Putter alteration advice

[Sausagefingers23]

I currently use a scotty cameron futura 6m but am finding it a real struggle to get my alignment right with my putting. I was fitted for it and nothing has changed with my eyesight or technique but am really struggling at present.

Lessons are on the way but ive had a look at the taylormade spider x and the odyssey marxman triple track putters and love the bold sight lines on them. Visually both seem to be far easier to line up for me.

If money was no object then £250 on one of these would be a no brainer (subject to a fitting) but I was wondering before going down that route if anyone had tried adding a similar thick white line to a putter before to mimic those visual aids and if so had any advice on doing so or is it something likely to look terrible and I'd be better off biting the bullet and purchasing a new putter?

 

[jim8flog]

Best bit of advice I can give is lining up technique.

Once you have chosen your line pick a spot which is only about 6" in front of the ball and aim to putt over that.

 

[Grant85]

I currently use a scotty cameron futura 6m but am finding it a real struggle to get my alignment right with my putting. I was fitted for it and nothing has changed with my eyesight or technique but am really struggling at present.

Lessons are on the way but ive had a look at the taylormade spider x and the odyssey marxman triple track putters and love the bold sight lines on them. Visually both seem to be far easier to line up for me.

If money was no object then £250 on one of these would be a no brainer (subject to a fitting) but I was wondering before going down that route if anyone had tried adding a similar thick white line to a putter before to mimic those visual aids and if so had any advice on doing so or is it something likely to look terrible and I'd be better off biting the bullet and purchasing a new putter?

From personal experience, the Edel fitting is one aimed heavily at alignment. They have the tech to check your alignment and it is a big USP of Edel that these putters are designed to correct any alignment biases specific your eye.

Unfortunately Edel putters are very expensive, I think at the time I went the cost delivered was over £400 (the value of the £ not helping at the time). I used a very good pro who advised me that my current (fairly standard blade) putter was suited to me and a large investment in a new putter probably wasn't going to solve any problems for me.

But I would assume good putter fitters would let you use the Edel tech, or have similar alternative technology to find the right putter for your eye. Personal preference is to find someone who will charge you for their time and go through the process rather than a 'free fitting' where they have clearly got to sell you something to make any money.

Ultimately a putter is all about confidence, more so than the bit of metal in your hand, so if you can get someone who knows what they are doing to tell you that x club is suited to you, that should help remove any doubt. Even if you don't end up changing clubs.

 

[Imurg]

If you're thinking of "customising" your Scotty I'd steer clear...
I'd be more inclined to either work with what I have and practice or get a different design that helps alignment.

 

[clubchamp98]

Get a self adhesive label and cut a thin line from it .
Stick this to your putter and see if it makes a difference. Try two in a T formation across the face as well.
If it dosnt improve you can just remove it no damage done.
I had a similar thing.
See Mike Malaska on YouTube.
When I was behind the ball and picked a spot on the line it was fine.
As soon as I moved to the ball that spot looked like it was miles left of the line.
My laser surgery is wearing off ( 20 yrs ago) and I have a new pair of specs that even this out again as one eye is worse than the other.

 

[Blue in Munich]

I currently use a scotty cameron futura 6m but am finding it a real struggle to get my alignment right with my putting. I was fitted for it and nothing has changed with my eyesight or technique but am really struggling at present.

Lessons are on the way but ive had a look at the taylormade spider x and the odyssey marxman triple track putters and love the bold sight lines on them. Visually both seem to be far easier to line up for me.

If money was no object then £250 on one of these would be a no brainer (subject to a fitting) but I was wondering before going down that route if anyone had tried adding a similar thick white line to a putter before to mimic those visual aids and if so had any advice on doing so or is it something likely to look terrible and I'd be better off biting the bullet and purchasing a new putter?

What is your dominant eye; are you left or right handed; does your current putter have offset?

 

[Ethan]

There are various laser devices that you can attach to your putter to test where your putter face alignment is during the stroke. The Futura 6M is pretty close to face balanced but maybe your stroke suits an arc putter better.

Could also just be a question of training your eyes better to see the alignment. I have heard stories of players like Darren Clarke who were decent putters but went for a putter fitting and were told that their alignment was off to one side or another and they were having to unconsciously and unreliably correct in the stroke, and improved when they got it straightened up.

 

[clubchamp98]

There are various laser devices that you can attach to your putter to test where your putter face alignment is during the stroke. The Futura 6M is pretty close to face balanced but maybe your stroke suits an arc putter better.

Could also just be a question of training your eyes better to see the alignment. I have heard stories of players like Darren Clarke who were decent putters but went for a putter fitting and were told that their alignment was off to one side or another and they were having to unconsciously and unreliably correct in the stroke, and improved when they got it straightened up.

He did say he was fitted for it though!
Having said that I was fitted into a face balanced scotty.
Struggled with it ,went back and now have a 1/4 toe hang ping which I putt better with.
Think he might need a second opinion.

 

[rulefan]

Get a self adhesive label and cut a thin line from it .
Stick this to your putter and see if it makes a difference. Try two in a T formation across the face as well.
If it dosnt improve you can just remove it no damage done.
I had a similar thing.

If it is removable it is probably a breach of the rules if used in play.

