Alf. S

Without manual pacing and writing on card is anyone using any gear to capture length of putts holed?

Out on the course today with the Floki for the 1st time in a practise round. I was a bit apprehensive since my more recent putters have been centre weighted and this is strongly toe-weighted But it was a pretty good start 31 putts in 4 over par round. Had a good 12 foot birdie, 1 x 3 putt which was more poor judgement by me and some good par savers from 6 feet and in. Missed 1 putt inside 6 feet with a push but I was tightening up after being level par thru 12. Seemed to be getting a good smooth roll on the ball and was getting pretty good pace and feel by the end of the round. Having putted with milled brass and steel putters and putters with metal inserts this seems to have a unique feel and sound. My first requirement of a putter is that I feel confident over putts 6 feet and in and after playing with my setup in the first few holes I was feeling pretty comfortable. The alignment line is wider than on other putters and the contrast with the black body seems to suit my eye. Hopefully 2 more bounce games with it this week before decision time, will I use it for the weekend competition?

Watching the Scottish Open and caught sight of my first Pro using the Heppler. Eddie Pepperel in contention with what looks like the Floki. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Got the tail end of storm Alex in Scotland. Only played 13 holes in Milngavie came off cold, wet and p!ssed off. Chilling with a beer and dark rum and coke. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Another go with the putter today working on alignment after the video analysis. Little more over the ball and feels a bit better. Still using my gamer for my round today and shot 79, 32 putts 5 singles, 12 doubles and one 3 putt on the last. Nice 35 footer for birdie on 15. Plan is to take it out on my practise rounds on Monday and Tuesday next week and give it a good test drive on the greens. Coming to a crucial part of the competition season for me so a bit reluctant to move to the Heppler for the comps but we'll see after early next week. Initial impression is the roll and pace are really good, it has a real good feel straight out the box.

Doing a review like this gets you doing things you wouldn't normally do. I did a slow motion video of my stroke behind the ball in the lounge , thought I was back and thru stroke. Looks to me like it I'm aligning slightly right and thru is going left.

Look what just arrived? But the weather has not complied, rain all day. Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

It is funny how your perspective changes! I hit 82 on Saturday in the competition, course changes caught me out. Greens changed up by about 2 on the stint, 36 putts and chipping was tough. Come off really disappointed. A year ago I would have been happy but I’m hitting the ball so well if I don’t break 80 I’m on a downer. Bounce game today and a 78 with 2 sloppy doubles. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Just did a breakdown of my putting for the last month to give me a baseline. I tend to putt better on slower greens the 2 x 36 putts were on quicker greens, 28 is also a bit of a distortion since I chipped in twice. I did look at using the Arccos data but for me the putting numbers are so inaccurate there was no point.

For me my initial set up will be in my lounge. Pace I would guess about 9 or 10. Using a perfect putt ball retriever and a DIY laser for alignment. I use this to try an promote the right swing arc. Been looking at the putter in the local Pro Shop, had a few swings but no hits with it yet. I will probably have a play with the length. Currently use 35.5” shaft, tried shorter which gave me better line but always had problem with pace on longer putts. Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

