We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Best Suited Offset for your putter

SeeMore Golf
Canadan

Canadan

LGND
Albatross 2024 Club
Staff member
Joined
May 16, 2010
Messages
149,947
Reaction score
111,032
Location
Ohio
Handicap
**
I've been reading up on this a fair bit lately and I heard a very interesting bit of logic on the offset concept..

It was noted that people (right handed golfers anyways) who are right eye dominant should be using a 3/4 or no offset putter, whereas a left eye dominant person should be using a full offset plumbers neck or a half offset.. The way they determined it was to take your hand and create a small circle from across a room and focus in on a light switch.. Then, close each eye and figure out which eye, when open, still shows the switch..

As it turns out, I'm left eye dominant, yet I use a 3/4 offset, mostly because I liked the way it looked better.. Looks like I should start looking into a plumbers neck to see if I can knock down a few more putts.

Do you guys think there's logic to this? I enjoyed an old THP radio show talking about putter offset putting the hands forward, noting eye dominance as a potential factor but didn't really go into depth with it.. Seemed like Sean was focused more on toe hang making a difference over the actual offset on the putter. It can be found here: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/?p=10328
 
I'm not sure exactly what you mean when determining eye dominance. Can you be a little more detailed.

It seems good to me either way. You might as well try it to see if it works.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Moderator
  • #3
Damaikis said:
I'm not sure exactly what you mean when determining eye dominance. Can you be a little more detailed.

It seems good to me either way. You might as well try it to see if it works.
Click to expand...

Take your two hands and cup them, basically forming a hole in the middle of the two.. Then look across the room at an object inside the hole you've created with your hands. Once it's centered in there, close one eye, and then the other. The eye that still has the object inside the hole is your dominant eye.
 
Canadan said:
I've been reading up on this a fair bit lately and I heard a very interesting bit of logic on the offset concept..

It was noted that people (right handed golfers anyways) who are right eye dominant should be using a 3/4 or no offset putter, whereas a left eye dominant person should be using a full offset plumbers neck or a half offset.. The way they determined it was to take your hand and create a small circle from across a room and focus in on a light switch.. Then, close each eye and figure out which eye, when open, still shows the switch..

As it turns out, I'm left eye dominant, yet I use a 3/4 offset, mostly because I liked the way it looked better.. Looks like I should start looking into a plumbers neck to see if I can knock down a few more putts.

Do you guys think there's logic to this? I enjoyed an old THP radio show talking about putter offset putting the hands forward, noting eye dominance as a potential factor but didn't really go into depth with it.. Seemed like Sean was focused more on toe hang making a difference over the actual offset on the putter. It can be found here: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/?p=10328
Click to expand...

Ok, maybe it's the jerk in me but that methodology seems flawed. Given the difference in angle from your eye to the object wouldn't that skew the result. If you do this same excercise with an object off of center then both eyes show the object.
 
I am right handed, right eye dominant, but the offset doesn't really matter at all to me. Within a few strokes I can adjust to a different offset. In the end, you are just aiming a flat faced club at a round hole.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Moderator
  • #6
SW said:
Ok, maybe it's the jerk in me but that methodology seems flawed. Given the difference in angle from your eye to the object wouldn't that skew the result. If you do this same excercise with an object off of center then both eyes show the object.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have no idea haha.. I did something interesting as well.. When I focus on my hands and put the object behind it, my right eye has it centered. When I focus on the object itself through my hand created hole, my left eye has it centered.
 
Thanks Canadan. SW, I don't think it skews it much. I tried on different objects all around me and it was the same. I appear to be left eye dominant. Which, being a lefty, would lead to having less offset. I don't mind varying offset much, I just hate plumber's necks.
 
Maybe it's me being Canadian but I think there is something to this I don't know about the off set putters and such. I think eye dominance plays a roll in every shot you hit if you look out the side of your eyes when aiming you can be off but if you turn your head so both eyes are looking square at the target I think you get a better alingment.
 
Canadan said:
Yeah, I have no idea haha.. I did something interesting as well.. When I focus on my hands and put the object behind it, my right eye has it centered. When I focus on the object itself through my hand created hole, my left eye has it centered.
Click to expand...

Ha, yeah I tried it a few times with people in the office today, pretty much the same result across the board. Vision voodoo!

Damaikis said:
Thanks Canadan. SW, I don't think it skews it much. I tried on different objects all around me and it was the same. I appear to be left eye dominant. Which, being a lefty, would lead to having less offset. I don't mind varying offset much, I just hate plumber's necks.
Click to expand...

Used to hate them too, but lately I've gravatated that way.
 
For me it is all about feel and what is appealing to my eye. It adds confidence and to me that is the majoring deciding factor to my putting.
 
I'm so right eye dominant that when I focus on something my right eye looks dead ahead at the object, and my left comes in to look like its cross eyed. I forget about it until someone says something. That being said, I much prefer the plumbers neck putters. For me they just look better at address.
 
