Soup - go ahead vent your spleen on the modern mega putter! I for one would enjoy it.
I have been trying to settle on a old school putter for myself to replace the modern monstrosity I have come to rely upon. At the moment my favourite is old rangefinder cleek. I like it because it absolutely hates it if you quit on a putt, the feeling is awful if you do. It demands that your are authoritative and as a fairly timid putter normally its probably what I need. Strike it flush and the ball holds its line beautifully.
I can’t work out how to load images properly so here is a link till I figure it out!
Actually I saw an old hickory/brass putter lying around in a pro shop last week. I rolled a couple across the floor and it was beautifully heavy. Might go back and sneak it out whilst they are not looking
Oh man, Arnie! That’s a beaut! Definitely can’t have any give-up when putting with that.
That reminds me that I’ve really been lusting after a Stag Heritage Deluxe putter from St. Andrews Golf Co. It’s almost too pretty to putt with
Has anyone had a chance to roll any of the putters from that company? Can we get them here Stateside? I saw a video of some guy touring the factory there and was pretty impressed.
I have throttled back on my putter purchases mightily the last couple of years. I literally have a room full… some are collectibles that I’ve never used, others are in my “rotation” (mind you my rotation numbers in the teens or twenties). Guys like me are simply mediocre putters who tend to blame the arrow. It’s become a tradition amongst the 10 or 15 guys I play with regularly to inquire what putter is in the bag “today” before we tee off?
I study putting quite a bit and understand the various philosophies out there, but I can’t say I putt any better now than I did before I knew what I know now.
The ONE putter I have not tried is the design that Arnie posted… a “Calamity Jane” style for lack of a better description, and I’m very intriqued with it. TGM considers putting to simply be a miniature golf swing (or hit), yet it seems like the transition in looks/shape from irons to putters (with most putter designs anyway) is incredibly dramatic. A TM Spider, an Odyssey Sabretooth, for that matter even a Ping Anser, look NOTHING like a Hogan PC 5-iron. Why is that??? Why NOT use a short blade with 4 degrees of loft that somewhat resembles the irons in your bag? Why is feedback in putting not as important as in the full swing? Shouldn’t it be even more important due to the low impact velocity yet the greater need for precision?
I’m bidding on a Gene Sarazen model on ebay that looks a little like what Arnie posted. It’s at $8 right now, so it will be a small price to pay for some more experimentation.
Hot… I didn’t mean to get on a rant here, I just couldn’t help myself.
No problems! We’re just having an in-general putters discussion here
I think you’re right that any putter without perimeter weighting will give you better feedback about the impact conditions of your putt. I think a hickory shaft might make it even better in terms of feedback. The only thing you might want to be concerned about is the extremely light swingweight of really, really old-school putters - it can take a while to get used to, especially if your stroke is a little shakey.
I agree the really old ones seem to be on the light side, but I’m anxious to see how they might perform. (I think I still have some lead tape around).
I wonder how far back any reasonably accurate putting stats go? You can get any stat you want today regarding the PGA tour but I’d be curious to know just how the players 40, 50, 60, or 70 years ago putted. As Lag has alluded to, the surfaces they putted on back in the day probably put more of a premium on ball-striking, but these guys still managed to make putts without the high-MOI monstrosities that players now seem to use (despite today’s surfaces that are nearly perfect).
I’d be curious to know this as well. I know from anecdotal evidence that the elite golfers of old were on average, as good or better putters than pros today.
However, (and this is probably a separate discussion in and of itself), putting stats on tour are very misleading. For instance, what does putts per round even tell you? If I miss every green, but chip it close and one putt, that’s 18 putts per round. Does that make me an exceptional putter? Hardly. Then there’s also Putters per Green in Reg., which is also a flawed statistic, because it is a combination ball-striking/putting statistic - the closer you hit the ball, the fewer putts per round you’ll (most likely) have.
The only putting stats I put any stock in are percentages of putts made from X number of feet and in. What percentage of putts from ten feet (as an example) a player makes tells me a lot about how good of a putter he is. Those other stats I mentioned, I feel, do not.
Also Robbo, sorry to get off the topic of your post, I think slapping some lead tape on the back of one would be a worthwhile experiment. I previously was not saying that a lighter putter was bad, per se, but you’re probably not used to (nor am I) anything as light as putters from that generation. I think it’s a really beneficial exercise to at least practice with a putter like to see how your stroke path is, because with less mass at the end of the putter, it doesn’t hold its line automatically.
