Putters- strong arc stroke using face balanced?

[CMAC]

I have a strong arc, according to the Ping APP, and should be using a toe heavy putter.
However I play with people who use face balanced mallets because they like them and they have no idea of their stroke and they putt great and consistently, they look easier to align as well.

Anyone use one who has a strong arc and does it fight against your natural stroke?

I'm beginning to think this is all nonsense and I should use what I like the look and feel of regardless of stroke, just looking for tried and tested opinions?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Putting is all about feel, arcs and balances are all great but if you can get the ball in the hole it doesn't matter. If you're confident with your putter, you'll putt well

 

[CMAC]

Putting is all about feel, arcs and balances are all great but if you can get the ball in the hole it doesn't matter. If you're confident with your putter, you'll putt well

my thoughts exactly- I've been drawn into the science of weight balanced putters to fit my stroke......and I dont putt well at all (missed the hole completely from 2 feet today on a straight putt) so I'm off to AG tomorrow and play around with mallets and whatever suits my eye....this bl**dy game can get under your skin:smirk:

 

[bobmac]

missed the hole completely from 2 feet today on a straight putt

I'm sorry but a new putter wont fix that, you need a check up on your technique

 

[CMAC]

I'm sorry but a new putter wont fix that, you need a check up on your technique

I agree to a certain point, but I didnt get to cat 1 without a decent technique. However as I'm using a very light blade that can waver, a heavier club can help alleviate this imo, only trial and error and time will tell.

 

[palindromicbob]

How better to make money and get purchases. Custom fit every aspect of your game. Not be long until they start a fitting process to help you choose the right glove, ball marker and tee. Don't get me wrong. I see the advantages of custom fitting but I also know many low handicapper that play of the shelf and always have done. The one club I noticed they never change is the putter. They simply find something they like and stick with it.

 

[RGDave]

It's mostly a gimmick.

I've had all sorts over the years and they've all had their moments in the sun.

On my custom fit, he (the Yes trained pro) said he'd be happy to see me with any model the right length and lie.

That reminds me, I need to start a thread on putters......

 

[kid2]

I have a strong arc, according to the Ping APP, and should be using a toe heavy putter.
However I play with people who use face balanced mallets because they like them and they have no idea of their stroke and they putt great and consistently, they look easier to align as well.

Anyone use one who has a strong arc and does it fight against your natural stroke?




I'm beginning to think this is all nonsense and I should use what I like the look and feel of regardless of stroke, just looking for tried and tested opinions?

Padraig Harrington has been recorded saying that his putter does't match his stroke....On his current putting for it might be better changed.....

But i agree with above its all about feel......I have an Arc in my stroke....Its easy to check....Just put the putter toe against a line on the floor or a skirting board....Ill bet the majority of players have a slight Arc......
Thing is i cant putt for toffee with a toe heavy putter which all things being read recommends one...I just dont feel confident over one....That why i use an Odyssey 2 Ball with a double bend shaft which is a face balanced mallet.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

How better to make money and get purchases. Custom fit every aspect of your game. Not be long until they start a fitting process to help you choose the right glove, ball marker and tee. Don't get me wrong. I see the advantages of custom fitting but I also know many low handicapper that play of the shelf and always have done. The one club I noticed they never change is the putter. They simply find something they like and stick with it.

If that is the case why are the pros chopping and changing. Woods and Mickleson are two of the best clutch putters in recent years and yet both have had several different models in the bag over the last two years. They aren't alone. C/F fitting for a putter can be a great aid if you have never had your stroke looked at to ensure you get the right tool for the job. Similarly, if you go to a good pro and they give you the right basics particularly address and alignment it can make a fundamental difference to a player.

I really don't see the negativity towards C/F and a players desire to improve. Are you saying that getting a C/F set of clubs with the ideal set of shafts suited to your swing rather than randomly picking a set off the rail is wrong. Why should it be so to do it for a singular club (aka the putter)

 

[Wolfman]

I used to believe this hence buying the fang ( face balanced ) putter

However i have just got the Nike Method core 3i which is a blade and i can puu well with both


The difference is feel, the blade gives me more finesse for delicate putts and the 3i model being a larger blade is superb and well weighted, might stop using the Fang ?????


