Putter Fittings

[Shank91]

Hey everyone first post. 

Ive been doing a little research about putter fittings. Seems to be all kinds of different types of fittings. Seems to cover everything from alignments and stroke types. Does anyone recommend any particular fitting? Anyone recommend a fitter in the Savannah, GA  up towards Hilton head area?

 

thanks 

[colin007]

Just get an Edel.

[dsc123]

I think putter fitting can be very important.  I went to Club Champion and had them for my existing putter to me on a Sam putt lab. They put a laser on the putter to show where I was aiming and I was a good 2 feet right of the hole.  They cut it down to get my eyes over the ball and that's all it took for me to aim correctly. They also adjusted the weights to account for the shorter length.

[ladders11]

I was just thinking about putter fitting. We have Club Champion nearby and it says $100 for 1 hour fitting. This is hard to justify compared with 1 hour at the library reading golf instruction books, 1 hour on any practice green, or 1 hour in a large store hitting all the different putters in stock, all of which would be free of charge. I have plenty of time for all of the above activities but not plenty of cash. I also generally avoid new clubs... the most recent GD hot list has a $200 Ping and a $450 Odyssey that look cool, but aren't affordable for me, so can putter fitting actually help if you are only buying a used putter or new less than $100? (Look, the $100 fitting is one thing... but then what if they fit me to a Bettinardi?)

However, I would be interested to know what questions fitting answers. I have always used a pretty standard blade. Should I use a putter with more or less offset? Which type of insert or none? Would I save strokes using a mallet? Again, I don't want to wind up with advice to buy an Evnroll for $300 because of their proprietary face milling pattern.

Fitting seems more justified if I refuse to practice putting, which is sometimes a thing for me. I enjoy doing the work on my ballstriking, from driver to wedges, but not putting. Would fitting improve my worst tendencies?

[dennyjones]

39 minutes ago, ladders11 said:

Would fitting improve my worst tendencies?

What you probably would find is that like most people, it's difficult to aim the face of the putter.   Most people that go in for putter fittings learn that they are aiming almost anywhere but at the hole.   Each person is unique in that what works for my visual pleasure may not work for you.    I like my old 2 ball and was recently checked at Club Champion.   What they did do was deloft the club.   

You may not want to spend mega bucks on a fitting and a putter but it is money well worth spending.  

[Shank91]

7 hours ago, colin007 said:

Just get an Edel.

Have you had any experience with them? 

[colin007]

11 minutes ago, Shank91 said:

Have you had any experience with them? 

Yup. 

Here's the question you need to answer - Do you actually *KNOW* where you aim your putter?

[billchao]

42 minutes ago, colin007 said:

Here's the question you need to answer - Do you actually *KNOW* where you aim your putter?

Funny enough, before I got my Edel, I did, but I'm a weirdo like that. It was 4° right.

I second the Edel.

[iacas]

5 hours ago, ladders11 said:

I was just thinking about putter fitting. We have Club Champion nearby and it says $100 for 1 hour fitting. This is hard to justify compared with 1 hour at the library reading golf instruction books, 1 hour on any practice green, or 1 hour in a large store hitting all the different putters in stock, all of which would be free of charge. I have plenty of time for all of the above activities but not plenty of cash. I also generally avoid new clubs... the most recent GD hot list has a $200 Ping and a $450 Odyssey that look cool, but aren't affordable for me, so can putter fitting actually help if you are only buying a used putter or new less than $100? (Look, the $100 fitting is one thing... but then what if they fit me to a Bettinardi?)

However, I would be interested to know what questions fitting answers. I have always used a pretty standard blade. Should I use a putter with more or less offset? Which type of insert or none? Would I save strokes using a mallet? Again, I don't want to wind up with advice to buy an Evnroll for $300 because of their proprietary face milling pattern.

Fitting seems more justified if I refuse to practice putting, which is sometimes a thing for me. I enjoy doing the work on my ballstriking, from driver to wedges, but not putting. Would fitting improve my worst tendencies?

Thing is, @ladders11, what's the cost of a putter fitting amortized over 30 years or whatever that you might have it?

What's the cost of all the wasted time practicing something a properly fit putter helps correct? What's the cost of the missed putts or the poor putting stroke full of compensations?

[LMoore]

Usher Golf in Savannah. They sell Miura and several better brands. While he doesn’t sell EDEL, they do have Black Lab Putters. Locally manufactured, with 6 or so different models. Less impressed with any PGA superstore. Club Champion in Atlanta, or Idle Hour Country Club in Macon are both good.

Regardless, get fitted. Most think nothing of $500 for a driver, and use it 8-10 times a round. Most amateurs will use the putter a minimum of 30 times a round.

Edited March 30, 2019 by LMoore
My poor sentence construction

[tinker]

Putting is a hand to eye coordination thing. Pick 34 or 35 inch length, a putter that looks and feels good, check that the toe or heel isn’t sticking up in the air and your good to go. Learn speed control and you’ll be a good putter. 