7th Nov 2020 Heppler Floki Putter – Official MGS Forum Review by Alf.S Intro I’m a 59 year old retiree that plays as much golf as my wife will let me, this usually amounts to at least 4 rounds a week. I have been playing social golf for nearly 50 years but for the last 20 years I have played competitively, progressing from a handicap of 22 to currently playing off 5.4. My background is microelectronics engineering so I have an analytical mind and will analyse post round where I dropped shots, it also means I have a very sceptical view of marketing claims. I am an above average putter at just over 30 putts per round. I regularly play on greens that are 9-10 on the stint and tend to struggle on the faster greens. I’m a spot putter with a smooth tempo, straight back and through stroke and usually will die the ball at the hole. My occasional miss is a pull left, usually due to incorrect setup and my swing tending to go out to in, promoting the miss. Confidence is a funny thing for me I’m most confident at 8 feet and out especially with a slow right to left breaking putt, my make level is probably 30-40% but my expectations are low. As I get closer, the more I concentrate and the harder it gets, and the frustration level rises when I miss. I’ve included a couple of videos below. I do not know if this is an age thing, but I have always preferred a firmer putter head to the newer softer compounds. My junior years were spent with a brass Dunlop junior bullseye and then on to Anser clones for the next 25 years. In the early noughties tried the Odyssey 2 ball but just could not get the pace right and moved on to a TM Rossa Monza which still comes out occasionally. My putter history also includes Odyssey No 7 MetalX, Scotty Squareback No 1, TM SpiderX. My current putter is a MacGregor MACTEC X 002, why? I went looking for a Taylor Made Truss TM1 at a local retailer tried this and really liked it. It is heel weighted, with my miss being a pull left I think it helps straighten the head at impact. The putter was 34” but I’ve added 1” and put on a Superstroke GT 2.0 grip. Below you can see my current collection Spider X, Floki, MACTEC and Rossa Monza. What I am I looking for in a putter? Well like everyone I am looking for the magic wand that when you stand over every putt you have the confidence that you will produce a good strike and hole or get close. Ideally the putter visually should stand out and look good in the bag along with the rest of the set. First Impressions When the post was published on tester application, I went through the “PING WEBFIT” on the ping.com website. It came back with the choice of either the Floki, Ketsch or the Tomcat 14. Visually I like just one target line which makes the Floki the logical choice. The selection the app came back with did not surprise me in terms of look and spec, except for one thing, they were recommending a strong arc putter. Most of my recent putter history has been with centre weighted mallets. I also went for the PP61 grip this was the closest to the Superstroke GT2.0 which is the grip on my current Gamer. Below is the output from “PING WEBFIT” Although I have considered Ping clubs in the past, I have never used them in anger. My impression of Ping is that historically they are one of the traditional club makers and not innovators, this maybe more to do with the strong marketing of their competitors. With the Strong Arc spec. I was sceptical that the putter would suit me and was even considering passing up the chance as a reviewer. When the putter arrived my first impression was that with the bronze and black body and black shaft reminded me of the bronze Taylor Made Spider X (see below) and that the colouring was similar to the Cleveland TFI range. The first hits I had were on my carpet into a One Putt ball returner, the feel and the ball roll felt excellent although I was not convinced on the setup. In my setup I align the club on the putting line then re-grip. The Floki does not remain square and will twist open. One of the areas that Ping are pushing is the “firmer feel, pleasing sound”, comparing this to steel milled putters and my current Gamer I would say it has a softer but not unpleasant feel. The sound is a unique click off the face which again suits my ear. The other area the marketing guys are pushing is high MOI, meaning you should get less face twist with off centre hits that should result in better distance and accuracy. The only way I could test this was trying to induce mishits with longer putts and my experience was that it seemed very consistent even from fifty feet. Grading Looks (9 out of 10 points) The head shape is not one of the classic Ping heads but feels like an evolution from the Ketsch and is not dissimilar to the Odyssey Bird of Prey. The black T shaped steel face is complimented by the bronze aluminium “wings” to give an aesthetically pleasing look to the half shaft offset head. This is complemented by the black steel shaft and unique grip. The logo and graphics are prominent on the base and back of the club but are unobtrusive when in use and fit with the overall look of the club. At address the club is very easy on the eye with the single high visible white on black alignment aid complimented by the black T-piece which helps the eyes to centre the ball to the club. The one slight negative for me is the ridged T-piece on the top of the club which detracts a little from the look. Sound & Feel (10 out of 10 points[) As mentioned above I have played with a variety of putters from milled to metal inserts and the feel of the Floki is pretty unique. It gives me the feedback I would expect from a milled putter but without the harshness of the dull thud I associate with them. The sound is more a positive soft click. Off centre hits still have a good feel and sound, this would fit in with the high MOI quoted in the marketing spiel. For me I cannot fault the sound