Putting and Putters.

I'm throwing away so many shots with my putting its getting silly.
As stated in another thread,i've been playing after a 20 year lay off.
I've replaced all my old gear with newer gear and am pleased with the way its all gone so far,except for the putting.
I'm using a Taylormade Rossa Daytona,which,seems to be decent enough,but i can't hole anything over 4 feet.
I'm knocking it way passed the hole,or short.
I was choking the daylights out of it with my grip,but i've stopped doing that.I'm rocking the shoulders,slowly back and feel the weight of the practice putt on the forward swing,making sure there no body movement.
Maybe its not the right putter for me.
What i'm after is some advice about putters.
I don't remember Odysey's or Scotty's when i played all those years ago.
I'm going down the local golf shop later this week,so,what putters do you use or recomend i try.
It may be that its just me,although it goes OK down the hallway carpet(about 10 on the stintmeter)
As i'm writing this,it would appear i've lost confidence in the putter i have.
Belly or broomstick putters are out of the question.I won't use them,Conventional or nothing.
Any other advice appreciated.

Don't practice on the carpet. It'll be much quicker than any green you are likely to encounter until June, and it won't help you to get the distance right.

If you must practice at home, then practice on a thick pile rug, where the pace will be more like the greens on your course.

Or go to the golf club and practice on the practice putting green or the chipping green.

Putting is an art, not a science, and trying to practice in mid-winter is not really going to help.

Are you missing putts from power issues? Or from direction problems?

Where are the misses most consistently?


Unless there is a consistent problem there is no point in changing your putter. It's your stroke.

Putting is all about confidence and belief if either is waining the putts will go all over the place mine generally get pushed right before I over correct and pull. As for which putter you should get I am not the best to advise just spent £150 on and odyssey white hot 2 ball and still 3 putt far to often

Sounds like your problem is more stroke related than putter problems.
If your struggling to control distance and sending them a mile past it could be something as simple as your grip pressure being too tightly strangling the putter losing your feel therefore forcing it to much.

In my experience when having putting issues going back to very basic is the best way as the simpler you keep your stroke and pre putt routine helps you realise where going wrong as when putting you don't want to be thinking too much

Wolfie - I note from earlier posts that you are no longer in the flush of your youth. I also had a break of 20 years from the game and am only a few years behind you and there is no doubt that the short game is the most difficult to regain. I think it is the puttee not the putter.

Thus spake the contributor who has a fistful of putters and when last playing with a couple of 606ers, casually dropped a pair of balls on the practice green and 'twitched' them both clean off it, missing the intended hole by a good 10 yards.

oldshanker wrote:Wolfie - I note from earlier posts that you are no longer in the flush of your youth. I also had a break of 20 years from the game and am only a few years behind you and there is no doubt that the short game is the most difficult to regain. I think it is the puttee not the putter.

Thus spake the contributor who has a fistful of putters and when last playing with a couple of 606ers, casually dropped a pair of balls on the practice green and 'twitched' them both clean off it, missing the intended hole by a good 10 yards.

yeah. but you got the one coming back!

i think one thing which happens at this time of year on slower greens is that, to add a little extra pace to the putts, it it very easy to start jabbing at them rather than stroking them. this is a sure fire way becoming inconsistent with finding the correct length of putts. i've noticed a few folk i play with who struggle with their putting tend to do this, and over the winter on temporary greens its even more obvious, short putts are regularly fired a few feet past or dribbled short.

incidentally i changed from a 2ball to a scotty cameron putter 3 years ago, and in my opinion there is really no comparison. i'd say it is a harder putter to play with, miss hits result in poor putts, whereas the 2ball had a much more forgiving face. the benefit of this is that i feel i am a far better putter because i focus on stroking every putt out of the sweet spot and have become much more consistent and instinctive when it comes to distance control.

i found that the 2ball was distracting as i was focussing my attention on the line of the putt through the stroke when that is something which should be sorted by lining up the putt and by addressing it square. the main thing i focus on during the stroke is making a sweet contact not the line it will take.

the pro i bought it told me all about the limited technology s.c's have in comparison to the research that odyssey have put into theirs. but i chose the s.c. because i loved the feel off the face at impact and the balance of the head through the stroke. having bought several gimicky putters in the preceding years i wanted to buy a simple one that i would keep in the bag longterm. it's now been with me for 25% of my golfing life and ain't going anywhere!!!

ban_bam I look at it in a similar way. I recently aquired a Scotty and apart from the fact it looks great, it also feels 'right', more right in fact than anything else I have holding the beans up.

