Expensive putters, are they worth it?

[smange]

This season I have been using a putter which cost £14.99 from a local sports shop and have putted better than ever before. I lifted it just to mess around on the practice putting area in the store and it just felt good and looked great when i looked down at it so I gave it a go and lo and behold, I love it.
This has me thinking, if your putting stroke is good and you have picked the right line and correct length does it matter what you strike the ball with or do some of us just get a subconscious confidence boost from knowing that we are using a putter that has a well known badge on it and a healthy price tag hanging from it.

What putters do we all use and if you use an expensive one, do you think it justifies its price tag?

 

[brendy]

better raw materials and glues, i started years ago with chrap clubs and every one of them needed reglueing into their hossles.

 

[birdieman]

Playing a Taylor Made Daytona 2007 model, really like the weight and feel. Have tried everything putter wise - cheap and expensive, just gotta keep playing around in golf shops until you find one that feels right.
Todd Hamilton winning the Open with a £15 bargain bin job sums it up really.
In the cheaper stakes I had a Pinfire patriot which worked really well for me.
Successful putting is all about confidence more than the putter.

 

[madandra]

Odyssey XG No 7. Just like you did with the cheap putter I had a couple of 'goes' in the shop and loved the feel I got from the face of the flat stick. I would recommend ALL the XG series.

 

[smange]

I can agree with those points on all other clubs but do you think that you ever gonna need your putter re-glued?

I use Mizuno irons and Taylormade woods and agree that quality is hard to beat when you are swinging the club at full force but how often do you really force a putter?

I see you use a Scotty Cameron putter, can I ask, has it improved your putting stroke?, do you feel more confident of holing putts because of the make?, has it justified the price? I know my putter has and it cost less than a half dozen balls.

Now thats what I call a good putter.

 

[madandra]

My putter was £90 and I know that if I have an 80+ it is not the putters fault. I had an alien two ball a few years back and there was a dead spot on the face just next to the sweetspot. This did effect the performance of the club and caused a few missed tap ins.

 

[brendy]

I can agree with those points on all other clubs but do you think that you ever gonna need your putter re-glued?

I use Mizuno irons and Taylormade woods and agree that quality is hard to beat when you are swinging the club at full force but how often do you really force a putter?

I see you use a Scotty Cameron putter, can I ask, has it improved your putting stroke?, do you feel more confident of holing putts because of the make?, has it justified the price? I know my putter has and it cost less than a half dozen balls.

Now thats what I call a good putter.

Putters would be less prone yes, I was trying to point out in general that putters, while still shaped sticks tasked with striking the ball into the hole, quality and workmanshi does still play a certain amount of importance. The glue remark was aimed at clubs in general, I have seen a putter head twist off due to beng left wet after games etc and never being looked after.
My scotty cost me £40 2 years ago seond hand, the owner was looking rid as he was changing all of his clubs. Id say im a still the same at putting but only because I owned an isopur putter before that, I gave the game up for 5 years for various reasons and sold up, if I could have gotten a similar isopur back again id have stuck with the ping. As it ended up I got a cracking putter for around 25% of the price I would have paid had I wanted one new, whether I'd have bought one new, thats a different story. Why buy cheap new if you can get quality slightly used for the same price.

 

[madandra]

I think that all putters can be used with some degree of success however I think if most golfers used the 'LINE M UP' alignment aid they would take 4-6 less putts per round. I have used it for a couple of years and my average is 31-35 putts per round.

 

[Driverman]

When I started playing seriously again last summer, I bought an Odyssey with a steel insert. It was a nice feeling putter but so inconsistent off the face. It used to come off too quickly for me and would regularly jump in the air at impact thus sending it offline. So i invested £90 in a C-Groove putter which promised better rolls and it sure does. I am only 5' 7 so I got a 34" which I have since had cut down to 32" and my results have improved further.

So after much waffling my ideal putter would have to fit properly and give the best roll on the ball. Seek advice on your pro to see if the length and lie of your putter suits your putting stroke. At the end of the day it's all about what feels right and gets the ball in the hole, not how much it costs.

 

[Lloydy84]

I used to use a cheapo putter, until earlier this year when i changed to a ping redwood anser, i felt it makes it very easy to line square with the hole because of the simple blade shape. I would say it has improved my putting and the day after buying it i did a nett 60 in the club championships with only 30 putts. Well thats what i'd expect by paying 155 for a putter!

