Toe Hang, or Not Toe Hang..

sjw

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I must admit, I really like the look of Scottys. I wish I didn't, because I can just see myself ending up buying one when I know that really, it's not justifiably better than any other putter out there.

Great thread title, by the way
 

Orikoru

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My mate has about 15 or more putters now, he grabs them all off ebay but it's quite the collection. One he liked for a while was the Seemore Giant - absolutely massive thing. But that's gone back in the cupboard now. Latest thing he turned up with was an Odyssey Backstryke. Absolutely hideous-looking thing, and God knows whether it's face-balanced or what. That would put me off holing putts just from looking at it. When you glance at him hitting a putt with it, you do a double take as it looks like he's holding it backwards or sideways for a second.
 

PJ87

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I must admit, I really like the look of Scottys. I wish I didn't, because I can just see myself ending up buying one when I know that really, it's not justifiably better than any other putter out there.

Great thread title, by the way

When I end up hating mine I'll keep you in mind for the new home
 

mikejohnchapman

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I was fortunate to have a putter fitting c/o GM on a SAM putting lab.

I had always used a toe hang putter due to an arch swing but when we used a face balanced putter in comparison it made no discernible difference to the strike and the start line.

Think it could be in the category of apocryphal stories.
 

jim8flog

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Neither - I have used centre shafted putters for about 35 years and try to take straight back and move straight forward for as long as possible although there is always a point where the putter moves off the line.
 

jim8flog

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Regarding hitting straight back and through, I asked the fitter about that and he said that everyone has some degree or arc in their putter stroke; a straight line is basically impossible.
I guess this must be because the putter shaft isn't vertical so it's not possible to have a pure pendulum motion?
No it is because it is virtually a physical impossibility. At some point your shoulder has to turn.
 
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Not an easy answer but I got an ex putt which is essentially a camera based system that tracks your club path and ball path indoors and links up via a TV. It’s amazing as a bit of kit but very expensive.
I’ve learned that path is of so little importance versus face angle, my path regularly can be 5, 6 or 7 degrees out to in or in to out and I can still hole putts inside 10ft, yet as soon as the face gets more than 1 degree open or closed I miss anything outside 5ft and more than 1.5 degrees 5ft won’t drop either. This is all based on a straight putt.
I can work on grip to ensure that my stroke comes back with a face angle as close to zero as possible, usually within 0.5 degrees is acceptable, so it doesn’t really matter to me toe hang or not.
My putting was at its best just after Covid all lifted, I went through a time working from home where I hit 100+ putts per day, every single day doing that my stroke was as good as it could reasonably be and I definitely saw the output from that on the course, all putts were set to 10ft< and all dead straight.
I’m sure you can recreate this outside on an actual green, placing tees , but having that available at home it took 15 mins max to hit the putts. It just gave me so much confidence stood over anything within 10ft I knew I could bring the putter back with a straight face and have a very good chance of holing out.
I really need to dig out the machine again and do it again this year groove the stroke
 

Backsticks

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Not an easy answer but I got an ex putt which is essentially a camera based system that tracks your club path and ball path indoors and links up via a TV. It’s amazing as a bit of kit but very expensive.
I’ve learned that path is of so little importance versus face angle, my path regularly can be 5, 6 or 7 degrees out to in or in to out and I can still hole putts inside 10ft, yet as soon as the face gets more than 1 degree open or closed I miss anything outside 5ft and more than 1.5 degrees 5ft won’t drop either. This is all based on a straight putt.
I can work on grip to ensure that my stroke comes back with a face angle as close to zero as possible, usually within 0.5 degrees is acceptable, so it doesn’t really matter to me toe hang or not.
My putting was at its best just after Covid all lifted, I went through a time working from home where I hit 100+ putts per day, every single day doing that my stroke was as good as it could reasonably be and I definitely saw the output from that on the course, all putts were set to 10ft< and all dead straight.
I’m sure you can recreate this outside on an actual green, placing tees , but having that available at home it took 15 mins max to hit the putts. It just gave me so much confidence stood over anything within 10ft I knew I could bring the putter back with a straight face and have a very good chance of holing out.
I really need to dig out the machine again and do it again this year groove the stroke
The research confirms your experience. Face angle needs to be within 0.7° for an 8' putt to drop I think. Club path doesnt really matter.
Inside 10', face is everything, outside 10', pace is everything.
 

