So, you have broken your putter mid-round

[Bryan SD2]

Just like pony-tail boy did yesterday on the PGA tour.

What club are you going to putt with and why?

[xxsoultonesxx]

Lob wedge for me. Flattest leading edge and closest in length to my putter. Maybe my hybrid if I'm feeling saucy.

[DarkPrince]

I pull Miguel Angel Jimenez...and let him putt for me :P

[jamo]

I would belly lob wedges. Or maybe sand wedges because my SW is a little heavier.

[Zeph]

Not that I've ever experimented too much with other clubs, but I was a bit surprised he chose to belly a wedge. I'd probably have tried a wood or hybrid first. More forgivable than the wedge, perhaps harder to find the pace with should the ball come hot off the face, but you can focus more on the speed with a larger face.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by Zeph

Not that I've ever experimented too much with other clubs, but I was a bit surprised he chose to belly a wedge. I'd probably have tried a wood or hybrid first. More forgivable than the wedge, perhaps harder to find the pace with should the ball come hot off the face, but you can focus more on the speed with a larger face.

You would always use a wedge and belly it.  Putting with a hybrid or wood feels springy and you have absolutely no distance control at all.  You would be surprised at how ell you can putt with a wedge.

[jamo]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeph

Not that I've ever experimented too much with other clubs, but I was a bit surprised he chose to belly a wedge. I'd probably have tried a wood or hybrid first. More forgivable than the wedge, perhaps harder to find the pace with should the ball come hot off the face, but you can focus more on the speed with a larger face.

You would always use a wedge and belly it.  Putting with a hybrid or wood feels springy and you have absolutely no distance control at all.  You would be surprised at how ell you can putt with a wedge.

I think the length of the shafts would also make it hard to putt with a wood or a hybrid.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeph

Not that I've ever experimented too much with other clubs, but I was a bit surprised he chose to belly a wedge. I'd probably have tried a wood or hybrid first. More forgivable than the wedge, perhaps harder to find the pace with should the ball come hot off the face, but you can focus more on the speed with a larger face.

You would always use a wedge and belly it.  Putting with a hybrid or wood feels springy and you have absolutely no distance control at all.  You would be surprised at how ell you can putt with a wedge.

Maybe for you, but I have putted with both a 5W and with a 4H and both are much easier to putt with for me than a wedge.  Hell, I can even putt better with my driver than with a wedge.  I have no distance control with a wedge... almost universally come up  short.

You simply can't post absolutes about such things.  They just aren't true.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shorty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeph

Not that I've ever experimented too much with other clubs, but I was a bit surprised he chose to belly a wedge. I'd probably have tried a wood or hybrid first. More forgivable than the wedge, perhaps harder to find the pace with should the ball come hot off the face, but you can focus more on the speed with a larger face.

You would always use a wedge and belly it.  Putting with a hybrid or wood feels springy and you have absolutely no distance control at all.  You would be surprised at how ell you can putt with a wedge.

Maybe for you, but I have putted with both a 5W and with a 4H and both are much easier to putt with for me than a wedge.  Hell, I can even putt better with my driver than with a wedge.  I have no distance control with a wedge... almost universally come up  short.

You simply can't post absolutes about such things.  They just aren't true.

Since the disappearance of wooden headed drivers, every professional I've ever seen with a broke putter uses a 2-iron or a bladed wedge.

For some woods, an extreme forward press is necessary for putts < 10 feet to keep the face on the target line and prevent the ball from hopping.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shorty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeph

Not that I've ever experimented too much with other clubs, but I was a bit surprised he chose to belly a wedge. I'd probably have tried a wood or hybrid first. More forgivable than the wedge, perhaps harder to find the pace with should the ball come hot off the face, but you can focus more on the speed with a larger face.

You would always use a wedge and belly it.  Putting with a hybrid or wood feels springy and you have absolutely no distance control at all.  You would be surprised at how ell you can putt with a wedge.

Maybe for you, but I have putted with both a 5W and with a 4H and both are much easier to putt with for me than a wedge.  Hell, I can even putt better with my driver than with a wedge.  I have no distance control with a wedge... almost universally come up  short.

You simply can't post absolutes about such things.  They just aren't true.

Since the disappearance of wooden headed drivers, every professional I've ever seen with a broke putter uses a 2-iron or a bladed wedge.

For some woods, an extreme forward press is necessary for putts < 10 feet to keep the face on the target line and prevent the ball from hopping.

