Cutting down my putter

So I'm currently playing a 34" length putter.  But over the course of the last several months, I've been experimenting with getting a premium stance/address posture such that I could do the following:

1.) Left and Right Forearms and Shaft all in the same line when the putter is soled behind the golf ball.

2.) My hands are directly underneath my shoulders.

3.) My palms are facing one another on the putter grip.

4.) My thumbs are down the grip (left hand higher than the right).

5.) My eyes are right over the golf ball - or just inside.

6.) The ball position is in the center - or slightly forward of center of my stance.

- The putter is in the middle of my stance and the ball is like 1" forward of the putter.

7.) The putter shaft is straight up and down - or slightly forward pressed.

8.) My elbows rest on my rib cage such that as I bend at the waist - my hands fall directly under my shoulder sockets.

9.) My upper back is fairly straight (bend from the waist).

10.) My weight is on the balls of my feet.

11.) My shoulders are very square to my intended putting line.

12.) My feet are also square to my intended putting line.

When I really dial this setup - I make a very nice controlled stroke.  The challenge that I have found is that to get into this premier position, my current 34" putter - I nearly have to grip it down at the steel.  I'm 5'8" tall... And when measuring from the palms of my hands horizontally - to the ground.... I'm getting a measurement of ~ 28".

Looking at this - I believe I should be able to cut the putter length down from 34" down to 31" or 30"... Has anyone done this type of mod with any success on their putter?

Back in December of last year, I ordered a 75g counterweight kit - and have yet to install it.  I'm thinking I'm going to go and get my putter cut down tomorrow to 30" - and have this counterweight installed with a new grip.  Any thoughts or input from the forum before I go and do this?  Would like to hear from you guys as I want to make sure I'm not doing something that I will regret.

(This is my last ditched effort to salvage this putter I'm using - and if this doesn't work - then I'm going to get an Edel putter)

Quote:

Originally Posted by David in FL 

Sorry, but I'm just trying to wrap my brain around 12 swing thoughts for a putt!

Hahhaha these are not 12 swing thoughts... This is just what I do to get into my proper putting stance/hand placement - which is repeatable if done correctly.  

Really the only thought I have is getting my elbows into my rib cage - to grip the putter in the proper spot - and ensure I'm over the ball with my eyes and lined up properly (putter is aimed properly).

The more you practice your setup/stance/posture - you can do this in like 5 seconds without thinking about any of those 12 steps... Other than maybe - asking yourself if you are aimed properly.  

The problem with amateurs - like myself - is that I've never been formally fitted for my putter.  I bought a stock putter from a golf store and have been using it blindly without a lot of thought into how much having the proper alignments - and hand placement effects the quality of your putting stroke.

I have the Ping putting app for my iPhone - and when I do this correctly (12 items above) I can get a + putting handicap every time and roll putts beautifully.

Ok, meet the Ghost of Frankenstein...

I took my 34" Ghost Spider and cut it down to 32".  I also added a removable 75g counterweight which was installed into in the Super Stroke 3.0 grip.  The counterweight in the grip can go heavier or lighter... And I'll dial this in overtime... But practicing my lag putting - I was doing pretty well with the 75g counterweight.

Also, in the current setup, I have two removable 10g weights in the toe and heal of the head.... Which places the head into the 372g footprint.  But because I was worried that the head would feel too light given I added the 75g counterweight into the grip - I also ordered 2x 20g weights today on Ebay to help increase the toe and heel weight if I decide that the head is too light... This would give me the option of going with a 392g head which would push me into the D-5 swingweight... Currently I'm at C-9 which is possibly too light?  But the removable weights won't be here until next week for me to toy around with.

I'm starting to really like this setup though as it is going to give me a lot of freedom to experiment... 

(1.) I can increase/decrease the counterweight - easily with the Tour Lock weights.

(2.) I can increase/decrease the weight in the head - easily with the Taylormade weights.

(3.) I can finally grip down and get into the proper stance comfortably now that the putter is cut down to 32".  

First practice session with it went well.  I drained several long putts with it.  And I can't wait to get some rounds under my belt with this puppy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtogolf 

How are you determining the weight difference from cutting the length down by 2", is there some math formula to calculate it or are you doing it strictly by feel.  Did you adjust the weight of the putter head after you added the Super Stroke?  I'm asking because my instructor told me some of the SS grips are heavier and throw off the swing weight and feel of the head. 

 

I was thinking if I cut down the length of the putter shaft and went with a SS I'd get close to original swing weight but I'm not sure how to verify that before I do it. 

Good question... And I'd like to hear others chime in on this as well.  Because I'm no master club fitter/maker... Just a weekend hack - that is trying to find a stick that can help me shave a stroke or two from my average.  But here is what/why I've done what I've done.

(1.) The Putter Head Weight

The Ghost Spider stock putter head is 360g according to Taylormade.

- Head of the putter is actually 348g with two removable weights...

- The putter is shipped with two 6g weights, this is how they get the 360g head weight

(2.) The Putter Shaft Weight

The Taylormade Ghost Spider stock putter shaft appears to be the True Temper double bend stock shaft?  This is a guesstimate on my part - but looking at Golfworks club building site - this looks like the stock shaft being used...

So the shaft is advertised as 38" and 122g from Golfworks.  TaylorMade obviously cut it down to the standard 34" length which is what I purchased the putter at.  So the shaft in the Taylormade is going to be lighter than advertised by Golfworks given 4" of steel was cut off.  From reading and researching, it is estimated that each inch the steel putter shaft is cut down, you are reducing the weight of the club by approximately 3.2g. So I'm lead to believe that the Taylormade Ghost Spider 34" stock putter shaft is 109g.

(3.) The Putter Grip

According to Taylormade, the Ghost Spider has a stock 57g pistol grip.

So looking at the stock Taylormade putter... 360g head + 109g shaft + 57g grip = 526g approximate total club weight at 34".  With the 526g overall weight of the club... I had a baseline to work with to get an idea of how much I was modifying the swingweight.

Modification 1.0

a.) Replaced the two stock 6g Taylormade weights with 10g weights, increasing the stock putter head from 360g up to 372g.

*Going to the Winn Jumbo grip acted as a counterweight = 69g

Overall Putter Weight = 607g

I played for several months with the 607g mods... And found that I still wasn't happy with the setup.  So this lead me to make additional mods.

Modification 2.0

a.) Cut the putter down from 34" to 32".... Which is approximately 6g of reduction in weight just by cutting the shaft 2" (using the estimated 3.2g per inch rule of thumb)