 

[clubchamp98]

If it is removable it is probably a breach of the rules if used in play.

Just to sort his alignment on the practice green .
It’s a cheap way of just trying it.
But as you say not in comps.

 

[Crow]

If it is removable it is probably a breach of the rules if used in play.

"Probably" ?

I wouldn't have thought so unless the user deliberately removed it, but then I'm not a rules expert.

 

[rulefan]

"Probably" ?

I wouldn't have thought so unless the user deliberately removed it, but then I'm not a rules expert.

A summary of a response from the USGA Equipment Department in respect of decals. But IMO applies to anything which is 'stuck onto' a club

As a sticky label is considered to be an attachment it must conform to the interpretations for Rule 1.a and particularly interpretation 1.a(5) regarding External Attachments which requires attachments used as alignment aids to be semi-permanent in nature.

Whether a label is semi-permanent in nature depends on the nature of the adhesive used.

Consider the strength of the adhesive used, how easily the label can be removed and whether, generally, any outside agents such as alcohol or another adhesive solvent would be used to remove the label. If it takes some effort to peel away the label and\or a solvent to completely remove it, then it would be construed to be semi-permanent. If it is a peel and stick item that is very easily removed it of course would not.

 

[Crow]

A summary of a response from the USGA Equipment Department in respect of decals. But IMO applies to anything which is 'stuck onto' a club

As a sticky label is considered to be an attachment it must conform to the interpretations for Rule 1.a and particularly interpretation 1.a(5) regarding External Attachments which requires attachments used as alignment aids to be semi-permanent in nature.

Whether a label is semi-permanent in nature depends on the nature of the adhesive used.

Consider the strength of the adhesive used, how easily the label can be removed and whether, generally, any outside agents such as alcohol or another adhesive solvent would be used to remove the label. If it takes some effort to peel away the label and\or a solvent to completely remove it, then it would be construed to be semi-permanent. If it is a peel and stick item that is very easily removed it of course would not.

I'm curious as to what advantage the player might have from an easily removable label as opposed to one requiring solvents to remove?

 

[rulefan]

I'm curious as to what advantage the player might have from an easily removable label as opposed to one requiring solvents to remove?

Presumably as it is easy to move he can do it on the run and is therefore modifying his equipment during the round

 

[Crow]

Presumably as it is easy to move he can do it on the run and is therefore modifying his equipment during the round

Hmmm, maybe they should make a rule for adjustable clubs so that you have to put some glue on the fixing that can only be removed using solvent so that the player doesn't adjust their clubs during the round.

 

[Sausagefingers23]

What is your dominant eye; are you left or right handed; does your current putter have offset?

I am right eye dominant, am left handed but play right handed (a lifetime of playing hockey has seen to that) and the putter is just the standard model which in scotty camerons blurb says the offset is full shaft?

 

[Sausagefingers23]

Thanks for the advice all.

I will give the stickers a go at home during lockdown and see how I get on with them and if there's any improvement whilst we cant get out and play.

The putter fitting I had was a some time ago and there was a big step up in performance from my previous putter which had a big toe hang and really wasn't suited to me as the fitting proved.

In the last year or 2 some new options have been released by manufacturers that when I've had a quick practice with seem to suit my eye a bit more than the current one but that my just be the lure of something new and shiny.

Maybe another fitting is the better option if only to rule them out.

 

[Blue in Munich]

I am right eye dominant, am left handed but play right handed (a lifetime of playing hockey has seen to that) and the putter is just the standard model which in scotty camerons blurb says the offset is full shaft?

In which case it shouldn’t be the offset causing your alignment issues. If you’d have been right eye dominant playing lefty I’d have suggested a putter with no offset as I have (right handed, left eye dominant).

 

[Fish]

The fitting experience I had at Core golf in Thame was excellent.

The information gathered from the computer software they use and then explained was superb.

Best money I’ve ever spent on a fitting and coming away with a EvnRoll ?️

 

[Foxholer]

I currently use a scotty cameron futura 6m but am finding it a real struggle to get my alignment right with my putting. I was fitted for it and nothing has changed with my eyesight or technique but am really struggling at present.

Lessons are on the way but ive had a look at the taylormade spider x and the odyssey marxman triple track putters and love the bold sight lines on them. Visually both seem to be far easier to line up for me.

If money was no object then £250 on one of these would be a no brainer (subject to a fitting) but I was wondering before going down that route if anyone had tried adding a similar thick white line to a putter before to mimic those visual aids and if so had any advice on doing so or is it something likely to look terrible and I'd be better off biting the bullet and purchasing a new putter?

Before spending loads on experiments (I justify mine as 'collecting!) find a Pro or fitting centre that has and uses Puttlab! When used properly, this will noit identify what you are doing during putts, but recommend the type of putter that is liable to counteract your particular tendencies! So selection of putter type eliminates all the expensive experimentation.
As for sightlines etc, my 'gamer' putter (a fugly but effective Bettinardi mallet) has one and I occasionally consciously check it and likely unconsciously do so more often!
Once you have identified the putter that suits you, it's practice that is the key to good putting. and remember that 2 putts is normally a 'success' on any green. Getting the ball to a position where a single putt is expected (and even Pros only 1- putt from 7 feet 50% of the time) is down to a different part of the short game!