[Shank91]

Looking at the Edels it looks like the weight is in the heel. How would this affect a  sbst stroke? What about using the line on the ball, does this go against the way they're intended? 

[GOATee]

After learning more about fitting, I realized that putter fitting looks very simple and straightforward but is actually very very very very complicated and should be left to the experts.

The number of dimensions such as putter length, toe flow, face technology, MOI, how the markings influence aim, head weight, total weight, swingweight, grip shape, neck design, offset, loft etc. is ridiculous.

I consider Edel to the be top fitting experts for putting because during the fitting they test modular putters with all kinds of putter heads, necks and even markings, which is a level of fitting that few or no other fitters will test you for.

 

[ladders11]

On a flat, straight 5-foot putt, how many of you are missing the hole? I am not. With regard to alignment, you can put a line on the ball, choose a putter with a line, use an alignment stick, practice hitting two tees perpendicular to target, put against a wall, or use a mirror aid. Computer is not needed.

Personal opinion, if you don't improve your green reading, you will not improve your putting. Unless you are missing straight putts within 6-feet.

 

[iacas]

19 hours ago, tinker said:

Putting is a hand to eye coordination thing. Pick 34 or 35 inch length, a putter that looks and feels good, check that the toe or heel isn’t sticking up in the air and your good to go. Learn speed control and you’ll be a good putter. 

No. Nearly everything you said there is wrong.

• Putting isn't a "hand eye coordination" thing. Even bad putters hit the ball with their putter, so clearly, it's a LOT more than that.
• 34" or 35" is still too long for most people. I putt with a 33" putter, and I'm not short.
• What "looks and feels good" is irrelevant. There are almost no two things that matter less.
• Tons of putters are varying degrees of toe up or toe down. Most are toe down, some are face balanced, some are heel down.
• Learning speed control is easier and more repeatable with a putter that's fit for you with the proper amount and distribution of weight.

37 minutes ago, ladders11 said:

On a flat, straight 5-foot putt, how many of you are missing the hole? I am not.

You'd be surprised how many GOOD putters aim well outside the hole from 5'. Tiger Woods being one of 'em.

37 minutes ago, ladders11 said:

With regard to alignment, you can put a line on the ball

Most people don't line the ball up where they think they are.

37 minutes ago, ladders11 said:

choose a putter with a line

Which often makes a player's aim WORSE.

37 minutes ago, ladders11 said:

Computer is not needed.

And yet…

[saevel25]

56 minutes ago, iacas said:

You'd be surprised how many GOOD putters aim well outside the hole from 5'. Tiger Woods being one of 'em

I tend to want to believe there is break there. 

[billchao]

2 hours ago, ladders11 said:

On a flat, straight 5-foot putt, how many of you are missing the hole? I am not.

Cool, good for you. I was, as I mentioned, aiming 4° right. That's something like half a cup to the right from 5' when I thought I was aiming at the center.

This affected my putting because I would miss right by hitting it straight and returning it to the same alignment at impact or pull it and miss left because I closed the face too much. Over time I ended up not knowing what my miss was or why.

2 hours ago, ladders11 said:

With regard to alignment, you can put a line on the ball, choose a putter with a line, use an alignment stick, practice hitting two tees perpendicular to target, put against a wall, or use a mirror aid.

Right, so I put a lot of work into my putting and did all sorts of weird things because I was trying to fit my swing to my putter instead of the other way around.

I went for a putter fitting and we corrected my setup and found the right putter for my aim. Without adjusting my stroke, I was consistently rolling in 8' putts. Just a simple change in the putter. Had I gotten fit earlier, I could have saved myself a lot of time and frustration on the practice green.

And I've only written about aim. My new putter has less loft, too. Changing the loft of my putter has helped tremendously with my distance control.

2 hours ago, ladders11 said:

Personal opinion, if you don't improve your green reading, you will not improve your putting.

Still going to need to be able to hit your line. The putter matters, too.

---

Maybe you're a good putter and have one that works for you, @ladders11. I don't know. Maybe you might not need a putter fitting.

I know first hand what having a poor-fitting putter will do to one's putting. For the $100 I spent on the fitting, it would have been worth it even if my old putter was perfect for me, because at least I would know what to work on. It turned out I was practicing things that were completely unnecessary.

[ladders11]

6 minutes ago, billchao said:

 

Still going to need to be able to hit your line. The putter matters, too.

There was an actual study that indicated people corrected their putting stroke and actually got worse. I know it sounds paradoxical, but it's golf. (Search Adam Young putting study if you feel inclined).

However I recall we are not discussing the merits of putting practice, but a ~1 hour putter fitting. I will even allow that a quick correction is probably helpful to those who have consistent errors in their stroke. Inconsistency is most people's problem, though.

Still confused: are there better uses of 1 hour or $100? Is there value offered at putter fitting that couldn't have been found elsewhere? The norm in putting is we use books, lessons, and practice, combined with choosing a putter at the store based on how it feels. As 10-15 handicaps, are we somehow gaming the wrong putter, and if so how far off are our choices?