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I went for a putter fitting today (1/7/22) at my local Club Champion. After giving up armlock and going to a traditional length putter, I wanted to learn more about my stroke and see what putters based on my stroke may fit me best. Here is a little more detail about the process. First step was to get the specs of my current putter. The putter I brought in was a Odyssey White Hot OG #1WS with a LAGP 105 putter shaft and a P2 Classic grip. Based on that, the fitter asked me how I got that putter and I told him that I built it myself. Throughout the rest of the fitting, we would talk quite a bit about club building and such. The putter spec'd out at 31", 68 degrees lie, 2 degrees loft. He measured the loft and lie angle using a digital mitchell putter machine. Second step was to warm up on some putts, they were about 6 to 8 feet in length or so. After that, I got on the SAM putt lab and hit 7 putts. Here are the results of the SAM putt lab: The first output from the SAM putt lab is an analysis of the stroke type is looking at the arc. Based on the report, I have a lot of arc. I knew I had some arc, but wasn't aware that it was as much as shown on the report. This was something eye opening, just from an understanding perspective. Face averaged 0.6 degrees open at impact. Next was rotation relative to path. Based on this parameter, SAM recommended Face Balanced. Strong arc plus face balanced doesn't intuitively make sense but the fitter explained why SAM was recommended Face Balanced. The fitter did also note that although SAM recommended Face Balanced, that may not be the right fit for me. More on that later. Next was aim. No idea how I was able to achieve 0.0 degrees at setup, but i did. Next is length. The fitter said i stand pretty far from the ball and my eyes are inside the line. He didn't say it was something I should change but indicated by 31" putter might just be a little long. Also, I don't have sort of strange posture or anything like that in case you are wondering why i use a 31" putter. I really am just that short with proportionately short legs for my height and proportionately average to slightly longer than average arms for my height. Next was loft. The measured loft of my putter was 2 degrees and i delivered just about 2 degrees of loft at impact. Fitter said that was perfect My putter tends to be toe up at setup and ends toe up at impact. The fitter said that the recommended lie angle of 64 degrees is too drastic, likely i should go half an inch shorter and then start with 1 to 2 degrees flatter. During our chat, i told him i have a putter bending machine at home, so he said to mess around starting with 1 to 2 degrees and bend slightly more if needed. The fitter said that my consistency numbers were the highest he had ever seen during a SAM fitting. Maybe that was a bit of hyperbole or maybe his clientele don't have very consistent putting strokes. Hyperbole aside, my stroke turned out to be pretty consistent. So after the review of the numbers, he grabbed some putters to try, some face balanced, some with a small amount of toe hang, and some with more toe hang, like my Odyssey blade. He knew I liked putters a lot and he knew I had a lot of knowledge about different brands and models and shafts as such, so he encouraged me to try out a bunch of stuff, even if it may not make sense based on the SAM recommendation. During the testing of other putts, you just make some putts from the same distance as when the SAM was setup, but you don't test each putter with the SAM. In terms of making putts, there were some putters that i made more putts with than others, but in general was making a lot of putts during the fitting. We had noticed with some of the putters, i was making the putts but on the right edge of the cup rather than center. There was one putter that I kept coming back to, which was the Queen B 11 by Bettinardi. I was making putts with it and more centered than the other putters that i was testing. That Queen B 11 ended up being my favorite putter aside from my gamer, but my gamer performed well too. I made all 7 test putts with the gamer at the start. He said the gamer was a great fit for me already and that there really is no need to buy a new putter unless i want a new putter. If the gamer was a good fit, then why did the SAM recommend face balanced. The fitter said it was because of the rotation relative to path and with the face being open at impact. However, he said that he thought the gamer grip was partially at fault for leaving the face open at impact. He the grip is probably too thick from front of the grip to the back of the grip (the P2 Classic grip is a bit unique in its shape). Without that, I would probably be more square at impact and then the machine would not have recommended face balanced. So coming out of it, my gamer is a good fit, but he wants me to increase the swingweight a bit (its really light), bend the lie angle a bit, and play it slightly shorter. The other outcome was that i putt better (at least during the fitting) with either a blade or a small mid-mallet. I happen to have a blade gamer right now, but 75% of my last two years playing golf has been with some sort of mallet. I had always thought I needed the "forgiveness" of a high MOI mallet.

