We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Forward roll on the ball?

Forward roll on the ball?

  • Yes

    Votes: 16 45.7%

  • No

    Votes: 10 28.6%

  • Maybe a little

    Votes: 9 25.7%
  • Total voters
    35
SeeMore Golf
CBaker

CBaker

.
Albatross 2024 Club
Joined
Dec 5, 2014
Messages
34,052
Reaction score
6,435
Location
CLE
Handicap
9.5
We see it all the time on putter threads...comments such as "X putter puts a good forward roll on the ball." Which I am honestly guilty of a time or two as well.

The questing here is, can you really tell? Not sure I've ever picked up a putter that didn't put a forward roll on the ball. If it skidded more at first, there wasn't really a way I could tell with my eyes or without the use of a camera or something along those lines. Has anyone ever played a putter that didn't roll the ball forward? Genuinely curious, because it honestly feels like it's just a phrase thrown around that at this point, really has no meaning anymore to me. I have 5 putters in my house currently, all with very different faces, and all putt the ball generally the same from what I can tell. I'm more so concerned with how the ball sounds off the face than any other factor at that point.

So if there is a difference - is it more insert/face related? Something to do with the putting stroke? Or is it maybe have more to do with making sure you have the right loft on your putter?
 
I think the differences become more apparent on longer putts where you have to strike the ball harder. I have noticed that my Yes! putter gets the ball rolling more quickly than, say, the W/S putter on long putts. When you're rolling six footers a high speed camera is probably needed.
 
No I can't tell at all. I'm not sure I'm even focused on the ball immediately after I make contact as I'm trying to keep my head down. So technically, I've never even bothered to attempt to tell.
 
THP had a great quicktech segment a while back with EVNROLL about this subject.
 
Not sure I can really tell or actually try to pay attention honestly. Probably easier to tell with a ball like the Truvis.

One of the most interesting discussion on forward roll I've heard was in this podcast (at least I think it was this one): http://cmp.callawaygolf.com/2017/01/09/the-pirate-shipshow-ep-48-introducing-new-o-works-putters/.

It is possible with a poorly struck putt to put initial backspin on the ball. The data presented in that podcast is really cool IMO and easily makes it worth 20 minutes of any golf geek's time. :D
 
I can tell and I find that with a Milled face I see/hear more skidding more. When I had my putter fitting on the SAM, I noticed the Milled faces skidded more than the insert putters.

Sometimes I like to think putter surfaces play a role here bc thinking back on better greens I don't notice/hear it as much as I do/did on greens that are slower or not kept up.

I think the modern inserts, Odyssey Works/Microhinge, TM Pure Roll and others have produce putters that minimize or eliminate the initial skidding. There is something there, but to the untrained eye/ear most won't even notice it.

We are unique here on THP and other golf forums where we are more in tune with our equipment.
 
I've never been able to tell. In all honesty I always kind of thought of it as a marketing gimmick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Honestly it's something that I don't really notice when going through putters. However, after seeing the thread about the new Odyssey putter and the roll it puts on the ball I was intrigued so I got golf nerd and took slow motion video of a few different putters. There were definitely differences when I looked at the video.

Ever since then I don't necessarily notice the roll off the face, but I do notice the speed and distance control of the ball using different putters from the same distance which I think is a direct correlation.
 
I think I notice it to some degree on longer putts, like 40+ feet. Can certainly make distance control more difficult if you don't know how long it's going to skid before it starts rolling.
 
I think it can be a little bit of both honestly. My stroke can make the ball skid more than it really should, sometimes I catch it close to the bottom of the face hits the bottom of the ball with an ascending strike and it creates more skid. That's a big reason why the O-Works microhinge helps me tremendously. So for me it's a little bit of both.

Practicing with a Chromesoft Truvis makes seeing the skid and roll a lot easier too.
 
I have always tought it was stroke dependent, I'm not good or cosistent enough to know.
 
rallo said:
THP had a great quicktech segment a while back with EVNROLL about this subject.
Click to expand...

I'll be honest ... I find his claims with the EVNROLL results on the velvet board unconvincing. Looks like they're both skipping to me.
 
cbaker2882 said:
We see it all the time on putter threads...comments such as "X putter puts a good forward roll on the ball." Which I am honestly guilty of a time or two as well.