Orikoru

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Not an easy answer but I got an ex putt which is essentially a camera based system that tracks your club path and ball path indoors and links up via a TV. It’s amazing as a bit of kit but very expensive.
I’ve learned that path is of so little importance versus face angle, my path regularly can be 5, 6 or 7 degrees out to in or in to out and I can still hole putts inside 10ft, yet as soon as the face gets more than 1 degree open or closed I miss anything outside 5ft and more than 1.5 degrees 5ft won’t drop either. This is all based on a straight putt.
I can work on grip to ensure that my stroke comes back with a face angle as close to zero as possible, usually within 0.5 degrees is acceptable, so it doesn’t really matter to me toe hang or not.
My putting was at its best just after Covid all lifted, I went through a time working from home where I hit 100+ putts per day, every single day doing that my stroke was as good as it could reasonably be and I definitely saw the output from that on the course, all putts were set to 10ft< and all dead straight.
I’m sure you can recreate this outside on an actual green, placing tees , but having that available at home it took 15 mins max to hit the putts. It just gave me so much confidence stood over anything within 10ft I knew I could bring the putter back with a straight face and have a very good chance of holing out.
I really need to dig out the machine again and do it again this year groove the stroke
Great info there. There's an old feller at my club who appears to slice his putts, but he still makes a few. Must have the face square to the target I guess!
 

TheDiablo

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Has anyone seen what Sergio has been using recently?

I seem to recall him snapping a putter in anger previously and putting with a 3 wood

It looks like he has stuck a 3W head onto a putter shaft! Absolutely horrendous! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that but id never be able to do it!
 

Orikoru

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Has anyone seen what Sergio has been using recently?

I seem to recall him snapping a putter in anger previously and putting with a 3 wood

It looks like he has stuck a 3W head onto a putter shaft! Absolutely horrendous! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that but id never be able to do it!
Is it this one?


I watched him playing with Bryson on Bryson's YouTube channel the other day and I swear that was another completely different putter. The guy changes every week I think.
 

TigerBear

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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
What type of toe hang putter did you go for?

I have a 2 ball face balanced and currently flirting with the idea of a Juno blade.
 

Alan Clifford

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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.
I bought a face balanced putter because I wanted to hit without a curve and that was apparently the putter to use if I wanted to do that. My putts generally go where I send them although that is not always the right direction 🤣
 

need_my_wedge

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Face balanced all day long for me. If I use a toe hang it always feels like it's trying to close and I'm trying to hold it back to keep it square. Just feels more natural to me with a face balanced putter
 

Orikoru

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Today was a headscramble. Using my centre-shafted face-balanced Odyssey, I putted quite well for a bit, then it went off a cliff. I think the face is too soft for the slow greens, and as Imurg mentioned, I hit a few out of the toe (to be expected if you're not used to using CS I guess) and there was just no forgiveness at all.

I think I'm going to sell it and get a face balanced heel-shafted variety. That doesn't have the 'white hot' face.👍🏻
 

PJ87

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Today was a headscramble. Using my centre-shafted face-balanced Odyssey, I putted quite well for a bit, then it went off a cliff. I think the face is too soft for the slow greens, and as Imurg mentioned, I hit a few out of the toe (to be expected if you're not used to using CS I guess) and there was just no forgiveness at all.

I think I'm going to sell it and get a face balanced heel-shafted variety. That doesn't have the 'white hot' face.👍🏻

Shame you said without the white hot face .. this 2 ball face balanced could be for sell 🤣
 
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