Switching Putters! need opinions, suggestions. need to be fitted. Help!

[VardonFlyer]

hello!

so i am a scratch golfer. i just finished four years of collegiate golf, my play was average. i say my golf has always been average due to average or below average putting.  I will say i practice putting as much as the next guy. For my entire career i have used a "answer" style putter. An offset blade style i guess? For the last three years i have used the Nike Method putter in a 34 inch. I am just tired of this putter and the stroke i have had with it so i am wanting to switch! ( this comes after losing an AM tournament by one and missing four puts on the last four holes!. Frustrating! )

I have always battled closing my putter face at address and then having an inside stroke. a hook stroke if you will. For me to make a good stroke i have to feel like i am taking the putter way outside the line and finishing outside the line. I have to stroke it out to out.

I am 6 foot tall, 175 lb. always have played a 34 inch. I do not like to set my ball up with a line.

What suggestions for a putter do you all have. What style should it be? i was thinking about going center shafted? If i tend to pull puts what style of putter should i have? I am not so concerned with technology rather just the right style and weight of putter?

So for some one who pulls puts, what putter style, model, length, and weigh will help!?

Thank you all for you opinions!

[Elvisliveson]

Trying to feel "out to out", as you put it, is akin to square to square. You therefore would probably want to look into a faced balanced mid-mallet, IMO, like the Nike Method Tiger is using now.

[delav]

Agree, sounds like a face-balanced putter may be worth checking out.  I really like the rife that I am playing now, coming from a newport.

[iacas]

First, welcome, and please join the Scratch Golfers group.

I doubt very much that you live within even three to four hours of me, so I hope that this advice can come off as unbiased, or rather, biased after much research. Let me explain...

Good putters all have several commonalities. It's not grip, stance, or even stroke type. Good putters read greens well (see AimPoint for help there), good putters hit the ball the proper distance , and good putters start the ball on-line .

The first part, again, AimPoint or whatever you do is fine... the physical, metal putter can't help you with that.

The physical, metal putter can help you with distance control and starting the ball on-line. I'm an instructor with Golf Evolution and we spent months investigating ways to help people putt better. It led us to AimPoint and it led us to Edel Putters , too.

Did you know that 80% of golfers - including PGA Tour golfers - can't aim inside the hole from six feet away with their current putters? There's a thread on " aim bias " but the end result is this: if you can't aim your putter, your stroke will have to compensate for that, and you're layering compensations on top of compensations. With a putter you can aim, the compensations aren't necessary.

Our eyes all perceive shapes differently, and the Edel fitting system is unique in that it allows you, through a fitting, to create a putter that you line up perfectly. It does this with a vast array - something like 300 million combinations - of putter loft, head shape, lines/dots, hosels, offset, length, lie, etc.

Everyone perceives shapes differently. A putter you aim way left someone else might see as really closed and thus open it up and aim it to the right. Or vice versa. The trick is finding the putter geometry that works the way you see things. And the nice thing is, barring an accident or something that severely messes with your vision, you'll always see the shapes the same way, so your putter will always line up for you.

If you have a putter that always lines up, and you start to pull putts, you can focus on your stroke mechanics and not worry about whether or not you can even AIM the putter properly!

And that's just aim. One of the parts I like most about Edel fittings is the speed fitting part. Most putter heads are about 340 grams, but my putter is 370 grams with a 60 gram backweight! Most putter heads are too light, and a lot of people need a little back weight as well. Not as much as the "Heavy Putter" folks (and again, they're not fit at all, they're just putting a lot of weight in the head AND grip ends), but heavier than the average putter these days.

You'll basically be asked to putt to a string 15 feet away, and you'll be surprised at how poorly you will be able to control that with a poorly weighted putter. Again, this is unique to each person - Dave also got a 370 gram head but NO backweighting.

