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Bridgestone True Balance Putters - Forum Review

SeeMore Golf
Jman said:
I'll be reshafting mine soon to steel to try the head as a standard setup I think. It's really tempting.
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i assume you'll be going with a traditional grip on the new shaft? personally I'm not seeing a problem with the true balance design, but I'm limited to 10' on my practice green. will see how it reacts tonight on longer lag putts.
 
I have been using this putter for a few weeks now and unquestionably have been putting as well as I have in a number of years. Putts from 15 and in are either dropping or burning edges. It's not much of an overstatement to say that every putt looks like it's going in and do unless there's a late break, lipout, or it hits a bump. Once I adjusted to the different feel of the putter head, distance control on long putts has been fine. There is something to be said for really only feeling the head in the stroke (without the putter having to weigh a ton). The face grooves/insert really get the ball hugging the greens. The grip was disconcerting at first but I now find that the e.v.a. material actually leads to my using less grip pressure which is always good. So far no issues with the grip getting beat up and I play with a very small carry bag so it is a tight squeeze with the other clubs. I called Bridgestone regarding how to clean the grip and they told me that soap and water and a wet cloth were all that is needed, and they were right. They said to keep it really clean I should do it after every round but personally I like it just a bit dingy so that the grip isn't visible from space as it was pretty bright originally.
 
Nebgolfer said:
i assume you'll be going with a traditional grip on the new shaft? personally I'm not seeing a problem with the true balance design, but I'm limited to 10' on my practice green. will see how it reacts tonight on longer lag putts.
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10' and in it's fantastic, from distance it causes me to tense up to keep the head from either outracing my hands or falling behind them. Not bueno.

Steel with a SS likely. I adore the head and insert, it's phenomenal, want to see if this would make it shine.
 
Jman said:
10' and in it's fantastic, from distance it causes me to tense up to keep the head from either outracing my hands or falling behind them. Not bueno.

Steel with a SS likely. I adore the head and insert, it's phenomenal, want to see if this would make it shine.
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I'm curious what would happen if you put a regular grip on the graphite shaft. I know a lot of people aren't crazy about the eva grip, so how would regripping impact the performance? obviously shift the balance point higher, but no idea what that would do to performance.
 
Nebgolfer said:
I'm curious what would happen if you put a regular grip on the graphite shaft. I know a lot of people aren't crazy about the eva grip, so how would regripping impact the performance? obviously shift the balance point higher, but no idea what that would do to performance.
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You'd lose the head, the shaft is SO light that the balance would move likely halfway up the shaft.
 
Had a chance to get this out on the putting green, and my first impression is that I'm glad I have 6 more weeks to get used to it.

I think my problem is that it puts such a great roll on the ball that I don't have to swing as hard as I'm used to. I was blowing putts way by the hole with less of a stroke than I would have made with my SeeMore PTM3. There is certainly a noticeable difference in the sound between hitting the center and missing it, which is good immediate feedback.

The grip is also going to take some getting used to. If I just had this grip to play, it would be fine, but going back and forth between this and my WinnX Pro grip, it is VERY different, and makes me like the WinnX even more. Another problem with the grip, at least for me, is that it doesn't fit in my putter well on my bag! In hand it doesn't feel bad with the pistol grip, but it is definitely bigger than my WinnX pro 1.18" (Similar to SS 2.0). The grip is a little squishy, so I can tell when I'm squeezing too hard, which is good to know so I can avoid doing it.

The weighting is quite different than what I'm used to, which is what Bridgestone is going for. You can really feel the head, which will be good once I get used to the insert. I got the club off ebay, so I don't know if it was modified at all, but mine won't stand up... keeps leaning forward. Not that I really needed it to stand up, but was looking forward to having a nice party trick to impress my playing partners if my putting wasn't doing the job.

Overall, I think I will like this putter and the science behind it, but I think there will be a learning curve for me. Taking it out to the course tomorrow for a trial by fire, so we'll see how it stands up (see what I did there???).
 
This putter is on my Radar!

TD-03 and I think would get along real well!

Might have to make a little trip to try one out!
 
Nebgolfer - mine doesn't stand up either. I think the stand up ends when the length gets over 34". Good news is I had a lot of the same feelings that u described in your post but now love it. Something for u to look forward to.
 
