FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
I'm experimenting with a scotty cameron notchback which is a bit in between, wee bit of toe hang.
"Natural" putter stroke - myth?
- Thread starter FairwayDodger
- Start date
I'm experimenting with a scotty cameron notchback which is a bit in between, wee bit of toe hang.
One Planer
Global Moderator
Notch backs are nice :thup:
As an alternative there are face balanced blades as I say should you not get what you're looking for from the Scotty.
Thinking about it, my Raa Classic CS is face balanced. No is not for sale
MadAdey
Money List Winner
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
I like it, am very close to pulling the trigger on it!
Spear-Chucker
Tour Rookie
Always thought we learn a basic putting action, based on feel, as we start the game. From this point it's a matter of minor tweaks in setup to influence the stroke but we'll still roll the ball in a specific way. Some putters will help our action and some will work against us - some shouldn't work but look cool to us and we'll play fine with them. Humans are clever and adaptable, we can sense fine differences in weight and balance and react/adjust accordingly without having to think too deeply about it.
No substitute for learning how to read putts and then practicing how to put a ball on that line with your weapon of choice.
No substitute for learning how to read putts and then practicing how to put a ball on that line with your weapon of choice.
garyinderry
Ryder Cup Winner
With all the fancy dan technology around in putters these days its funny that I am currently happy with my old lump of metal on a stick bullseye putter.
MadAdey
Money List Winner
I think that the putter is one of the clubs that technology really can't help with, not like with adjustable drivers etc. A couple of months back I changed to my trusty old copper headed PING ZING putter. I started to put like a demon with it and it made me go and buy a Scotty.
MadAdey
Money List Winner
Such an easy putter to swing. I was playing around on the practice green and was hitting one from the center, one from the toe and one from heel. They all travelled a similar distance and the toe and heel strikes still kept their line.
I do not think you'll regret buying it. Then comes your next problem, will you take the plunge and get a cool limited edition head cover for it 😉
Fyldewhite
Tour Winner
Snooker/Pool players will relate to this.....you pick a cue out of a rack of 10 that all look similar. Sometimes it just feels "right", can't explain it but you know immediately that you can play OK with it. Other times it feels like a broom handle, just a lump of wood, and again you know immediately you will struggle to pot a ball.
Putters are just the same and if it feels right then it generally will be.
Putters are just the same and if it feels right then it generally will be.
garyinderry
Ryder Cup Winner
Well there is a pile of tech and I've enjoyed used bits and pieces over the years.
Counterbalanced and thicker grips being my favourites. There is also inserts and certain grooves, milled faces, spine aligned shafts, weights and not to mention any kind of alignment aid under the sun.
There is as much in putters as there is drivers. I just want a putter that hits a solid putt and goes where I point it.
Coffey
Challenge Tour Pro
I have been working a lot on my putting as it is one of the weakest areas of my game. Some days its hot and most days its dreadful with 3/4 3 putts from areas I should be really looking to get in 1 but 100% should be 2. Mainly down to the speed of the putt rather than the direction and reading of greens. Recently bought myself an Odyssey 2 ball fang tank putter which has really made a difference in my distance control but will see how that holds up during the summer on quicker greens.
I have also been listening to Bob Rotella's audio book 'Putting out of your mind', which isn't ground breaking analysis but he explains exactly what I do when I am putting, thinking about xyz when I really should be focusing on my target. I highly recommend listening to it if anyone has issues with focusing when putting. He also explains how there isn't one 'perfect' stroke and everyone is different, at the end of the day, the aim of putting is to get the ball into the hole. It doesn't matter how it got there
Edit:
And to add the above, having played golf for 2 years now, my putting has got worse as I try to over analyse my stroke and think about the negatives of missing a putt. Bob's book covers all of this perfectly. Just get into a routine, pick your target and make your stroke
I have also been listening to Bob Rotella's audio book 'Putting out of your mind', which isn't ground breaking analysis but he explains exactly what I do when I am putting, thinking about xyz when I really should be focusing on my target. I highly recommend listening to it if anyone has issues with focusing when putting. He also explains how there isn't one 'perfect' stroke and everyone is different, at the end of the day, the aim of putting is to get the ball into the hole. It doesn't matter how it got there
Edit:
And to add the above, having played golf for 2 years now, my putting has got worse as I try to over analyse my stroke and think about the negatives of missing a putt. Bob's book covers all of this perfectly. Just get into a routine, pick your target and make your stroke
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FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
I practice a lot at home. It's unrealistic in many ways but good for building a confident stroke. I putt well with the 2 ball but i want to feel a consistent takeaway with the putter as with other clubs and the most effective stroke with the 2 ball is different.
