New driver or putter?

[saevel25]

9 minutes ago, klineka said:

I have found some of the driver head only on ebay for around $175, so then I think I will take the other ~$50 or so plus a little of my own cash and put it towards a putter.

Be careful with Ebay. You can end up buying a fake product.

 

[colin007]

15 minutes ago, Foot Wedge said:

@klineka Get fit for the driver and try to get a used putter.  Do you know if your putter stroke has some arc to it?  Or if it's straight back-straight through?  This will determine if you should be using a face balanced putter, or one with toe hang.  Check this and how much the toe of your putter hangs (if at all) when balanced horizontally.  Now you'll know what kind of putter you need.  Then try a few out, and buy it used.  If you want you can get it adjusted by a tech to better fit you.  Toe hang putters want to open/close in the stroke, face balanced putters remain stable.  It helps to have a putter that doesn't fight against your stroke.

Literally, none of this matters if you don't know if you're aiming the thing correctly. There's really only one best way to find out and that's with a laser.

[saevel25]

6 minutes ago, colin007 said:

Literally, none of this matters if you don't know if you're aiming the thing correctly. There's really only one best way to find out and that's with a laser.

I agree, especially with a putter. With my Edel fitting, I got lucky that I could aim my Odyssey putter pretty much spot on. They found the Edel putter with the similar shape, and copied the aim lines. I've seen a few people get fitted for Edel putters and they would aim a15-20 ft putt a few feet right or left. It is shocking how much the shape of the putter and the aim lines influence a person to aim the putter.

[klineka]

11 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Be careful with Ebay. You can end up buying a fake product.

 

ahh thanks for the tip. I didnt even think about the fact that there would be fake ones. I will make sure its from a reputable seller

10 minutes ago, colin007 said:

Literally, none of this matters if you don't know if you're aiming the thing correctly. There's really only one best way to find out and that's with a laser.

Good point. I didnt realize how much aiming can be off just by different putters. 

Might have to just get the putter fitting after all.

[Typhoon92]

 Check it out but does the R1 adapter fit the M series?  If so, go to a demo day where you usually get a half way decent fitting for free from Taylormade.  Bring your current shaft ( if the adapter works in the M) and have them look at the numbers on the launch monitor they use. 

It's free and no obligation to buy.  You could even bring your R1 driver to compare it to.  I've found the TM reps to be great.

Ok, I got bored and looked it up, the R1 does fit it

I'd do a putter fitting for length and lie angle anyway.  Probably ask one of the pro's at Golf Galaxy a few questions and they'll get u in the right direction.  Putter fitting for length and lie was huge for me.  Ended up with a 32.5" putter.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Typhoon92

[klineka]

2 minutes ago, Typhoon92 said:

 Check it out but does the R1 adapter fit the M series?  If so, go to a demo day where you usually get a half way decent fitting for free from Taylormade.  Bring your current shaft ( if the adapter works in the M) and have them look at the numbers on the launch monitor they use. 

It's free and no obligation to buy.  You could even bring your R1 driver to compare it to.  I've found the TM reps to be great.

I'd do a putter fitting for length and lie angle anyway.  Probably ask one of the pro's at Golf Galaxy a few questions and they'll get u in the right direction.  Putter fitting for length and lie was huge for me.  Ended up with a 32.5" putter.

Based on the (brief) research that I have done I think the R1 adapter does fit into the M series because they both use the loft sleeve technology for the adapter (someone please correct me if Im wrong)

This is the same exact shaft that I have 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TAYLORMADE-M1-R1-OBAN-KIYOSHI-65-STIFF-FLEX-SHAFT-43-3-4-to-TIP-/192245445967?hash=item2cc2b8b54f:g:GzcAAOSwn-tZFhnM

multiple listings on Ebay state that it does work with the M series drivers 

[Typhoon92]

Funny, I looked it up and edited it into my post that they are interchangeable and at the same time I were replying.

Cool!

[b101]

Avoid eBay like the plague (in my opinion). Just not worth the risk, particularly if you're in the States with Callaway Pre-owned and other, more reputable sites. As someone who's at a similar handicap and has done full-on putter and driver fittings in the last couple of years, here's my take, as well as links to my write ups of my fittings. For me, unless you plan to do some serious swing work, if you're going to do a fitting, do it properly at an independent place - it's worth the expense. Not sure on what Golf Galaxy is like, but we have American Golf here, whose fitters couldn't work out that it was my angle of attack of -8 degrees with the driver that was costing me distance. Likewise, I treat golf pros with a bit of a pinch of salt. I got fitted for my 3 wood at my old club and whilst they probably got the shaft right, I'm not sure there was much science going into it. Conversely, when I've been to Precision Golf (http://www.precisiongolf.co.uk/), they've nailed it every time and taken a good hour and a half to do the fitting. There'd be a similar place near you, I'm sure. You pay more, but you get seriously good aftercare and you leave with the confidence that what you have is right for you.