Someone on here said their run through is three practice swings and try to repeat the third practice swing with the actual shot. Worked sweetly when I tried it.

LJ I didn't know you were looking!

Looking. No.

Pointing and laughing. Yes.




As for the camerons. I have one. A newport beach... I think that it works pretty well. But its not forgiving. Not even slightly. But where in most putters you can either feel the head or the butt of the club to the exclusion of the other Cameron has a gift of making the entire club provide feedback through your hands. You're aware of the whole stroke. And thats a great feeling.

Thank s to all of you for your input.
I think that i've got to the point where i don't expect to hole out,which is so frustrating as the rest of my game is going so well.
The putting green at my club is closed at the moment,so i can't use it.
I'm going to play a few rounds on my own in the next week or so and lighten up about it.
I played last Wednesday and had 9 holable putts for birdies and ended up with bogies and a couple of doubles.
I'll still go and try a few different putters just to see how it goes.
Once again,thanks to you all.

It's all in the mind. If you think your going to 4 putt all the time anything less is a bonus.

On the subject of putters. How many players experiment with the length of the putter shaft to try and get a better feel of the putt? I'm not that tall at 5' 8" and feel I putt better after I've had 1-2 inches taken off the shaft.
Also, how many players experiment with different grips to get a better feel?

I think you would be better off going for a putting lesson, it will be cheaper and be more effective. While you are there you ask the pro if it is the right length etc for you and if you really just fancy a new putter ask him to custom fit for you for one which will remove any doubts you might have about it.

I think putters are more of a personal thing, that you need confidence in, ie what works for one does not work for all.

My advice would be, take time go around all the golf shops, try a few of them out(most shops have a small putting green in them) the one you feel comfortable in your hands and looks good, is the one to buy, but not straight away, go back a few days later, and if it feels the same in your hands if it does, then that's the one to buy. :friend:

Must admit my putter is a bit old, but at times, its the only friend I have in my golf bag :606laugh:

oldparwin wrote:Must admit my putter is a bit old, but at times, its the only friend I have in my golf bag :606laugh:

That's why I have a little Mr Men thing on my bag as a mascot... everything else might be going wrong but he still loves me... OR I'LL PUNCH HIM! GRRRR :606laugh:

Custom fit putters! Hmmm I can see why some may go for this, all my clubs except for the putter are custom fit.

I wouldn't pesonally have a Custom Fit putter as like OP states it really is a personal preference whether a pro tells you this fits right and thats best for your game etc, it still may not feel right.

It just have to have that feel that when you hold it you know you can use it and that when your over the ball you love it, not it's what you have been told is right for you so it must be!

I was gutted when my clubs got half inched! last year for no reason other than i had to replace my putter which i had, had in my bag for a good few years about 9 to be exact, because it felt right and everything else i tried didn;t have that feel. I am now 3 months down the line from when they were taken from me by a thieving chav, and am already looking at replacing the 2 i got as replacements for my trusty old stick because thay just don't have IT!

But when i find IT i will stick with it for a long time

Mave... my Newport Beach was stolen and I got a replacement.... It was never the same. Looked closed at address... felt wrong. The strike was different... everything.

I went through two or three other putters and eventually decided to mess about a bit. I had an inch and a quarter off the end of the putter. Weighted it up with some lead tape in the cavity and changed back to a very thin grip.

I'm deadly with the flatstick again and the only way anyone is getting their grubby hands on it is by prying it out of my cold dead fingers. And even then I'll haunt the git who killed me to get hold of such a magical wand.

LondonJonnyO wrote:Mave... my Newport Beach was stolen and I got a replacement.... It was never the same. Looked closed at address... felt wrong. The strike was different... everything.

I went through two or three other putters and eventually decided to mess about a bit. I had an inch and a quarter off the end of the putter. Weighted it up with some lead tape in the cavity and changed back to a very thin grip.

I'm deadly with the flatstick again and the only way anyone is getting their grubby hands on it is by prying it out of my cold dead fingers. And even then I'll haunt the git who killed me to get hold of such a magical wand.

LJ exactly my point in that no 2 putters are the same, i bought an exact replacement and it is no substitute.

Have decided this week to thursday in fact day off to purchase another, have seen what I want and even then if it's not the length I want it'll be 2 inches off and some lead tape switfly followed by the fitting of a smiley face grip same as the old one

Maverick wrote:

LondonJonnyO wrote:Mave... my Newport Beach was stolen and I got a replacement.... It was never the same. Looked closed at address... felt wrong. The strike was different... everything.

I went through two or three other putters and eventually decided to mess about a bit. I had an inch and a quarter off the end of the putter. Weighted it up with some lead tape in the cavity and changed back to a very thin grip.

