GolfSpy MPR

Had my first tracked round of the year today, and Arccos was an unmitigated total dumpster fire. Started the round, for some reason, without engaging the phone's microphone, so it was not automatically picking up any shots. And then the manual putting entry was another level of garbage. Whether attempting to drag the hole location and the first putt location to their proper spots, or using the distance entry, I'm amazed that neither the hole location nor the first putt location will stay in their proper places, but constantly jump around. I had issue with this last summer (using a Samsung), but it was an order of magnitude worse using my Pixel today. I might actually break out an old iPhone 6 (that doesn't even have a SIM card) to see if that will work.

Yeah, I've got Arccos data for the past few years, but I do all my putting numbers manually on my phone during the round. I don't even have the Arccos sensor on my putter. If I want accurate data, GPS just isn't fine-grained enough for measuring a few feet.

Right now, how would L.A.B. generalize about the strengths and weaknesses of each of their headshapes? What kind of golfer tends to get on well with each of their options?

Without reinventing the wheel, here's a great place to start your research: Three threads on youth clubs in general: https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/56496-youth-club-recommendations/ https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/45844-kids-clubs/ https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/38924-youth-clubs/ And two threads on a couple of specific options: Dick's Cobra KING Jr: https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/32367-cobra-king-jr-set-review-a-caution/ PING ProdiG: https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/63327-ping-prodig-junior-clubs/

As an aside: when I post images of myself simultaneously using 4+ different analysis gadgets, I do so in part for others' amusement; it is over the top, for sure. But sometimes I get pushback that deserves an answer. The suggestion (and sometimes that's putting it mildly) is that all this data is an impediment to making a clear putting stroke. I disagree. Obviously, it could be. But I don't see what I'm doing here as any different from hitting a shot on a Trackman (or, in my case, a Mevo+). Those devices give you multiple dozens of data points. Without question, chasing all of those data points simultaneously is a recipe for paralysis. But suppose I'm in my garage, practicing partial wedges. Typically, I'm looking at two numbers: Carry Distance and Face to Target. Get a random number, hit the number, see if my face is square to target. Repeat. But if something is going awry, then I can look at the other numbers to see if I can figure out what's up. The existence of numbers isn't a distraction unless you let it be. For sure: it would be awesome to get wrist data, putter data, and ball data for one single measurement system, all on a single screen. But that is not something available to me. So I rig multiple measurement devices together, not because I'm chasing all the numbers at once, but because I want the numbers to be there if I need to dig into an issue.

A bit of a preview for the off-course testing/comparison. Here are a series of screenshots of my Blast data from a 50-putt session on ExPutt Saturday morning. The ExPutt was set for random distances from 5-30 feet, and these putts were rolled with my current Edel EAS 4.0 with Garsen Quad Tour grip: Here is my HackMotion summary of those same putts: And here is the ExPutt summary of the session: Some takeaways: Blast measures more than I have here, but these are the numbers I try to focus on. For me, the loft/lie change measurements are important: when I can keep those numbers very low, my putting is much more consistent. The face angle measurement always has an asterisk: I aim to the right of my target; Blast can't know where my real target is, so because I return my putter closed to my aim, it will think I've pulled everything. What I want from that number is consistency. I keep track of tempo, but even more, total putt time: when my putting stroke starts taking close to (or more than) a full second, I get steer-y with it. I like to keep that number down around .9. The HackMotion numbers for that session were pretty poor for my. I don't pay much attention to ulnar/radial on putting, but would love to see the flexion/extension within range much closer to 90% of the time. Still too new to the ExPutt to have firm expectations for what I want to see there. Clearly, I want those standard deviations numbers as small as possible, but I don't yet have a good benchmark for what is realistic.

Putters? More seriously: I tend to be used AAAA golf balls (not refurbs) in bulk; I order tees in bulk. I also buy shoes whenever I can snag a clearance pair in the $25 range; I have shoes that I likely won't start wearing for another couple of seasons, or until my sons grow into that size, whichever comes first.

A more serious question for my fellow ExPutters: talk to me about the face stickers. Right now, I'm probably getting a face read on about 70% of my putts. I am using the included stickers. My intent is to buy a bunch of stickers from Amazon so I never have to think about stickers again. I figure half-inch would work, though the included stickers are slightly bigger than that. Have you all found lighting tricks that help the ExPutt have a higher read percentage for face? Any suggestions for a sticker that's worked for you? Or have you found the stickers don't do much?

So I've received my ExPutt, and I'm very, very impressed. Like others have said in the thread, I love the ability to set random flat distances, imagine that distance in my mind, and start matching feel to distance. Very, very excited to use this on a daily basis and I have very high hopes of it having a massive effect on my putting performance on course this year. That said, I was on ExPutt's site tonight, trying to find a tutorial on using the analysis mode, when I found an endorsement of the product from our very own @cnosil! Though, I don't think he looks exactly the same as he does on the Forum Community Calls:

You're not wrong. In fact, in my present approach to putting, I actually perform my stroke almost visually blind to what's in front of my eyes. My mind (when I'm doing this right) is so preoccupied with a mental image of the hole that it is, for all practical purposes, all I "see." My best case scenario would be that, perhaps, I do a couple of practice strokes before stepping into the ball, rehearsing a version of the path I kinda want to have (and using the reminder line for that). And then I setup to the actual putt, and that little line is finished with its task

Since everyone else is having fun with mock-ups of custom alignments, I'm almost certain I'll be going with this: I don't particularly love the options with lines in the middle section, where the shaft attaches to the head. But as one with a strong tendency to take the putter back way outside the line and cut back across the ball, I really like the idea of the tiny alignment marker on the back of the putter, as a reminder line for my backstroke path. The two lines up front would be quite like my current alignment on my Edel.

