New putter, but can't hit straight

[RangeKing]

Hi everyone. I've recently replaced my old slanzenger 34 inch putter for an odyssey 38 inch tank with super stroke grip.

I'm 6".4 so went for the longer shaft as I assumed this would suit my height,but my putts are all over the place,mainly going to the left.I tend to grip midway down the grip and have moved up and down but to no improvement. Any advice or help would be great.thanks 

[boogielicious]

4 hours ago, RangeKing said:

Hi everyone. I've recently replaced my old slanzenger 34 inch putter for an odyssey 38 inch tank with super stroke grip.

I'm 6".4 so went for the longer shaft as I assumed this would suit my height,but my putts are all over the place,mainly going to the left.I tend to grip midway down the grip and have moved up and down but to no improvement. Any advice or help would be great.thanks 

You could video your putting stroke for us and start a My Swing thread in the Member Swings section. It is hard to tell what's going on without seeing it.

[Hatchman]

My fitter changed my convential grip to a SS grip.  From your post, I understand you made several changes: putter, length, and grip.  This may take time to adjust. As suggested your putting stroke may need review since you are willing to look at some ideas.

[dave s]

possible suggestion:  Take your new putter to a qualified grip installer and have them check to be sure the superstroke grip is on straight and properly aligned to the putter head.  I had mine regripped when I went from a #3 to a #2 superstroke grip.  The shop that installed the new grip didn't get it on straight and putts started out right and stayed right.

Had them regrip it a second time making 100% sure the grip was properly aligned.  Putts (for the most part) go in the direction the putter is aimed now.

dave

[mvmac]

10 hours ago, RangeKing said:

I'm 6".4 so went for the longer shaft as I assumed this would suit my height,but my putts are all over the place,mainly going to the left.I tend to grip midway down the grip and have moved up and down but to no improvement. Any advice or help would be great.thanks 

Feel free to post a pic or video.

Without seeing it I'd suggest making sure the butt end is leaning forward a little and not leaning back (adding loft).

And do the test where you set-up to a putt and drop a golf ball from your left eye. Want it to have the ball drop on the ball line or just inside of it. Having the eyes outside the line typically leads to pulls.

[phillyk]

Also have someone stand behind you with an alignment stick or something similar and aim your putter at a target 30ft away and have that person behind you see where you are actually aimed.  You may just be aimed way left of where you think you are aimed.

[No Mulligans]

Even though you are 6'4", this doesn't necessarily mean you need a longer putter.  When you bend enough to get your eyes over the ball and you hang your hands down comfortable with little bend, where do they fall on your putter grip?

Something like this or this or this (Stricker, Phil, Rory):

 

Edited March 28, 2017 by No Mulligans

[boogielicious]

13 hours ago, No Mulligans said:

Even though you are 6'4", this doesn't necessarily mean you need a longer putter.  When you bend enough to get your eyes over the ball and you hang your hands down comfortable with little bend, where do they fall on your putter grip?

Something like this or this or this (Stricker, Phil, Rory):

 

Your eyes don't necessarily have to be exactly over the ball. In Stan Utley's book The Art of Putting, he talked about many great putters whose dominant eye was behind and below the ball by about an inch. What is more important is being able to aim the putter and to be in a setup posture to have a repeatable stroke.

This differs for everyone. I am 5' 10", but I use a 35.5" putter. I stand fairly tall in a comfortable stance. When I got fitted for my putter, my aim was pretty good to start (left by 1/2 cup). The fitter adjusted my shaft +1/2" to 35.5", the loft to 5 degrees and flattened the lie to 68. That got my aim to be dead center of the cup.

So my recommendation to @RangeKing would be to get a fitting if possible. A fitting gives you the confidence that your aim is accurate and that you can start the ball on the right line. Then all you have to worry about is your read and speed.

[1badbadger]

Another possibility is the lie angle needs to be adjusted.  I know there are different versions of the Tank and they are available in different lengths, but if this was a stock putter that was extended to 38", the lie angle will probably be too upright, which will cause the putts to go left.

Also like @dave s mentioned, double check to see if the grip is on straight.  Even factory installed putter grips aren't always straight, so that's the first thing I'd check.

Hope this helps.

