Astral Putters Review

[cringjr]

I followed the above instructions to test all the closest settings that might work for me based on the email.

Red A1 looked great but I kept pushing putts a bit
White A1 also looked great and seemed to take away the right miss almost immediately
Blue A1 was ok, but didn't feel quite as accurate as White A1 did

Adding some offset by flipping them and going 1 click of offset back was ok, but I just really don't like looking at much offset and I was having more misses with any of the hosels in B1, so I went back to White A1 (zero offset, lots of toe hang) and immediately felt like I was hitting my line again and finding the cup on my practice mat.

View attachment 9365060

So I'm going to leave it in White A1 for now and use that for some more practice the rest of this week and my round on Saturday. It's a course I am familiar with and have plenty of stats from with my old putter, and they keep the greens in nice shape so it should be a good indicator of how I feel rolling it on an actual course vs the 14 foot mat in my garage. We've all had the experience of liking a putter on the mat at the store only to stand over it on a course and dislike it / find it really doesn't fit you, I'm sure.

Rotating through all of those 6 settings took maybe 30 minutes - time for the changes and hitting putts. Swapping the hosel around is quite easy, especially after the first one. A couple of minutes tops, mostly from trying to be careful about the tiny screws, but the tool is magnetized so they stay on well - didn't drop one at all.

How does this set up compare to the putter you had in the bag before testing? Is it similar or significantly different? What was your typical miss with that putter?

The putter I had in the bag was very similar to the white B1 setting (slight toe hang, slight offset). My typical miss was a push. I’m rolling with the red hosel (more toe hang) and settings A3/B3 (more offset) to help steer left and stop with the push miss to the right.

 

[PiratePenguin]

How does this set up compare to the putter you had in the bag before testing? Is it similar or significantly different? What was your typical miss with that putter?

The putter I had in the bag was very similar to the white B1 setting (slight toe hang, slight offset). My typical miss was a push. I’m rolling with the red hosel (more toe hang) and settings A3/B3 (more offset) to help steer left and stop with the push miss to the right.

I’ve mostly been gaming a 2022 Toulon Las Vegas H4.5 black with a 3/4 shaft offset and 45* toe hang.

Biggest difference will be back to more blade style and zero offset. Curious how it impacts my aim on course, but seems good so far.

 

[PiratePenguin]

Also, gate thingy hard

 

[BC.Astral]

It could be just about anyone and whatever their type of stroke may be. It could even be one of us and we will never know unless we try. With 60 different positions and the systematic way or going through the process, there is great opportunity to learn something about how you putt. Maybe @BC.Astral can provide further illumination. Personally that setting and some similar are those I intend to try after getting through the different inserts.

@cmon man hit the nail on the head here, as you really don’t know until you try it. We sometimes will reference stroke type, but that’s only because it’s a concept more golfers know. In reality we don’t really care much about stroke type. All we care about is where your face is consistently at at impact - and we make adjustments based on whether we need that face to close faster or stay open longer.

Likewise, we find that some golfers can fit into multiple different settings, and that’s because as you can play offset and toe hang off one another (they can either work together or be set up to counteract on another).

 

[Boosted]

Welcome back Blake.

 

[Muchmore]

I followed the above instructions to test all the closest settings that might work for me based on the email.

Red A1 looked great but I kept pushing putts a bit
White A1 also looked great and seemed to take away the right miss almost immediately
Blue A1 was ok, but didn't feel quite as accurate as White A1 did

Adding some offset by flipping them and going 1 click of offset back was ok, but I just really don't like looking at much offset and I was having more misses with any of the hosels in B1, so I went back to White A1 (zero offset, lots of toe hang) and immediately felt like I was hitting my line again and finding the cup on my practice mat.

View attachment 9365060

So I'm going to leave it in White A1 for now and use that for some more practice the rest of this week and my round on Saturday. It's a course I am familiar with and have plenty of stats from with my old putter, and they keep the greens in nice shape so it should be a good indicator of how I feel rolling it on an actual course vs the 14 foot mat in my garage. We've all had the experience of liking a putter on the mat at the store only to stand over it on a course and dislike it / find it really doesn't fit you, I'm sure.

Rotating through all of those 6 settings took maybe 30 minutes - time for the changes and hitting putts. Swapping the hosel around is quite easy, especially after the first one. A couple of minutes tops, mostly from trying to be careful about the tiny screws, but the tool is magnetized so they stay on well - didn't drop one at all.

