4* putter loft too much?

[EZ Swinger]

I have noticed that many top notch putter dealers have 4 degrees of loft on their putters (scotty cameron, some bettinardi's, and many custom putter makers). For me, just from trying out many of them, I can't get a 4 degree loft putter to roll true. Does this mean I have something seriously wrong with my stroke? Let me know if you have had this problem also. Thanks.

[jbl1202]

both of my scotty camerons roll fine and they have 4 degrees of loft

[zanga254]

some golfer has a forward press, which is when they lean their shaft forward during putting, reducing effective loft. A 4 degrees putter helps with this. The loft of the putter can be fine tuned just like any other club. Since the optimal launch angle of a putter is 3 degrees, you might need to buy a putter with 2 degrees of loft.

It is possible that your putting storke is wrong. Can you putt fine with other clubs?

[EZ Swinger]

  zanga254 said:

some golfer has a forward press, which is when they lean their shaft forward during putting, reducing effective loft. A 4 degrees putter helps with this. The loft of the putter can be fine tuned just like any other club. Since the optimal launch angle of a putter is 3 degrees, you might need to buy a putter with 2 degrees of loft.

Yep I have a YES! putter and it has 2.5 degrees of loft and I roll it true just don't like the feel the insert. Naturally, I feel the urge inside me like every other golfer to get a scotty cameron.

[wubskis]

  EZ Swinger said:

Yep I have a YES! putter and it has 2.5 degrees of loft and I roll it true just don't like the feel the insert. Naturally, I feel the urge inside me like every other golfer to get a scotty cameron.

I don't have any urge to get a Scotty, I'm perfectly happy with what I have. A lot of people don't have Scotty Cameron putters on this forum, and I think if your attitude is that by getting a Scotty you'll fix your putting, you're doing it for the wrong reasons, sorry.

[Dub]

4 degrees works great for me. I do like a slight forward press, too.


Wouldn't want it any other way.

[deronsizemore]

  EZ Swinger said:

I have noticed that many top notch putter dealers have 4 degrees of loft on their putters (scotty cameron, some bettinardi's, and many custom putter makers). For me, just from trying out many of them, I can't get a 4 degree loft putter to roll true. Does this mean I have something seriously wrong with my stroke? Let me know if you have had this problem also. Thanks.

I used to think 4 degrees was too much but not anymore. At address I could always see quite a lot of the face of the putter and it would drive me nuts and lead to some pretty bad strokes. The thing is, most putters have some sole relief so that they do not get caught on the grass during the backstroke. If the putter has 4 degrees of loft, plus the sole relief, it may actually have more loft than that when you set it down on a flat surface. With the sole relief, for me it would make the shaft of the putter lean backwards away from the target. Once I started getting the shaft vertical at address or even slightly forward at address my stroke improved almost instantly. It really allowed me to line the face up correctly more consistently and the quality of contact and sound at impact was so much better it wasn't funny.

What I did was get a small level with a magnet on the side of it. I stuck it on the side of the shaft so I could figure out exactly where vertical was. On the back of my Studio Select Cameron, there are three red dots. I know my shaft is vertical when those three red dots are just barely hidden.

[EZ Swinger]

  deronsizemore said:

I used to think 4 degrees was too much but not anymore. At address I could always see quite a lot of the face of the putter and it would drive me nuts and lead to some pretty bad strokes. The thing is, most putters have some sole relief so that they do not get caught on the grass during the backstroke. If the putter has 4 degrees of loft, plus the sole relief, it may actually have more loft than that when you set it down on a flat surface. With the sole relief, for me it would make the shaft of the putter lean backwards away from the target. Once I started getting the shaft vertical at address or even slightly forward at address my stroke improved almost instantly. It really allowed me to line the face up correctly more consistently and the quality of contact and sound at impact was so much better it wasn't funny.

Thanks a lot for the info. By the way, I noticed you in another thread talk about the inside to down the line putting training aid (hijacking my own thread). I think it was you. If it was, what has your experience been with the stroke and are you still using it? Thanks a bunch.

[deronsizemore]

  EZ Swinger said:

Thanks a lot for the info. By the way, I noticed you in another thread talk about the inside to down the line putting training aid (hijacking my own thread). I think it was you. If it was, what has your experience been with the stroke and are you still using it? Thanks a bunch.

Yep, that was me. I still have both the short track and the long track although I use the short track most when I was practicing with it. I do like the track and the stroke it allows me to make, but to be honest, I've not used it enough to really ingrain the stroke. I purchased it before I found out about the sole relief of the putter and how I was likely adding a lot of loft. So, I was basically holding the putter wrong with about 6 degrees of loft. I could still make them all day with the track in place, but my stroke was poor. Now that my stroke is coming around and I'm holding the putter correctly, I've not had the chance to really get out and practice with the track. It's getting cold here and the practice green I typically go too was just aerated and isn't rolling real well. I do think it will take a lot of work to really ingrain the stroke though. I can really tell that my usual stroke tries to come out without the track in place and it's a battle of what stroke will win. lol

I'm actually going to sell the long track on ebay. PM me if you're interested.

[hamletsdead]

  EZ Swinger said:

I have noticed that many top notch putter dealers have 4 degrees of loft on their putters (scotty cameron, some bettinardi's, and many custom putter makers). For me, just from trying out many of them, I can't get a 4 degree loft putter to roll true. Does this mean I have something seriously wrong with my stroke? Let me know if you have had this problem also. Thanks.

I have 4* on mine, and it rolls just great. That said, I forward press a touch. If your stroke is a bit more upright maybe a degree or so less would be better for your game. Stan Utley says people generally don't have enough loft on their putters, but given the wide variety of strokes, it's really a question of what works best for you. Any clubmaker should be able bend it down to 3* for you to see how you like a bit less loft.