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I've been using my TD-03 for several rounds now and am loving the roll I'm getting. Really improved my lag and it rolls very true. I had to get the regular size grip and have to spent some time getting used to that feel. It was either smaller grip or new golf bag. The grip does clean up pretty well with soap and water, and durability doesn't appear to be a problem as of yet.

BTW anyone else notice Snedeker is using the TD-02 this weekend?
 
Took my new TD-03 out to the course today for a scramble tournament I was in, and the results were not what I wanted. I really can see what Dan and James were talking about on the longer putts, any stroke outside my right shoe just feels wildly out of control and has no touch. Anything inside 10-15 feet feels amazing, but much longer than that and the head just overpowers the swing. I rolled a lot of putts well past my intended distance, so going to need to spend more time working on feel with this putter. The bright side, on the last hole I sunk a 12' birdie putt to end the round, so that was a nice little surprise.
 
I love the feel of this thing....but the grip is so dry/foamy/i don't know, it's hard to hold onto....Anyone else having that issue? Do I just need to lotion my hands before using or what? :)
 
I never found it hard to hold onto. I actually love the grip as it is firm feeling and I find my grip pressure is actually less than in the past.
 
Yeah it's super slick in my hands for some reason. Almost feels like the grip is dried out.

Haggis said:
I never found it hard to hold onto. I actually love the grip as it is firm feeling and I find my grip pressure is actually less than in the past.
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dhartmann34 said:
Yeah it's super slick in my hands for some reason. Almost feels like the grip is dried out.
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One wrap with white tape like Justin Leonard maybe? Or some Tennis Racket tape?

Just a thought. Maybe something with a slight bit of texture will make the difference.



JM
 
Johnny mojo said:
One wrap with white tape like Justin Leonard maybe? Or some Tennis Racket tape?

Just a thought. Maybe something with a slight bit of texture will make the difference.



JM
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Yeah something. I'm going to try one at a local store and see if it's the same feeling.

From The HTC One Blue!
 
dhartmann34 said:
Yeah something. I'm going to try one at a local store and see if it's the same feeling.

From The HTC One Blue!
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Honestly, when I tried it out in the store, I thought the same thing, but having gamed it for a week, it really doesn't feel bad at all. Granted, I bought a used one so some of the slickness might have been rubbed off already, but I've grown to not mind it.

Unrelated to grip, I've been getting more and more aclimated to this putter lately. I was initially struggling with distance, going from blowing things way by to leaving them well short. I think I'm getting that straightened out, and most of my putts from various distances are left within tap-in distance if they don't go in. I've got league tomorrow so we'll see how it rolls when all my putts count.
 
dhartmann34 said:
Yeah something. I'm going to try one at a local store and see if it's the same feeling.

From The HTC One Blue!
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Will also throw this out to you. Before I went to the standard grip, I took some 60 grit sandpaper to the large grip. Try that too or even 80 grit. The texture changes a lot for me after that.

Might help with minimal effort.

JM
 
This is the greatest putter ever. 4 birdies 4 pars and a bogey. For a 9 hole score of 33. Personal best! 14 putts
 
Zenger said:
This is the greatest putter ever. 4 birdies 4 pars and a bogey. For a 9 hole score of 33. Personal best! 14 putts
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which model are you rolling? congrats on your pb!
 
Media day can't come fast enough. I need to get a feel for this putter. All these stellar outings have me chomping at the bit.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Media day can't come fast enough. I need to get a feel for this putter. All these stellar outings have me chomping at the bit.
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Freddie, which setup did you go with?

I have to say I'm starting to get more used to this putter and really seeing some good results. the grip isn't wearing as well as I'd have hoped, but so far nothing that has impacted me using it.
 
Nebgolfer said:
Freddie, which setup did you go with?

I have to say I'm starting to get more used to this putter and really seeing some good results. the grip isn't wearing as well as I'd have hoped, but so far nothing that has impacted me using it.
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I went with TD01 steel shaft
 
I was rolling the TD-01 well today inside 10ft. On the few putts that I had longer than 15' I was seeing good distance control.
 
Had mine out today too. Was a little different after two weeks with the X2, but 31 putts is acceptable. I seem to putt better with this putter using a slightly open stance.

JM
 
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