What do you look for in a putter?

[Richie3Jack]

I think most golfers go to a shop, see a putter that they like the looks of or all of their friends or the guys they see on TV are using and then if it feels good to them, they purchase it.

I would really like to get an Edel putter or at least try one out sometime. But the closest fitter is either David Orr in NC which is 6 hours away (I also believe Manzella is considering becoming a fitter, but that's a 6 hour drive as well).

The good thing is I know my aim bias with a putter. I usually aim too far to the right of the target. So I need a putter with more offset or something face balanced to counter that tendency to aim to the right. If you aim left of the target, then something with less offset or a center shafted putter may be best for you.

I do believe in getting your putter fitted so you can eliminate the skid on your putts.

I know guys like Geoff Mangum say that there's no evidence of it increasing the amount of putts you make, which is true...but I'm assuming that means that people are still aiming wrong.

That being said, if you get too much skid on your putts, I believe your brain will try to adjust to your misses and then you could be making adjustments to what was a good stroke and solid aim, just the putter needed to be adjusted.

I also believe in heavier putters for the most part since I play greens with decent to fast speeds. I think lighter putters are great for very slow greens. That's why I don't like the Camerons and some of the Bettinardi's, just way too light.

So for me, while I would love to get an Edel putter, I'm looking for something offset, something with 2-3* of loft and something heavy. I also think that the groove technology does indeed help reduce skid.




3JACK

[dodger]

I have always putted best with an 8802 blade putter. I am tempted by the Cameron Del Mar, which is essentially an 8802 putter with a mallet attached. The Odyssey putter Phil putts with is this style and I looked at those but don't like the insert. Something about a blade putter makes me think I cannot miss. I have a Scotty Newport like Tiger but I am simply not consistent with it. I also tried a sabretooth, and for a month made everything in sight. I still go back to the 8802 and have three of them, including a gamer made by TP Mills for me by David Mills. I cannot say enough about his quality and service. I have been a very good putter since I started playing. It is the strength of my game. When I aim too far right it is usually because my eyes are on or over the line. I like to look out at the ball, like Crenshaw, Faxon or Justin Leonard, who is extreme. I cannot accept technology in putters even though it makes sense because some times you pick one up that looks good and make everything. I do think they make them too light and too long. David made my putter heavy at 370 grams with a 34 inch length shaft.

[Richie3Jack]

When I was 15 years old I saved up some money that I made from mowing lawns and bought myself an 8802 with the old wrap grip that came with them. I used to strike the ball pretty well back then, but that was the first putter I really putted well with. Made states as a junior with it, which was a big deal from my area since our Section for states was very competitives (Tom Scherrer was from our section and many other golfers who played for big name D-1 schools).

My old man can attest to this, I went thru an entire summer where I didn't not miss ONE PUTT from 4 feet in with that putter. I fooled around with some other putters that I could make some longer putts with, but when it came to less than 8 feet, I honestly believe this...and I am about the least bradocious person you'll ever meet, I believe I had to be one of the best in the world at the time. I just didn't miss with that 8802 from that distance very often.

Unfortunately, somebody stole it from my bag as I left my bag out while I grabbed some dinner on one of those long summer days.

I didn't really have the money for a new one and wound up going with other putters for awhile. Tried to go back to a new 8802, but just didn't feel right. I think my stroke changed during that time and I never measured the specs. It's funny because I never had a teacher in high school except for one of my best friends who was 6 years older than me and probably knew more about the swing at the time than anybody in the area (which in retrospect wasn't nearly as much as we thought he knew) and he kept saying that the 8802 didn't fit my stroke when I first bought it.

I would probably take a gander at the Yes! line of blade style putters. They seem heavier than the Camerons. I totally agree that the new putters are wayyy too light these days. It's almost ridiculous putting with some new putters these days.




3JACK

[jerryg]

There was a time when I was the worst putter I knew. I thought if I bought enough arrows I'd find one that would work. About three years ago I bought a Bullseye out of a barrel. Love at first stroke. (64 yrs. old and finally a Bullseye). Then I dragged down an 8802 from the rafters and all the high tech stuff is in the rafters. Those two seem to share duties. I cannot decide which one works best.
Actually, what works best for me now is feeling pp#1 and 3 ahead of the ball and looking at the target during the stroke. There are days I think I could putt with a yardstick.

[Richie3Jack]

I'm not sure if I'll be able to ever afford an Edel Putter because it's about a 6 hour trip to go to an Edel fitter and then the putter that I want (the vari-loft) is an extra $800. In the end, I could spend well over $1G for a putter. I am thinking about getting Dave Pelz's laser training aid. That way I can bring it to a golf store and use it to see what putter I line up best. I really think that this would be a good idea for a store trying to sell putters as well.




