Buying a new putter

[trumb1mj]

Hey all,

So I am pretty set on my bag but was feelin a little antsy and I want to buy a new putter. Not a need but more of a want.

Does anyone have any strong recommendations for choosing the right putter? Is it simply a feel and comfort thing? Is there a way to figure out my best top spin roll?

Thanks and happy Spring!

 

[Wi-Golfer]

Putters are such a presonal choice that nobody can give you a recommendation. Go for what pleases your eye & wallet.

 

[SilverUberXeno]

You will make more putts with a Scotty Cameron. You will also be cooler, and women will find you more appealing. If you have children while in possession of a Scotty Cameron, they will be taller and more intelligent. You will not lose socks in the laundry. Your car will stop needing gasoline. Rain will cease; the water cycle will continue, but through an intricate system of underground seepage. You'll look outstanding in every photograph taken of you. You'll win the lottery without playing. Your life will NEVER be the same.

/phag

 

[limpalong]

I often tell the story of a fellow who competes every year for our club championship. He bags a putter he bought at a garage sale for 75 cents. It looks like it was once a "Putt Putt" putter. The shaft and head was once painted yellow. Most of that old paint is chipped off. I doubt he could ever get his money back for that ugly thing, even though he only paid the 75 cents!!! Yet, he putts lights out with it. He's tried $300 Camerons and $100 Pings. Nothing suits his eye and stroke like that old junker.
I bag a Scotty. Love it. Son-in-law bags a 10 year old Rossie II. He putts well. My best golf buddy bags a Snake Eyes componet "potatoe masher" that is the Rosie O'Donnell of putters.
There is no club in the bag that is more personalized than your putter. Hundreds of different styles out there. And, everyone has a different take on what works for them. Probably 30% of your strokes on a given round of golf are putts. That is the club you are going to use more than any other club in the bag. It needs to be something in which you have confidence in.
Find some shops in your area that have some used putters. Work with a number of different styles and lengths until something begins to feel right. Put it back on the shelf and leave. Come back a day or two later and try the same number of putters again. See if the one that felt the best the first visit is still the "winner". Go through this exercise until a putter will seem to be "the one" over a couple of visits. Buy it. Bag it. Fall in love with it. If need be, sleep with it. If you become intimately attached to a putter and develop a great confidence in it, that is the place you can take strokes off your score the quickest!!

 

[zaphod]

putters need to fit the eye. Alignment seems automatic. Distance control instinctive. Brand does not matter. Get to a store and settle in a couple hours. Maybe bring some snacks. Anyway you will know when the right stick is in your hands. Can't miss attitude occurs.:thumbs up:

 

[xamilo]

Indeed putters are a personal thing, but I think most brands or styles you'll never try unless someone tells you to do so.

I'll have to tell you to look out for Odyssey new offerings. They are known for their inserts which I hate, but they have released SO MANY new models there is surely you'll find one to fit your eye. I had never thought of buying an Odyssey due to the soft inserts, but I tried an Odyssey Black Series No 3 once, and felt instantly in love with it (no insert), and I had SUX send me one immediately home. They just released two or three more lines to their already crowded market, so I'm sure you'll find one which you find comfortable, and price isn't bad at all...

 

[LeftyHoges]

You will make more putts with a Scotty Cameron. You will also be cooler, and women will find you more appealing. If you have children while in possession of a Scotty Cameron, they will be taller and more intelligent. You will not lose socks in the laundry. Your car will stop needing gasoline. Rain will cease; the water cycle will continue, but through an intricate system of underground seepage. You'll look outstanding in every photograph taken of you. You'll win the lottery without playing. Your life will NEVER be the same.

All true, no word of a lie. Except I thought I lost a sock in the laundry once. Turns out, on the first hole of my next round after holing a snaking 40 footer with my SCOTTY, I bent down to grab my ball out of the hole and there it was.

True story.

 

[wirehair]

Can you live with a cheapo? How about a branding iron style? IMHO, Stick with milled putters, most common is Scotty, but look at Bettinardi, Byron, Palombi, Mills, SSB, etc. Tons of them but you won't find them in Golfsmith.

What's your stroke like? A straight through stroke calls for a more face balanced.

It seems that there is always someone who talks about a "brick on a stick", fact is most people are happier with better gear. I always wonder about using something "as good as" one of the better putters. Why not go ahead and get the real thing.

 

[trumb1mj]

Thanks for all the comments guys. I have been using the same Odyssey mallet style putter for a decade. It does the trick but over the last couple of seasons I have lost confidence with short putts and feel uncomfortable over the ball. These could all be factors from my flip flop from left hand low back to a more traditional style but never the less, I am looking for something I can be more confident with. I understand that so much of putting is mental but a change could be good. Also, I am a square to square putter with a very slight forward press.

All I did all winter was re-shaft my ping g10 and buy some new grips, so that means I can buy a Scotty, right?

 

[xamilo]

All I did all winter was re-shaft my ping g10 and buy some new grips, so that means I can buy a Scotty, right?

You can buy half a dozen if you want, and try a new Driver. You have a lot of Ho credit in the bank mate...

 

[mddubya]

Of course I'm going to throw my vote in for a Scotty, I own 3 of them. Having said that, I am wanting to try that new mallet Scotty in a belly putter. But they are brand new and spensive, so I may try out a Spider in a belly putter?

But then again, I'm burning the edges with my Scotty, my problem is in reading the break.

 

[slickpitt]

Putters are such a presonal choice that nobody can give you a recommendation. Go for what pleases your eye & wallet.

QFT!