and feel of the club and it adds to the confidence level when you are standing over the putt. Basic Characteristics (18 out of 20 points) When I first started to use the putter in the inside setup I really couldn’t get a good alignment with my normal setup and was tending to miss everything to the left. It was easy for me to put this down to changing to a strong arc putter and put doubts in my head. Working with a laser to help I changed the setup and became happy with this before going onto the practise green. On the practise green I was really impressed with the pace and roll off the head. I tried putts in 5 feet increments and even as far as 50 feet I was getting good pace control, making 2 putt make percentages high. You can hear some slight difference in sound, particularly in toe hits, but this doesn’t seem to massively impact the pace or the line. Alignment and accuracy were good, apart from the nuance caused by my re-gripping, and the club had a stable path throughout the swing. I’m not a player that would normally putt out of the rough or fringe but one thing I did notice was that when I practised this I tended to get the ball bouncing at the strike which comes from my technique where I do tend to strike downwards at impact. On-Course Performance (30 out of 30 points[AS6] ) On course I went through a bit of a roller coaster journey with the putter, to liking it, to binning it for a week to loving it. On the first round out, 31 putts was a little distorted by a chip in but I felt as I moved through the round my confidence was growing. Although 34 for the second round was moving in the wrong direction I was still feeling confident but felt that I was gripping at the bottom of the grip. For the third round I shortened the grip to 34.5” and this didn’t work at all, 36 putts and didn’t hole anything on the last 12 holes longer than 2 feet, confidence completely went. This resulted in a 1 week hiatus with going back to my Gamer which didn’t necessarily work out either. Going back to basics I took the Floki back to 35.5” and on to the carpet with the laser, thought I would try it a 36” and it seemed to give me a more stable stroke. If you look at the last 4 rounds my putting has improved considerably, and confidence is high. The guys I play with are now commenting how comfortable I look on the green. I think this does emphasise the importance of getting fitted for your putter, just by changing the length from 34.5 to 36” my confidence has soared. I still think the loft and lie could be tweaked but I’m really happy with the performance at the moment. Miscellaneous (8 out of 10 points[) From the order to receiving the putter, discounting the 1st weekend it took 9 days for the putter to arrive and was packaged securely. I would say in COVID times this is pretty good performance. My new driver from fitting to delivery took 6 weeks from a competitor. The headcover is a very neutral colour scheme, black and white with a touch of bronze to match the putter colours It will match most players bags and other club covers if that is your thing. For me it fits well with both my bag/headcover colour schemes. Grey and green Callaway Epic Org 14 bag and my Srixon Z565 red and black carry bag. What makes the Ping putters different than most of the competition is the adjustability on length, the shaft is marked in ¼ inch increments from 32 to 36 inches and is easily adjustable with the supplied starred screwdriver. There is also an instruction sheet to help the less mechanically minded. The downside of the adjustability is that if you use sensors that screw into the butt of the club such as Arccos of Shot Scope they will not fit and DIY will be required. I did have concerns about the putter head getting scratched especially the black painted steel face but after 6 weeks I have seen no issues with this. One thing I did notice when taking photos is that the head does tend to trap dirt and sand in the gaps between the black steel and bronze body. The aesthetic colour scheme of the putter is very much in Vogue at the moment and maybe like the Taylormade Bubble range will fall out of favour but I can easily see a market moving forward for the style and performance you get from the Floki. The look of the putter does not stand out enough for the casual golfer to notice but a few discerning players have commented on the putter and liking the look and the feel. My son uses an Odyssey 2 ball and he thinks the Floki is the best feeling putter he has ever used, praise indeed from a highly sceptical 29 year old. Play it or Trade it? (20 out of 20 points) In the Introduction I said I wanted a putter to give me confidence that I will produce a good strike and hole or get close on every putt. This putter may not be the magic wand but it definitely has the potential to give me the foundation of sub 30 putt rounds. Based on this, it is a very easy question for me to answer and that is play it. Conclusion I am a non-Ping user, marketing sceptic so these words surprise me but here goes. On first impressions the Heppler Floki is just another mallet but once you scratch the surface you may find your new Gamer. With its black shaft and black and bronze head it has a similar look to the bronze Spider X but has the feel and sound of a milled putter. The sound is a unique click and the feedback off the head gives you a solid feel on the strike. With the large white alignment line against the black T shaped head, gives you easy alignment to the ball and putting line. This combined with the high MOI head means that even off centre strikes gives you good pace control on even the longest putts. The only negatives I found were more cosmetic around the modelling of the T shaped head and a nuance with my technique causing the club to twist when I regrip at address. I would recommend anyone looking for a new putter to give this a look. Final Score: (95 out of 100 points)