My eye doc golfs and swears by this. Like me he is right eye dominate and uses no offset.
 
Seems counterintuitive to me. I thought offset had more to do with your setup and stroke than your eyesight, but even if it were I factor it seems like you would want your dominant eye closer to the point of contact, so that a right-handed golfer with right eye dominance would be better off with more offset instead of less. Whatever, I am right eye dominant and I putt much better with full offset putters.

OTOH, I never ever try to second guess my line once I'm standing over a putt, because I know that I'm not giving my right eye a good angle. I line up my putts from behind, and then just trust my alignment when I address the ball.
 
I believe in the SeeMore idea that eye dominance doesn't matter. It's all about setup and stroke.
 
the_paulo said:
But can he putt....?
Click to expand...

No idea, I never play with him, lol. He's old school in that he wants his eye's over the ball rather than inside and say's his right eye takes over.
 
SW said:
Ok, maybe it's the jerk in me but that methodology seems flawed. Given the difference in angle from your eye to the object wouldn't that skew the result. If you do this same excercise with an object off of center then both eyes show the object.
Click to expand...

There are several tests for determining eye dominance but they all use this same methodology. It works. If you've ever done any shooting with a gun or bow, you need to know which eye is your dominant eye so you know which one to use for aiming. It's the same sort of test there, hold your hand at arms length and point your finger at the target using both eyes, then close one at a time and the results are the same. If you try shooting with the eye that is not dominant, you will quickly see that there is something to this. Your brain just doesn't process information as well from your other eye.

With regards to the OPs question, I am a righty but left eye dominant. I am now using a Seemore with 0 offset and my putting seems to be improving provided I can get the speed right on the greens. The nice thing with the RST is that you have to hide the red with both eyes, so the dominant eye is taken out of the equation.
 
thedue said:
No idea, I never play with him, lol. He's old school in that he wants his eye's over the ball rather than inside and say's his right eye takes over.
Click to expand...

That's kinda how I was originally taught, get your eyes directly over the ball. So many schools of thought on something that, when it comes down to it, can be mostly feel. I'm of the thinking that the moment I start thinking too much about it, I'll start getting it confused and get even worse!
 
So as a lefty, who's right eye dominant, I should be using a putter with offset, ie, plumber's style?
 
I don't think this is a hard and fast rule. I am a lefty, left eye dominant guy who plays golf right handed. I have tried all makes and models of putters and can unequivocally state that FOR ME, the center shafted no offset putters work best. I think the most important factor is the type of putting stroke a person has and having a putter that matches up with it. Since doing the Ping ishaft fitting thingy last spring I found out that my stroke is almost exactly straight back straight through. For years I'd played putters with a heavy toe bias as that's the style I grew up on -- the old 8802 and evolved into the Odyssey #9 style. While there would be days of good putting, there was always just a little too much inconsistency on the 10 foot and in putts. Since switching to the center shaft face balanced putters my putting has improved dramatically. Anything from 10 feet and in is either dropping or burning the edge. I now expect to make every putt and blame mysterious forces like invisible spike marks whenever putts don't drop.
 
TC said:
So as a lefty, who's right eye dominant, I should be using a putter with offset, ie, plumber's style?
Click to expand...

Yeah....? If you buy into this theory, I guess.
 
Canadan said:
It was noted that people (right handed golfers anyways) who are right eye dominant should be using a 3/4 or no offset putter, whereas a left eye dominant person should be using a full offset plumbers neck or a half offset..
Click to expand...
I've heard this before but never understood the concept. I think the idea is where you address the ball based on which eye is more dominant. Perhaps a left eye dominant player addresses behind the ball. Vice versa, right eye dominant address more perpendicular with the ball. There's no right/wrong way to address the ball.

An easier fix is using a putter that fits your stroke. Don't adjust your stroke for the putter. The hosel and neck designs all serve a different purpose and benefit different stroke types.
 
Just to add to the confusion, I went for a putter fitting and we established that I am left eye dominant using the technique in te opening post and he recommended a centre shafted zero offset model because of that. Ie the opposite of what the first post says!
 
Agreeing with the shooting analogy here. Golf is a target sport. Your dominant eye will have and effect. Just not sure which effect. Could you share your source Canadian? Was it a study or just an opinion article? Maybe a neat experiment would be to putt with one eye closed and then the other. We could start a trend. :banghead:
 
i like this idea and think it would apply to me.

i am right handed, left eye dominant and have always used a putter with little to no offset as i preferred the look to a plumb neck. i tried a plumb neck scotty a few weeks back and couldnt miss so i will be making the change when i come back to playing.

my swing coach also noticed that i tended to turn my head to the right at the start of my swing and this was me trying to get my dominant eye over the ball more. something i fixed quickly as it skewed my perception of the ball.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top