 

[tpred]

I use scotty cameron putters which personaly i think are brilliant.As ive mentioned in other posts i collect camerons so am a bit biased.But i think as in all things golf if you are happy with what you are using it breeds confidence and im 100% confident in the putter i use.

 

[Junior]

In most cases , it's the club you use the most and spend the less on. I've been using my trusty 10 year old ping anser for years now and i love it.

 

[tpred]

To me its the most important club in my bag.As i said previously its a confidence thing and i think you need to be 100% confident when you are on the green.I like to think i have a good putting stroke so combine that with a putter you are sure of then its a good combination.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

But is it the actual putter? I was using an odyssey marxman (the one with the white alingment stripe as opposed to the 2 ball) and averaging 34-36 putts per round but felt I was putting ok (would hole a few 15-20 footers and then have the occassional 3 putt - a ying/yang thing)

However I recently invested in an 1 hour putting lesson. The pro watched me putt from about 15 feet (inevitably I was draining loads and lipping out etc) and then told me my fundamentals were wrong and I needed to change my grip, stance and alignment.

It felt totally alien during and after the lesson and took real will power to persevere with on the course after a few early disasters but not I am putting with more confidence and anything from a few inches to 3 foot are gimmes and in the 5-10 foot range every putt has a real chance of making it.

Perhaps a case of poor workmen etc etc.

Happy golfing

Homer

 

[brendy]

I wholeheartedly agree Homer, there are some members at our club sporting the latest callaway/titeist/nike irons, woods, putters etc and they have swings like broken gates. Yet when they miss a drive, wedge or puttvery rarely will they blame themselves.
I was using a nike ti driver for a year, cost me 30 or 40 quid from my pro who had it laying in the corner of his shop, I was easily out driving the rest of my fourball they were using an ERC, a fusion and a titleist 975 ( one of the later models) its down to ability THEN equipment.
Confidence works in my ways, 1. buying a new club gives a little boost but then hitting the same old clubs week in week out well, also keeps you flying high.

 

[USER1999]

I have a pair of scotties, and wouldn't putt with any thing else. You do get what you pay for, but it obviously helps if you can putt to start with.
Cheaper putters are made of cheaper materials, hence poor consistency off the face, faces not flat, heads not on square, shafts made of rubbish steel, which bend too easily and twist on off center hits, poor grips, etc.

Buy a decent putter second hand (people are always selling on, in search of the next big thing) and do yourself a favour.

I average about 30 putts around, which doesn't mean I putt well, it just means I miss a lot of greens. This is a meaningless number.

 

[JD1]

I've been using a Ping Answer 4 for 20 years now and will not change it. You can go through bad patches of not holing anything then a put drops and your confidence increases and you hole alot more puts.I could have changed my putter numerous times and i'm glad i didn't as i'm putting really well at the moment.

 

[RGuk]

I have an old ping (quality brass thing) and an odyssey dual force (stronomer insert). Both are good but niether have any extended alignment type of aid.
Also, they are both light.
I went to my local golf superstore and bought a cheap £14.99 golden bear putter, frankly it's a ridiculous mallet with a huge line and ball thing on the end. I bought it 'cause it was heavy, mostly.

http://www.americangolf.co.uk/navproduct...ear-TB-3-Putter

BUT, this overkill alignment has made untold difference to my 3-10 ft range. I haven't missed a sitter yet! I played a big boy's course on sunday and made 3 birdies and had about 30 putts overall. No three putts and oh, so much better to have more weight. I'm a convert. I putted much better than my partners who were playing all kinds on fancy white odyssey kit, simply because I was on the length more than usual and brimming with confidence aligning up.
£14.99 and a few less putts, got to be a bargain!
Dave

 

[RGuk]

I also tried this

http://www.americangolf.co.uk/navproduct...-Feel-IV-Putter

smashing, and so easy to line up.

 

[lefty74]

i had the ping craz-e g5i and loved it, i then sold it for peanuts bought a scotty cameron newport 2 i couldn't hit a cow with a banjo sold that one and bought the same ping putter again now the hole is a bucket (happy days) so yes expensive putters are not always the best for you!!!!