How Much Does "Stroke Type" Determine Putter Style?

[Typhoon92]

I know I'm a slight arc stroke putter.  I use a Newport Tei3.  I also have the same putter in Longneck and putt the same with both.  The thing is, the long neck is face balanced for straight back straight through strokes while the other has slight toe hang for slight arc.

Today at Golf Galaxy i grabbed both the Ping Tyne face balanced and the new plumbers neck slight arc version.  I putted better with the face balanced.  I grabbed the Odyessey #7 which is face balanced and made everything.  Taylormade Spider tour which is slight arc...made everything.

So, is there more of a blurred line if u are slight arc where a face balanced putter will work.  Only way a face balanced putter would not work is if you were a big arc.  And if u were straight back straight through would a slight arc putter be fine but not a big arc like a heel shafted mallet?

[iacas]

It doesn't really matter.

As in the Directed Force topic, the forces here are negligible.

Putters should, in order of importance, help you:

• Aim properly. This is a function of the lines, the hosel, the head shape, the loft… shaft length, basically how everything looks.
• Control distance properly. This is a function of weight and where it's located (head weight, shaft weight, counter-weight…).

[Buckeyebowman]

For me, I think distance control is far more important on longer putts. I've seen a ton of guys who could read the line, but not the distance. They would rap it looking good, but wind up a mile short or blast it a mile long! I'm in that crew!

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Buckeyebowman said:

For me, I think distance control is far more important on longer putts. I've seen a ton of guys who could read the line, but not the distance. They would rap it looking good, but wind up a mile short or blast it a mile long! I'm in that crew!

That's got almost nothing to do with this topic.

Please read the topic - not just the last post or two - before responding. The topic is about whether different putter styles better fit different putting stroke styles.

[hilmar2k]

Both my golfing buddy and I have straight back and through putting styles. I had a toe hang putter, and struggled with short putts. I switched to a face balanced putter and my short (<6') putting improved dramatically. I probably shaved 2-3 strokes off my putting per 18. My golfing buddy also was using a toe hang putter, and he too switched to face balanced. I don;t think he saw quite the improvement I did, but he definitely improved. 

I'd say there is definitely good reason to get a putter that matches your stroke.

EDIT:

This got me thinking, so I checked my stats. I began using the new putter on 6/13 of this year. 

From 3/1-6/12

1.85 putts per hole, 2.13 putts per GIR

From 6/13-pres

1.79 putts per hole, 2.03 putts per GIR

Not as big of a difference as I thought. That said, I played my home course almost exclusively in the beginning of the year, and other, much harder courses more recently. I still feel the switch made a significant improvement.

 

Edited November 1, 2017 by hilmar2k

[iacas]

1 hour ago, hilmar2k said:

Both my golfing buddy and I have straight back and through putting styles.

I'd wager that you don't. Not on putts outside of about 6-10". Not unless your shoulders are basically horizontal when you putt. (Maybe they are? And I'm not saying I'm right… just that I'd likely win the wager more often than I'd lose it. )

1 hour ago, hilmar2k said:

I had a toe hang putter, and struggled with short putts. I switched to a face balanced putter and my short (<6') putting improved dramatically.

It may have not been the "toe hang" or "face balanced." It may have simply been that you couldn't align one putter, and you align the other one much better.

As I've said in the Directed Force topic, the forces are negligible. If you can aim a putter, the weight can be pretty much anywhere (within reason, i.e. anything resembling a "normal putter") and you can make the same stroke and get the same results.

The heel/toe weighting thing is overblown in importance. Alignment - the ability to aim the putter where you think - is 

1 hour ago, hilmar2k said:

From 3/1-6/12

1.85 putts per hole, 2.13 putts per GIR

From 6/13-pres

1.79 putts per hole, 2.03 putts per GIR

Not as big of a difference as I thought. That said, I played my home course almost exclusively in the beginning of the year, and other, much harder courses more recently. I still feel the switch made a significant improvement.

I don't know your game, of course, and I'm not saying this next bit applies at all, but obviously someone could see those changes to their stats while they actually putt worse in the second half. How? By hitting the ball closer to the hole.

Putts per hole and putts per GIR aren't great stats. A guy who averages 1.8 from 10' is likely a much worse putter than a guy who averages 1.9 from 50'.

[Typhoon92]

Iacas said it right ...if the weight isn't extreme, it's negligible. Same stroke and set up...same results.

I think I said it earlier, a putter with a lot of toe hang, I'm no good with.  It's too much.  The difference between the slight arc putters like my Newport and a face balanced putter like my Futura are so slight I can putt the same with either one.

[PaddyMac]

As well as putting stroke I think that when you look down over the ball a center shafted putter is more suited or at least that's what I found after several putters later and advice from a pro having looked at my putting... now using a Nike Method Mod90 and I'd never switch back.

5 hours ago, iacas said:

The heel/toe weighting thing is overblown in importance. Alignment - the ability to aim the putter where you think - is 

 

[hilmar2k]

23 hours ago, iacas said:

I'd wager that you don't. Not on putts outside of about 6-10". Not unless your shoulders are basically horizontal when you putt. (Maybe they are? And I'm not saying I'm right… just that I'd likely win the wager more often than I'd lose it. )

It may have not been the "toe hang" or "face balanced." It may have simply been that you couldn't align one putter, and you align the other one much better.

As I've said in the Directed Force topic, the forces are negligible. If you can aim a putter, the weight can be pretty much anywhere (within reason, i.e. anything resembling a "normal putter") and you can make the same stroke and get the same results.

The heel/toe weighting thing is overblown in importance. Alignment - the ability to aim the putter where you think - is 

I don't know your game, of course, and I'm not saying this next bit applies at all, but obviously someone could see those changes to their stats while they actually putt worse in the second half. How? By hitting the ball closer to the hole.

Putts per hole and putts per GIR aren't great stats. A guy who averages 1.8 from 10' is likely a much worse putter than a guy who averages 1.9 from 50'.

What I will say is that my 3 putts have almost vanished, and that is almost entirely due to my short putting improving dramatically with the newer putter. Also, I don't think it was (is) and alignment issue. With my old putter, I fought to keep it on the path of my stroke. The new putter fights me to stay on the intended path. It's amazing. It's much harder for me to make a truly bad putting stroke. I still miss putts, but much more of that is due to a misread than a bad putt.

I will add, that half the improvement is due to a better stroke made with the new putter, and the other half is the confidence that inspires. I stand over 3-4' putts and just know they're going in.

Edited November 2, 2017 by hilmar2k

[deadon500]

On 11/1/2017 at 6:13 PM, PaddyMac said:

As well as putting stroke I think that when you look down over the ball a center shafted putter is more suited or at least that's what I found after several putters later and advice from a pro having looked at my putting... now using a Nike Method Mod90 and I'd never switch back.

Thats me to --  I am on top of the ball.  The look of a center shaft fits to a tee