Have promised that this winter I will get to the bottom of my putting woes. I have bounced back and forth, all year, between an Odyssey 2-ball SRT and my BeCu Anser 4. A few others from the basement stock have been in the bag for a round or so. Nothing has seemed to work.
As I have attempted to develop a strategy, I remembered the past good times with an 8813. Yes, the original 8802's were nice but the 8813 with the sound slot seemed to stay in the bag quite a while back in the 80's. This past decade, or so, the buzz word in putters has been MOI. We have seen an increase in the number of mallets... high MOI putters... on tour. And, I've seemed to follow that premise.
Folks have written their praises of the grooved face technology of Yes! and Rife. Perusing the various models, I have been taken by the Sophia. Wow! A real blade style putter... 8802 style... with the groove technology. There was no way, however, I was going to pay retail for an 8802 style putter that wouldn't be worth 50 cents on the dollar if it did not work. What to do.... What to do....
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to the big city. (Once in a while, us hicks find ourselves envired in metro America!) Now, what would anybody with any golf acumen do in the big city??? Why, visit Golf Galaxy, or course!!! Walked into GG and the putter display is first thing inside the door. And, what jumps out at me from the used putter inventory... Yes, a Yes! Sophia!!!!! 34" Sophia, in very good to excellent condition, sat proudly holding her head above the lowly plethora of Odyssey and Ping and Rife and (some strange sounding brand) Scotty Camerons... Yes, this Yes! was all by herself just asking to be stroked.
After rolling a few putts on the display carpet, I felt Sophia needed to go home with me. Long term relationship or one round stand?? Who knows, but the beauty could not be passed up. As most any old 'ho, I had a hybrid no longer used under the seat in my truck. Traded the hybrid for Sophia and got over 40 dollars credit on a gift card. Wow! From a cast off hybrid to a strokable Sophia... life does not get any better.
After some cleaning and "fluffing" last evening, Sophia and I went for a stroll, together, this morning. Here's how things went...
Looks... I love Sophia's looks. That's what attracted me to her. She sets up beautifully behind the ball The small "dot" on the top line is difficult to distinquish. I will need to enhance that alignment dot ever so slightly. The early morning sun glistened off Sophia's rear flange. A couple of times, the reflection was almost a distraction. I am, seriously, considering re-bluing Sophia so the glare could be diminished a bit. Overall, even with a yellow/white/black grip that is a little "interesting" Sophia's looks are someting all the guys who see me holding her will envy.
Feel... It's almost the first of November. Leaves are everywhere on the course. It's the time of year we use found "rocks" in case you lose them under the blanket of leaves. I started out with a Callaway WarRock and a Top Rock Distance. The first couple of holes, I couldn't figure it out. Sophia wasn't feeling the same in my hands as she did last night on the basement carpet. Then it dawned on my. As I was stroking Sophia last evening, we were rolling ProV's. I pulled a Callaway Tour 56 and a ProV out of the bag and Sophia's feels changed immediately. The feel of this putter into, and through, the ball is succintly different between "rock" balls and premium, soft cover balls. But, that feel needs to be there for a good putter to perform
Distance control... This putter is heavy! Every putter in my basement has a ton of lead tape stuck here and there. Sophia won't need the extra cosmetics. Sophia has enough in the right places to stroke right on through the ball. Sophia's excellent weighting made distance control pretty good. The first couple of greens still had some dew. Then the greens began drying out through the rest of the round. It was difficult to get a real feel for Sophia's ability to provide distance control but her excellent weight characteristics tell me she and I will work through that when we can begin playing on good greens.
Dispersion/Direction... Here's where Sophia shines. Sophia simply knows nothing but "in the hole"! Set Sophia down behind the ball, take one look at the hole, and Sophia will roll the ball on the straightest line imagineable. Time after time, this past season, I have watched 2-foot putts miss. That aggravation has been the primary driving force that has caused me to consider another putter. If this morning is any indication, that problem is solved. Left to right, right to left, straight putts... the roll that Sophia putts on the ball is unbelievable.
So... I really do think I'm in love. I do think this could be the start of something grand. This ain't my first rodeo. I do understand how the rose-colored glasses can make a 2 or 3 into a 10 just about closin' time. I do understand "honeymoon" periods. Yet, all the indicators are there that this will be more than just a short courtship that ends in broken dreams. As we progress into next season, I will post a better review of how Sophia and my relationship grows or blows....
