how extreme will putters get??

[spyderwerks]

I've been comenting on this topic for some time now to my fellow golfing pards, but wanted to grumble a little here.

Looking through the august issue of Golf magazine last night and stoped at the "6 best new putters" article and just had to think: "how friggin far will putters go before they become so large and but ugly until people say enough already?"

Now I'll admit that I'm a fan of mallet style outters. I use a Cameron RedX currently, and have a couple of other putters of that style I'll swap in and out from time to time. (odyssey,F2). But some of these things are starting to look like hood ornaments on a 63 Buick or some large part of an alien craft that was lost in a quick flyover. I know everyone has their own opinion on equipment and that's a great thing, it keeps the market alive and thriving, but to me these thing are starting to look ridiculously tacky. I mean, the putter head does not need to be bigger than the driver head does it?

I keep waiting to show up at the practice green and look over and see some guy with a Galagher hammer painted aluminum with a jumbo grip bitching about not finding the sweet spot. Geeesh!!

Go ahead, flame away.

[titaniummd]

I've been comenting on this topic for some time now to my fellow golfing pards, but wanted to grumble a little here.

I think the Spyder looks like a spaceship on a stick. I read that people are putting like the Dickens.

I tried the Rife 2 Bars but I don't aim from the address position, I aim from behind the ball so it doesn't work out for me. I have a Yes! Marilyn which is a short mallet putter.

[GaijinGolfer]

I agree, a lot of the newer putters look pretty strange. Yesterday I was at a local sporting goods store browsing their golf section and there was this one Odyssey putter that the head, I kid you not, looked like a spaceship.
I tried it out and it worked pretty well, but its not something that I can see being in my bag any time soon.
I'll stick to a blade. Ive tried mallet putters, but I personally dont care for them.

[trageserk]

I own the sabertooth from odyssey- probably the one that TitleistWI is referring to. The shape doesn't bother me at all, I actually kind of like it being that its unique. That said it's definitely not for the traditionalist.

To each his own I guess.

[joshtpa]

The Sabertooth is a rpetty cool putter and the best ball retriever on a putter ever. I use a White Hot #7 which is also a little out there. Golfsmith now has a putter based on the enterprise from StarTrek. So a lot of craziness out there.

[Lange]

I have to aggree with the design of putters getting ridiculous.. when i went on a trip for a wedding, we planned on golfing in the morning before the wedding and i coulndn't bring my clubs from home. So the rental clubs had this cobra optica it was big and ugly lookin. I couldn't putt if my life depended on it, though i did shoot a 85 i had 39 putts!!!!!

http://www.golftipsmag.com/images/st...s/putter02.jpg

[GaijinGolfer]

I own the sabertooth from odyssey- probably the one that TitleistWI is referring to. The shape doesn't bother me at all, I actually kind of like it being that its unique. That said it's definitely not for the traditionalist.

Yeah, that looks pretty much like the putter I saw. I never said anything was wrong with it, just that it looked strange. If it works for you and you like it because it looks unique, cool.

[Dent]

A Dial on the putter to set the perfect speed, it putts automatically for you.

As far as looks, it will get worse than the sabertooth and the spider.

[trageserk]

Yeah, that looks pretty much like the putter I saw. I never said anything was wrong with it, just that it looked strange. If it works for you and you like it because it looks unique, cool.

I didn't infer that you felt anything was wrong with it. Sorry if my post conveyed that- it wasn't my intent at all

[Harry Longshanks]

Whenever people tell me that I should try one of the high MOI, super-forgiving, mallet putters, I always respond "No thanks, I like to work the ball."

I keep trying to like mallet putters, but I keep coming back to my Anser. I just putt well with it. ("well" being a relative term, of course.)

[scooterguitar]

Well, I just bought my first mallet. From day one years ago, always a blade. I got the Odyssey GMX WHite Hot Mini Marxman thingy. Not too crazy at all compared to many. Will try it on the course tomorrow for the first real test.

[joshtpa]

Good luck Scooter. I love my White Hot.

[cwcaesar]

I imagine that putters will continue to get more and more crazy until the rule books change. Marketing and the promise of lower scores will keep people buying them until an outside force (i.e. the USGA) intervenes. Until that happens, I look forward to see the new crazy ideas that people have with their putters.

[JYB]

i can't wait for them to make a putter that actually putts for you. that would be nice :)

[RX Phoenix]

One of the main advantages of the new putters, ie Spider, is that you can get radio and even GPS readings if you hold it up in the air. Not sure if this is legal though?

It's amazing how good the putter begins to look when the ball keeps going in the hole!

I wonder how many of those who wouldn't dream of using these putters have a 460cc high MOI driver in their bag?

[iacas]

I imagine that putters will continue to get more and more crazy until the rule books change. Marketing and the promise of lower scores will keep people buying them until an outside force (i.e. the USGA) intervenes. Until that happens, I look forward to see the new crazy ideas that people have with their putters.

There are rules re: the putter, of course. In the end, it's a flat faced club with a little loft meant to roll the ball. You still have to hit the ball online and with the right speed. You can miss a three-footer with an ultra-tech putter just like you can with a low-tech putter.

[kafka01]

I admit i bought a spider recently - always putted with some kind of mallet putter - but when people thing the spider is ugly (yeah it looks like a space ship) look at the Ping Doc - that thing looks like a half pizza on a stick! For me, thats a really awful looking putter

[Stacey_E]

I went to the Ping g5i Craze E about 2 years ago. So i'm guilty as charged. I've hit every single putt in the dead center of the face since then - or at least it felt that way.....hmmm. No kidding I do hold my line better now.

As for how extreme will they get? For those playing under the rules, its' up to the USGA. For those not concerned with conformity it's up to anobody who can put a shaft on anything - a canonball, a picture frame, a smoked ham. Remember Al Cervik's putter with the crosshairs in Caddyshack?