The Putter

[RichA]

Does any of that really apply to putting though?? How much can really change on your putting stroke? I think you just putt the way you putt. In theory it should be the easiest one to get right. In theory. ?

Eyes over the ball / eyes 4" inside the ball
Neutral stance / open stance
Straight swing / slight arc
Gripping up / gripping down

Lots of variations and combinations, any of which might feel unbeatable one week and unusable the next.
I am absolutely not one of those golf robots.

 

[Orikoru]

Eyes over the ball / eyes 4" inside the ball
Neutral stance / open stance
Straight swing / slight arc
Gripping up / gripping down

Lots of variations and combinations, any of which might feel unbeatable one week and unusable the next.
I am absolutely not one of those golf robots.

Maybe you're changing all of that stuff because you keep changing putters so you're changing your mannerisms to suit? Less variables can surely only help.

 

[Foxholer]

I’m not sure if the rifle scope alignment counts as ‘technology’ or ‘mumbo jumbo’ as one of the regular naysayers refers too but it certainly works well for me - It was a game changer from the start.

View attachment 41658
My plan is that this is my ‘forever’ putter, as I did once over chop and change with my old Odyssey 2-ball. I’ve added about 3 swing weights to the Seemore as I’ve always preferred a heavier putter, working very well, long may it last ?? A notable point though, is that they’re both face balanced, and centre shafted - for me, that is the way!

As another commited FB, CS user, I can relate to your search. I too got on quite well with that Seemore FGP, though it did feel a bit light/tinny. I did acquire a heavier, more solid/traditional CS Seemore (pretty muchlike the one on front page of their site) that I regret selling. The red streak always seemed a bit of a gimmick...lots of temptation to sneak a look rather than watch the ball. And Zach Johnson's use of them was more a turn-off than promotion - for me.

 

[Springveldt]

I've only got 1, a Ping Karsten TR Anser 2. Got it 5 years ago brand new for £120. Didn't actually cost me anything as I won the board comp that week and used the vouchers on it. The price of new putters now would make your eyes water.

To be honest, I'm not sure if my stroke has changed, I've moved ball position or lie angle but it's not been working for a while. So much so that I've just put a Super Stroke grip on it in the hope that can change something. I just had my best putting round in about a year yesterday with the new grip but that probably due to me have more confidence and no bad memories yet with this grip on. This is last chance saloon before I go get a putter lesson or a putter fitting. I can't go all next season playing well then missing 2 or 3 putts from within 4 feet nearly every round, it's soul destroying. My lag putting is usually pretty good but I just get the odd putt when I push or pull it and with this putter being toe hanging it gets me thinking maybe I've changed something and need a face balanced one now.

When I went for this putter I used the Ping app on my iPhone, connected it to a putter and hit a lot of putts. The app then grades your stroke, path etc and recommends a putter. The app was saying I had a slight arc so the toe hang would be a good fit. Maybe I should have seen a professional rather than trying to self fit.

 

[RichA]

Maybe you're changing all of that stuff because you keep changing putters so you're changing your mannerisms to suit? Less variables can surely only help.

No. I'm the same with my irons, which I generally don't swap about.
One day I can be happily smashing them hard and high with a tiny fade;
The next I'll be pulling everything hard and low;
A week later it will be weak, fat shots.
For each of these I won't actually feel like I've changed anything in my set-up or swing.
I enjoy torturing myself, so please don't suggest lessons. ?

 

[Foxholer]

That's an interesting theory.
I've only heard the story that the name was Karsten's wife's idea but they couldn't fit "Answer" on the back of the head so shortened it to "Anser".

That's certainly along the lines of the story I've heard most (it being her idea being to shorten 'Answer' to 'Anser'), but I never really believed it. The 'Latin for Goose' sounds more reasonable to me. I actually had a Bettinardi Golden Goose style (Riviera) that I loaned to a club member who had the yips, so putted right-handed for long putts and left-handed for short ones. The double sided style meant he didn't have to drop a club to accomodate a 2nd putter. He eventually changed to always putt left-handed.

 

[Boomy]

As another commited FB, CS user, I can relate to your search. I too got on quite well with that Seemore FGP, though it did feel a bit light/tinny. I did acquire a heavier, more solid/traditional CS Seemore (pretty muchlike the one on front page of their site) that I regret selling. The red streak always seemed a bit of a gimmick...lots of temptation to sneak a look rather than watch the ball. And Zach Johnson's use of them was more a turn-off than promotion - for me.

The FGP definitely felt a bit light for me, but that was easily remedied with weight strips (I did the same with my CS Odyssey 2-ball) I find it a nice feel off the FGP face, and it gets the ball rolling nicely. I’ve found the scope alignment a real help, obviously looking whilst making the shot stroke would be a bit daft, but it’s great for practice strokes ahead of pulling the trigger. Between the CS and alignment scope I really have no excuse for a pull or pushed putt ?

 

[Bdill93]

Putter prices have gone through the roof in recent years. When I bought my old Odyssey back in Jan 2017 it was around £140, which at the time felt like pushing the boat out a bit. But my Evnroll I got last year cost almost double that - and that was on a good deal, most of them are another 100 on top of that. Even the latest Odyssey that's roughly equivalent to what I had costs over 300 quid now.