I'm deadly with the flatstick again and the only way anyone is getting their grubby hands on it is by prying it out of my cold dead fingers. And even then I'll haunt the git who killed me to get hold of such a magical wand.

LJ exactly my point in that no 2 putters are the same, i bought an exact replacement and it is no substitute.

Have decided this week to thursday in fact day off to purchase another, have seen what I want and even then if it's not the length I want it'll be 2 inches off and some lead tape switfly followed by the fitting of a smiley face grip same as the old one

Smiley face? Ha! How dull

Mine if bright pink with little dark pink flowers embossed on it. Much more eyecatching.

LJ the smileys i have are bright pink in a white background

Maverick wrote:LJ the smileys i have are bright pink in a white background

Gotta love those manly putters eh Mav? :606laugh:

What a pair of tarts you two are :606laugh: ''not sure about custom fitting'' so what do you call that what you're doing/done. Sounds like something from Laura Ashley :lol:

Mine is custom fitted and has a big fat red grip - no Pork sword envy please

I call it tweaking.

LJ im all man!!! Except for weekens when apparently I wear a nurses outfit stroking my handlebar......................moustache........

But if it worked and felt right i would not rule out a womans putter...... Or her stroke,..............

I wouldn't call our tinkering custom fitting as im not having some pro tell me whats right for me, i;m making whats right for me so i'd call it customisation of an existing product, a fat red grip aye, it's when it goes pruple you want to worry means your holding on too tightly

Anyway Doc... It might sound like it came from Laura Ashley... But I can assure you that you would love to get your hands on my weapon.

Since having mine sorted I haven't missed a putt from inside an inch Why has nobody developed grips with a picture of Di stewart and a leg draped down the grip.

You're correct about it being a personal thing, how many putters did Phil go through at Torrey Pines? he had about 6 with him and used 3 different ones in the event, all with different size shafts

I've got quite a variety of putters, and which one I use is dependent on which one feels best on the putting green before I start my round. I probably look a bit stupid going on the putting green with 6 or 7 putters, but for me, putting is all in the head and you have to be confident in the actual putter probably more than any other club in the bag.

Generally I like blade style, heel shafted putters. The only putters I have which aren't blades is an old Ping Craz-e G2i, which is fantastic on slow greens, and an ancient Scotty Cameron Newport Teryllium, which I hate.

I've just ordered a limited edition Odyssey Prototype PT82... Hopefully it will perform as good as it looks.

OK who is going to come out of the closet first and admit they sleep with their putter :lol:

How long have you been having your 'putting problems' Wolfrunna?

Reason I ask is that unless you are on a very very top course (and even then maybe), the state of the average green after the worst 2 winters in a very long time is not good. My putting stats for the winter are not good compared to summer. So bear that in mind. Also if there's been a lot of rain and your greens don't drain great then different greens on the same course can dry out at different rates and have grass growing at different rates. The naked eye won't see that and you're left scratching your head after leaving one 8 foot short on one hole and racing it 10 foot past on the next (even worse...you convince yourself you have no feel for pace!!). On soft greens you can also get the donut effect as people step near the hole to pick their ball out, a small depressed ring forms around the hole leaving the cup on a little peak in the middle that repels all but firm putts. So...don't beat yourself up, it may be the course.

Then again it may not be the course, have you had anyone look at your stroke? do you practice much with the putter and do you use any aids (e.g. putting mirror to check alignment and stroke).

On top of all that of course, as others have said, confidence and the mind have a lot to do with putting. With that in mind....Some people may say it makes no difference whatsoever, others swear by it. I have to say I felt I got some benefit from it, what?? Putting Out Of Your Mind by Dr Bob Rotella...worth a read if you feel you're struggling with the short stick!!

Putters are quite personal, however, for me I've found that weight/length/grip are most important
- I use an Odyssey White Hot #2, Centre Shaft, 32"
- I like the shortened shaft as I prefer being less upright and closer to the ball, which I find is easier to generate momentum through the ball
- It also has a soft face insert which gives you a good feel on the ball
- I have a Winn Excel AVS grip on it with 2*layers of tape, great soft feel grip

Best tips I could give (...if you want them ) is to hold the putter relatively loosely, swing at a constant speed/tempo and to mirror back swing and follow through eg: if you swing back 2 feet, follow through 2 feet.

For what it's worth, I also have a White Hot #2 and wouldn't change it for the world. But I am one that tends to concentrate on quality of strike rather than weight. Each course you visit has different speed greens, you have to get used to variation in speed, but the ball needs to come off the sweet spot for consistent pace. If it doesn't, it can make huge differences to distance.

