Anyone have some spare time? Putter question...

i take 2 putters and dependant on the speed of the greens decide prior to playing what is going to perform the best on the day both are ping one is an answer and the other is the ping craze,i use the same stroke for each and both perform well.
 
I've been a Face Balanced advocate almost since I began playing. Started with an Anser style toe-heavy thing that came with my first set and soon realised that I could really feel the toe moving much faster than the heel and everything went left...
Cue a trip to the practice green with several putters and a mallet from Fazer - I think - came out on top.
Used that for a while - still got it in the cupboard - until I tried a Ping Derby.
That was the one that got me to single figures - simple and it just felt right.
I've had Face-balanced mallets ever since. When I try a toe heavy putter it feels even worse than a Broomhandle...

I reckon most of the top 50 use the Anser style - either from Scotty, Odyssey or Ping or whoever.
 
I think that putting is totally between the ears. If you can find a putter that has a comfortable weight and you can take it back and through without wobbling all over the place, you're on to a winner. Friend of mine tried several putters out in a golf store and found one he was very comfortable with. He took it to the counter but when he found out it was only 30 quid, put it back stating he wouldn't be seen dead with a putter that cheap!!!!
 
Ethan said:
PS. When did Ping Anser type putters become blades? Blade putters are putters like Bullseyes or Scotty Cameron Napa, Wilson 8802 etc.
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It was only quite some time after 1966, when the Anser was first produced, that it became much copied, therefore its own style. Cochrane/Stubbs had 3 categories in the 1968 book 'The Search for the Perfect Swing' - Blades, Centre shafted and Mallets. A Ping not too dissimilar to Anser was classified as a Blade. Their research appears to have been carried out pre Anser (1965). No statistical difference in performance was found.
 
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I use my original Anser 2 blade most of the time and swap to an odyssey white ice #9 only if the course I'm playing has very quick greens. Two different styles but I manage to make the same back and through stroke with both and seem to hole out quite well so I'm happy
 
You've got to go with what works, rather than what you like the look of.

Before my putter fitting I had a Yes! Sophia and a Ping Zing, both of which I really liked the look of. I'm a much better putter now than I was then, but with a putter that's not very nice to look at imo.

I really ought to extend this thought to irons, but can't.
 
Region3 said:
You've got to go with what works, rather than what you like the look of.Before my putter fitting I had a Yes! Sophia and a Ping Zing, both of which I really liked the look of. I'm a much better putter now than I was then, but with a putter that's not very nice to look at imo.I really ought to extend this thought to irons, but can't.
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I'm seriously considering whether prioritising a putter fitting over a driver fitting this year might be a good idea. I'll have a putting lesson in the next couple of months to help make my mind up. In the meantime it's practice, practice and yet more practice...
 
Well Tiger iv had a few Pal...
First one i ever had was a wilsonstaff half mallet....Went from that to an itsy bitsy mallet....Now that was a decent putter...distance control was very good and the roll was very good but a bit flaky from the 4-6 ft distance....

I went from that to a Ping Anser Redwood that i picked up for the measly sum of 70 euro in mint condition....Used that for a few months and i just couldnt get confident at all with it.....I loved the thing but i gave it to ma Dad who still uses it....

I now use an Odyssey 2 ball mallet with a double bend in the neck....Now this i love....Distance control can be abit sketchy at times but from a good distance away im rarely outside 4 ft on a bad one.....
But here is the trick with this fellow....Anything... And i mean literally anything from 8 ft and inside i will hole a good share of the time i have that much confidence in it....

Iv also gone from drawing a line on my ball to playing without one also for the purpose of the 2 ball as i find it easier to line up...

There are some people that see in straight lines and some that see in curved lines and i fall into the latter...In that i mean that im picking a point on a clock face and thats where i want the ball to fall into the hole.....
Others will hit straight to an imaginary hole on the target line and then let the break do the rest....Im the opposite....
All ill say is pick one that you feel the most comfortable with from 8 feet and inside....They will be the important putts...Distance control will get better over time and lets be honest making anything outside 8 ft is a lottery and a very big bonus if it goes in.

You can do your own mini putting test at home....Take your normal stance and address the putter so that the toe is flush with a skirting board...Swing back and through and see what way the head tracks....
Ther is heaps on the net to sway you in the direction that your stroke takes and generally they say that for a straight back and straight through stroke a mallet serves best.....

Note......I have a slight curve in my stroke from in to square to in but i use a mallet as its what im the most confident with..
Sorry for the long winded reply:)
 
Thanks Kid really helpful. I have wondered for some time if a mallet would be better but I spent so much on my putter Ive always been loathe to question my initial judgement. Ah well for now this is all theoretical got to go out and win some comps first!
 
Tiger said:
Thanks Kid really helpful. I have wondered for some time if a mallet would be better but I spent so much on my putter Ive always been loathe to question my initial judgement. Ah well for now this is all theoretical got to go out and win some comps first!
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Well as per the OP....I have heaps of time on my hands at the moment:)
I think for the most part Mallets because of their weight, stay on line more easily than a lighter putter...
I know in my experience they do anyway....I feel way more shaky with a blade than i do with a Mallet in my hand.....
Try a few different types of mallet though...Each one will have a different feel and look for you....
Oh and one thing that you might like is to change the grip to one of the fatter ones....Not the two thumb ones now but one maybe twice or 3 times as thick as the original..... It stops the hands taking over in the stroke....
I changed mine for one of golf prides mid size putter grips....It feels really good in the hands.
 
I've got a Tiger Shark jumbo grip on my current putter and that's great but I am much more shaky on my takeaway with an Anser style compared to a Mallet. Ho hum... Medal Sunday if I'm a lucky boy it will result in a few more quid in the kitty :)
 
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