The notchback seems to allow me to do that and I'd say I'm probably hitting the middle of the hole more. Downside at the moment is the bad putts are worse than the bad putts with the 2 ball but I'm sure practice will resolve that.
dewsweeper
Tour Rookie
here!here!
Roops
Head Pro
This. Bob Rotella's book is excellent. Just thinking about the target and forgetting about stroke has transformed my putting. I used to have a C groove Putter and was so focused on trying to get a perfect strike (as I found the strikes were very random) that I forgot about the target. I changed to a Odyssey fang, used Rotella's approach, concentrate on the target, forget about a perfect stroke and hit it. Difference is massive. Totally natural stroke, no thought about in/out etc.
Coffey
Challenge Tour Pro
Can get the audio book for free by going onto audible.co.uk and signing up. You get a free month with 1 free download. Can cancel at any time and the books stay once you cancel so you'll always have it. Although you can get his other books which are more expensive to buy so may be worth getting one of them for free while you can. I didn't realise that at the time! And audible is owned by amazon and all linked up so you can use your amazon details if you have them!
D
Deleted Member 1156
Guest
I have 2 putters, an Anser style Cleveland and an Odyssey mallet style. I'm capable of putting equally badly with either so I'm not convinced about this theory that you should use a style of putter to match a certain stroke. Like most of golf, it's all in the head.
Region3
Ryder Cup Winner
I have 2 as well. 1 is face balanced and 1 is massively toe down. I putt ok with both.
The iPing app says I have a small arc suited to a putter with moderate toe hang, but I've tried plenty and can't get on with them.
The iPing app says I have a small arc suited to a putter with moderate toe hang, but I've tried plenty and can't get on with them.
I find working on the putting green at the club is great for me especially holing out in the 2-4 feet range which is where I invest a lot of my time. I do use string and a mirror to check fundamentals but for me it's about seeing the ball going in and not wondering how
MadAdey
Money List Winner
I think there is a lot of truth in having a natural putting stroke and that certain putters will suit you more than others. I stood for about 2 hours trying multiple Scotty putters, until I found one that worked perfectly for me. I chose the Newport Nothchback. IT wasn't the one that automatically caught my eye, but it was the one the one that I picked up and straight away putted well with. I think this is what you would call a "natural putting stroke".
Everybody has a natural style to their putting and shouldn't change it to suit a certain putter, they need to find the putter that suits their natural stroke. Then work on their technique to make thier putting better.
Everybody has a natural style to their putting and shouldn't change it to suit a certain putter, they need to find the putter that suits their natural stroke. Then work on their technique to make thier putting better.
GreggerKBR
Head Pro
Yes, under pressure, we will all have a dominant stroke pattern - path, arc, closing rate, shaft lean, speed pattern, rhythm etc.
Anyone that's played for a while will have that, until they decide to groove something different... and that'll take a long long time.
So far as I understand this... with gravity having a downwards pull on the putter, face/toe balance putter might have a very small effect on things like the closing rate of the face depending on your path & stroke arc (ie hands/arms path and rotation). However it's fairly negligible because of the effect of gravity...
But that fact probably doesn't help the manufacturers to have a huge range of putters and create a marketplace to solve peoples putting "problems"