I've had Scottys, Odysseys and recently bought a TM Spider X (Bronze one). I desperately want the Spider to work for me but I have kept reverting back to an old TM Rossa Monza, I just feel that I get so much better pace with it and with the metal face the sound is better for me. Last couple of weeks was looking at the TM Truss TM2 which I tried but it is an ugly looking thing so I was looking to try the TM1 when I stumbled across a McGregor MACTEC X 002, it is heel weighted and at the moment is working beautifully, my putting stats are looking great, bridie count has gone from zero to 3 to 4 a round. All for 20% of the price of the Truss

This game is really getting up my nose! Played a bounce game with 3 mates on Thursday shot a scratch 74, bit wayward with my driver but got a few breaks and some good shots. Competition on Saturday drive was again all over the place but not so lucky with breaks, 3 lost balls and a horrendous 87. And handicap goes up by 0.1 Spent 1 hour on range then went out today, driving back in top gear to shoot 77 with a couple of sloppy 3 putts. Can't seem to score when it counts, h/c on the rise and competitions running out to get to 5.4 before I'm 60!!!!

1st post on this thread but then I think this was a pretty good 3w. 13th hole at West Lothian SI 4, 416 yard par 4 and playing into a strong 25mph wind. I pulled my drive a little left and ended up in the semi rough with 215 yds to the front, I fade the ball and with a 3w this can mean 20-30 yds, being up the left the normal shot to the right of the green is blocked by trees. I'm having an OK round and thoughts are that even if I fade the shot it will drop short and right where there is not a lot of trouble, and hopefully a chip and a putt. I middle the shot right down the tree line, pitches 3 yds on rolls out to 12 feet.

Stilling trying to get my handicap down to 5. Friday non-handicap bounce game 73 net 66 putting really well, 4 good birdies. Saturday handicap counter 77 net 70 for 0.2 cut. Never holed a putt had 4 good birdie opportunity from 5 to 6 feet. Back to 6.9.

Going back 10 years ago the visitor fees in our area would be in the region of £25 to £35, our club membership at the time was £650. For some people to justifying the membership at the club they do the basic maths of 650/30 = 22 rounds a years and you break even. Last year on retiring I visited a lot of local courses using GN and the most I paid was £18 with the cheapest £12. Our own course had hot deals for £12, doing the same calculation you are now at 54 rounds which is much harder to justify and makes membership look like poor value for money. Clubs like ours are 85% funded by members, our visitor numbers (not revenue) are up due to the new trend of nomad golfing but membership numbers have dropped, this is not all GN but I see it as one of the issues, they are setting the visitor fees. The one thing that GN are good at is marketing and if you are a new practise facility then you have a different revenue model so it may make sense.

It may work for you but for clubs in my area it has devalued membership and helped in the decline in numbers.

My view of GN in Scotland is on the wane. The flip side of their offering BRS is being phased out by Scottish clubs and Scottish Golf Union is actively promoting their own system to replace it. Why? IMO because it is driving the market in the wrong direction. Example my home club use to charge £25 to £30 a round for a visitor, doing simple maths, if I play 20 times a year that justified my membership. GN signed up a majority of clubs in the area and were offering Hot Deals the average green fee dropped to £12-15, consequently membership has dropped. OK we may be getting more visitors but you need 45 visitors at £15 to compensate. I think by replacing Golf Now Scottish Golf see that they can take back control of the market and push it to grow the game. Just to be clear I'm talking about the non- Marque clubs in Scotland. The marque clubs I assume are having a tough time at the moment due to Covid but due to cost the average Scottish golfer rarely play these courses. Also the marque clubs never use GN!