So even with your gamer being pretty optimal, I'm still betting heavily that you have looked for a deal on that Queen B 11 and already queued it up in a shopping cart at least 3 times. Parlayed that bet with another that you will end up with one before April 1st.

A little background before I rant. With all the supplier issues going on work has decided on a schedule where we are on furlough for a week, work two weeks, furloughed for another two weeks, work two weeks, and then furloughed for one more before getting back to normal ( for now ). I have no complaints, they instituted a supplemental unemployment benefits (SUB) plan to go along with state unemployment. I'm still getting paid 80% plus got a raise last week. My issue is dealing with the Unemployment Office. I just spent a freaking hour trying to verify my bank account information that should have already been in the system from the furlough last year. Error notification after error notification hounded me. They had me set up to receive a debit card instead. I finally got it to work and it's all good now after my lovely wife told me to try on the computer instead of my phone. Sorry to rant, I'd normally go outside and swing a club or did something to distract myself, but it's dark and 25 degrees outside. I am very thankful for the company taking care of us right now.

I have a sickness...

Friday with the Boyz. Nice morning 58*, light breeze, bit cloudy. Had a tough morning +5, tweaked my back on 2nd hole marking my ball. I was pretty cautious rest of the round. Skipped breakfast didn’t want to sit for a lengthy time. Friday night there was a 70th birthday party for one of the boys (the youngest) and hit of the night was the various bacon themed appetizers including bacon & pepperoni pizza. Won’t be one of my favorites.

Long story short…wanted to make beef on weck sandwiches tonight at the firehouse. We took calls at 545 and 615 so we had to continue to restart the process. Made it work, the potatoes weren’t fantastic but the sandwich tasted alright.

I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often then it does, Stu. When I first moved down here 11 years ago I’d never seen the type of bag drops they have down here. It’s nothing to see 50-100 bags lying around, and nobody knows who they belong to until the cart guy loads them. Anyone can just walk up, throw a bag over their shoulder and just walk off. The guys who leave them at the drop after a round and go inside for a beer or whatever are asking for trouble. The only place on Long Island you’ll see any close to down here is Bethpage Park, and they have 5 courses there. You might see maybe 15-20 bags at the most sitting idle though, nothing like down here. I think Legends up on 501 is the worst I’ve ever seen, even for down here. Probably more clubs stolen from that complex than anywhere in the country.

Well sitting here waiting for the nfl games to start got me again. Came across a killer deal on a PXG 0211 9* head and couldn’t resist. I played one early last year along with a Gen4 XF to end the year and I preferred the 0211. Gonna either throw the Tensei PO Proto 50x that I couldnt seem to sell in it. That’s a full bag of PXG besides my trusty Srixon F85 5 wood that will have to be pried from my cold dead hands and a Cleveland Zipcore Full Face 50* wedge that served me well last year. I wouldn’t mind finding a good price in a PXG forged or sugar daddy wedge and still need to grab a 3 wood shaft but otherwise I think I’m set for this year. Should make waiting to cash in the GT for something great a little easier.

The only bad thing about your putting fitting is it makes me want to schedule one so I can go play and experiment with graphite putter shafts.

2 Golf Pride MCC Plus 4 midsize grips for my Sub70 wedges. They were out of stock for my previous color so I had to go with something a bit different -- but the wedges are different from the other irons, so ....

I'm a spot putter and average around 30 putts a round. So by no means an expert but above average. For me if I have to start thinking about length of swing on my putts I lose feel and distance. I tend to have a good look at line and gradient on the putt, pick my spot, 2 or 3 swings with the putter while looking at my spot to get the feel on swing and my brain dialed in to swing length. I then get over the putt, align putter to aim at the spot, couple of ball spot, ball spot looks and then hit, my mind is more on hitting at the target than stroke length. My distance tends to be pretty good

Yeah, the fitter i got was very knowledgeable. Only 6 months at Club Champion, but before that ran a True Spec location. He's also a PGA professional which was cool (used to be an assistant pro at Medalist).

Thanks for posting; I enjoy reading information about peoples putter fitting. Sounds like you had a knowledgeable fitter that didn't just quote the SAM results and actually interpreted what was going on.

