Blade Vs. mallet, putter size, shaft style, etc???

Hi all,
Right now I'm playing with a 35" Taylormade Rossa Fontana mallet style putter. I've been so-so with it, sometimes it feels too light, I've even tried to add a jumbo size grip on it(which I really really love!) but the problem is, sometimes I don't feel it. As well though, whenever I go to the local Roger Dunn and try other putters, I just dont' know what to look for.

Is there a method to determine what might be the best style of putter for you? Meaning, blade vs. mallet, or better yet, the shaft style. Should it be a straight shaft, a bent shaft, straight shaft in the middle, or now, Oddessey has that crazy slant back style shafted putter.

I'm assuming the majority of it is just what feels right to you, however, when I'm sitting there demo'ing everything in the store, EVERYTHING FEELS RIGHT! lol!

I'm thinking there is a method of determining what is right for the individual, hopefully I can find that answer!
thanks for reading my long post!

try yes! putters.
they're a pretty heavy putter and there's loads of models to choose from.

I've heard (and this is just one thought on the topic) that the most important factor is where the shaft is; center vs. heal. If your putting stroke is along a straight line, go for the center-shaft models. If your putting stroke has a slight arc to it, then the heal shaft position is best for your style.

As you mentioned though, the majority of it is what feels right. No other club in your bag is as personal a choice as your putter. Hopefully, though, that will give you a starting point.

This is a question that has plagued the mind of golfers for generations. I've lost count of the number of putters I've had. Most of us, it seems, are on a constant quest to find "THE ONE." The short answer is you have to keep trying different putters until you find it. Sometimes THE ONE appears in the most unlikely of places. It happened to me just recently. After putting with everything from center shafted blades to belly putters with heads the size of large ashtrays I had settled on a Ping IWI Anser. I was putting very well with it and was not really in the market for another putter. I had taken a lesson and after the lesson was over I was hanging around the store talking to my teacher and messing around with different putters when I picked up this Tour Edge Backdraft GT-1. It's an Anser style blade and it was only $49 brand new. I started putting with it there in the store and could not miss. I kept putting it down and trying other putters, including a really nice Scotty Circa 62, but kept going back to the Tour Edge. I just couldn't believe how good it felt and how good I was putting with it so I pulled the trigger. I wound up taking the Ping back to Golf Galaxy and exchanging it for 3 dozen Callaway Tour i golf balls. The other day, after I had just drained a long par putt, one of my buddies remarked that I should refrain from trying out putters from now on. He said I'd be a fool to change putters again because he had never seen me putt so good as I'm putting now. Over the past 5 rounds I've averaged 27 putts per 18 hole round. Hard to believe I'm getting those kind of results from a $49 putter that I found when I wasn't even shopping for a putter.

I agree. This is a great way of narrowing down your choices!

There are definitly putter fitters just like other clubs. There was one mentioned in the forum I can't think of the name right now. I believe having a putter that fits is more about how you feel about it than the putter. Right now I love my putter. I have been putting really well this year and the thing that has helped me is having ultra light grip pressure. I can really feel the weight of the head now and it feels simple to make a good stroke. I am sure my option will change after I have a bad day on the greens but my last round was the best I've ever had so I really like that part of my game.

What to look for varies from player to player in terms of feel, weight, looks, and sound, which is what golf digest rates on their putters hot list.

What I looked for when I was looking for putters was consistency and repeatability. If you focus on those two factors, you will find that you identify the weight ideal for you, and the correct feel and feedback. Looks and sound, well these are entirely personal, and nothing to do with performance. What I did is I went to my local GG, spent about 1 hour or 2 (maybe 3 )and hit several putters in the same situation...each with at least 5 balls at the time. I use my right foot to draw an imaginary line which defines the depth of my back swing ...trying to get the swing as repeatable as possible.

I find that heavy mallets, particularly those with weights on the edges, help me minimize or eliminate face wobble (opening or closing face of putter on back swing). This is pretty typical of perimeter weighed putters such as the Itsy Bitsy spider and many others. I have a almost straight back back swing (ass opposed to an arc), yet I still use heel shafted putter as opposed to center (again a personal thing..I don't like it at address) and get very good results.

I first putter was a 36" TM Daytona cbg 355g blade, and while i liked the roll, consistency and repeatability were not there. I had a 2.44 putting average with it. I then got a 34" Rife Mr. Beasley 355g mallet, and felt that suited me to a tee. I gave me consistency and repeatability that I was looking for, plus I love the looks and sound. I have dropped my putting average down to 2.21, and have gone as low 1.89 with it.....really a great tool!!! I also have an Odyssey Teron, which is highly consistent and the alignment lines on it are great, but the distance was not there for me. I felt I had to kill the ball with any putt outside 10ft. Currently the only putter (that I have tried) that would get to put my Mr. Beasley down is the Rife Hybrid Tour Model, but at $200, it's not likely to happen soon.

As for the hosel..it has two components....looks and performance. The looks part...self explanatory....the performance part has to do with shaft lean. As you may know that in order to get proper roll, you should lean the shaft forward a few degrees...well here is where the hosel offset comes into play. You from 0 to 1, with one being shaft thickness worth of offset. a one would be a plumbers neck or #1 where you have a full shaft offset. Sometimes you can get the same effect with double bend hosels, but typically those are limited to 0.5 to 0.75 range. I prefer a full hosel bcs I FEEL I don't have to worry about the angle of forward lean as much, but that's just me.

I hope some of this helps.

Cheers

Honest to God there is no right or wrong way to choose a flat stick, but something I have found to be true sort of echoes what blackxpress was saying. Find one that makes you feel confident when standing over it, one that looks good to you & one that you somehow keep looking back to in the store. Then buy it KNOWING it was the right purchase, if it cost 200$ or 20$.

I didnt know what putter I wanted ( actually secretly thought it was going to be a Scotty ) but finally couldnt walk away from the #7 White Hot XG Odyssey. Did & still feels right for me. Hope you find one!

still trying to find "THE ONE". It seems, unlike irons where you can get fitted for your particular style, a putter will just be a feel thing. I'm going to have to continue trying more out. I do know one thing, I would like a heavier weighted putter, where as my Taylormade feels light, feels like it moves side to side on the backstroke, mis-hitting too many putts.

Whatever you choose,remember one IMPORTANT detail. Never,ever take the price tag off. As long as the price tag is on, the putter thinks it doesn't belong to you and is still for sale. It will behave like it is still being tested. As soon as the price tag comes off,it will start misbehaving!

It doesn't matter if putter is center or heel shafted. What matters is face balanced or not. Straight back and straight thru for face balanced putter. Inside back and down the line for non face balanced putter.

PS- Hint-Put clear tape over price tag for many rounds of good putting.

No truer words have ever been spoken.