Playing the wrong 'balanced' putter, how detrimental would that be?

[Daddio]

Putting has been my weakest area BY FAR since returning to golf. I've been focusing my practice on it for the past several months but still have a very long way to go to even come close to how well I used to putt. The quest to improve led me to doing a professional putter fitting yesterday and I learned a great deal from the fitter, trackman, and video analysis. He reduced my loft nearly 4* which is making a big positive difference in reducing hops when i took it to the practice green, especially uphill putts. I learned though that I'm playing a 'face balanced' putter, best suited to a SBST stroke. The fitting revealed however that my stroke is better fitted to a 'quarter toe hang' putter. Per the fitter my stroke was consistently 'slight arc' but he said I've learned to consistently compensate for my slight 2* in2out path and alignment with a slighly closed face angle at impact. I hit every putt dead straight on the flat smooth surface during the fitting but he said the conflicting angles will impact putts more on real greens with grain and slope.

I like my putter, I know most of my issues are the indian. Also my fitter didn't try to sell me a putter, and said the loft change will reap huge benefits on it's own, but said whenever I do get a new putter I should go with a quarter toe hang model. Lots of you guys in here try new putter often, how big of a difference do you see when playing a 'wrongly balanced' model?

mods - if this belongs under 'fitting' instead, please move

 

[lightningbolt44]

Putting has been my weakest area BY FAR since returning to golf. I've been focusing my practice on it for the past several months but still have a very long way to go to even come close to how well I used to putt. The quest to improve led me to doing a professional putter fitting yesterday and I learned a great deal from the fitter, trackman, and video analysis. He reduced my loft nearly 4* which is making a big positive difference in reducing hops when i took it to the practice green, especially uphill putts. I learned though that I'm playing a 'face balanced' putter, best suited to a SBST stroke. The fitting revealed however that my stroke is better fitted to a 'quarter toe hang' putter. Per the fitter my stroke was consistently 'slight arc' but he said I've learned to consistently compensate for my slight 2* in2out path and alignment with a slighly closed face angle at impact. I hit every putt dead straight on the flat smooth surface during the fitting but he said the conflicting angles will impact putts more on real greens with grain and slope.

I like my putter, I know most of my issues are the indian. Also my fitter didn't try to sell me a putter, and said the loft change will reap huge benefits on it's own, but said whenever I do get a new putter I should go with a quarter toe hang model. Lots of you guys in here try new putter often, how big of a difference do you see when playing a 'wrongly balanced' model?

mods - if this belongs under 'fitting' instead, please move

Huge huge huge. Wish I knew you were struggling with this when I was out there I have a ton to say about this.

Once I was fit for a putter that fit my stroke and my eye my putts dropped considerably. I am still not a good putter by any stretch but compared to before it is night and day.

One of the things my instructor/fitter did when teaching me (after he fit to my current stroke) was make sure I know my stroke and why a putter model works better than others. I understand my stroke now to the point I can pick up most putters and know what my tendency will be with them. This allows me to use what fits my eye best.

I am a huge believer that you don't fit for the perfect stroke you fit for your tendency and what you can repeat. If you miss 2 degrees left EVERY time it is very repeatable if you fit for the perfect circumstances that will be repeated much less.



Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[cnosil]

Lots of opinions on the best putter for a putting stroke. Ultimately if you can start the ball on your intended line that a is the putter for you. Based on Sam putt lab data there are almost no perfect stroke so I say play the putter you currently have. If you want to try other putters make sure they start the ball on your intended line

 

[aljaklaw]

I tried a face-balanced blade (Nike Method 004) for a few weeks

everything was good, except the results: up to 0.5 putts per hole more than my #9

 

[Daddio]

Huge huge huge. Wish I knew you were struggling with this when I was out there I have a ton to say about this.

Once I was fit for a putter that fit my stroke and my eye my putts dropped considerably. I am still not a good putter by any stretch but compared to before it is night and day.