To achieve consistency of strike, I used to blue tack a hexagonal nut to the sweet spot (across flats) and practice putting on the carpet at home with that. Consistently hitting the ball with the flat of a nut improves the stroke greatly. You can also get a training aid which does a similar thing, but it's much more expensive than a nut! Also you can vary the size of the nut to make it more and less difficult

Gareth_NI wrote:Putters are quite personal, however, for me I've found that weight/length/grip are most important
- I use an Odyssey White Hot #2, Centre Shaft, 32"
- I like the shortened shaft as I prefer being less upright and closer to the ball, which I find is easier to generate momentum through the ball
- It also has a soft face insert which gives you a good feel on the ball
- I have a Winn Excel AVS grip on it with 2*layers of tape, great soft feel grip

Best tips I could give (...if you want them ) is to hold the putter relatively loosely, swing at a constant speed/tempo and to mirror back swing and follow through eg: if you swing back 2 feet, follow through 2 feet.

gareth,

aren't you supposed to follow through more than you take back, accelerating through the ball?

also, i try to keep the backswing to a minimum. the more you take the club back the more likely you are to deviate from the line of the putt.

i know you were just using the 2ft - 2ft as an example, but the only situation i can think of needing a 2ft backswing with a putter is from 60yards off the green!!!

ban_bam wrote:
gareth,

aren't you supposed to follow through more than you take back, accelerating through the ball?

also, i try to keep the backswing to a minimum. the more you take the club back the more likely you are to deviate from the line of the putt.

i know you were just using the 2ft - 2ft as an example, but the only situation i can think of needing a 2ft backswing with a putter is from 60yards off the green!!!

Bam,

For the more accomplished player, yes, I would agree that you should follow through more, for someone struggling on the green (...from experience) I feel mirroring back-swing/follow through is a great way to get back to basics. If you can couple that with keeping a constant speed/tempo it provides a consistant feel. It works for me!

Obviously the 2 foot back-swing was an exaggeration, but for that to achieve 60+ yards?

ban_bam wrote:

Gareth_NI wrote:Putters are quite personal, however, for me I've found that weight/length/grip are most important
- I use an Odyssey White Hot #2, Centre Shaft, 32"
- I like the shortened shaft as I prefer being less upright and closer to the ball, which I find is easier to generate momentum through the ball
- It also has a soft face insert which gives you a good feel on the ball
- I have a Winn Excel AVS grip on it with 2*layers of tape, great soft feel grip

Best tips I could give (...if you want them ) is to hold the putter relatively loosely, swing at a constant speed/tempo and to mirror back swing and follow through eg: if you swing back 2 feet, follow through 2 feet.

gareth,

aren't you supposed to follow through more than you take back, accelerating through the ball?

also, i try to keep the backswing to a minimum. the more you take the club back the more likely you are to deviate from the line of the putt.

i know you were just using the 2ft - 2ft as an example, but the only situation i can think of needing a 2ft backswing with a putter is from 60yards off the green!!!

Was always taught as a Junior, same length backswing as follow through on putts to allow for distance control and use constant speed not acceleration when putting, but again this is a personal thing that others may not like and ma prefer to have a shorter stroke with acceleration. The best tip I ever got on putting, was hold the putter as lightly as physically possible and make the stroke with relaxed hands to enhance feel works for me

"Obviously the 2 foot back-swing was an exaggeration, but for that to achieve 60+ yards?"

on nice burnt-out links turf perhaps?!!!


gareth, mav,
i see what your saying - just personal preference i guess. i see an awful lot of players with long backswings on putts struggling with distance control though. i guess maybe there is a tendancy there to come up short on the followthrough and therefore begin decelleration before the point of impact. maybe the idea of stroking through more than you swing back is to combat that nut?

I would ignore everyone's input on how to make a putting stroke and go to see a pro. He may tweak a couple of bits to give you a more consistent stroke and then after that it's down to your mental game. To sit and listen to a debate about length of backswing is just a complete waste of time and will teach you absolutely nothing.

Your sole aim is to putt the ball into the hole and whichever way you do that is completely irrelevant as long as you back yourself. The history books are full to the brim with players that have awful putting strokes if you follow a text book but are great putters because they believe in their stroke, however bad it looks. There are also lots of examples of great putters that listen to people that say things like "your backswing should be longer than your followthrough" and can now not putt...

If you dont buy a new putter or go see a pro you could always check your set up in a mirror. Get yourself in front of a full length mirror and set your self up to a ball then check the set up in the mirror. Try looking without moving your body or if you need to move be careful to turn your head only to look or else you'll lose set up angles. Try a putting mirror also (it lies on the floor) to check your shoulder lines etc.