That amount of toe hang scares me very much

 

[PiratePenguin]

That amount of toe hang scares me very much

Last time I was on a SAM lab a few years ago it told me I needed around 45* of toe hang, which is what I've aimed for in recent putters. I went into this without checking as I made adjustments, just swap the hosel, hit some putts, see how they looked, felt, and reacted, repeat with next hosel. I didn't check toe hang once until I was done and decided I liked this setting and wanted to start with it on course. That's when I realized it was like 85* toe hang haha

Whatever works!

 

[Muchmore]

Last time I was on a SAM lab a few years ago it told me I needed around 45* of toe hang, which is what I've aimed for in recent putters. I went into this without checking as I made adjustments, just swap the hosel, hit some putts, see how they looked, felt, and reacted, repeat with next hosel. I didn't check toe hang once until I was done and decided I liked this setting and wanted to start with it on course. That's when I realized it was like 85* toe hang haha

Whatever works!

That's seems to be the way to perform without any bias. Maybe I do like that setting, but if I would have seen that before I putted with it, it might have been in my head. I like the way you set it up!

 

[leftybob]

Last time I was on a SAM lab a few years ago it told me I needed around 45* of toe hang, which is what I've aimed for in recent putters. I went into this without checking as I made adjustments, just swap the hosel, hit some putts, see how they looked, felt, and reacted, repeat with next hosel. I didn't check toe hang once until I was done and decided I liked this setting and wanted to start with it on course. That's when I realized it was like 85* toe hang haha

Whatever works!

That’s one of the coolest things about the astral system. You fit based on what is actually happening when you hit putts with that head. Having a theoretical starting point is nice but theory doesn’t actually start your putt on your line.

If you can’t find a setting that you can start the ball online with an astral I don’t think there is a putter in the world that can help you.

 

[Boosted]

What @cmon man and @leftybob said is so true. If I had simply gone with what looked the best for me, I would still be pushing putts with zero offset. Having the ability to change settings and then ultimately fine tune it has led me to where I am today which happens to be white A2.

 

[cringjr]

That’s the thing with this putter. The ability to try all these different configurations to see how it matches your stroke. There are a lot of tools out there for club selector, shafts, etc…but nothing can replace hitting the golf ball.

And the best part is if you land on a setting in the fitting and it doesn’t work out on the course you fine tune until you get the results you want.

 

[DufferToo]

Now that everyone is settling in with their putters here's a question and a couple of related follow-ups for the group.

1. What is your favorite face insert?

1a. What makes it your favorite?

1b. Going into this what face insert did you expect to be your favorite?

 

[cringjr]

Now that everyone is settling in with their putters here's a question and a couple of related follow-ups for the group.

1. What is your favorite face insert?

1a. What makes it your favorite?

1b. Going into this what face insert did you expect to be your favorite?

I only have the brass. I don’t remember how Blake and I ended up on this one during the consultation but it’s the only insert I have.

But to answer 1a. I’ll tell you what I like about it.

I really love how it looks. The matte gold finish looks outstanding married to the black putter head.

The sound is what I would expect from a putter. I can’t tell much difference from my previous putter. If it is different, it’s not enough that I noticed it. There is feedback on a miss hit with a little more muted sound. I did not have that on previous putter.

It feels solid and it gets the ball rolling quickly. I don’t notice much skipping or hopping at home on the putting mat or on the course during the two rounds I’ve played with it.

 

[cmon man]

Now that everyone is settling in with their putters here's a question and a couple of related follow-ups for the group.

1. What is your favorite face insert?

1a. What makes it your favorite?

1b. Going into this what face insert did you expect to be your favorite?

I am not quite finished yet but am leaning to the copper insert. I like the feel of all three, but the copper seems slightly better. I also like less audio feedback, and I really like the visual appeal/contrast of the copper insert. Going into the review process I thought I would like the steel insert best and it is still in the running. Bronze has a bit less feel for me personnaly but all three are excellent.

 

[cmon man]

I decided to tinker with putter settings today and put the blue hosel in at zero offset (It was a close second to the white on initial trials). I also have a 31" shaft installed as opposed to the 33" I started with. Interestingly I started pulling a bit more with the blue and it didn't look right to my eye when lining up. In a few easy minutes I went back to the zero offset white hosel and back to a setting suitable to my eye and everything rolling stright down the line again. More to report from my round this afternoon.

 

[Boosted]

Now that everyone is settling in with their putters here's a question and a couple of related follow-ups for the group.

1. What is your favorite face insert?

1a. What makes it your favorite?

1b. Going into this what face insert did you expect to be your favorite?

