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Designing a counterbalanced putter

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deuce

deuce

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Maybe my GoogleFu of the forums isn't very strong, but I didn't find a lot of information on actually designing your own CB putter (other than people saying they took it someone who did the work and they like how it performed). It is my intention, depending on degree of difficulty and overall cost, to do this myself. Here is what I have planned:

I have purchased an Odyssey Metal-X #7 Mid Belly Putter. Specs are as follows: 43" length, 400 gram head, 72° lie and 3° loft. It is my plan to get it to approximate the Odyssey Tank #7 CB putter. It's specs are: 36" length, 400 gram head, 70° lie and 3° loft.

First order of business to go get a putter fitting and see what lie and loft best fit my putting stroke. The two putters are very close spec-wise so adjustment of the belly putter for lie shouldn't really be an issue unless I am at some ungodly end of the spectrum. Second order of business is to cut the shaft down, and I was thinking of going with 36" or 38" depending on what my fitting tells me. Currently I game a 34" but maybe that's not the best for me. Third, according to Calloway, they have adjusted the CB putter with a CB weight in the end of the putter (40 grams for the shorter stick). I figured I could achieve this by using the Tour Lock Pro weight system, with an adjustment for the grip weight as I intended on keeping the belly putter grip (I believe it's a Lamkin 3Gen pistol grip that comes standard). The Tour Lock however will allow me to make continual adjustments to get the proper feel to this putter.

At this point, I should have a putter which comes close to the specs of the Tank*, and my hope is to achieve this all for a cost that is roughly a quarter of the price. Am I overlooking anything?

*I'd be shocked if the putter head of the belly and the Tank vary much, if at all in terms of MOI.
 
I know James puts a plus in his putters to accomplish some of this, hopefully he'll be able to lend advice.
 
I have done this wih a few putters but instead of the tour lock I just use a cotter pin in the butt for the weight. Your thoughts are exactly what I did. 38in with a 3 degree down adjustment on lie
 
I use a bolt in the butt end of the putters for a homemade counterweight, I can set the weight to whatever I want via some lead tape around the threads dependent on the weight of the head and then use some plumbers tape so it slides in snugly and won't rattle.
 
The putter arrived and I have seen my first potential hurdle. It's a Winn grip and I've heard that these are a bit more problematic in removing (and reusing) than other types of grips. It's the perfect grip for how I envision the CB putter, so I really want to make sure I get it off in one piece.
 
Did this exact thing to a discount NC belly putter for my wife. IIRC, you've got everything covered. Should turn out pretty darn sharp. Pre-request for finished picks please...
 
Does anyone have that silly Tour Lock grip modifier (drill bit) to cut the hole on the top of the putter grip? I really don't want to pay $20 to use the darn thing once, and if someone can send it to me, I'd use it and get it back out in the mail to you the very next day. I know I could use a clevis pin or something similar, but getting that belly grip on and off to adjust weight will be more of a hassle than I want to deal with. The Tour Lock weights are an easier and more adjustable (though granted, more expensive) route.

I have not found a good discussion revolving around the Tour Lock Pro weights, the Opti-vibe system, or the Enforcer system. I'm pretty sure the Tour Lock Pro system will suffice for the putter.
 
Looking at the club, I think cutting it down six or seven inches and putting the 21" Winn grip back on (if it survives) will look rather silly ... besides it is a step shaft which means some serious buildup at the bottom. Time to go look at grips ... wondering if I should go with the Odyssey Vegas theme.


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Putter fitting. Loft will stay the same, lie will be adjusted by 3 degrees, from a 72 to 69. My current gamer sits at 71 so I need to check to see if I play with it toe up. At any rate, I won't be doing the actual bending myself, and the guy who is going to do it for me said that needs to be bent on the shaft and not the putter. At any rate, ordered the grip today as well. Going to a 17" Winn grip and got it off eBay. Once it arrives, time to cut it down to 36", slip on the grip and get it adjusted. I will work on the counterbalancing once I get it in hand and see how it feels. Decided I will do the Tour Lock System, and if I need to add additional weight, I'll add an Opti-Vibe into the shaft.
 
