Had to think about this - I've gone through so many putters because I adjust too much and make changes. I tend to aim blades with offset to the left slightly. Then I had an Edel mallet with onset because I aimed from the back. For some reason, I switched and kept on switching putters and got caught up in the heavy putter era - 360g, and then in the Superstroke era. And fittings were inside on artificial turf. The Edel fittings were similar to what Jman described. They are excellent fittings if you are consistent in everything you do.
One goes though a lot of learning about yourself in this golf journey. This is my short story on Putting.
In going to a fitting, I think you need a consistent setup, stroke, and tempo where you feel relaxed and athletic over the ball.
Finding the above took me over two decades of evolution. Please do not take that long. Find the relaxing routine and stroke that fits you. This is my story and everyone's story will be somewhat different.
I was a shoulder rocker, then an Utley mini-swing type where the elbows bend and straighten but nothing felt consistent although I had periods of very good putting. Then back to shoulder rocking. I just felt too stiff. I stood over the putter too long. So I've been experimenting for a few years to find more athleticism when putting and am towards the end of the journey.
Green Reading. Another part of the journey of making putts is reading the green. You won't read every green correctly even looking at every angle. I would survey how the green drained and slope as I approached it, AND then started with standard AimPoint, where you determine the slope with your feet, and you did some complicated things with your feet, needed a chart - it worked but was complex. THEN AimPoint Express came out and
faster, easier and I used it while also taking what happens after the hole into consideration (heavy break, downhill?) Nothing is perfect, and some greens are difficult to read even with your feet. But it is a good fast system once you use it enough.
Fitting. My last putter fitting was October 2021 with Artisan Golf in Ft. Worth. It was 2.5 hours outside on a real practice green. John Hatfield determined I was a face aimer - I used the front of the face to aim. I got that from my instructor of the last couple of years. My process is I get my line using AimPoint and use the topline near the face to aim at my aim point near the hole. So when you are getting fit, pay attention to what part of the putter you use to aim. Do you use the back, the front? John fit me to about 1/4 offset, not much toe hang with that and I don't try to over-arc - just gradually. I use a SeeMore FGP (the original) as a training putter.
John also had me abandon the shoulder rock to more of "Lets move everything above the waist a little" - I move the arms, and allow the shoulders to move slightly as they react to the movement of the arms for a smooth stroke. But you don't want the shoulders to move overtly laterally (do not close, then open - opening overtly and you will pull that putt). Once again, the movement is slight so you are not popping the ball. He also has my left hand fingers holding the grip slightly tighter than the right hand's fingers (he says use the dominant hand but mine are fairly equal) - find what works for you. We also focused a lot on keeping the head still during and after the putt - count 1 and 2 after the putter stops to make certain the head does not move. He also made me pay attention to the slight loading of the putter and strike of the ball keeping the putter low after the strike and not an extended follow thru.
My Thoughts. The fitting was very old school - Brad Faxon like. (Go to YouTube, look up Cam Smith or the most recent Rory stroke). We also moved from 360g to 340g in the head. I was having trouble keeping a decent tempo with the heavier heads - the E7-9 swing weight went to D2 (like Tiger). I now found the putter head easier to move. I have the Artisan Fang-Type putter which does not have long fangs. I have no lines on my putter. Lines move you left in aim. The result is I feel more athletic with arms connected to body, moving the putter head more than the grip, and moving the shoulders slightly because the arms are moving - it feels more athletic. You will also feel more athletic if, over the putt lining yourself up, your feet are moving slightly and your body is relaxed.
John also had me try three different styles of milling - one was too soft (heavily milled), one felt too hard (slight milling), and the mid-milling felt perfect to me. He fit me to 35 inches and he put a 30g counterweight below the grip. Grip is GP Pro Only Cord. Loft is 2 deg. Lie is 70.
Find Your Setup And Stroke before Fitting -- All of the above goes against the trend of move nothing but the shoulders, and use of heavy headed, big grip putters, which says, "Move as little as possible, or rock the shoulders, take the hands out. I find that very confining and not athletic to me. It is not Cam Smith, Rory, or even Tiger but there are many ways to putt. The pros mentioned do not seem to move much but the arms are moving and the shoulders move slightly (almost imperceptibly) in reaction to the arms - it's the arc slightly approach. Their heads do not move. Viewing Ben Crenshaw if you want to really go old school, he imperceptibly is moving more of the body to feel more athletic. When I say movement of shoulders I mean slight. It's not an closing and opening - it's more along the imperceptible range. Make it smooth and natural. The putter head moves a lot more than the grip end.
I should say that this is what I found works for me. Shoulder rockers and big grip, heavy headed putters may feel more comfortable putting in their usual manner. We are all different.
Results - Admittedly, I still tend to aim slightly right -- I could put a line on the flange to move my aim left but the line distracts me. I like a clean putter. What I do is get my line from behind the ball to my Aim Point and use my shaft to get the spot for my line. I've also gone more athletic in terms of not standing over the ball long. I don't take a practice stroke. But I do the Cam Smith thing of getting a feel for the stroke and then gripping the putter, taking a look and go.
Results are that my distance control is better, my tempo of 2:1 (Tour Tempo 20/10) works well, and my aim routine works for me. It's a process because I haven't played much this summer due to 109F, work and other things. So I am tuning the routine and process. I am working on my strike on the ball just past the low point to get more immediate and better roll. Making putts. I like the progress.
