The Classroom - What is Toe Hang?

JB

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The Classroom kicks off today with an explanation on Toe Hang. Check it out here and if you have any questions, feel free to ask for clarification.

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/the-classroom-toe-hang-explained-2/

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That was an excellent read. Very informative, and easy to understand. Is this a newer method of making a putter? I ask because I have one of the older two ball putters, and when holding by the shaft the toe will rotate down, so I'm wondering if that's just how putters were made, or if it was intentional even then (10? Years ago).


Sent from the magic know everything box in my pocket
 
Very well written James. Putter toe hang is something I have really learned a lot about over the past year and now know even more.
 
I want to be able to share and it's not giving me that option. Nicely written James. I guess my question would be, how do you know what type of arch you have while putting? I wonder how many golfers are using putters that don't match their arch?
 
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The Classroom - What is Toe Hang?

Jman,good stuff buddy.

Question:

Shaft styles: plumbers neck, single bend, center shafted etc. how does that change the toe hang/face balance properties?

I'm going to love this class room.
 
James, great job. Very clear and concise. Toe hang is frequently talked about but not often explained.

Thanks,
Brian
 
Very good read. I'm looking forward to expanding my overall knowledge of the game.
 
Great information Jman. Headed to check mine now because I really had no idea. :act-up:

JM
 
Nice start to golf education world! Very informative. Adding how the toe hang relates to your putting stroke makes all the difference in just explaining the term. Well done!
 
I like the piece - well done. This knowledge is new to me and I'm curious about a couple things. How much does this really matter/help with a stroke that is commonly only a handful of inches long? And I'd love to hear more about the influence of shaft type that was touched in in the article.
 
Well done James! I have always wondered about toe hang and how it varied with putter style. Now I'm wondering if their is a certain design based upon my putting stroke. A great way to kickoff #THPClassroom
 
Fantastic... this is always something that I have been clueless on and that really helped me understand.
 
Very nice explanation James! I knew how to check whether a putter was face-balanced or not, but I'm not sure I had ever thought through the weighting characteristics that gave it that property before.
 
Fantastic lesson Jman. I had no idea the different types of toe hang, I know my Nead has toe hang just not how much i'll have to check.

I am curious as t2grn asked how the necks affect toe hang and balance
 
More questions...is there any industry standard or default amount of toe hang on putters? In other words, is one type of toe hang the "default" that we could expect to see from most putters if we walk into a big box store and start rolling putters? Does one amount of toe hang outsell the others?
 
Great first topic! Nicely explained and very informative.
 
I did not have any idea what "toe hang" was...now I do, thanks!
 
Solid piece and good, simple explanation. I am of the opinion that it's critical to get the right amount of toe hang for your stroke and it's one of those small details (like iron lie angle) that really can make a difference on your scorecard.
 
Great job James. That was a really informative piece and did a great job of explaining the differences.
 
Excellent explanation Jman. I'd heard the terms for years but never really understood until a fitting last year.
 
That was an excellent read. Very informative, and easy to understand. Is this a newer method of making a putter? I ask because I have one of the older two ball putters, and when holding by the shaft the toe will rotate down, so I'm wondering if that's just how putters were made, or if it was intentional even then (10? Years ago).

Sent from the magic know everything box in my pocket

Not new at all, has been around for ages. That said though, initially when all putters were true blades (think 8802, not what we call a blade now) they were all full toe hang. With the arrival of Karsten's Anser putter that all began to change with weight manipulation, neck manipulation, MOI designs, etc, and this lead to analysis of what the balance of each putter being produced was. All manufacturers produce multiple toe-hang options within their line, and just because its a mallet (like your 2-ball) doesn't mean it has to be face balanced. Multiple options for different strokes is essentially the name of the game.

I want to be able to share and it's not giving me that option. Nicely written James. I guess my question would be, how do you know what type of arch you have while putting? I wonder how many golfers are using putters that don't match their arch?

Its as simple as looking at your putting path, having someone watch your putting path, or even recording yourself and looking at it. I'm in the camp that HATES the terminology "Straight back straight through" because physiologically that is impossible, all putting strokes have arc, there just isn't very much for SBST, but it is there.

As to the fitting the arc to the putter thing, I'm not in the camp that its SUPER MEGA ULTRA important like some putter companies seem to make it out to be. Putting is a different beast in that comfort matters too, and if one isn't comfortable with a full toe hang design that fits their stroke then it won't matter that it is what they are "supposed" to use. I agree it can help fine tune putting, but I don't think it is a be all end all like some do (I putt with all different toe-hangs all the time for example, no massive result differences unless its a true 8802 style blade for me).

Jman,good stuff buddy.

Question:

Shaft styles: plumbers neck, single bend, center shafted etc. how does that change the toe hang/face balance properties?

I'm going to love this class room.

There honestly isn't a hard & fast or one to one answer there Kevin. They all play in with the weighting and shape of the head allowing manipulation or slight variances of what the toe hang might be. In general, CS will be face-balanced or really close, single bend will be nearly face balanced, a PN will have slight toe hang (think in between full and face-balanced), and a heel shafted flow/bay neck will be full toe-hang. But, as I said, these can change based on the location of the neck, the length of the neck, and the shape/weighting of the head.

I like the piece - well done. This knowledge is new to me and I'm curious about a couple things. How much does this really matter/help with a stroke that is commonly only a handful of inches long? And I'd love to hear more about the influence of shaft type that was touched in in the article.

Debateable. Some say its of massive importance, some say it isn't.

Shaft type or neck type?

More questions...is there any industry standard or default amount of toe hang on putters? In other words, is one type of toe hang the "default" that we could expect to see from most putters if we walk into a big box store and start rolling putters? Does one amount of toe hang outsell the others?

No, they vary, if you look at the pics in the article (namely the one with the SC putters) you get a big view of how they line varies in toe hang. This is done intentionally as not only do you then offer various shapes for various eyes, but also various toe-hang/balances for different strokes. Options are good.

The nice thing is, when you walk into a store all you have to o is balance the putter on your index fingers and you will know what the toe-hang is.

As to the last, PN and single-bend are the most purchased styles, both offer (usually) and in-between amount of toe-hang.
 
The Classroom - What is Toe Hang?

Here is my SAM PuttLab Fitting Analysis. I would never have known I needed a Toe Hang Mallet. Look at the arch in my stroke and how my putts went left. Had a heck of a time finding one, however it made a huge difference once I did.





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