When choosing a putter, naturally we typically find a shape that we like the look of and something that feels right. What if you learned that your choice might be hampering your ability to make more putts?
Could the mind and the affinity for a certain shape or style overcome this? It’s a genuine question we wanted to explore as every golfer gravitates to a certain putter.
In the THP Tech Studio, we have Chris Koske from Edel Golf and a laser setup with two cameras. The test was to find out where we aim naturally and how the putter plays such a large roll in that aspect.
We explore both putter head style as well as alignment line(s) and see what changes and why. Is your putter keeping you from the ability to make more putts? Watch the video below and find out.
After watching that, how well do you think your putter fits your game? Is your putter keeping you from making more putts? While these changes might sound drastic, what we saw above going through it for the first time was rather eye opening.
Could a putter fitting benefit you? We recently explored what it was like to go through a full fitting of the flat stick at a place like Club Champion. If you missed that, check it out here.
Thanks to Edel Golf for coming to the THP Tech Studio and walking us through this exercise. For more information on any of the putters you saw in this line, check out their website here.
Looks like someone should get a putter fitting.
I had a bunch of guys tell me they wouldn’t play it because you couldn’t pick up a ball off the green with it. I always got funny looks when I told them that I didn’t care about that if I only had to use it 18 times and reach in the hole anyway wasn’t that better then over 30 times and using it to pick up gimmies? Now obviously I never made just 18 it’s in the round but it does get the point across.
Aim tendencies and biases amaze me, and it’s fun to see how thorough Edel is being in fitting those.
I’ll be trying something like this at home with a laser pointer, to see that I might learn if anything.
Thanks!
Love it! Great video, guys. It’s always amazing how much influence those little things have before we’ve even start in motion. Cool stuff going on with Edel fittings. Really enjoyed that.
now my mind is kinda spinning.
I’ve had a few Edel fittings as they changed models. Around 2015, at a fitting, discovered that compact mallets with very little offset, and without sightlines but just site dot, worked well for me. That’s why I have an Edel E-1 and Savage Too in the bag with a SeeMore mFGP2, which I need to send to SeeMore to take out the white lines, shorten slightly and regrip
In addition to the head shape and sight lines, the process once and probably still includes most or all of the following – offset, length, head weight, distance control, shaft, grip, counterweighting.
Heck, even if you did not want to purchase an Edel, I would pay money for an EDEL fitting. Go to YouTube and search David Edel and/or Edel Fitting.
An Edel Fitting takes a lot of variables out of your next purchase. I rolled a few of the new putter heads and the milling is tremendous off the face as to feel – not too soft or firm – just right. I was impressed. Better feel than the Betts I have.
@Canadan, do you use the alignment aid on the ball or no? I wonder whether that would change things?
I refuse. Tried it numerous times, saw how regularly i had it wrong, and then argued it more than it helped.
Personally, I use something on the green about a foot or two from the ball as my final alignment.
I always thought it helped me. But, I didn’t use the alignment aid most of the time in my putter fitting and made plenty of putts. I felt completely comfortable. At the end, I hit a few using the alignment aid to see whether it helped my alignment. It helped some but at that point looked weird. Given how bad my right knee is, I may punt it going forward.
What the alignment aid on the top edge or flange can do is fascinating. Thanks, Dan, that was an awesome piece of content.
I think my favorite part of the whole video was at the end when he tricked me into trying to cheat the system. Absolutely got me hahahaha
It’s so hard to keep an open mind when you head the story and try to understand it – Going in with an open mind and a fresh perspective into a fitting is absolutely critical.
I would have loved to hear him discuss what a mark or dot(s) on the top line and mark(s) on the flange does for my lying eyes. I assume it’s reinforcement of one or the other.
I never knew those marks worked that way. Mnd blown.
Well here’s what was so curious for me…. I regularly game a product that aims one way, with an alignment that encourages an aim to another way – It’s an unintentional balancing act.
Makes me ponder so aggressively haha
Dan, you’re a great golfer (you’re handicap speaks on that so just go with it) and choose a top line blade. Do you think your body/eye sight has naturally adjusted/compensated to what you like in how you putt? The video clearly shows you "should" be playing a different sight alignment than what you are and like. If you were to make the change, do you think it would be an easy change or would you want to switch back?
BTW, great video. It really makes me want to get a putter fitting now as that is one of the worst parts of my game.
I’m a bit unsure, honestly. As you see in the video, with a blade shape (that aims a touch left) and my preferred setup of a sight dot or line (which helps aim right) you’ll see at about 6:25 in the video that top line balances me back to on line perfectly.
The question for me is more about "how long have I been using the right or wrong setup to know that’s my spot"? I know that with my setup on SAM Putt I set up a touch closed, and make contact a touch open – Does a setup from Edel create a more neutralized condition?
Hard to say. Super curious, but I can’t state a fact I’m not aware of haha
1- want an Edel putter fitting at Club Champion
2- Seriously question your head/alignment setup
Yeah, me either
It makes me want to strap a frickin laser on my putt out and buy a tiny mirror. then go through my putter collection.
did the round shape have anything to do with the shift right? Or just the ability to move the line further back?
Simple answer is yes and after todays round YES.
Hah – since watching I have been thinking about how I could replicate at home with a presentation pointer.
I’m gonna borrow a laser level from one of my buddies tomorrow…..
Yeah, I thought it had everything to do with eye dominance. Didn’t think it would be more complex than that, but clearly there’s logic involved.
What head did you land on?
I’ve thought about an Edel fitting for the last year or so. I think I’m at least a halfway decent putter, but you always wonder if there’s something more….
Between what I worked with Koske on during the video, and what SAM showed me at Club Champion, it was nice to (at the very least) get a complete understanding of what works for my stroke and WHY. That’s not expressed enough I don’t think.
It’s very interesting how the alignment aids affect your aim, I never would have thought it made that kind of difference. Especially just moving the alignment line from the top to the flange, it seems like such an insignificant thing. Great video!
Which head are you using? 4.0?
For this I was.
Just a great video. I have never had a putter fitting. Taking a look at my Putter with the Line on the flange and when I putt on an indoor Mat I have noticed a tendency to have a right bias. During the course of your testing was grip type/size taken into consideration. I have had my putter an Evnroll ER5B for a couple years and gone through a couple grip changes. The first grip I actually felt after a while it was affecting my alignment in that it was off. I changed to a larger grip which was better and I was ok with my putting. I just this past week changed to the Golf Pride Pro Only Cord Green which is smaller than the grip it replaced and a little larger than the original. It feels great and I got a lot of putts in with it indoors before yesterday and today which were my first two rounds with it. I really putted well making a lot of Putts and it never felt better. Same putter, same stroke but it just felt better and my alignment just seemed better so im curious as to how much of a factor the right Putter grip is because it really seems to be making a big difference.