I don't know, I just think if you're chopping and changing it's certainly possible that none of them are right for you - there could be another style of putter out there that ticks all the boxes and then you can stick with it. Did you ever do a putter fitting? Even though mine was over 5 years ago it just clarified in my mind what style, weight, length & balance of putter I wanted and I knew I'd stick with that type. Never fancied mallets or anything as I don't like looking at them. If I have a bad putting day, I still know my putter is fine for me and it was just me who couldn't get the speed of the greens that day.

My putter is now on sale https://www.clubhousegolf.co.uk/acatalog/Odyssey-O-Works-7-Black-Golf-Putter.html#SID=670

£99 an absolute bargain!!

 

[fenwayrich]

I only have 3 putters, each manufactured in the early 1970's. An Align number 3, one of the group designed by the putting guru Harold Swash, and a R.A.C.O Master Touch 100, neither of which have seen the sun for over 40 years. My third putter is a Ping Anser, from which I have never wavered.

 

[Orikoru]

No. I'm the same with my irons, which I generally don't swap about.
One day I can be happily smashing them hard and high with a tiny fade;
The next I'll be pulling everything hard and low;
A week later it will be weak, fat shots.
For each of these I won't actually feel like I've changed anything in my set-up or swing.
I enjoy torturing myself, so please don't suggest lessons. ?

I'm the last person to ever suggest lessons, haha. I've mostly always avoided them! I just have always seen putting as potentially the 'easiest fix' if you like as there are a lot less moving parts, I think that's all I was getting at.

 

[HeftyHacker]

Does any of that really apply to putting though?? How much can really change on your putting stroke? I think you just putt the way you putt. In theory it should be the easiest one to get right. In theory. ?

You say that, I played with a bloke yesterday that tried three different putting grips on the front 9! ?

 

[HeftyHacker]

I have 3 putters, an Odyssey white hot og that was gifted to me by my boss, a ping anser that I bought for the retro bag, and a scotty cameron newport 2.5 that I got for my 30th and only picked up a couple of weeks back.

I did have a putter fitting back in October time last year before deciding on what to get for my 30th. In terms of stroke a mallet probably suited me better but I tried loads of them and really struggled with distance control. My Scotty was marginally less consistent stroke wise but I could judge distance with it far better.

Given I'm not firing it at the pin with my approach shots I figured I'm more likely to be hitting 20-30ft putts so distance control felt like a priority to me.

 

[Voyager EMH]

That's certainly along the lines of the story I've heard most (it being her idea being to shorten 'Answer' to 'Anser'), but I never really believed it. The 'Latin for Goose' sounds more reasonable to me. I actually had a Bettinardi Golden Goose style (Riviera) that I loaned to a club member who had the yips, so putted right-handed for long putts and left-handed for short ones. The double sided style meant he didn't have to drop a club to accomodate a 2nd putter. He eventually changed to always putt left-handed.

And Subbuteo is Latin for "hobby". Another bird, full name: falco subbuteo.

 

[sunshine]

I'm the last person to ever suggest lessons, haha. I've mostly always avoided them! I just have always seen putting as potentially the 'easiest fix' if you like as there are a lot less moving parts, I think that's all I was getting at.

Nah, just buy a new driver

 

[r0wly86]

Only ever have one putter at a time, from getting decent putters myself I had a Ping Anser (blue one can't remember the model), Yes! Olivia (mallet head), then a few years ago I bought the Wilson 8802 centenary putter just because I thought it looked amazing.

Very different having a total toe hang, but absolutely love it, I like having a true sweet spot gives me a good understanding of what I'm doing with the face. Have no intention of replacing it at the moment

 

[Ross61]

I had a junior putter in the 70’s which I used and kept for many years. had another forgettable one then when I restarted playing in 2013 I bought an odyssey white hot 2-ball which was a magic wand especially after fitting an oversize grip. I did have to swap the optional weight after putting on the grip as at first it wandered all over the place through the stroke.
Used that until it started making a rattle 2 years ago and my confidence went. Bought a stroke lab R Ball and had mixed results. Recently bought a white hot OG 2 ball with jumbo grip and now have my magic wand back although I did have to add some lead under the weight to make it work for me. (Disappointed optional weights were not included)
I still have all the putters except the R ball which I sold.

 

[Shanker69]

..and Ping's idea of the name Anser was that it is the Latin for goose.
Hence Anser was their answer to Golden Goose.

Been reading Karsten's Way. It's biography of the founder. Interesting if you can get past all the religious stuff.

Apparently he and his wife came up with Answer. They couldn't fit it on the club. Karsten's wife made the suggestion to shorten it to Anser.

 

[Shanker69]

I have 3 putters, an Odyssey white hot og that was gifted to me by my boss, a ping anser that I bought for the retro bag, and a scotty cameron newport 2.5 that I got for my 30th and only picked up a couple of weeks back.

I did have a putter fitting back in October time last year before deciding on what to get for my 30th. In terms of stroke a mallet probably suited me better but I tried loads of them and really struggled with distance control. My Scotty was marginally less consistent stroke wise but I could judge distance with it far better.

Given I'm not firing it at the pin with my approach shots I figured I'm more likely to be hitting 20-30ft putts so distance control felt like a priority to me.

I inherited an Align 1 in BuCu from an old mate who is now playing the fairways in the sky.

My interest was perked. I bought two Yes putters, (Harold Swash also) a second hand Sandie and a Callie. The former in St St and the latter in BuCu.

I wanted to see what the difference was in performance given the the time lapse between the designs. The former is a face balanced mallet, the latter a heel and toe blade. Both have the C-groove face and this does make a difference to the roll.

Damned good putters!