3JACK

[jonnygrouville]

I can't even look at a putter that isn't centre-shafted! Having been an awful putter, I gave my putting a complete overhaul. The stroke that worked best was less 'swing-door' and the putterhead gets more height in the backstoke than the Crenshaw-style stroke that hugs the putting surface.

I found a weird old centre-shafted Taylor Made that I chopped down and put a fatter grip on, and this worked best with this stroke. I have used this and a shortened centre-shafted Odyssey ever since.

This hasn't stopped me buying putters though, centre-shafted and otherwise! I have about twenty-odd, the majority of which are in storage in various locations spread over four different countries. Yes. I have a problem.

[cloran]

I've tried everything in golf.... EVERYTHING! I even putted side saddle for a year, took much abuse... and it didn't help a lick.

Last year I picked up a Rife Bimini for $99 new. I'd never even held an 8802 style putter, but figured trying it couldn't hurt. I fell in love.

I'm most comfortable setting up similar to Phil M. I think it has to do with my strong right eye dominance. I have the ball forward in my stance, forward press to start the motion, firm wrists, etc. I found that I could never repeat the same backstroke with a "standard" setup. I'd cut across it one putt, push the next.

The Bimini has no sight lines which I like. I find that lines, dots, whatever tend to grab my attention too much in the backswing. If I notice the dot or line is just a little off when I see it out of the corner of my eye I lose all confidence in the putt, and give up before I even hit the ball.

On short putts (say 6ft and in) I just focus on keeping the topline square. It's so easy to see with the 8802's. Just keep it square and "push" it in. I'm still not a very good putter, but MUCH better on short putts now. Tons of confidence.

[secondary]

I have tested my eye dominance, switched grips, bought and sold a bunch of putters, in the end I am still stuck at a 2 ball center shafted cut down with a HUGE green ultra light grip that I hold cross handed. It is spotty success at best. I use the eye line putting trainer a lot. Just seem to be stuck with a "pop" stroke, or so I am told. I will admit that I spend WAY too much time looking at SeeMore putters though. Something about them just looks right? Goes against my sbst stroke and all but for some reason I end up there gawking alot.

[jonnygrouville]

You clearly need something that 'fits your eye'. The little Taylor Made thing I have used for years look like a chicken mcnugget on the end of a shaft, but I just seem to be able to line it up well and it just kind of fits.

I think it is important for people to think about using putters that fit their strokes as well. To me, if you have the swing-door, get something heel-shafted, standard length, normal grip. If you have a squarer stroke, you should consider something shorter, face-balanced or centre-shafted, and think about a fatter grip too as the stroke relies more on keeping your palms neutral throughout. I also think the swing-doorers can grip it more in their fingers and square-strokers would be better gripping it more in the palms (more down the lifelines).

This is not to say that I am suggesting a kind of one-plane vs. two-plane dichotomy, just that I have putted best in my years of experimenting tending towards one way or the other.

Or maybe I am suggesting this and should be contacting a publisher...

[jerryg]

I'd like to add a little dimension to the putter discussion.
My J.V. boys were on the practice green and I was trying to teach the concept of rolling the ball instead of hitting the ball. It took quite awhile doing the underhand toss before some of them finally started rolling it out of their fingers. I don't think some of these guys played any ball games.
We then tried to get that feeling of rolling the ball with their clubs. All of them have game improvement putters of some type and feel seemed to be avoiding them.
At the next practice I brought my two Bullseye putters and two 8802 putters. I have very small grips on each of the clubs. I then took fellows aside and had them try to roll the ball as we had tried earlier. Oila'! They could feel it and they could even open and close the toe a bit without me having to demonstrate it.
Why in the world are there so few of these made any more?

[gmbtempe]

Apr 18, 2010 14:26:38 GMT -5 jerryg said:

I'd like to add a little dimension to the putter discussion.
My J.V. boys were on the practice green and I was trying to teach the concept of rolling the ball instead of hitting the ball. It took quite awhile doing the underhand toss before some of them finally started rolling it out of their fingers. I don't think some of these guys played any ball games.
We then tried to get that feeling of rolling the ball with their clubs. All of them have game improvement putters of some type and feel seemed to be avoiding them.
At the next practice I brought my two Bullseye putters and two 8802 putters. I have very small grips on each of the clubs. I then took fellows aside and had them try to roll the ball as we had tried earlier. Oila'! They could feel it and they could even open and close the toe a bit without me having to demonstrate it.
Why in the world are there so few of these made any more?

I am looking for a 8802 style putter again, I used it as a junior and was a brilliant putter, I am still good but I made a lot more long ones with that style. I never worried about stroke, I just was trying to hit it to a certain spot like a batter hitting a ball to third base.....I have gotten to line and stroke conscious over the years.