Anyone have some spare time? Putter question...

Tiger

Tiger

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I've been working really hard on my putting. Doing about 20 minutes a day since the snow came. My stroke is improving but when I'm bored on my lunchbreaks I often wonder into AG and have hit a few different putters in there. Following Imurg's post about Hunter Mahan's putter and also thinking about the putter that Luke uses I wondered which type of putter the top 50 golfers in the putting stats for last season used:
  • a blade
  • mid mallet
  • mallet
  • belly/broomhandle.
I use a blade because I prefer the look of it at address but I wonder if I'm making the game harder for myself based on aesthetic preference :mmm:

So if anyone has any time on their hands...
 
Interesting question hope there is someone bored out there.
Just noticed Westwoods putter yesterday even though its a blade it looked like it had no toe hang at all so would play more like a mallet.
What would an example of a mid mallet be?
Think a general rule is straight back and thru use a mallet the more arc u have then the more toe hang you need in your blade.
Mike
 
Yes I have some time - but not that much time to check on the top 50. Soz

But are you making the game tougher using a blade, the answer as always with this great game, is 'possibly'

No one can tell you which is the right putter to use, only you know what feels right and lets you get the ball in the hole.

But the idea is that many (most?) normal golfers find the blades tougher to line up than a mallet or mid mallet with lines and balls drawn all over it.

And I'm told that once you've totally changed your thinking and trained your body to work in a totally abnormal way, then a belly putter is great. Although I just don't believe that - never have. The belly putter is the Devil's work and only the terminally doomed get to use them. Just my opinion. But I'm right.

I like the look of blades, but I've found a putter which is halfway between a blade and a mid mallet which helps with alignment ( in fact I pinched it off Smiffy when he wasn't looking ). I'm still searching for my perfect mate, but this has been in my bag for a couple of years now and is a vast improvement on my previous.

If I were you I'd start looking at things like the Ping B60 and then experiment with things like the Spider, via the itsy bitsy.

You'll know it when you fall in love.
 
I tried 14 different putters all on proper utting greens before deciding on the one I bought which was the second one I tried and loved it. But kept trying others to see how they compared and it came down to TM Monte Carlo mid mallet and a Rife or Yes blade (can't remember) I'm a Pro shop nightmare!!
I'm sure if I did the same again then I'd come away with another putter again. However I'm happy to stick with the Monte Carlo!
my putter.jpg
 
CrapHacker said:
And I'm told that once you've totally changed your thinking and trained your body to work in a totally abnormal way, then a belly putter is great. Although I just don't believe that - never have. The belly putter is the Devil's work and only the terminally doomed get to use them. Just my opinion. But I'm right.
Click to expand...

I agree and find it annoying when people say that if they were that easy or great to use then all the Pros would be using them. Bollox. People forget that Pros have principles and I'll bet loads of them are very much against the Belly/Broom putters and THAT'S why they don't use them.
 
Mike_j_golf said:
What would an example of a mid mallet be?
Think a general rule is straight back and thru use a mallet the more arc u have then the more toe hang you need in your blade.
Mike
Click to expand...

Nike have a few mid mallets the Method 003 springs to mind. Just a little bit bigger than a blade but not as full on as something like a twoball. My blade is nearly face balanced as I have a straight back straight through putting stroke. I draw an extended line on my balls for alignment but still have the tendency to miss a few short straight ones.

I'm a big advocate of blame the workman not the tools and am not a chop and change merchant, but am intrigued to know whether it's harder to square the face of a blade.

CH bit disappointed you're not taking one for the team here! ;)
 
Yer Maw said:
I tried 14 different putters all on proper utting greens before deciding on the one I bought which was the second one I tried and loved it. But kept trying others to see how they compared and it came down to TM Monte Carlo mid mallet and a Rife or Yes blade (can't remember) I'm a Pro shop nightmare!!
I'm sure if I did the same again then I'd come away with another putter again. However I'm happy to stick with the Monte Carlo!
View attachment 860
Click to expand...

Looks very similair to my TM Suzuka
 
dont know where the rule comes from that toe hang for big arc people and face balanced (mallet) style for straight back and thru?

I've used Ping anser type putters for years and I'm not a good putter............YET! tried a face balanced recently and it feels very good to putt with.

Also tried the Ping Anser face balanced blade type (didnt know you could get such a thing) and that might just meet my needs.
Still raining here so yet to try them on a proper putting green but its firmly on my radar
 
I always ask myself the same question, would I be better with a mallet?

I prefer the feel from blades from range over the advantage gained on shorter putts. That is just personal choice...

The most important thing is to use your V-Easy every night!
 
I've got a mid mallet (Odyssey Rossie).

Face balanced putters just feel better to me.

I think I may get a bigger mallet though, been trying a few and give you a lot of confidence on the shorter ones. Been trying a Kombi S and a Ping Karsten Craz-E and if I had the spare cash at the moment would be buying one of them. If the new Ping one is around by the time I'm buying I'll have a go with that aswell.
 