Putting Training Aids I use most - theputtingstick and Pelz putting tutor - the stainless steel balls on either side of each other.
Hope some of this story helps.
One goes though a lot of learning about yourself in this golf journey. This is my short story on Putting.
In going to a fitting, I think you need a consistent setup, stroke, and tempo where you feel relaxed and athletic over the ball.
Finding the above took me over two decades of evolution. Please do not take that long. Find the relaxing routine and stroke that fits you. This is my story and everyone's story will be somewhat different.
I was a shoulder rocker, then an Utley mini-swing type where the elbows bend and straighten but nothing felt consistent although I had periods of very good putting. Then back to shoulder rocking. I just felt too stiff. I stood over the putter too long. So I've been experimenting for a few years to find more athleticism when putting and am towards the end of the journey.
Green Reading. Another part of the journey of making putts is reading the green. You won't read every green correctly even looking at every angle. I would survey how the green drained and slope as I approached it, AND then started with standard AimPoint, where you determine the slope with your feet, and you did some complicated things with your feet, needed a chart - it worked but was complex. THEN AimPoint Express came out and
faster, easier and I used it while also taking what happens after the hole into consideration (heavy break, downhill?) Nothing is perfect, and some greens are difficult to read even with your feet. But it is a good fast system once you use it enough.Fitting. My last putter fitting was October 2021 with Artisan Golf in Ft. Worth. It was 2.5 hours outside on a real practice green. John Hatfield determined I was a face aimer - I used the front of the face to aim. I got that from my instructor of the last couple of years. My process is I get my line using AimPoint and use the topline near the face to aim at my aim point near the hole. So when you are getting fit, pay attention to what part of the putter you use to aim. Do you use the back, the front? John fit me to about 1/4 offset, not much toe hang with that and I don't try to over-arc - just gradually. I use a SeeMore FGP (the original) as a training putter.
John also had me abandon the shoulder rock to more of "Lets move everything above the waist a little" - I move the arms, and allow the shoulders to move slightly as they react to the movement of the arms for a smooth stroke. But you don't want the shoulders to move overtly laterally (do not close, then open - opening overtly and you will pull that putt). Once again, the movement is slight so you are not popping the ball. He also has my left hand fingers holding the grip slightly tighter than the right hand's fingers (he says use the dominant hand but mine are fairly equal) - find what works for you. We also focused a lot on keeping the head still during and after the putt - count 1 and 2 after the putter stops to make certain the head does not move. He also made me pay attention to the slight loading of the putter and strike of the ball keeping the putter low after the strike and not an extended follow thru.
My Thoughts. The fitting was very old school - Brad Faxon like. (Go to YouTube, look up Cam Smith or the most recent Rory stroke). We also moved from 360g to 340g in the head. I was having trouble keeping a decent tempo with the heavier heads - the E7-9 swing weight went to D2 (like Tiger). I now found the putter head easier to move. I have the Artisan Fang-Type putter which does not have long fangs. I have no lines on my putter. Lines move you left in aim. The result is I feel more athletic with arms connected to body, moving the putter head more than the grip, and moving the shoulders slightly because the arms are moving - it feels more athletic. You will also feel more athletic if, over the putt lining yourself up, your feet are moving slightly and your body is relaxed.
John also had me try three different styles of milling - one was too soft (heavily milled), one felt too hard (slight milling), and the mid-milling felt perfect to me. He fit me to 35 inches and he put a 30g counterweight below the grip. Grip is GP Pro Only Cord. Loft is 2 deg. Lie is 70.
Find Your Setup And Stroke before Fitting -- All of the above goes against the trend of move nothing but the shoulders, and use of heavy headed, big grip putters, which says, "Move as little as possible, or rock the shoulders, take the hands out. I find that very confining and not athletic to me. It is not Cam Smith, Rory, or even Tiger but there are many ways to putt. The pros mentioned do not seem to move much but the arms are moving and the shoulders move slightly (almost imperceptibly) in reaction to the arms - it's the arc slightly approach. Their heads do not move. Viewing Ben Crenshaw if you want to really go old school, he imperceptibly is moving more of the body to feel more athletic. When I say movement of shoulders I mean slight. It's not an closing and opening - it's more along the imperceptible range. Make it smooth and natural. The putter head moves a lot more than the grip end.
I should say that this is what I found works for me. Shoulder rockers and big grip, heavy headed putters may feel more comfortable putting in their usual manner. We are all different.
Results - Admittedly, I still tend to aim slightly right -- I could put a line on the flange to move my aim left but the line distracts me. I like a clean putter. What I do is get my line from behind the ball to my Aim Point and use my shaft to get the spot for my line. I've also gone more athletic in terms of not standing over the ball long. I don't take a practice stroke. But I do the Cam Smith thing of getting a feel for the stroke and then gripping the putter, taking a look and go.
Results are that my distance control is better, my tempo of 2:1 (Tour Tempo 20/10) works well, and my aim routine works for me. It's a process because I haven't played much this summer due to 109F, work and other things. So I am tuning the routine and process. I am working on my strike on the ball just past the low point to get more immediate and better roll. Making putts. I like the progress.
Putting Training Aids I use most - theputtingstick and Pelz putting tutor - the stainless steel balls on either side of each other.
Hope some of this story helps.
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