Agree. I know a guy who worked at GG once the manufacturers demo day season was over as his part time job. He definitely wasn’t a hamburger flipper. Another guy that @Golfspy_CG2 and I know worked at GG and wants a burger flipper either. Last time i checked he was at a CC and GC2 even did a fitting with him there several years back

Cheeky bargain off Facebook market yesterday, Titleist U510 1-iron. Hoping it will be a good blub to fill a gap below my 3w. Mint condition and way cheaper than eBay.

I used to have a 31" putter. When I was fitted at Ping, I was fitted into a 34" counterbalanced putter with a 71º lie angle. My eyes are directly over the ball... at least they are when I putt well. I still grip like it's a 31" putter with most of the grip above my hands. As you mentioned, the butt of the club doesn't touch, but comes very close to my belly. It's a problem when the weather is cold because of the extra clothes; the butt can get caught in the fabric. My solution... reduce my belly! I love my putter, and I have no desire to even look at new putters. Haven't picked one up in the stores in 5 years. It's getting a new grip this spring; in and out of the bag has taken a toll on the butt of the grip.

I have several rooms in the house with 10 foot ceilings, but I am not allowed to swing a club in the house. That's why I set up a net in the room behind the garage. However, it's not heated. There were a few times the past couple of weeks when temps were in the teens that I was tempted to swing in the house, but I got "The Look".

A couple of new neighbors have moved onto my street (Tuesday group) and they are 55 & 60 years old. They both took early retirement packages and here they are in FL. About a week ago one of them was pushing hard to beat me and my buddy (74). He was getting chippy and making comments because he was getting his butt kicked and didn’t like it. I kinda had enough and told him he should stop “Freakin” whining and he was lucky we didn’t make him play from the longer Tees as he’s got 20 “Freakin” years on us!! He’s still pouting, isn’t playing this week. There’s plenty of room in FL for you! One of the 81 year olds popped a 260 yard drive Friday, I was impressed!!

I should move to Florida and play with you old guys instead of trying to keep up with the guys I play with here that are 20 years younger!! What's wrong with bacon and pepperoni pizza... followed by a beer??

I did spend a little time on the kitchen getting a feel of transitioning to the lead side and allowing the club to drop and shallow.

This is pretty much happening in all areas of manufacturing right now. I work in industrial machinery and many of the components we are trying to get we already know we won't get until at least first quarter of 2023. ... And suppliers won't even guarantee those dates are good. I've been in the industry for 28 years and I've never seen anything like this. Things we used to get in 2-3 weeks are now 6 months. Things that used to be 8-10 weeks are now a year. Stuff that used to be 6 months lead time, they won't even tell us when you can get them. Its really bad. And its horrible for the folks trying to work in customer service. All day long they have customers calling them and yelling at them. Some of them are swearing at them and screaming. Customer service folks don't get paid enough for that, so they quit. Then you have folks who used to be running machines having to stop to answer the phone. Which slows down production. Which makes customers even angrier and so on and so on. What I'm getting at. Is if you call PING (or any manufacturer really) and actually get a customer service person... Be nice to them. It's not their fault and at least they answered the phone.

NO NO NO you are not sick by any means---- I wear stuff like that on the course all the time---- I started it down on this end of the beach with Tommy Bahama stuff a couple of years ago along with my floppy Pukka hats--- Now days down here they call it Shabby Chique.

Great detail from the fitting. Sounds like the fitter had a great way of communicating the data to you. Good to know you were already pretty close to the setup you needed with your current gamer. Hope it all comes together with the flatstick!

something like that but worse...

Things will get better soon. Glad you did your rant, but 25º sounds pretty warm... I would have swung a club!!

Wait, putters last more than one round??? I have been doing this all wrong for the last 20 years. Now to be serious some do it to experiment and others do it because they can’t putt. I am in the latter group and own the putters to prove it.

Sickness? I’d say you have good taste in shirts! Who makes those Matt? I like both, but I love the bottom one.

Kind of long, but interesting article about the DP World (European) Tour and where it’s headed this year and beyond. https://www.golfdigest.com/story/europe-reimagined-dp-world-tour-revamped-ryder-cup-qualifying-system-in-2022

Please join me in wishing the hardest looper, @HardcoreLooper, the chronic slicer, @Kanoito and the brock who golfs, @golfingbrock a very Happy Birthday.Have a great day!

I've been doing a lot of at home practice putting after that lesson with Monte and really working on keeping the lower body quiet. When keeping the lower body quiet, my arc has actually increased from what it was before. What thing i have noticed, and it partly goes back to the comments about lengths of putters, if I use a shorter putter than my 31", then I am able to stand closer to the ball (more of eyes over the ball or at least less inside), then my hips actually stabilize themselves better, and the arc of my stroke is less drastic, but still has an arc.