[No Mulligans]

7 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Your eyes don't necessarily have to be exactly over the ball. In Stan Utley's book The Art of Putting, he talked about many great putters whose dominant eye was behind and below the ball by about an inch. What is more important is being able to aim the putter and to be in a setup posture to have a repeatable stroke.

This differs for everyone. I am 5' 10", but I use a 35.5" putter. I stand fairly tall in a comfortable stance. When I got fitted for my putter, my aim was pretty good to start (left by 1/2 cup). The fitter adjusted my shaft +1/2" to 35.5", the loft to 5 degrees and flattened the lie to 68. That got my aim to be dead center of the cup.

So my recommendation to @RangeKing would be to get a fitting if possible. A fitting gives you the confidence that your aim is accurate and that you can start the ball on the right line. Then all you have to worry about is your read and speed.

Agree with all that.

Myself, for example, I'm 5'11" and I use a 33" putter.  It's not only stance but torso length vs. leg length and length of arms.  I'm sure a good fitting solves all of this.

[Patch]

When I have problems pulling putts, I always look at the easier to correct issues.

 Perhaps I am standing to close to the ball, which tends to screw up my back stroke, which will screw up my forward stroke. I sometimes stroke from out to in with the putter face square to it's path. 

Easiest one to find and solve for me, is having the the ball to far forward in my stance, which might allow more time for the putter face to close a little. 

Another issue I sometimes have is my shoulders might be open. I tend to have  slightly open shoulders on my other, non putting swings. Especially chips, and pitches, which I usually hit before putting. I some times forget to adjust to a more square shoulder stance when using my putter. 

[colin007]

You won't really knew unless you know FOR SURE where your putter is aimed. For that you'll need a laser and a mirror on the face of the putter. I was shocked when I tested my putter with a laser and saw how far off I was aimed when I thought it was straight.

[Pretzel]

38" is a pretty long putter shaft. I will say that, as a standard height 5'9" or 5'10" person, the "standard" length of 35 inches feels crazy long to me and I much prefer a 33" putter. It's also just a big difference from your old putter, which can lead to an adjustment period. 

Have you tried choking down on the new putter to the same length as your old putter? Doing so might help you determine whether or not the issue is with the style of the new clubhead (if you changed styles of clubhead, it can throw off your aim) or if it's purely to do with the length.

[Buckeyebowman]

Good suggestions above. My questions would be; How well did you putt with your old putter? Why did you change?

I'd take the old one (you didn't get rid of it, did you?) and the new one and compare them side by side. I've taken putters off the rack at the store, put them down behind a ball, and put them right back it just looked so ugly! I figured the head was jacked up or the grip was on crooked.

But something is off here and you need to figure out what.

[Marty2019]

Okay, I'll chip in here.   I think the number one mechanical problem people have with putting is head movement.   Don't follow the putt with your eyes, because it causes head movement. 

It's possible that you are so concerned about the direction of your putts that you are following them to see where they are going.   This can result in all kinds of pulling or pushing your putts as your head moves during the putt.  

On longer putts, stand behind the ball, hold up your putter, and find a spot on the green that is about 3 or 4 feet in front of your ball, but exactly on line.   Then when you address the ball, line up on that spot.   That might help your alignment a little.  (Of course, on a really nice well kept course, you might not be able to find a spot, but on the goat tracks I play, there are plenty of discolorations on the greens that I can line up on.) 

And then finally, if none of that works, have someone stand behind your line and tell you what they see. 

 

Edited April 7, 2017 by Marty2019

[NCGolfer]

Video will help quite a bit.  Without it, it will be hard to figure out exactly what is going on.  When I have problems going left with putting it has been more in my setup...more specifically my hands.  I prefer to have the hands and shaft a bit more upright and sometimes they drift down or lower.

Welcome and please post some video!

[Marty2019]

If the question had been posed by a scratch golfer, I would say I have no idea.  But since the question is posed by a 25 handicapper, I am guessing the problem is very basic: head movement.  He might be following his ball with his eyes and therefore moving his head. 

[span3636]

You know I have tried the same putter and had similar results. I noticed the face sets up close when you set it down. The only way to put with it is to hold the blade square. Just know you are not alone in your experience.