As I have attempted to develop a strategy, I remembered the past good times with an 8813. Yes, the original 8802's were nice but the 8813 with the sound slot seemed to stay in the bag quite a while back in the 80's. This past decade, or so, the buzz word in putters has been MOI. We have seen an increase in the number of mallets... high MOI putters... on tour. And, I've seemed to follow that premise.
Folks have written their praises of the grooved face technology of Yes! and Rife. Perusing the various models, I have been taken by the Sophia. Wow! A real blade style putter... 8802 style... with the groove technology. There was no way, however, I was going to pay retail for an 8802 style putter that wouldn't be worth 50 cents on the dollar if it did not work. What to do.... What to do....
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to the big city. (Once in a while, us hicks find ourselves envired in metro America!) Now, what would anybody with any golf acumen do in the big city??? Why, visit Golf Galaxy, or course!!! Walked into GG and the putter display is first thing inside the door. And, what jumps out at me from the used putter inventory... Yes, a Yes! Sophia!!!!! 34" Sophia, in very good to excellent condition, sat proudly holding her head above the lowly plethora of Odyssey and Ping and Rife and (some strange sounding brand) Scotty Camerons... Yes, this Yes! was all by herself just asking to be stroked.
After rolling a few putts on the display carpet, I felt Sophia needed to go home with me. Long term relationship or one round stand?? Who knows, but the beauty could not be passed up. As most any old 'ho, I had a hybrid no longer used under the seat in my truck. Traded the hybrid for Sophia and got over 40 dollars credit on a gift card. Wow! From a cast off hybrid to a strokable Sophia... life does not get any better.
After some cleaning and "fluffing" last evening, Sophia and I went for a stroll, together, this morning. Here's how things went...
Looks... I love Sophia's looks. That's what attracted me to her. She sets up beautifully behind the ball The small "dot" on the top line is difficult to distinquish. I will need to enhance that alignment dot ever so slightly. The early morning sun glistened off Sophia's rear flange. A couple of times, the reflection was almost a distraction. I am, seriously, considering re-bluing Sophia so the glare could be diminished a bit. Overall, even with a yellow/white/black grip that is a little "interesting" Sophia's looks are someting all the guys who see me holding her will envy.
Feel... It's almost the first of November. Leaves are everywhere on the course. It's the time of year we use found "rocks" in case you lose them under the blanket of leaves. I started out with a Callaway WarRock and a Top Rock Distance. The first couple of holes, I couldn't figure it out. Sophia wasn't feeling the same in my hands as she did last night on the basement carpet. Then it dawned on my. As I was stroking Sophia last evening, we were rolling ProV's. I pulled a Callaway Tour 56 and a ProV out of the bag and Sophia's feels changed immediately. The feel of this putter into, and through, the ball is succintly different between "rock" balls and premium, soft cover balls. But, that feel needs to be there for a good putter to perform
Distance control... This putter is heavy! Every putter in my basement has a ton of lead tape stuck here and there. Sophia won't need the extra cosmetics. Sophia has enough in the right places to stroke right on through the ball. Sophia's excellent weighting made distance control pretty good. The first couple of greens still had some dew. Then the greens began drying out through the rest of the round. It was difficult to get a real feel for Sophia's ability to provide distance control but her excellent weight characteristics tell me she and I will work through that when we can begin playing on good greens.
Dispersion/Direction... Here's where Sophia shines. Sophia simply knows nothing but "in the hole"! Set Sophia down behind the ball, take one look at the hole, and Sophia will roll the ball on the straightest line imagineable. Time after time, this past season, I have watched 2-foot putts miss. That aggravation has been the primary driving force that has caused me to consider another putter. If this morning is any indication, that problem is solved. Left to right, right to left, straight putts... the roll that Sophia putts on the ball is unbelievable.
So... I really do think I'm in love. I do think this could be the start of something grand. This ain't my first rodeo. I do understand how the rose-colored glasses can make a 2 or 3 into a 10 just about closin' time. I do understand "honeymoon" periods. Yet, all the indicators are there that this will be more than just a short courtship that ends in broken dreams. As we progress into next season, I will post a better review of how Sophia and my relationship grows or blows....