I'm pondering a couple of different Bettinardi models lol. Queen B 10 and Queen B 11. Functionally they are the same putter (same weight, same offset, same neck, practically the same shape) just some minor difference in shape and aesthetics. I'm also a sucker for the hive Bettinardis, so that is not helping me in my indecisiveness. The new Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K are also calling my name, lol. Overall, do I need a new putter, no. Do I want a new putter, yes. Getting rid of most the other putters laying around the house, so need a gamer and a backup.

I don't really have a "backup set"; I have several options I can swap in and out of my bag. When I travel to Palm Springs in a few days, I will take the clubs I have in my bag that I last played. None of them are new; my Callaway driver is almost a year old; everything else is 3-20 years old. If my driver were damaged or clubs lost, I get to go shopping!!

Light rain and 34 degrees. I opted out.

I would make the 81 year old guy play from the longer tees!!!

I have one room in the house I could swing a club fully, 21x11 with ten foot ceilings. Unfortunately, the bed is in the way and I don't want to wrestle with that thing again. Getting it upstairs was not too fun. Anywhere else in the house I'm making a slow, deliberate backswing and usually stopping around transition. Even doing that I have to be careful. I have almost busted light fixtures and hit my wife's hanging plants.

Can't really judge clubs by how they look anymore. The new hollow body foam filled heads are now game improvement type clubs due to how they can move weight around.

I've got a couple of places in the house that I can swing a club. Occasionally, I get a little carried away. I've broken picture glass, dinged some walls, and knocked trim off a trunk so I advise you to be careful

Very interesting, thanks for sharing it all.

Wow close to 6' of snow!! I think I just eliminated that area from my retirement destination list. Are the California mountains getting that much snow pack this year as well? Hopefully so as it would help with the water situation out there. 20* this morning and no wind yet. We had 15 - 20 mph winds yesterday & along with the 28* temps it was not a day I wanted to be outside. I need to get motivated to do more drywall mudding today but for now drinking coffee and eating a couple donuts has won out.

I practiced bad golf it seems. pulled every iron 10 yards off line and pushed every 3 wood 20 yards off line. bad day at the office but it’s winter so hey ho.

Am I late to the party on mizzy? I have played the JPX 900s for the past 4 years... I just purchased 4-6 in the 225s and 7-G in the 223s. I also hit the T200s, but preferred mizzy. Anyone else do a double take at the lineup when the 225s considered the "easiest to hit" looked bladey?

I have the same battery swapping system from Landroid. Weed whacker, blower, robot, trimmer, power drill, etc... All use the same... But I guess without grass, there is no need

Yup, you will. You’ve got a good support system, you’ll be fine. It’s good to vent, clears your mind!!

I don't have video, but what I think the Stealth brings to the table is more consistent ball speed across the face. I also felt like it was "easier" to swing faster than many of the other drivers. It has top tier speed and is probably on the same playing field as Titleist, Callaway, and Cobra. Testing the various drivers my speed was around 150 and with the top tiers I was closer to 155-158.

It could be Titleist, Callaway, or Cobra.

I love how all of the article links will be in one source!!! This is amazing!! That being said, I'm most curious to try Stealth because of the face. They mentioned in one of the TXG videos that they are done making Titanium faces, so this is going to be a huge change to stay for them.

Pulled the trigger on the Evnroll Black Friday ER11v (all black custom version, too bad they didn't have a blacked-out grip to go with it) -- looks amazing in person. They made a mistake with the first build on some of them, so they replaced it and also sent along some hats, a divot tool, and ball markers to make up for it (although for me the extra couple weeks didn't matter - season doesn't start for a few more months): Also felt a bit nostalgic and picked up this gem off of Mullie -- just wish it came with the original headcover (came with a Ping fur cover instead):

Since she likes to drive the cart, I'll let her push. Actually, anytime she comes along I'll let her drive. I may be crazy, but I ain't stupid.

I think...maybe...I don't know. I think I got the cat in the toilet and it flushes now. I was too busy wanting to take photos of the cart.

Soooo, did you get the cat? How about the toilet handle? If I stopped to unbox the cart, I would have forgotten... well, maybe not the toilet.