Tried other blade putters i.e Anser etc and they are too light and club wander creeps in


Maybe something like a ROSSIE would be a good half way choice

 

[ScienceBoy]

I don't think my stroke has much of an arc but my ping zing redwood fills me with confidence. I holed 13 from 17 putts from 10-20 feet in practice today.

Its also a lot to do with my daily v easy practice. I also holed 15 straight putts in a row from around 5-8 feet around the hole. Putted like a machine!

 

[palindromicbob]

If that is the case why are the pros chopping and changing. Woods and Mickleson are two of the best clutch putters in recent years and yet both have had several different models in the bag over the last two years. They aren't alone. C/F fitting for a putter can be a great aid if you have never had your stroke looked at to ensure you get the right tool for the job. Similarly, if you go to a good pro and they give you the right basics particularly address and alignment it can make a fundamental difference to a player.

I really don't see the negativity towards C/F and a players desire to improve. Are you saying that getting a C/F set of clubs with the ideal set of shafts suited to your swing rather than randomly picking a set off the rail is wrong. Why should it be so to do it for a singular club (aka the putter)

I don't have a negativity towards C/F and if it came across that way then appologies. Reading back I see how the start of my post may have presented that view. But I do like to look at things from both sides and weigh up the pro's and cons. Remember the pro's have the advantage of time, and a team working with them, it's not like they pay for the change so why not try something different. Also how big a boost to sales of the latest gear do the big names cause for the companies.

I just wanted to put across the alternative view that C/F isn't the magic secret behind becoming a good player and that many a good golfer has got there "off the shelf" tending to stick with what they feel is right rather than what a professional (and also salesman) has told them is right.

Custom fitting can push you down a slippery and expensive slope where you lose all confidence in your clubs and game just because some guy with a machine hasn't told you they need to be 1/2" longer and 2* upright etc etc and not all custom fitting is correct. If it were then we wouldn't see posts about how someone got fitted for stiff shaft drivers but found they hit a mates off the shelf regular shaft longer and more consistantly. I think that people should be acutely aware of the need to strike a balance and consider the fact that you need to consider what feels right and take time to choose. If something that feels right presents a choice that's against what a fitting said you "should" have don't let that put you off.

The scariest thing I've seen though is a 12 year old talking the other day about how they are going to get a new set of custom fitted clubs. Something highly encoraged by what he has read in magazines and heard "experts" talk about. The shop is going to happily take his parents money and he is going to be chuffed for a while but how can the fitting be correct or appropriate for someone that will have grown out of his trousers in a few months time? The same way that a custom fit is not neccessarily the appropriate plan of action for someone who has only played a few games with a borrowed set of clubs and a swing that changes weekly based on what they are reading at the time.

A pro could take my clubs (irons where fitted btw) and play well. I could take thiers and play as badly as I usually do. The fit wouldn't be the primary reason .

 

[slicer79]

An old thread I came across but interesting. I've used the ping app and it says I've a slight arc stroke.
Putter I use is a Yes Ann blade which should suit and it does as I like it a lot

However a putter I've always considered when I pick it up is the odyssey 2-ball. By pings reckoning this putter should not suit me, wonder just how much of a difference it makes

 

[Foxholer]

An old thread I came across but interesting. I've used the ping app and it says I've a slight arc stroke.
Putter I use is a Yes Ann blade which should suit and it does as I like it a lot

However a putter I've always considered when I pick it up is the odyssey 2-ball. By pings reckoning this putter should not suit me, wonder just how much of a difference it makes

The Centre-shafted version was meant to suit me, but didn't. That was probably more about feel and the insert - I've worked out I prefer something with a bit of zing off the face, without exploding off it.

So there's more to it than just stroke type.

I love the look of blades, but tend to either flap them (naturally) or cut them (as a correction/out of fear). Less so with toe-weighted (Anser styles). Face balanced ones definitely work best with me - and I've tried loads of different sorts, though not the Fang!

 

[rickg]

I apparently have a slight arc putting stroke, but for some time I had putted with face balanced putters, including a 2-ball and a #7 Fang, as they seemed to swing nicely through the ball without twisting. However I was persuaded by a Ping club fitter to change to a semi toe hang putter and I have to admit that my putting has improved by about 2 to 3 shots a round since. In particular I no longer have a tendency to pull putts left. Face balanced putters are supposed to be best for players with a straight back and through stroke.