One of the things my instructor/fitter did when teaching me (after he fit to my current stroke) was make sure I know my stroke and why a putter model works better than others. I understand my stroke now to the point I can pick up most putters and know what my tendency will be with them. This allows me to use what fits my eye best.

I am a huge believer that you don't fit for the perfect stroke you fit for your tendency and what you can repeat. If you miss 2 degrees left EVERY time it is very repeatable if you fit for the perfect circumstances that will be repeated much less.



Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the help Ron, had I known more when you were out here last month I'm sure I could've learned a lot more by picking your brain. jk - but how did you not diagnose me from all those ugly missed shorties and that ultra smooth 4 putt double from 20 feet I yacked up? Practice is going much better since the fitter delofted my putter but I'm going to find a quarter toe hang to mess around with as soon as I get a chance.

 

[EaglevsFalcon]

Putting has been my weakest area BY FAR since returning to golf. I've been focusing my practice on it for the past several months but still have a very long way to go to even come close to how well I used to putt. The quest to improve led me to doing a professional putter fitting yesterday and I learned a great deal from the fitter, trackman, and video analysis. He reduced my loft nearly 4* which is making a big positive difference in reducing hops when i took it to the practice green, especially uphill putts. I learned though that I'm playing a 'face balanced' putter, best suited to a SBST stroke. The fitting revealed however that my stroke is better fitted to a 'quarter toe hang' putter. Per the fitter my stroke was consistently 'slight arc' but he said I've learned to consistently compensate for my slight 2* in2out path and alignment with a slighly closed face angle at impact. I hit every putt dead straight on the flat smooth surface during the fitting but he said the conflicting angles will impact putts more on real greens with grain and slope.

I like my putter, I know most of my issues are the indian. Also my fitter didn't try to sell me a putter, and said the loft change will reap huge benefits on it's own, but said whenever I do get a new putter I should go with a quarter toe hang model. Lots of you guys in here try new putter often, how big of a difference do you see when playing a 'wrongly balanced' model?

mods - if this belongs under 'fitting' instead, please move

I'm with Ron. I believe toe hang to be the single most important factor in choosing a putter. I've had nothing but face balanced and 3/4 hang putters my whole life and my putting was never as good as I wanted it to be, especially inside of 5 feet. The difference was so drastic that I went from missing 2-3 footers with regularity to making them 90-95% of the time.

Once I discovered 1/4 toe hang and how well it suits me, it's the first thing I check when I go to roll a new putter. Won't even try one that isn't 1/4 hang.

If your fitter suggested one for your stroke, go get one...like, now. I highly doubt you will regret it. I have an Odyssey Works 1w and am in absolute love with it. I got it on Callaway preowned for $75 last year. Also, the Odyssey 2 ball Fang is also 1/4 toe hang. Just some starter ideas, if you choose to go this route.

 

[ASN21]

I have been thinking about this a lot the past few months and a heavy or moderate toe hang putter is no good for me. I need to have a face balanced putter. It's very important to find the right balance for you. I always go to the putter racks and see how each putter balances.

 

[JayB]

Go to your local golf retailer and pick up a roll of lead tape. experiment with adding some tape to the toe to replicate the 1/4 toe hang and see if you like the feel and consistency better. cheap and quick experimentation that should give you an idea of what that is like...

I have been doing a similar thing with to simulate a counter balance grip - taping stacks of washers onto the butt of my grip to see if I like the feel.

 

[Daddio]

Go to your local golf retailer and pick up a roll of lead tape. experiment with adding some tape to the toe to replicate the 1/4 toe hang and see if you like the feel and consistency better. cheap and quick experimentation that should give you an idea of what that is like...

I have been doing a similar thing with to simulate a counter balance grip - taping stacks of washers onto the butt of my grip to see if I like the feel.

Thanks for the tip JayB, I have some tape around here somewhere already. I'm with you on the counter balance. Once I figured out how much weight I needed I went to Lowes and got the appropriate clevis pin. Fits down inside the shaft and the rim is perfect match to shaft O.D. so the grip fits over it perfectly.