How important is the hossle design on a putter?

[cmay119]

Hi all, I should say first, that putting has always been the WORST part of my game. I'm confident that if I could get my putting down, I'd be able to shoot high-70's/low-80's consistently. To let you know how bad it is, I shot an 89 with my buddy last week at his course, and I had 3 holes that I three-putted within 20 feet, and I also had a 4-putt on the card as well. It was f-ing humiliating and very frustrating. I've only made one birdie this entire season due to this issue.

Now, I know I really need to get out on the practice green more and work it out (I'm only able to get out there and practice maybe 2-hours a week). And I cannot blame my horrible touch on the equipment alone. But while I was on the practice green with my friend and was able to try out his Scotty-Cameron *drool* putter and I felt like I could control my putting so much better with that particular putter than my own (MacGregor M2). Both feel and accuracy were superior to my particular putter.

I understand that the Cameron putter is just an all-round superior putter than my particular one, but I also noticed that it had the conventional hossle design (offset from the shaft). whereas mine has a funny bend in the hossle. Here's a picture of mine:



One thing I found interesting, was when addressing the ball with his putter, I felt like I could see what was going on down at the ball a lot better (if that makes any sense). With that, I seemed to be able to line up the ball a lot better.

I have a conventional pendulum putter swing. I've read that the hossle I'm using is more for an inside-to-inside stroke. I don't know how much validity there is to that, however.

So I leave this judgment in your hands guys. Am I on to something here? Or did I just fall in love with another putter because it happened to be an oh-so desirable Scotty Cameron putter?

I'm not exactly saying that I would switch to a Cameron putter, but I am considering switching putters to one that has the off-set hossle.

Thanks for you thoughts guys. :)

[NI4NI]

Putter fitting is a very important component which is often overlooked. Considering that the putter is the only club used on every hole, statistically, proper fitting should have the best chance to lower scores.

Go to http://www.odysseygolf.com/putting/pfm.htm and walk through the putter fitting module. It covers 9 aspects used to determine the right putter match (albeit, an Odyssey one). Once you do this, go to either a pro shop or golf store, and try out similar putters to see if one feels right, based on the recommendation list.

SC's are beautiful putters, but if you don't get the right one fit for your style, then all it will ever be is a good looking piece of metal, and not the right one for you.

Good luck

[cmay119]

Putter fitting is a very important component which is often overlooked. Considering that the putter is the only club used on every hole, statistically, proper fitting should have the best chance to lower scores.

Thanks for this! I'm assuming my argument then holds some weight. Because, when I select that I have an Arcing stroke (which I don't) the site pulls up putters with a similar hossle design to the one I have. When I say that I have a pendulum stroke (which I do) it suggests putters with the usual offset hossle.

It's just so damned frustrating anymore not being able to knock down putts. I'm sure there are quite a few things wrong with my putting stroke as well that need improvement or change. Speed & alignment I've never really grasped all that well, and that's why I continue to just being an average golfer instead of a good golfer.

[Dub]

I recently made a few changes and would submit that you are on to something.

My old stroke was very much pendulum style and seemed best suited with face balanced putters. I enjoyed pretty good sucess with my old 2-ball.

I decided to stand a bit taller at address and utilize more of the style promoted by Stan Utley. Things seemed to improve. It was certainly more comfortable for me to practice putting as it is a much more natural stance than my prior "manufactured" one.

I tried some different putters that had more toe flow and settled on the one in my sig line. Results have been better overall.

We definitely need to match our wands to our stroke. I wish that I'd have given this more thought sooner in my golfing "career".

One putter that seems to do very well for me using virtually any stroke path or set up is the Scotty Cameron Red X 3. I'm still very much a fan of these and will be adding one to the putter arsenal at some point in the future. Give them a look and test drive when you demo putters again. I know it's a mallet, but just give it a chance. They also make the Red X 5, which is essentially the same but has a plumbers neck.

Good luck. Putting is so crucial to scoring well.

[cmay119]

I recently made a few changes and would submit that you are on to something.

Thanks for the comment and advice Dub. You just happen to have the exact putter I'm really debating on right now. I'm really considering going out and getting fitted into a putter that will be best suited to my stroke. I really wanted to upgrade the driver + woods in my bag. But those seem far less important than this particular part of my game. Hopefully, a different putter will at least get me on the right track to better putting.