If we actually meet this expectation, we should all get special forum badges with an apple and a set of dentures.

I'm definitely more emotional invested in the opposite field event (with Wesley) and the Champions Tour event (with Greg Chalmers) than I am the Heritage (and I say that as a fan of Scottie).

Very, very interested. Though probably not on my upcoming L.A.B.

This is a point that Mark Crossfield has made on a lot of videos: sometimes new clubs lead to golf improvement, not because of something inherent to club, but because when we buy something new, we most often spend more time using it.

Put in some practice this morning in what might be the best-equipped putter studio in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: my basement. Using the ExPutt to hit random-distance straight putts from 5-30 feet. Using the Blast sensor to measure tempo, loft/lie change, and stroke time. HackMotion monitoring my wrist stability. And FocusBand measuring my ability to forget all this stuff during my putt, quieting my mind to think only of the distance that I want to roll the ball. I've already rolled 100 putts this morning with my Edel. This is profoundly addicting. Worth noting: if I do use the ExPutt as much as I expect to (I'd like to do at least 50 putts per day), it may be difficult to separate the benefit of my daily practice from the benefit of the L.A.B. in terms of my on-course results. But I'll definitely be putting those two putters against each other in all the measurable ways available to me.

This thing is cool. PXL_20240419_231521252~2.mp4

Just got in today. Brought the ExPutt (and three excited children) up to my office at the church this afternoon. After a bit of work to do the setup, we got it up and running, and I'm really looking forward to using it for this test.

Just got my remote fitting reply: L.A.B. recommends a stock 69° lie angle for me, which doesn't totally shock me. Size-wise, I'm more or less the stock American male (likely lighter than average, but that's not a major factor in putter fitting).

Spent a chunk of the morning reviewing the forum reviews of the ExPutt. Quite interested to see how the software has changed in the four years since that test was done.

For course vlog content, the Bryan Bros are my guys. But here's the problem: if I'm in a course vlog video, that seems to entail that I'm playing golf while people are filming it for public consumption. And that doesn't seem like a good idea for me or for the viewing public. So I'm going for a video lesson with Mark Crossfield. I'll learn something, he'll edit it so that his audience learns things, and that's going to be a bigger win.

It appears that L.A.B. recently had a bit of a technology hiccup with their remote fitting system, not just for us testers. Several of us received emails asking for us to re-submit our fitting videos. No sweat: computers happen. In better news: Today is the day I'm receiving my ExPutt. Looking forward to setting it up, playing and learning about it, and deciding how best to use it to compare the L.A.B. to my Edel and Evnroll.

Interesting timing for us testers on this MGS blog article: https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/first-look/should-you-switch-to-a-counterbalanced-putter/ I know that, unless the fitter at L.A.B. actively disuades me, my intention right now is to go counterbalanced. The Edel I'm using is, I suspect, at the extreme of weighting. I do not have (unfortunately) have a swing weight scale, but just compare these numbers of two of my putters, both 34": Edel EAS 4.0, Garsen Quad Tour grip: about 585g, balance point at least a foot up from the putter head Stock Odyssey 2-Ball Ten, Stroke Lab, Odyssey oversized grip: about 540g, balance point about 7" from the putter head The Edel, compared to a lot of off-the-rack putters, feels like a sledgehammer. I don't know exactly the spec, but it has a large weight in the butt end of the shaft. For my part, I like it a lot. I have spent time using an Enroll Midlock ER11v, which I also have liked a great deal. But my hope is that, if I end up with a counterbalanced L.A.B. (at 37"), it will combine the best of both my Edel and the Evnroll Midlock.

Maybe? But possibly in a way that (at least now) I hope could be helpful. One of the things I've worked at the past couple of years is my brain state playing golf, especially when putting. Among my many golf gadgets is a device called a FocusBand; it is a strap you wrap around your head, and it's measuring brainwave frequency. Current research suggests that for a lot of athletic tasks, better performance typically coincides with low frequency brainwaves. For most of us, that means shutting down the noisy brain activity about technique, etc., when standing over a shot, especially a putt. What FocusBand recommends is (in part), looking up at the hole while holding in your mind a picture of your ball and putter at address, then looking down at your putter while holding the image of the hole location in your mind. This image-focus tends to get the brain into the right wavelengths. So all that to say: for my part, I've actually found it easier to hold the image of a putter in my mind when the putter is memorable. For example, the iconic 2-Ball is very easy to hold in mind. I'm actually hoping the DF3 works to my advantage in this regard.

Ooh. I'll definitely be interested in this. I'd go for either two or three lines on the leading edge to align the putt and one tiny line on the back flange to trigger my takeaway.