In the UK, for regular golfers electric trolleys are pretty much the norm. I myself given the option would use one even when golfing abroad. They take most cart and tour bags comfortably but I have one that is specifically made for electric trolleys. Buggies are my least likely choice and will only use when the course and weather dictate I need to use one. I.e hilly with big distances between green and tee, high temperatures, etc. I have a couple of carry bags that I use during the summer mainly when I’m out on my own or pop out for a quick 9 holes. Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

In the UK, for regular golfers electric trolleys are pretty much the norm. I myself given the option would use one even when golfing abroad. They take most cart and tour bags comfortably but I have one that is specifically made for electric trolleys. Buggies are my least likely choice and will only use when the course and weather dictate I need to use one. I.e hilly with big distances between green and tee, high temperatures, etc. I have a couple of carry bags that I use during the summer mainly when I’m out on my own or pop out for a quick 9 holes. Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

Poor soul, we're hitting a hot spell in Scotland at the moment 40'F. I'm lucky if I can play in less than 4 layers; UA polo, T-shirt, vest top and FJ windstopper. I can always add my waterproof jacket if it gets colder

Its Winter so non counters at the moment but we play a League between our fourball over the shortened Winter course. Best 4 Stableford rounds throughout the winter gets the coveted CLAG trophy below. I played on Thursday and came in with a respectable 5 over for 36 (off 75% handicap so 6 strokes) Stableford points, also went out yesterday just to pla y a few holes at the end I started to get a little pain in my knee and back. Today I turned up and groan on the 1st tee bending to tee the ball as pain shoots up my back. I'm thinking this is going to go well. After 3 bogeys in 4 holes, I said to one of my playing partners That I think I will go in at the 6th when we are pretty close to the club house. I then birdied 5, 6 and think what the hell I'll play the next couple and see how I feel. Birdied 8 and 9 to be one under at the turn. I continued on, nursing my back a little cost me a few bogeys on the back 9 but finished strong with 2 great iron shots on 16 and 18 to finish with level par 64 scratch and 42 points with 6 birdies. Pretty chuffed.

After a disappointing season on the final weekend I hit some form. Hit a scratch 75 net 66 and hopefully win the monthly medal then played at Castle Stuart yesterday in great autumn conditions. I'd played there before but in 30mph winds and overcast conditions. Yesterday was stunning. For those who have read my post on course management, I started well lipping out my par putt on 1 and birdie on 2, feeling good on 3 until I pulled my approach left. The ball is sitting in a small gorse bush root, there is no way you can get the club onto the back of the ball and I try the Seve shot 4 shots later I'm on the green and the mist has descended. Apart from that I was pretty steady. Some pictures below and one of Elgin Cathedral just to show I don't always play golf

What a great gift So they send a selection of Malts out how regular? They have 2 bars/clubs in Edinburgh (Leith). The company I use to work for have a corporate membership their and I use to host customers their. Expense stretched to a bottle of Malt for the customer. For those who don't know. The company buys casks from the distilleries and bottle the malts themselves. They can't call the whisky by its brand name because the Whisky Society bottled it and the alcohol level will not be the same as the brand. In revkev's picture you can see the cask number and a creative name for the malt, I suspect he also has got a description of each i.e something like "Speyside malt, matured in bourbon casks with a strong peaty taste".This usually gives a good indication of the distiller. Most of the malts tend to be higher strength as much as 110 proof 55%/vol. One of my friends also has membership, during the Xmas holidays a group of us would go there, catch a train then taxi to the club to get their before midday. You get the malt of the day to start, then each of the group gets a round with a malt of their choice. Once you have all bought a round we head home with the barman's choice while you're waiting for the taxi back to get the train. The problems arises due to group size (usually 10 to 12 of us) and the strength and measure sizes. For the 1st couple we go through the nose and taste test trying to guess the malt but after about 3 this becomes a bit pointless as the senses get numb. After about 6 or 7 it starts to become a war of attrition and at the end the task is trying to get the group home in one piece as we struggle back for the train at about 6pm.

So when I subjectively think of my home course West Lothian I say 16th , 427 yard par 4 up hill and normally into the prevailing wind. I'm normally hitting 3w or 3h as my 2nd shot and find it a tough par. But then I looked at my Arccos stats and I play the 13th a lot worse. who'd had thought.