So far I have played 1 round with copper, practiced and tested with the brass and steel. Currently I have the steel insert installed as it is the most appealing to me visually and so far I haven't tested enough to determine if I prefer it or not.

Will know more this weekend....

 

[leftybob]

Now that everyone is settling in with their putters here's a question and a couple of related follow-ups for the group.

1. What is your favorite face insert?

1a. What makes it your favorite?

1b. Going into this what face insert did you expect to be your favorite?

Too early to say what my favorite is. I have played with the copper and steel so far and both have different positives.

For my round tomorrow the brass is getting its first shot in the blade. I hit a few putts with a brass insert in the mid mallet during my first fitting when choosing the head.

Going in I expected the copper to be my favorite.

 

[cmon man]

Just finished my round with the 31" shaft and steel insert. Good results and putts online. The feel of the steel was close but as favorable as the copper overall. A bit more audio feedback with the steel too. Tried several balls and I prefer the copper. However, the steel is great with my preferred ProVIs. Going to concentrate now on only a couple of ball types and settle on an insert...copper is king with the Winn NTP grip but the steel looks so damned good with the silver and white Sure Shot. Stay tuned but performance will rule.

 

[PiratePenguin]

The copper face is effing gorgeous outside.

Really satisfying low pitched “tock” sound at impact. (Sounds lower and better outdoors than in my garage.)

I’d call the first round a success. Hit my lines and speed was really good. Left one really long chutt from the fringe about 12” short on 8 but rolled in par from there perfectly. Lipped out a 25” Bertie pot attempt on one hole; left Birdies short in the heart on 17 and 18. Any I missed were wrong reads. Made pretty much everything inside 6 ft.

Before any post round editing the ShotScope app has me just barely below a 5 hdcp SG Putting for the round. I’ll take that any day.

Haven’t felt so comfortable over a putter in a while.

 

[cringjr]

Got in a round this morning. Probably my worst round in months. Did not strike the ball well. Was missing both ways off the tee. Only thing that was not a disaster was putting.

Lots of two putts with most of the second putts just cleaning it up.

The ball was starting on line all day. I think I’m gonna like the Red A3 setting. I feel confident the ball is going to go where I want it to. It’s nice having that confidence and just making the putting stroke without thinking. Still loving the brass insert as well. It feels so solid when striking the ball. I like that feedback over a softer face or insert.

 

[BC.Astral]

I only have the brass. I don’t remember how Blake and I ended up on this one during the consultation but it’s the only insert I have.

But to answer 1a. I’ll tell you what I like about it.

I really love how it looks. The matte gold finish looks outstanding married to the black putter head.

The sound is what I would expect from a putter. I can’t tell much difference from my previous putter. If it is different, it’s not enough that I noticed it. There is feedback on a miss hit with a little more muted sound. I did not have that on previous putter.

It feels solid and it gets the ball rolling quickly. I don’t notice much skipping or hopping at home on the putting mat or on the course during the two rounds I’ve played with it.

Sorry I missed this! You were supposed to receive all 3. I'll get that remedied tomorrow!!!

 

[Boosted]

Got out to the practice green with the steel insert today. It definitely has a louder click that you can feel versus the copper. Next up, I'll test the brass insert.

 

[0dom]

Got in a round this morning. Probably my worst round in months. Did not strike the ball well. Was missing both ways off the tee. Only thing that was not a disaster was putting.

Lots of two putts with most of the second putts just cleaning it up.

The ball was starting on line all day. I think I’m gonna like the Red A3 setting. I feel confident the ball is going to go where I want it to. It’s nice having that confidence and just making the putting stroke without thinking. Still loving the brass insert as well. It feels so solid when striking the ball. I like that feedback over a softer face or insert.

It was cool to see the putter in person. I really liked the feel of the brass face. Firm, without feeling hard. And the offset setting you had it in setup very nice.

 

[cmon man]

Heading out for another round today. I will bring all inserts and change them during the round. I will try to get some photos or video during the round.

 

[cmon man]

Tests of the steel and copper insert today. And a few photos attached. Also two vids of the sound of stwel and copper. In the vids it seems steel is quieter but not significantly so. I really like the feel of the copper better and my putting results reflected that preference. Is it in my head? Probably, but your head is an integral part of the equation. Going to focus on putter length for the next few sessions. The only other variable besides length is grip. Getting used to the Sure Shot but also like the Winn NTP.
Thanks to @BC.Astral, Astral Putters, and this review process (thanks THP!) I have learned a ton about putter setup and more importantly, my putting stroke. I even found out my casual swipe at a short two footer works differently with my old putter than my Astral.