Welcome to the forum pondhopper......where do you play? It's not Batchworth Park is it??

 

[Dave B]

If you said I play a fade with my driver but I'm going to get a draw biased driver to straighten it out, the unanimous response would be don't change your driver it's not the problem pay for a lesson it's cheaper

With arc biased, faced balanced, C of G, super stroke etc, it's so very easy to get confused. I was probably one of the worst putters you'll ever come across. A belly putter improved things however with all the controversy before the ban was announced, I decided to sell and invest in a quality putter.

I knew what I wanted as soon as I picked it up as everything felt dead right, it was one of those "this is the one" moments. You can talk about this that or the other when it comes to putting but for me it's all about feel and confidence. Most quality putters come with metal or insert faces so if you don't like the feel and control of one type of face opt for the other.

If a putter feels right and inspires confidence you're 90% there. Some people struggle with alignment, some with feel and others with reading the green.

Get your set up right, the alignment and then the feel and it then comes down to reading the green and applying the correct length stroke to get the ball 1ft past the hole.

If you struggle with reading the green it comes down to practice and experience. A pro can help however if he says you need this type of putter and it doesn't feel right forget it because once you have a brain worm it will eat away at your confidence until it kills your game. Pick the one that feels right and work with it.

It's a bit like finding the right wife, you know it's right but you still have your ups and downs and have to work at it to get the best out of it. You know if you try to trade it in it will be expensive and the next model may give you exactly the same problems

Stick with it, find one you like and work with it.

 

[Sweep]

I was surprised when the Ping app came up with my stroke as a strong arc. However, when I realised that meant I needed to straighten out my stoke though and after impact and I concentrated on a straight follow through, my putting improved instantly.

 

[19thagain]

I remember Peter Aliss interviewing Trevino at Gleneagles and the subject of problem putting came up. Trevino talked for the 400 yards up the fairway re the putter he had for each fault that developed.

Next it was Seves turn - and if your putting goes off Seve what do you do?

I just wait - was the reply! This took 14 yards!

 

[Ethan]

If that is the case why are the pros chopping and changing. Woods and Mickleson are two of the best clutch putters in recent years and yet both have had several different models in the bag over the last two years. They aren't alone. C/F fitting for a putter can be a great aid if you have never had your stroke looked at to ensure you get the right tool for the job. Similarly, if you go to a good pro and they give you the right basics particularly address and alignment it can make a fundamental difference to a player.

I really don't see the negativity towards C/F and a players desire to improve. Are you saying that getting a C/F set of clubs with the ideal set of shafts suited to your swing rather than randomly picking a set off the rail is wrong. Why should it be so to do it for a singular club (aka the putter)

Woods and Mickelson haven't changed all that much really.

Woods used a Cameron 009 putter well into his time with Nike and only swapped after his star faded for non-golf reasons. But the Nike Method he now has is pretty similar to the 009, if not a copy.

Mickelson has mostly used a Odyssey Number 9 (TPA XVIII, Del Mar shape) and alternated with a blade putter in the old Wilson 8802/Cameron Napa shape. He has used a few different models but stuck with these basic designs which have similar putting characteristics to one another. He has recently added the super stroke grip as well, but really the changes have not been massive either.

 

[the_coach]

I have a strong arc, according to the Ping APP, and should be using a toe heavy putter.
However I play with people who use face balanced mallets because they like them and they have no idea of their stroke and they putt great and consistently, they look easier to align as well.

Anyone use one who has a strong arc and does it fight against your natural stroke?

I'm beginning to think this is all nonsense and I should use what I like the look and feel of regardless of stroke, just looking for tried and tested opinions?

Putting, even more than the game to the green is about confidence in the implement and the stroke (as well as obviously being able to read greens and feel pace), as you know the margins and tolerances are much tighter on the green.

Most amateurs 3 putt more often because of wrong pace to the putt in long approach putts rather than line.

Putter that gives you confidence is about look of it, and the feel in your hands.

But there's no doubt if the arc in your stroke starts way inside the ball/target line, or less likely way outside, a face-balanced putter will fight you getting the blade square at impact.

You will probably find if you go the face-balanced route you'll probably have to work on the way you take it back and through to be a lot closer the ball/target line than it is now.

You've just got to find some time to test it good before handing over the folding stuff.