Something I learned today - Sometimes it's not you!

[MiniBlueDragon]

I had a revelation this morning that I felt compelled to share with you. Let me explain...

Since I started playing golf I've always used the same putter; my trusty Ping Anser iWi. It was chosen at the time because I knew I wanted a good putter that inspired confidence in my game and that I could score well with even though I knew the rest of my game was all over the place as you'd expect from a newcomer to golf. I tried mallet putters and didn't like them, I tried blade putters and didn't like them, I tried heavy putters, light putters, putters with no alignment aids, putters with alignment aids and nothing felt "right". I put it down to my status as a beginner and chose the best putter of all the ones I tried.

Over the last couple of years I've grooved myself a nice swing, I've dropped my handicap and I've enjoyed the game more and more but I've always found my putting to be lacking. Even when spending a few hours per week practicing stroke after stroke I kept finding that my aim point was never the same twice. I videod my putting stroke and realised that I'd started manipulating the putter head to improve my putting. Some people describe their stroke as an arching stroke and some straight back and straight through whereas I've always felt that mine is arching back, arching to square and then straight through. I've always felt that I need to consciously lift my front shoulder and simultaneously retain the putter's face at impact and through the front of the stroke.

So I decided to take a look at other putters again. I tried heavy ones, light ones, blades, mallets and everything I'd tried before and hated. Completely dejected I started to leave the shop but noticed a red and black grip in among all the Fisher (ugh!) putters and saw that it was a Ping. I picked it up and decided to give it a quick go and BOY am I glad I did!

3ft putts sunk. 5ft putts sunk. 15ft putts sunk and even right at the end of the putting area they were either being sunk or stopping 6 inches or so back of the cup if the line wasn't quite right. Everything about the putter felt right! The weight was perfect, the length, the lie, the loft; everything! Except for the design of it:

Blech!

But at the end of the day I can deal with it when I have immediate confidence over the ball and no longer have to pick a point in front of the ball to roll it over to try and hit a straight putt.

Needless to say I bought it there and then (marked up at £109 but scanned into the till as £89)

I got home and started looking at the old Anser next to it to figure out why it was so much better and then I realised, it must be one of these:

- Center shafted

- Face balanced

- No offset

Every single other putter I'd tried was heel shafted, toe heavy and had various types of offset. Sometimes you need simple.

So the moral of the story after all that rambling is that sometimes (only sometimes!) a workman CAN blame his tools and you should never assume that just because you're a beginner, you must be at fault and not the equipment.

Hit 'em straight!

[Double Bogey]

Very cool MBD.  I love it when things just work out... to bad it does not happen to me that often

[Precis1on]

Glad you figured out your putting woes!

[inthecup]

Have you taken it to the course yet?

[MiniBlueDragon]

Originally Posted by inthecup

Have you taken it to the course yet?

Yep! Played a test round at a club I'm looking at this morning. I normally average 2-3 putts per hole but every putt is "about there" rather that at an exact spot; some go a few inches left, some a few inches right, some spot on with aim.

Today's were all putted exactly where I wanted them putted. The only issue I encountered was pace. 75% or so of my putts were the exact pace I wanted and 25% or so were silly short, e.g. putting 5ft short on a 10ft putt. I'd rather have one type of bad putt to work on than a combination though that's for sure!

Today's putts:

2 2 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Can't wait to properly map out the greens if I join and get some AimPoint going on with it rather than today's green guessing.

[Stretch]

I have six putters in my office right now. Each one was "the answer" for a while before I taught myself to putt badly with it. I wish you better fortune, sir! :)

[B-Con]

Congratulations on finding a putter that suits you better. :-) In general, I always think the Indian is more responsible than the arrow. But in putting, the mental image of how we think a putt should be hit varies so widely that the putter definitely makes a difference, especially when we demand such precision. I recently had a very similar experience just 6 or so weeks ago, switching to the Odyssey White Hot Tour #9 from my Ping Karsten Anser II. The insert feel felt good, but the heavier head weight, toe-weighting, and reduced offset were all better suited for me. In the store I was hitting more accurate putts with the #9, and my first game with it showed decent putting improvement. It's made my putting feel far better and probably shaved at least a stroke or two off my game. Odd, but the differences definitely matter. Before, I'd had problems like what you describe: many different problems, inconsistency, etc. Getting the right putter (or at least a more right putter) changed a lot of that. So again, congrats. :-)

[BugDude]

I wish they made a center shafted putter where the shaft came straight up out of the head rather than an angle.  It seems to me it would be easier to go straight back and straight through and see down the line if the shaft came straight up.  Is there some kind of rule about that or something?  Am I the only person that has ever thought that?

[Stretch]

There is a rule against that. A putter may not have a lie angle greater than 80 degrees.

[BugDude]

That would explain why there isn't one.  Thanks.

[Aleks7243]

Even if this was allowed, I can't see how it would work...how would you hold the putter properly and look down over the ball? Interesting idea though

Originally Posted by BugDude

I wish they made a center shafted putter where the shaft came straight up out of the head rather than an angle.  It seems to me it would be easier to go straight back and straight through and see down the line if the shaft came straight up.  Is there some kind of rule about that or something?  Am I the only person that has ever thought that?

[The Tin Man]

You would putt facing the hole.  Between the legs (illegal)  or side saddle (legal).

Originally Posted by Aleks7243

Even if this was allowed, I can't see how it would work...how would you hold the putter properly and look down over the ball? Interesting idea though

[tristanhilton85]

Hopefully the good putting lasts.  Good luck.