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Inserts - Greenside Radio Question

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JB

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What are your overall thoughts on inserts? Do you like them? Do you stay away from them? What type of inserts do you like most? We discuss all of this in the new radio show located here.

THP Radio - The Greenside

We want to hear from you guys and gals about what inserts you have tried and which ones stand out?
 
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Nobody huh?
 
I guess I will be the first. I have used putters with and without inserts. I have had some success "traditional" putters like SC newport. Last year I played with a TM Rossa with agsi. It was a great putter and insert but by the end of the year I ran into the problem of losing my touch. Like most golfers I blamed the putter until I realized that I had added a big forward press into my stroke.

I of course want to get back to being a good putter so this year I am going to be going back to my Ping G2i zing with the Polypurfelan insert. Overall the ping has been a quite reliable putter over the years and I am hoping that having it in my hands will help me when I am working on correcting that forward press.

This was my first putter that I had ever been fitted for and it amazed me the results that I had with it. Every putter that I have bought after that has been fitted and like you said in the show it really did change my game...it really made me consistent. Now I just need to get my stroke back under control!
 
I don't like inserts. I've had a few putters with them and didn't have much success. I had one OEM putter and the insert leaked a kind of fluid (it had never set). Many of the inserts today are just as firm, if not firmer, than putters without inserts. I'd rather have a "one-piece" putter.
 
JB, I'm wondering how many people actually look for putter that are specifically insert or not. I used to hit a milled faced blade putter, but after trying out about about 30 different putters (insert and non-insert), I settled on the Odyssey White Hot #7 Center Shaft. I did not choose it because of it's insert, or because it was center shafted (never thought i'd hit a CS), I chose it because it's what worked for me. I felt comfortable and confident every time I stood over the ball. I do notice that I do not tend to get as much feedback from an insert as I do from a milled face.

Overall, I'd have to say it makes no difference for me. Whether insert or milled face, if I feel confident standing over it and make more putts, I'll game it.
 
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Sean said:
I don't like inserts. I've had a few putters with them and didn't have much success. I had one OEM putter and the insert leaked a kind of fluid (it had never set). Many of the inserts today are just as firm, if not firmer, than putters without inserts. I'd rather have a "one-piece" putter.
Click to expand...

In our show we touched on that very thing. That there are so many types now and some are not meant to be soft.

sacul1573 said:
JB, I'm wondering how many people actually look for putter that are specifically insert or not. I used to hit a milled faced blade putter, but after trying out about about 30 different putters (insert and non-insert), I settled on the Odyssey White Hot #7 Center Shaft. I did not choose it because of it's insert, or because it was center shafted (never thought i'd hit a CS), I chose it because it's what worked for me. I felt comfortable and confident every time I stood over the ball. I do notice that I do not tend to get as much feedback from an insert as I do from a milled face.

Overall, I'd have to say it makes no difference for me. Whether insert or milled face, if I feel confident standing over it and make more putts, I'll game it.
Click to expand...

I do the exact same thing. I have loved some inserts recently though. Some of the aluminum ones are flat out awesome.
 
JB said:
In our show we touched on that very thing. That there are so many types now and some are not meant to be soft.
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I know you did. I found that very interesting given how I feel about inserts.
 
I've found odyssey to do a great job with inserts, I use a black #9 quite a bit and it's very easy to judge distance

I've also used a TM itsy bitsy spider quite a bit, and that insert feels softer to my than my black #9, there's also something about those grooves on the agsi insert from TM that make it all but impossible for me to judge distance on longer putts. I think that's more due to the groove face and lower loft than the insert though.
 
Putters with inserts are not the first ones I pick up when I try new putters at the store. The ones with relatively small inserts scare me, because I am worried about a discontinuity in performance around the insert edges. And I think they are often ugly too. Plus, I am worried about damaging them. I like the Odyssey inserts, which cover almost the entire face better. I almost bought an Odyssey once, and when trying it I could definitely understand how it might have appeal to other golfers. It (or I) didn't putt well with it the second time I tried it though, and to this day I haven't owned any putters with an insert.
 
balance/weighting is the most important thing for me in a putter ... some putters are so perfectly balanced/weighted they feel like they're on a track moving back and through ...

i remember back when inserts were just about softer feel but no longer ... i can certainly tell the difference in feel among different inserts ... but can't distinguish variance in roll with those inserts designed to improve that aspect ...

half of my putters are insert ... half non ... these are secondary to the weight and balance as mentioned ...

the last 4 putters i've purchased are the odyssey black and odyssey black i (both anser style), and the ping redwood and iwi (also both anser style) ... if i had to pick one that i'd use if competition was involved ... i'd pick the original non insert odyssey black ...
 
