Turn my spare Odyssey putter into a a long putter? Can it be done?

[jlund]

Hello all,

I have been using 35" putters my entire adult life but I am becoming more and more intrigued by the idea of a chest putter.  I don't really want to spend the $$$ on a new putter for something that I just want to play around with so my question is:

I have an Odyssey Black Series i 2-ball 35" sitting in the basement

I found this auction on eBay selling pulled 53" putter shafts: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Long-Belly-Putter-Shaft-Scotty-Cameron-Red-X-370-1-bend-53-straight-49-5-/160668170184?pt=Golf_Clubmaking_Products_US&hash;=item256891b7c8

I am not worried about pulling and installing the new shaft itself.  But any thoughts on whether or not this will work?  What I mean is I have no clue if putter heads are matched to specific shafts ( weight, etc ).

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[tx_basser]

yes, it can be done, but you will need to add some weight to the head.

[jlund]

^^ That's what I was thinking.  Will it be a feel thing in regards to adding weight, or is there some way to determine how heavy the head should have been if it was originally designed to be the head of a chest putter?

[Double Bogey]

I took my putter to the local golf shop (pga tourstore, golfsmith, etc) and had them add weights to the grip end of my putter until I was hitting putts consistently. I cannot remember what it cost to add the weight bit it will make a tremendous difference.

[bradsul]

I've done a bunch of conversions for friends and family (both belly and long putters).  With the long putters I found that once you extend it the head will usually feel far too light and it will actually feel dead when rolling the ball.  Add weight a little bit at a time until you like the feel of the roll.

My brother has a 2-ball that we made into a belly putter and ended up having to add something like 30g of weight to the head.  Fortunately we were able to internalize it or that would been rather unsightly.

[dxstx]

I ( IMHO) believe the main cause for concern in converting a regular putter  (lie of 71 degrees) is the difference in lie for the long putter (lie of 79 - 80 degrees). The belly putter is the same lie as the regular putter which is around 71 degrees. The lie for the long putter is 79 - 80 degrees.

I am attempting to change a regular putter to a long putter and to increase the lie the additional 8 - 9 degrees.

My question is - will bending the hosel or insert to the putter head to the desired lie affect the overall performance of the putter?  OR.....will it be necessary to fill in the hole for the shaft at a machine shop and then have the head drilled to accommodate the the correct angle for the long putter?

Has anyone attempted this? If so what results have you found?

Thanks

dxstx

[bradsul]

It will affect the performance if you don't ensure the loft stays to whatever spec you need.  But with a bend that huge I'd be more concerned about breakage.  With one conversion we decided to fill the insert on the putter head with an epoxy/tungsten powder mix and then drill a new hole.

[jlund]

As a follow up, in case anyone is interested moving forward.  Because the loft and lie of a belly putter is either identical or nearly identical to a traditional putter ( vs. a sternum putter ), I decided to make a belly putter to try out.

I took my spare Odyssey putter to my local golf shop...  They added an 8" extension making it a standard 43" belly putter length.  I purchased a Winn grip there and he put it all together for me.  It took 15 minutes and less than $20 and I now have a beautiful belly putter ( on the cheap ) to give a whirl.  :)

[iacas]

We've found that belly putters have a very different loft (often 2-3 degrees) and the head weight is often MUCH heavier.

I'd caution against creating a belly putter from a regular putter.

[jlund]

Originally Posted by iacas

We've found that belly putters have a very different loft (often 2-3 degrees) and the head weight is often MUCH heavier.

I'd caution against creating a belly putter from a regular putter.

This putter has changeable weights.  The normal headweight is 350g and most belly putters have headweights of 400g.  I had Odyssey send me a heavier weight and I now have the option of either.

Putters all come down to feel eventually... I tested this set up ( with a normal 350g weight ) next to 5 different belly putters and for me personally the difference in feel, while certainly there was not something that threw me off dramatically.

The loft is something that I have not found to be an issue with this putter specifically.

It will take some time to tell, but I did play a round 2 days ago and I putted very well with this.  We'll see if it works out in the long term, but I see no harm in doing something like this for the vast majority of guys who have a spare putter in the basement, are curious about belly putting and don't want to pony up the $$$ for a putter they are not sure if they will like.

My $0.02 of course.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by jlund

I see no harm in doing something like this for the vast majority of guys who have a spare putter in the basement, are curious about belly putting and don't want to pony up the $$$ for a putter they are not sure if they will like.

If you're looking to "try out" a belly putter, I think there are two better options (we have both at Golf Evolution and they're both valid and work pretty well - one more as an aid and the first as an aid/permanent solution):

http://bellyputt.com/

http://www.perfectpendulum.com/