really? You saw that breaking the other way?"

I just laughed. lol...

AimPoint will be in Philly August 14 if you're interested. Closest I'll be to Long island for awhile.

[cloran]

Thx John... Hopefully I'll see you there.

... While I've got you here, what do you think of my putting stroke?

[johngrahamgolf]

Cloran,

Stroke seems fine to me. Maybe set up on the heel a little but can't be sure.

Loft like Richie said can certainly effect aim so be careful with it.

JG

[slice_oftheday]

wish I was back up there for the clinic on the 14th.