For faster or slower greens, Edel can make a "Variable Weight" putter that lets you get closer to your baseline feel. When you go to a slower green, you put lighter weights in to help you swing the putter head a little faster with the same "feel." If you visit a really fast green, you put the heavier ones in to keep roughly the same "feel." The "distance control" portion of the fitting is important and almost as eye-opening as the alignment portion.

Here's what I'd do if I were you. Find an Edel fitter and take your current putter(s). You may find that an Anser style is a horrible fit for you, and the fitter will be able to fit you into a putter that fits you perfectly. If you can  aim your Anser putter properly, he'll be able to test your speed control and if it's poor, could show you how your speed control can be improved by fitting the weight properly.

Most Edel fittings are free if you buy an Edel putter - they're not cheap, but since you have Camerons and Methods they're also not much more expensive at all. And you'll have your Edel putter for life because it'll be the putter that's 100% fit for you.

That's my recommendation. As I said, I'm biased, because I've done the research and that's what led me to Edel putters. But I'm not biased in that I'm not going to make a penny from Edel or you or anyone in recommending this to you. I just really like what the Edel system does and can't recommend it highly enough.

[WUTiger]

I had a putter fitting several months ago, and ended up with a trimmed shaft, a flatter lie, increased loft and increased weight.

The fitter and iacas ( above) agreed on two things:

• Most players have a putter which is too light
• People's eyes see different things when standing over the putt

Also, the fitter suggested that correct loft is important to get the putt rolling (not skidding) as soon as possible

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

I had a putter fitting several months ago, and ended up with a trimmed shaft, a flatter lie, increased loft and increased weight.

The fitter and iacas (above) agreed on two things:

Most players have a putter which is too light

People's eyes see different things when standing over the putt

Also, the fitter suggested that correct loft is important to get the putt rolling (not skidding) as soon as possible

Eliminating skidding is great if that works for your greens.

[VardonFlyer]

if my miss is left, do i want a face balanced or heel balanced? do i want a heel shaft or center shaft? thanks.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by VardonFlyer

if my miss is left, do i want a face balanced or heel balanced? do i want a heel shaft or center shaft? thanks.

You might want a putter you aim where you think you're aiming. Odds are you don't - see the " aim bias " thread.

If it's truly a matter of heel and toe weight, technically it can be too much toe weight or too little toe weight. It depends on the type of stroke you've got. Some like to feel toe weight so that they can rotate it. Others will respond to toe weight by letting it drag and keeping the face open.

[IrishMaggie]

I had an Edel putter fitting at Totally Driven in St. Paul, Minnesota and it has worked out well for me. I am right handed and left eye dominant. Putting for me has been a challenge but I've worked on it and improved over the years using different putters and some practice, but I got tired of the inconsistency and I really wanted to make putting easier and more fun. I wanted less frustration and more rounds in the 70's on a regular basis. I got fitted by Andy for an Edel putter and my putting has definitely improved from every distance. I got the Basic model with the pixel insert and blue paint fill.  Everything else is custom to me - head type, hosel type, lie angle, loft degree, aiming lines, shaft type, shaft length, grip contour and size, and counter weights in the grip which includes both the amount of weight and particular placement in the shaft.  All of these factors were taken into consideration to get me aiming at the target from all distances and in achieving consistent distance control. With my Edel  I'm making more putts and when I don't I'm not missing by much which has really cut down on having to grind it out for a two putt.

Bottom line - the Edel system and putter has really worked out for me and it might work out for you.  It is definitely something to consider.  Also, I paid a total of $425.00 which is about $50.00 less than the total amount I spent on different putters over the past nine years.

Good luck.

[Gilly]

I'm sure the OP has already found a new putter by now, but for what it's worth, I just picked up an Odyssey White Hot XG 2-Ball F7 and fricken love it! Some people have complained the face is too soft, but this putter works better with my stroke than any other putter I've used in the past. It might not be the prettiest, but damn I make a lot of puts with it.

My .02