If you find anything that is obviously incorrect then work on correcting by repeating your set up over and over. In fact you could also groove your putting routine so that it is the same for every putt.

I would try using a thicker grip. It will stop you right hand overpowering your left.

:shooter: :shooter:

I've been to the local range/shop and tries a few putters.Ping's,Odyssey's with one or two more.
I can't say i was that comfortable with any of them,so didn't buy a new one. I suspect that i'm the problem,not the putter.
As i said earlier,the next time i play,i'll play alone and just lighten up about it all.
The thing that got me so uptight about it is,that tee to green i'm doing so well.
One big problem for me is reading the greens.
Being an older gentleman,i can't squat down to see the line breaks.I just bend over from the waist,and thats about it.
I've toyed with the idea of taking a small gardening mat to put one knee on.I don't know if thats permissable though.
Again,thanks for all your inputt.Its much appreciated.

SetupDeterminesTheMotion wrote:I would try using a thicker grip. It will stop you right hand overpowering your left.

:shooter: :shooter:

Thats what I did and it works for me Congratulations by the way, for having the longest username in the history of forums Must score a wopping 43 points at scrabble :606laugh:

You know....this might be controversial and I don't want to annoy anybody who is a "putter tart" but in my humble opinion there is a load of bo**ocks spoken about putters and quite a lot of putter snobbery. The object of a putter is to get the ball into the hole...it doesn't matter a toss what length the shaft is, what grip is on it or what it or it's face are made of as long as it conforms to the rules of golf. Pick it up put it down behind a bull on a green and use it...if it works keep it and if it doesn't the move on. I know a couple of good putters ..and I mean GOOD putters in my club...one uses a John Letters Golden Goose and one uses a Ben Sayers "Benny" both of which are about 40 years old. Fashion in putters is less about technological improvement and more about parting you from your hard earned pound. I would putt with anything if I could average under 30 a round...wouldnt matter to me what make it was.

No offence taken Hayston, I am indeed the biggest Putter Tart around, having juts treated myself to a Redwood Anser! That's sure to reduce my putts per GIR by at least 5!

That is a very pretty putter GW.....I myself have 5 putters which I have used with varying success over the past while.....I never sell, donate or otherwise dispose of a putter in case I upset the Great God of Putting "Sinkitticus" and am thereafter banished to the half dead world of twitchers and three putters......not that I am superstitious mind....wait a minute until I throw some salt over my left shoulder.

lol

I am the opposite Hayston, I always get rid of old equipment, train of though being along the lines of "I have just spent money on you, you WILL work!!"

Having said that, I have kept my old putter this time after a bad experience with a Scotty Cameron! (the Redwood didn't 'cost' me anything as I had some vouchers from work to spend )

One aspect that may have been overlooked with custom fitting is the loft of the putter as this can make a big difference depending on what greens you usually play.

I think that if you know what you are doing when getting a putter and "tweaking" it then that's fine but for most people a custom fit would probably not hurt as it is easier to get a putter length with head weight ratio from the factory rather than messing about with lead tape. I'm a tinkerer but for most golfers a custom fit wouldn't do any harm...

Science and Art......you don't apply one to another. If you do then you will almost always be disappointed.

Just IMHO

haystongolfer wrote: I know a couple of good putters ..and I mean GOOD putters in my club...one uses a John Letters Golden Goose

Cor blimey, that brings back memories. A John letters Golden Goose was my first ever putter going back to 78 and it was old when I bought it secondhand.
I've mentioned this before on 606. My old golfing partner, now in his 70's playing off 7, has a putter that come out of a seaside pitch and putt hut. Chrome has come off and grip falling apart but he's probably in the top 5% of good putters at the club I use to belong to.

4putt wrote:. My old golfing partner, now in his 70's playing off 7, has a putter that come out of a seaside pitch and putt hut. Chrome has come off and grip falling apart but he's probably in the top 5% of good putters at the club I use to belong to.

Exactly my point...all this tosh about shaft length and lie and hardness of face.....

Got a chance of picking up a new Bettinardi BB25, which looks fantastic. Has anyone seen one/used one/got one? this brand is usually mega expensive as the ones I've seen on-line are between £230 and £550, but looking at the last BB25 in stock for a snip, so think I'll be diving in, unless someone tells me their rudey poo

A putter for £550 i would be in a perma rage if i had that putter as i would be expecting to never miss a putt.

Thinking about it would probably drive, pitch, chip, with it to.