The questing here is, can you really tell? Not sure I've ever picked up a putter that didn't put a forward roll on the ball. If it skidded more at first, there wasn't really a way I could tell with my eyes or without the use of a camera or something along those lines. Has anyone ever played a putter that didn't roll the ball forward? Genuinely curious, because it honestly feels like it's just a phrase thrown around that at this point, really has no meaning anymore to me. I have 5 putters in my house currently, all with very different faces, and all putt the ball generally the same from what I can tell. I'm more so concerned with how the ball sounds off the face than any other factor at that point.

So if there is a difference - is it more insert/face related? Something to do with the putting stroke? Or is it maybe have more to do with making sure you have the right loft on your putter?
Click to expand...

Below is a great video of how a SeeMore putter and its use of RST (hiding the red dot) allows the golf ball to start on a forward roll immediately at impact. You will always have this same roll because the RST puts you in the same spot for ball position, loft, putter face always being square at impact and posture. You are eliminated variables. Visit more at SeeMore.com

 
I can tell the difference between a ball that starts rolling early versus once that bounces/skids too much. But it's always seemed like more of technique issue than a putter build/design issue to me.
 
Absolutely I can.

Skidding is just one piece of the puzzle though in my experiences testing and reviewing. Beyond that, there is simply a visual difference for me when working with putters. One thing I do in all putter reviews though is to work with golf balls marked with a single dime or quarter sized black circle which akes for an easy visual of the end over end.

I know some like to cling to everything just being marketing, but designs in face materials, face milling, loft, and design weighting ALL impact the roll off of a putter. While it is true we all have different putting strokes (for example, forward pressers will struggle with skidding on most putters unless the loft is adjusted properly, etc) you can differentiate the roll from one to the other.
 
Now that I put a line on the ball it is much easier to tell!
 
have you ever struck a putt on the practice green, and the stars aligned the tempo was perfect, you caught it dead in the sweet spot, straight down your intended line, and you knew immediately it was in? then you look up and the ball just looks like it's going in the hole.

then sometimes you feel your path is a little wonky, your right hand fired a little, something was quite in sync, and you missed the sweet spot. the ball rolls differently, might even have a little different sound on the green, but maybe still goes in.

i'm not sure i see forward roll because, um, aren't all putts eventually rolling forward?! but i know when the putt was struck correctly because it honestly has a different look. ...at least it think it does.

question: can the ball off a putt spin on an axis, and can/will it continue to spin on that axis as it rolls on its line?
 
I will say going through a putter fitting and having the right loft on my putter based on my stroke helped all but eliminate skidding. Couple this with finding the right insert/face and I firmly believe you can get the ball rolling forward with a proper putter fitting.
 
c.a.eleric said:
question: can the ball off a putt spin on an axis, and can/will it continue to spin on that axis as it rolls on its line?
Click to expand...

I've heard it can for a very brief time, but then the ball will start rolling forward online. I think Dr. Bob Rotella talked about that in Putting Out of Your Mind.
 
Jman said:
Absolutely I can.

Skidding is just one piece of the puzzle though in my experiences testing and reviewing. Beyond that, there is simply a visual difference for me when working with putters. One thing I do in all putter reviews though is to work with golf balls marked with a single dime or quarter sized black circle which akes for an easy visual of the end over end.

I know some like to cling to everything just being marketing, but designs in face materials, face milling, loft, and design weighting ALL impact the roll off of a putter. While it is true we all have different putting strokes (for example, forward pressers will struggle with skidding on most putters unless the loft is adjusted properly, etc) you can differentiate the roll from one to the other.
Click to expand...

Agreed my roll is different depending which putter I'm using at the time.
 
I used to think that most people could not tell if a ball started with a skid or a maybe a little hop. But ever since putting the O-works in my bag, I'm starting to question that. I've never had a putter where the ball just started on its line as intended as reliably as that one.

Can I see a ball skid? No. Do I know if a ball skids? Well, I'm starting to think that I have seen the effects of a ball skidding for years, and just didn't know that's what it was.

~Rock
 
I can tell for certain when using the Nike Method but not my other putters.
 
I tend to always own very similar putters at the same time so never really notice a difference amongst them. Can feel when a putt is well struck but honestly never have paid much attention to the roll of the ball.
 
I can tell especially on wet greens. I think a well fitting putter can make a huge difference in addition to design characteristics but if you look for it you can tell IMO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top