Like I alluded to earlier, I’ve been really wanting to find a wooden-head putter that isn’t face-balanced to try out. I think the putter I mentioned above, with its hickory shaft and persimmon (i think) head, it would give tons of feedback, which is what you want from your putter.
I’m with you on the putting stats… they can be quite misleading. One that I thought they were going to implement was “number of feet of putts made per round”. As with any stat you need to understand the next layer, but a great ball striker who can’t convert his putts will be tapping in for par all day and in general will have a low number of “total feet made” for the day.
I got out-bid on the vintage blade, so I rummaged through my putting stash and came across a Bullseye look-alike and used it yesterday. Great feel on well struck putts despite it’s light weight and narrow profile (I see what you’re saying about the light weight putter making it more difficult to hide stroke flaws). Made a few putts with it so it’s going to stay in the bag for another round or so. It’s surprisingly easy to line up despite it’s lack of lines, protruding fins, white circles, flanges, etc.
Definitely. Until you adjust to a putter like that, it can be an interesting affair to put with haha
If you’ve never used the Putting Arc, it might be something good to try out with your bullseye - the first time I used one I had kind of a “whoa” feeling and my stroke seemed to feel much truer after a little bit with that. I still have a little bit of “steer” in the stroke, but I’m working on it.
I never feel like I putt well if the head feels like I’m cutting the ball…
a bit inside seems to get the ball rolling crisper. I set up with a very closed stance, and my right shoulder down to encourage a nice sweeping inside takeaway. I have to rely on technique these days since my practice time on the greens is zero.
Can’t say I putted to great today, had I made every putt inside 15 feet I would have shot 63 instead of 69…
here’s a in depth video about the putting arc. I have one but don’t use it much.
I have a similar thing by eyeline golf that has a mirror also so I can work on my eye alignment and train my eyes to see the correct alignment to the hole at the same time.
here’s a photo of both;
Putting arc is good for stroke path
The Eyeline version is good for stroke path, eye alignment, alignment to the hole and putter face alignment- that’s why I prefer it as it kills a few more birds with one stone.
Yup, that’s the putting arc. I use the wood one, but it’s the same thing, really. It has a very subtle curve to it. It’s not a dramatic in-out-in path, by any means, but it does get it properly inside coming back.
I have just had a bit of a clearout on ebay and basically anything modern has now left the building
With the ill gotten gains I picked up this old “JH Busson” (brother of Harry Busson I think) putter for $25. I havn’t received it yet but it looks amazing as its just been refurbed. The most amazing thing about it is the weight, it comes in at 0.56 Kg (Approx 1 lb 4 oz)… which is even heavier than those heavy putters that seem to have done the rounds over the last couple of years and apparently a lot heavier than the standard putter which typically comes in at 330 to 350 grams. Here is the ebay description and some pics:
What is the deal with salt down the shaft? Is it to add weight? Why not add tungsten powder? I love a putter on the heavy side but do not like to look down at a lead tape filled putter. Is salt the answer?
I used salt down my shaft because I came across it first in the kitchen…
They also say if you can pour salt on a bird’s tail you can catch it!
Tom Watson and Seve were said to have used sugar in their shafts… neither are recommended by the National Heart Association…!
For me it’s simply because I don’t play golf everyday anymore… so when I do get out, I like to be able to really feel the putter head as if I was playing everyday. I used to practice for hours so I could get that elusive feel back in my hands. Now it’s just there. I don’t know why lightweight putters became all the rage and the standard for putting a golf ball. Thin whippy shafts too… I don’t like it at all…
My putter weights 26.5 ounces. It is by far the heaviest club in my bag. My driver is very heavy by modern stats at 13.8 ounces.
But here is the deal… When you swing a club, you get a lot of added weight in your hands through centrifugal force. These forces are very real.
With putting there is essentially no centrifugal force… just the weight of the club moving back and forth… So now with my putter, I am getting the same kind of sensation that I do when I strike golf shots. Now I can play the game with much more of a sameness from tee to green than before. I think one of the reasons the long putters have worked well for some of the guys is simply the heavier weight of them. Being able to feel the putter head is the key for me. Then being able to accelerate that feel into something…(the ground) completes the picture.