Anyway, my write up of my driver fitting (Precision). I've very recently bought a used Callaway Epic as the driver I had was basically fitted for a slice swing... This isn't to say that I don't believe in the proper, full-blown fitting (I really do), but my swing had outgrown the previous driver. For a start, my swing speed is no longer at the 104mph due to shortening it to tighten up and a lot of the other changes have meant that the ball flight just balloons more than it needs to. My plan is to keep developing my swing and then probably get another full fitting in 3-4 years or so, depending on how things progress. 

That said, for the last two years, my driver has been good and made a huge difference to my scoring. 

Putter fitting - not the biggest write-up, but gives an idea. If I were going for a fitting now, I'd look to book an Edel fitting. 2 years on and the putter is still brilliant and I doubt I'll need to change it for a long time. The only issue I have is that I feel like I'm aiming left the whole time - an Edel fitting would have taken care of this, but as long as I line up properly and trust my line, it's very reliable. For info, putter cost £250: 

Hope this helps! In a nutshell, my advice would be that it depends on what you plan to do with your swing (lessons etc). If it's going to stay similar or you aren't really working on changing a whole load, consider the full, bespoke club fitting. If you want to develop, buy a used driver, but have some sort of a fitting. 

As for the putting, have a lesson on putting before you go for a fitting - it will make the world of difference and stop you potentially getting fit for a poor stroke.

Edited August 1, 2017 by b101

[Foot Wedge]

2 hours ago, colin007 said:

Literally, none of this matters if you don't know if you're aiming the thing correctly. There's really only one best way to find out and that's with a laser.

Yeah, good point sorry I missed this.

[klineka]

Quick update for everyone,

I went into my local Golf Galaxy and inquired about their putter fitting. They recommended at my current skill/handicap level to try various putters out on the putting green and see what I like the best and see what feels the best and then they can help with the fitting once I had it narrowed down. I spent probably a solid 45 minutes trying various ones both that I liked, and ultimately decided on the Odyssey White Hot RX 1 putter. 35 inches long, 3 degrees loft and 70 degrees lie, plus a good bit under budget so the wife was happy. The soft feel off the face was by far the best I felt, even tried much more expensive ones like the Taylormade Spider and higher end Ping models. I was very consistent on 10 and 15 footers, one stretch I made five putts in a row, three at 10 feet and two at 15 feet.

 

While I probably could have spent the time and money for a putter fitting, at the end of the day I liked this putter so much and was putting so well with it that I decided to pass on the putter fitting for now. Instead of spending the money on the putter fitting and since I was under budget with the putter, the wife said I have another $50 or so I can get something with, so I do think I will now order a copy of LSW which will probably benefit my overall game more than the putter fitting did. 

 

I decided to hold off on the driver for now, even though it might not be the best driver I could have, I hit it plenty long enough at the moment to give myself scoring chances so I felt that the putter would benefit me more. I will probably ask for a driver for christmas, or look to get one at our local golf expo in Jan./Feb. Thanks everyone for the help and advice, I cant wait to get out on the course tomorrow and try the putter out!

[pganapathy]

I think you did the correct thing in getting fit, or rather picking up, a putter first.  Your current driver may not be maximizing your game but it does not seem to be hindering you too much.  You are getting a reasonable distance and reasonable accuracy, but I have no doubt a good fitting will improve both.  Get yourself to a proper fitting once and see how much difference a driver will make before you decide on that as your next step.  For me a good fitting that helps with your irons and wedges is worth a lot more than your driver fitting purely because those are your scoring clubs now that you have your putter sorted out.

[BallMarker]

"New driver or putter?"

Unless one of them is broken, more than 10 years old or you just want to. The answer is neither.

I was visiting my cousin in Virginia couple of summers ago. We went to play golf. I borrowed a set of clubs at the club house. They must have been at least 15 years old. I shot 79...still played a good round.

On 8/1/2017 at 8:07 AM, colin007 said:

Literally, none of this matters if you don't know if you're aiming the thing correctly. There's really only one best way to find out and that's with a laser.

Yup.

For most weekend golfers spending the extra time, and money, to get fitted doesn't make since, because their swing changes so much from week to week. So, what you got fitted for last week may become obsolete next time you play.

[klineka]

39 minutes ago, BallMarker said:

"New driver or putter?"

Unless one of them is broken, more than 10 years old or you just want to. The answer is neither.

My putter came from the first cheap box set of clubs I got back in high school, 2007-2008 so it was definitely time for a new putter.

[BallMarker]

22 hours ago, klineka said:

My putter came from the first cheap box set of clubs I got back in high school, 2007-2008 so it was definitely time for a new putter.

Ok....

I recommend Scotty Newport 2.5.

I got one a few years ago. Now, I'm convinced that I'll never need another putter as long as I live.

[klineka]

3 minutes ago, BallMarker said:

Ok....

I recommend Scotty Newport 2.5.

I got one a few years ago. Now, I'm convinced that I'll never need another putter as long as I live.

I actually ended up getting the Odyssey White Hot RX #1. Scotty Camerons were a little out of my budget, the wife capped me around $225 or so.

[BallMarker]

7 minutes ago, klineka said:

I actually ended up getting the Odyssey White Hot RX #1.

That's a good one.

.

Speaking of putters. Do you prefer putters that are offset or ones with little to no offset?