Toe Hang, or Not Toe Hang..

[Orikoru]

..that is the question. I've been thinking about putters recently. For 7 years or something I always used a wide blade/anser style putter with a small amount of toe hang on it. I did a fitting all the way back in 2017 where he suggested that was the right thing to use due to the amount of arc in my stroke. This is what people always say about it. Is it a myth though? I'm curious what everyone else does.

Watching one of the videos from the LAB guys (Lie Angle Balance I believe), they do a demonstration that shows a toe hang putter opening on the backswing and/or the follow-through and ask why would you actually want that? It kind of resonated with me and I started thinking surely I want the putter to be face-balanced so I control what the face is doing myself, not just opening under it's own weight. I bought a face-balanced Odyssey putter with a centre shaft - I've used it for a few weeks now. In a direct comparison with my old putter it was impossible to say which was better, so I need to use the Odyssey for an extended period to really see if it's an improvement or not.

So which is it for you?

Do you use a toe-hang putter because you did a fitting and that's what they told you to use? And do you think it helps?

Do you use a face-balanced putter because you thing toe-hang is a myth and you'd rather have it balanced? Or because you were fitted into a balanced model? Did you change from one to the other and see improvement?

Do you not give a toss about toe-hang and just pick your putter based on looks and feel?


Just trying to assess how much stock to place in the old "you have an arc so you need toe-hang" gambit. Could be one of those bits of old-school thinking that perhaps is a bit dubious.

 

[PJ87]

I've just bought a toe hang putter , my 2 ball is face balanced

I'm interested to see the results difference

Everytime I use someone else's Scotty I find it gives a nice result, so hoping mine is the same like that

 

[Backsticks]

Putting is all in the mind.

 

[Hobbit]

If the putter face is square to the target line at point of impact the ball will go in the right direction. Bearing in mind the ball doesn’t compress and grip the face for a millisecond all the talk about toe hang etc is just marketing guff.

 

[IanM]

Putting is all in the mind.

I tend to agree.... but i do enjoy seeing folk contort themselves with the latest foolproof method!

 

[PJ87]

I asked My fitter about toe hang just the other day

This was his take

@Orikoru

 

[Orikoru]

I tend to agree.... but i do enjoy seeing folk contort themselves with the latest foolproof method!

I agree, but I still think having a putter you're confident in has a positive affect on the mind, so it's still valid either way. If it doesn't feel right you surely won't putt well.

 

[Orikoru]

I asked My fitter about toe hang just the other day

This was his take

@Orikoru

Yeah, I knew that broadly speaking they reckon toe-hang stops you pulling it. But an argument could be made for the opposite - i.e. I'm using face-balanced so I think more about hitting straight back and through rather than letting the weight of the putter dictate it. I still pulled plenty of putts with toe-hang putters.

 

[PJ87]

I agree, but I still think having a putter you're confident in has a positive affect on the mind, so it's still valid either way. If it doesn't feel right you surely won't putt well.

My mate spend £400 on a custom fit odyssey thing .. it's already out the bag because he doesn't like it

I think putter is one of the most important club where looks have the suit and feel is everything

I mean you have a small distance for error .. so get it feeling right

 

[SteveW86]

View attachment 51901


I asked My fitter about toe hang just the other day

This was his take

@Orikoru

but are you missing left or right because of a mis read of the green?

 

[Orikoru]

My mate spend £400 on a custom fit odyssey thing .. it's already out the bag because he doesn't like it

I think putter is one of the most important club where looks have the suit and feel is everything

I mean you have a small distance for error .. so get it feeling right

The fun thing about putters though is that I think tech plays the least role of any club. You could buy a 20 year old putter for 30 quid, and if it feels right you'll never beat it with a £300 job.

 

[Orikoru]

but are you missing left or right because of a mis read of the green?

This is my other issue. I do struggle to read greens at times and there's no putter on earth that'll do that.

 

[PJ87]

but are you missing left or right because of a mis read of the green?

I'm missing cuz I'm crap

 

[PJ87]

.

The fun thing about putters though is that I think tech plays the least role of any club. You could buy a 20 year old putter for 30 quid, and if it feels right you'll never beat it with a £300 job.

I'm going down the club Monday with the 2 ball and the Scotty to side by side see which one just feels better

Lag putting is my main issue. I think I can improve that more with the Scotty

 

[sjw]

I would imagine it's more to do with what feels comfortable in your swing re. weight etc. I nearly bought an Anser on eBay the other week, thinking that I might prefer a lighter putter (I was assuming an Anser would feel lighter than a 2-ball). Then, I went out and had a really good putting round, so I forgot about it.

 

[PJ87]

I would imagine it's more to do with what feels comfortable in your swing re. weight etc. I nearly bought an Anser on eBay the other week, thinking that I might prefer a lighter putter (I was assuming an Anser would feel lighter than a 2-ball). Then, I went out and had a really good putting round, so I forgot about it.

See I been toying with a Scotty for almost 10 years now

Always hit one of a mate brings one along

Then I saw they had gone to £429 I was like bugger that. Soon as I found a reasonable used one on eBay I went for it lol before they go to £500

 

[Orikoru]

See I been toying with a Scotty for almost 10 years now

Always hit one of a mate brings one along

Then I saw they had gone to £429 I was like bugger that. Soon as I found a reasonable used one on eBay I went for it lol before they go to £500

I've always been a bit anti-Scotty because I think they are overpriced, but nearly had my head turned recently. I think for some the benefit is having a 'nice' putter just makes you feel good about putting, maybe makes you want to practise more even. But going to give this centre-shafted Odyssey a proper go anyway. I'm not sure how I feel about the 'white hot' face is my only issue at the moment.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Putting and putter 9 times out of ten are about feel and whah suits someone’s eye

You can putt just as a well with a £10 putter as you can with a £500 one

The face will be key - inserts help a little when it comes to forgiveness but feel is a little bit less - a milled face will give someone better feel but not as a forgiving

It’s always about trial and error - weight will help but the key as Hobbit said is having the putter face square at impact

 

[PJ87]

I've always been a bit anti-Scotty because I think they are overpriced, but nearly had my head turned recently. I think for some the benefit is having a 'nice' putter just makes you feel good about putting, maybe makes you want to practise more even. But going to give this centre-shafted Odyssey a proper go anyway. I'm not sure how I feel about the 'white hot' face is my only issue at the moment.

If my mate sells any of his ridiculous collection I'll let you know

I think a lot of it is down to what you say a nice putter breeds confidence and makes you wanna putt more

My mate missed as many putts with his blade as he did his odyssey.. in less windy conditions and didn't rant about his blade

Then went and got a new putter lol

 

[SteveW86]

Odyssey OG 2 ball putter is working very well for me at the minute.