And putting with a wedge requires precise height control to avoid the same thing.  It means you have one more thing to think about, not just power and aim, but striking the ball at it's equator as well.  I simply would rather use a club with a more upright face.  I've done so in several limited club tournaments and it has worked out very well.  I'm not saying that there is any wrong with someone using a wedge, just that it isn't the only reasonable solution.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shorty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeph

Not that I've ever experimented too much with other clubs, but I was a bit surprised he chose to belly a wedge. I'd probably have tried a wood or hybrid first. More forgivable than the wedge, perhaps harder to find the pace with should the ball come hot off the face, but you can focus more on the speed with a larger face.

You would always use a wedge and belly it.  Putting with a hybrid or wood feels springy and you have absolutely no distance control at all.  You would be surprised at how ell you can putt with a wedge.

Maybe for you, but I have putted with both a 5W and with a 4H and both are much easier to putt with for me than a wedge.  Hell, I can even putt better with my driver than with a wedge.  I have no distance control with a wedge... almost universally come up  short.

You simply can't post absolutes about such things.  They just aren't true.

Since the disappearance of wooden headed drivers, every professional I've ever seen with a broke putter uses a 2-iron or a bladed wedge.

For some woods, an extreme forward press is necessary for putts < 10 feet to keep the face on the target line and prevent the ball from hopping.

And putting with a wedge requires precise height control to avoid the same thing.  It means you have one more thing to think about, not just power and aim, but striking the ball at it's equator as well.  I simply would rather use a club with a more upright face.  I've done so in several limited club tournaments and it has worked out very well.  I'm not saying that there is any wrong with someone using a wedge, just that it isn't the only reasonable solution.

The only wrong answer is a club you have no confidence in, but feel pressured to use. Call me crazy, but I might actually use a 6-iron. I can blade it in tight and hit it off grooves from the fringe.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

And putting with a wedge requires precise height control to avoid the same thing.  It means you have one more thing to think about, not just power and aim, but striking the ball at it's equator as well.  I simply would rather use a club with a more upright face.  I've done so in several limited club tournaments and it has worked out very well.  I'm not saying that there is any wrong with someone using a wedge, just that it isn't the only reasonable solution.

Rick, maybe you've never tried it, but I can putt with a wedge nearly as well as I putt with a putter. It's not hard at all to blade a wedge. The only tip I'd have is that you want to aim a bit more in the heel than you think, but the blading part is really easy. I don't even hover it there when I practice putting with a wedge - I let it sit on the ground, take it back, and just deliver the blade within the middle 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the ball and it works out fine.

[Radford Wooly]

Try different clubs and see what works for you.

[2bGood]

My SW for sure. In a "fun" round if I am out of a hole and my bag is far away after a chip on the green, I use my SW and it is almost as good as a putter. I do this at times when I playing few holes for practice, I tend to just take 2 or 3clubs and use my SW to putt. I am not the type to break a club in anger, but if something ever did happen to my putter I think I could do just fine.

[ohiolefty]

I'd putt with my hybrid on longer putts....and I would putt with my lowest-lofted iron on stuff inside of 10 feet....

I really don't like putting with the face of an iron...I do LIKE putting with a hybrid, particularly for long lags. However, I have a hard time with it in close because the shaft is so long, and I don't like using it as a belly putter because the length is off. Inside of 10 feet...my 3 iron is going to give me the best chance to hit my line.

Blading a wedge is great when you're knocking in an up-and-down you've knocked stiff, or when you are playing match play/skins and a putt doesn't matter. Other than that...too many variables for me.

[michaeljames92]

I would use my driver. I actually tried this out half way through a round before. Basically i just used it as a belly putter and grip the club just under the grip. I actually holed a lot of putts doing this.

[zeg]

Another vote for a wedge, probably my 56- or 60-degree.  I don't practice this, but occasionally clean up a few on the chipping green this way.  I don't find it at all difficult, and the worst that happens is I pop or top the ball a bit; in either case it comes up a little short, but neither is a disaster.

[Shorty]

I think a lot of people who are replying to this question are saying what they think they'd do and are imagining what it feels like, but have never actually done it.

I've done it quite a few times.

I've never broken a putter and had to putt with a wedge, but there have been occasions where my score is shot and I'll hit a wedge from a bunker or near the green and putt with my wedge.  A 10 foot putt (or less) with a wedge's belly is surprisingly easy.

Let me put it another way:

If you said $100 to one or two putt 10 times in a row from 10 feet with a wedge I'd take it every time on average speed greens.

If you said do it with a driver or hybrid, and said 8 out of 10, I wouldn't take the bet.  But I'd certainly be bellying the hybrid or driver - and then length becomes the issue.  You want to roll it - hence the bellying - you don't use the face.  The idea of using the straightest faced club you have is wrong.

Try it next time you're on the putting green.  It's not as scary as you might imagine.