Can't see much point of doing that survey!

The one thing that the Pros, specially those in the top 50, will be doing is playing with a putter that suits them and their stroke. As this will be different for each of them, I don't see what conclusion you will be able to make.

And while Pros certainly have principles, when it comes to reducing the number of strokes in any round, they will be absolutely determined to do everything possible to use every tool to do so - and that will include using a Belly/Long. Of course, these guys are at the top,so less likely to need to change.

Tiger. Unless you are using a different putter from your Sig, Blade woul not be the best way to describe yours. I'd describe the Newport 7 as an Anser style.

A further variable is the Face-Balanced/Toe Hang one. A Centre Shafted version of the same mallet (or even Anser) is likely to be ace Balanced - suiting SBST style players. while a Heel Shafted version is likely to have Toe-Hang - suiting Open Gate/Shut Gate styleplayers. And some Anser styles can even be Face Balanced.

So, if you are trying to sort out what is 'best' for you, trying them out is a pretty good idea.

There are also Putter Fitters and an Ipod (4) App called IPing that can help too.
 
in my garaga car are 5 or 6 putters

a 1950s/60s real blade - it is an iron without loft !

An acushnet bullesye - you know the bronze head double faced ; Nick Mitchell the pro at newbury used it for the couple of years he was on tour

A progen face balanced near-Anser style with a milled face

A Hippo big heavy mallet (like the smaller of teh PING Doc) face balanced

A MD Golf Killerney (i think) - like Faldo used to use - sort of small mallet shape but very barn door balanced

A Ping ANSER (2 or 4 cant remember)

And i am by far not a golf club collector :)

So there is everything there from big to small, from face balanced to very toe weighted.


The PING is in the big at the moment to match the PING irons (appalling reasos !). It's a reaonably good putter. good for short putts but not great for feel on longer ones. I might treat myself to teh milled version someday.
The MD Golf feels beautiful on impact. i am very cossistent with it, but i do not sink enough putts with it, and that is a function of alignment, especially on short putts
The HIPPO is a very heavy putter, and i play really well on very fast greens with it - work that one out if you can !
The Progen face balanced putter i putted Claw-grip with and was very good with it - i have no idea why i then changed putter or changed style ????
The Acushnet is a lovely lovely lovely putter, the feel is unparallelled. i cant line up for toffee with it however.
It goes in the pencil bag for summer holiday rounds.
 
Foxholer I am not talking about specific makes or weightings of putter more the type. Thanks for pointing out Anser style as being different to blade, I see what you mean. From a statistical point of view, if a significant number of pros preferred a specific type of putter that would tell me something. These guys will effectively be the fifty best putters in the world so if the majority are using mallets that would say that maybe there is some benefit in looking at mallet putters. It's not scientific but would be interesting none the less.

I'm definitely SBST and my putter is face balanced but still wonder whether I'm actually missing a trick. It's all hypothetical as I can't afford a fitting and a new putter anyway.
 
Tiger said:
From a statistical point of view, if a significant number of pros preferred a specific type of putter that would tell me something. These guys will effectively be the fifty best putters in the world.
Click to expand...

Well, the 49 best putters and Lee Westwood. ;)

Back to the OP. I used a classic Ping for years, My Day, lovely heel and toe weighting. But it was tricky to align compared to the modern mallets. My Corza Ghost is much more consistent and covers up more user errors IMO. If my putting was on song, the Ping was great, but the mallet is better on average days. I think they offer greater margin for error.
 
I have the Odyssey two ball with black line alignment mark down the centre, maybe a bit dated now, but I wouldn't swop it for the world. I suppose its classed as a mallet
 
DarthVega said:
dont know where the rule comes from that toe hang for big arc people and face balanced (mallet) style for straight back and thru?

I've used Ping anser type putters for years and I'm not a good putter............YET! tried a face balanced recently and it feels very good to putt with.

Also tried the Ping Anser face balanced blade type (didnt know you could get such a thing) and that might just meet my needs.
Still raining here so yet to try them on a proper putting green but its firmly on my radar
Click to expand...

It's not a rule, but an observation based on the way that heel shafted (toe heavy) putters tend to behave during the stroke. The toe tends to move more than the heel, so suits a gated stroke.

But whatever gets the ball in the hole is fine by me.

PS. When did Ping Anser type putters become blades? Blade putters are putters like Bullseyes or Scotty Cameron Napa, Wilson 8802 etc.
 
Ethan said:
PS. When did Ping Anser type putters become blades? Blade putters are putters like Bullseyes or Scotty Cameron Napa, Wilson 8802 etc.
Click to expand...

Was wondering the same thing myself. Thought I'd missed the memo.

Happy with my method 003 mid-mallet jobbie at the mo. But would swap it for a Mizuno T-102 in a heartbeat.
 
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