Re: Inserts - Greenside Radio Question

Ive always been a fan of insert putters as they have seemed a little softer and easier to control. Right now 2 of the 3 putters at home are inserts but the one Im leaning towards gaming is a milled putter without an insert.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
 
I don't really care for inserts. HOWEVER, I will say that the Bobby Grace HSM inserts are the shiz. I think the DCT line was the first to release this technology. I own 4 insert putters: Bobby Grace DCT, Rife 2 bar hybrid tour blade, Scotty Cameron Detour (pulled the original insert and am working on a poorman's TEi 10), and an Odyssey Hawk. I own 31 non insert putters, which I will obviously not list. For me, "feel" is the most important aspect in the putter. Most equate "feel" with "sound". Balance & weighting are adjustable and I categorize them as mechanical factors. From what I can tell, face milling is the biggest determinant of "feel/sound". This is why Cleveland can use a hard as a rock metal like 431 stainless in the Classic series and make it "feel" so good. The deeper the milling, the less the surface area in contact with the ball and the more space for the sound to escape (ala Rife). IMO, these putters "feel/sound" the best and thats why I play them over insert putters.
 
The Rossie in my bag has a white insert across the majority of the face and I really like the look. I like muted sound that it produces and it feels very solid to me when I hit the center of the insert.

As far as looks go, I like inserts, but milled faces are just soooo nice to look at. If I buy another putter and money is not an issue, I would probably buy something high-end with a milled face.
 
Only insert I've been able to stand is Bobby's HSM. Freaking fantastic feel/roll for me. So much so that after discovering center-shaft fits my stroke better thanks to my SeeMore I'm about to purchase a new center-shaft Triumph from Mr. Grace. They are soft but SO forgiving and feel SO god to me. Love it!
 
The only putter I've had that had an insert is an Odyssey 2-ball. It had their DFX insert, which was supposed to be a bit firmer than their White Hot insert. It felt "clicky" and I had poor distance control with it. I guess that's why Odyssey/Callaway doesn't offer the DFX insert anymore!
 
My last putter (NC Delta) didn't have an insert. I was pretty consistent with it but felt it skidded a little too much especially with longer putts. My current one has an insert and seems to have a better roll on longer putts and feels more solid on shorter ones. Definitely doesn't take as much effort to hit it like the non-insert one
 
I don't really think about inserts one way or the other.


I really like the way my Dual Force Odyssey feels and whatever the softness of that particular insert is, it works very well for me. On the other hand, I've had many "favorite" putters over the years that were just basic steel faces, so I guess that for me it really boils down to what a putter feels like overall - with or without inserts - rather than whether one has an insert or not.

I guess growing up in the "Persimmon Era" has perhaps allowed me to feel this way because back then, all wooden drivers had inserts, so the idea of a golf club having an insert isn't anything unusual for me, so seeing them in putters is no big deal.


-JP
 
JPsuff said:
I don't really think about inserts one way or the other.


I really like the way my Dual Force Odyssey feels and whatever the softness of that particular insert is, it works very well for me. On the other hand, I've had many "favorite" putters over the years that were just basic steel faces, so I guess that for me it really boils down to what a putter feels like overall - with or without inserts - rather than whether one has an insert or not.

I guess growing up in the "Persimmon Era" has perhaps allowed me to feel this way because back then, all wooden drivers had inserts, so the idea of a golf club having an insert isn't anything unusual for me, so seeing them in putters is no big deal.


-JP
Click to expand...

Very well put JP.
 
Keep the thoughts on inserts coming.
 
never putted with anything but inserts. i like how i can feel whether or not the ball came off the heel or the toe. i've never even hit a milled faced putter, am i missing out on something?
 
So far I'm a fan of inserts, but not all inserts. When I was testing putters I put the Tour Rossie up against the XG Rossie. The XG was too soft for me because I kept feeling like I had to give the ball a little more oomph than I liked. With The Tour version felt a bit more solid but gave me the cushion I liked. Non-insert putters seem a little harsh for my taste and jump off the putter a bit too quickly.
 
Re: Inserts - Greenside Radio Question

Yes! C-Groove is my preference for putter faces.
 
This past weekend while spending some quality time at GG I putted around with the Odyssey White Ice Mini T putter. Loved it. Has that high def alignment and the perimeter weighting, just felt amazing. Really liked how the insert felt too. I think its going in my collection.
 
I am in the market for another putter and I have several on my short list and some of them have inserts and some do not have them. Like others have mentioned it is the overall feel of the putter that I am looking for and not necessarly what insert it has. The biggest factor for me is the feel it has with the ball I am gaming.
 
I have several putters with inserts, one a Odyssey Teron with a very soft insert thats more of a mallet and the other a Slotline with a slightly firmer insert. The problem I run into is deceleration of the club head through impact on the faster greens. While I know I can simply shorten my stroke, it becomes difficult to do on a short curling putt when the green get's slick. Time will tell, but playing a course this week that was really fast, I left my older non-insert Slotline in the truck opting for the same basic design in my newer Slotline with it's softer insert. I found a lot more confidence on these faster greens and even though I didn't seem to make a bunch of one putts that day, I didn't roll past the flag near as often as the last time playing that course. If these greens continue to speed up I may even go back to the Odyssey with a super soft face. Exceleration and balance seem to be the trick for me if I can just remember to pick a spot two inches out and hit the mark.
 
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