You may not need the tour lock. The 17in Winn grip is 130g IIRC which is the standard weight up top on a CB putter.
 
Additional question ... currently this is a double bend putter which gives me some offset. Not sure how I feel about that as I am used to straight, center shafted putters. Can I switch this out to a single bend shaft and would that have any unintended consequences that would result in sub-par playability?
 
Grip is in. Going to get to work on this as soon as possible.


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Dropped the putter off for a lie adjustment. When I get it back, I will post pics. It looks pretty nasty in its black with silver trim configuration.

PS: Does anyone need a red and black 21" Odyssey grip? I'm never going to use it, and it came off in one piece and in great shape. First one who wants it (and lives in North America), PM me and I'll ship it to you.
 
Before
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After
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Pretty sweet looking
 
Looks great!
 
Thanks. It looks and feels great. Need to get used to a heel shafted putter, but I felt like I lag putted well with it yesterday for the 30 minutes I had available. Dropped a few 8' putts no problem, just need to get out and practice with it.
 
Took this out on the course for the first time in a match today. Burned the left side of the cup a lot but couldn't get anything outside of five feet to drop. Got to get used to a heel shafted putter.
 
Deuce, are you still using this putter? I was thinking about picking up the same one and doing the same experiment. Any more thoughts on it?
 
TimG3394 said:
Deuce, are you still using this putter? I was thinking about picking up the same one and doing the same experiment. Any more thoughts on it?
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I go back to it occasionally but I'm much more used to a center shafted putter so I don't bag it as often as I would have imagined I would when I started this project. Everyone who has rolled it though has really commented on how good it felt, so the project itself was a success.
 
deuce said:
I go back to it occasionally but I'm much more used to a center shafted putter so I don't bag it as often as I would have imagined I would when I started this project. Everyone who has rolled it though has really commented on how good it felt, so the project itself was a success.
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I am really intrigued by counterbalancing. It is something I will try soon, it doesn't seem like it will be an expensive project, but I have no clue what I'm doing. I do love the #7 head though. I'll be using this thread when I decide to move forward. Thanks!
 
TimG3394 said:
I am really intrigued by counterbalancing. It is something I will try soon, it doesn't seem like it will be an expensive project, but I have no clue what I'm doing. I do love the #7 head though. I'll be using this thread when I decide to move forward. Thanks!
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Not expensive at all. A belly putter can be had for next to nothing, and while a lot of them come with a heavier head the other specs are pretty much the same (loft/lie). At that point, you're only looking at cutting down the shaft, regripping, and throwing on some counterweight. I got the #7 for around $40, the grip for another $10. Buying a Tank (similar specs) would cost me easily 3x more.
 
I done this with my manta belly cut to 35 added the longer super stroke boom everyone is a winner!
This in combo with left below right has dropped 3 strokes from my game!


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deuce said:
Not expensive at all. A belly putter can be had for next to nothing, and while a lot of them come with a heavier head the other specs are pretty much the same (loft/lie). At that point, you're only looking at cutting down the shaft, regripping, and throwing on some counterweight. I got the #7 for around $40, the grip for another $10. Buying a Tank (similar specs) would cost me easily 3x more.
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What was the grip you purchased for this? The Winn belly grip? I purchased a SeeMore belly putter for super cheap and am going to try this. I was considering ordering a counter balance grip straight from SeeMore.
 
joshsparham said:
What was the grip you purchased for this? The Winn belly grip? I purchased a SeeMore belly putter for super cheap and am going to try this. I was considering ordering a counter balance grip straight from SeeMore.
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Yes, a Winn CB 17" grip. Can be found here (but probably can be had for even cheaper on the bay). Good luck!

I just pulled this putter out this morning. Going to work with it today at the range.
 
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