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Center Shafted Putters


ole gray

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For you who game a center shafted putter what are your pros & cons of owning one?   I'm assuming a center shafted putter is the Mother of all face balanced putters?   Which one do you game and why?  

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Hey OG.

Center shafted putters are actually very unpopular for a reason - they are the most unforgiving. Ian Fraser from TXG, one of the top fitting studios in the world, says that he doesn't even carry center shafted putters because they are prone to twisting two ways rather than one and thus lead to more inconsistencies than any other putters on the market. 

 

Here is a video of a putter fitting, and the fitter goes into explaining why he stays away from center shafted putters (starts at 30:19 of the video)

 

He actually calls center shafted putters "disaster zone" and TXG, one of the top fitting studios IN THE WORLD, doesn't even stock center shafted putters for fittings

https://youtu.be/XZdz81lXcwU

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I game a center shafted putter on occasion. It is a Pinseeker brand. I think I may be a house brand for Worldwide Golf. Anyway it was $40 new and I couldn’t miss with it at the store. Brought it home and couldn’t miss on the carpet. On the course it performs like every other putter I own. It does have some toe hang believe it or not. Not as much as my number 9 putters but about half as much.

For me I have found I really need to be on top of the ball to get the best results fro it. That doesn’t feel natural at all so I shy away from it more than I use it. I will say when we have a family putting contest at home this is the putter I use because when I get in a rhythm with it on straight putts on slow carpet it cannot be beat.


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4 hours ago, jlukes said:

Hey OG.

Center shafted putters are actually very unpopular for a reason - they are the most unforgiving. Ian Fraser from TXG, one of the top fitting studios in the world, says that he doesn't even carry center shafted putters because they are prone to twisting two ways rather than one and thus lead to more inconsistencies than any other putters on the market. 

 

Here is a video of a putter fitting, and the fitter goes into explaining why he stays away from center shafted putters (starts at 30:19 of the video)

 

He actually calls center shafted putters "disaster zone" and TXG, one of the top fitting studios IN THE WORLD, doesn't even stock center shafted putters for fittings

https://youtu.be/XZdz81lXcwU

Great info Joe and thanks!

Ping G430 Max Driver 10.5 Degree
Titleist TSR1 4, 5, & 6 Hybrids 
Titleist T350 Irons 7 - W48 
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CBX ZipCore  52 56 & 60 Degree Wedges

LAB Mezz Max Broomstick Putter / TPT Shaft  (Platinum @ 45/78)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

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CS putters aren't all bad, or else you wouldn't see tour validation. I think you need a particular stroke and setup to utilize a center stroke putter effectively. The first time I used a SeeMore, I was 8 for 8 inside 15ft on a bent green course (I've played 99% of my rounds on bermuda). It was unreal. I also had some poor putting rounds with the SeeMore and thus it has a new home somewhere in the Midwest. 

From my personal experience, if you can consistently hit the putt on the sweet spot with little to no forward press, then a center shaft can work in your favor. That's a big 'if'. It's when your stroke gets a little out of whack and the putter head starts to rotate on you that it becomes a hindrance. 

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CS putters aren't all bad, or else you wouldn't see tour validation. 


I think we often tie “tour validation” to what is best far too often. players are often paid to play clubs, pros practice almost all day everyday and as a result adapt to their equipment, and finally they often change equipment at the drop of a hat just like us amateurs. There are pros and cons to every club design and unless you understand why a player is playing a particular club it is simply a nice to know.

As for center shafted putters, what I have learned is that you an get the pros with other styles and avoid the negatives that have already been pointed out in this thread.

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I think we often tie “tour validation” to what is best far too often. players are often paid to play clubs, pros practice almost all day everyday and as a result adapt to their equipment, and finally they often change equipment at the drop of a hat just like us amateurs. There are pros and cons to every club design and unless you understand why a player is playing a particular club it is simply a nice to know.

As for center shafted putters, what I have learned is that you an get the pros with other styles and avoid the negatives that have already been pointed out in this thread.


While I agree with tour validation carrying too much weight when the general public makes a decision on a particular club, those playing a center shafted putter are paid to play the brand, not the model. Adam Scott is paid by Scotty but he could play any model he wants. Instead, he dabbles with center shafted. Russell Knox is a free agent with the putter and he goes through various brands of CS flat sticks. Ryan Moore has played a CS. Same with any of the broom stick putters like Vijay.

I equate CS putters to one length irons... They work for a small group of golfers.


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  • 2 weeks later...

I tried the slant necks, the double bends, straight shafts and everything in between and I'm going to try one of those center shafted putters!   If my buddy DawgDaddy went to CS , then I ain't scared.  Might not work however I was born to walk on the wild side 💣  

  putters-2017-o-works-black-2m-cs-ss____1.png?sfrm=png&sw=500

 

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Two interesting articles on center shafted putters which were of interest to me:

https://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/features/golfs-biggest-questions-answered/should-i-use-a-centre-shafted-putter/

 

https://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/features/golfs-biggest-questions-answered/should-i-use-a-centre-shafted-putter/


I told my wife that I have a center shaft putter on the way and she could use my Bettinardi Queen B.  She said no thanks....  I LOVE my center shafted putter.   I forgot she has gamed one for years and is an excellent putter.

Ping G430 Max Driver 10.5 Degree
Titleist TSR1 4, 5, & 6 Hybrids 
Titleist T350 Irons 7 - W48 
Cleveland
CBX ZipCore  52 56 & 60 Degree Wedges

LAB Mezz Max Broomstick Putter / TPT Shaft  (Platinum @ 45/78)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

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Sending the center shafted putter back Monday.....        It's (CS)not happening for me and the Two Ball Putter is a nice addition to my bag.    I had to try it 👍

Ping G430 Max Driver 10.5 Degree
Titleist TSR1 4, 5, & 6 Hybrids 
Titleist T350 Irons 7 - W48 
Cleveland
CBX ZipCore  52 56 & 60 Degree Wedges

LAB Mezz Max Broomstick Putter / TPT Shaft  (Platinum @ 45/78)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

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Two Ball Odyssey O Works  with the Fatso 5.0 will grace the bag for unforeseen future. 

Ping G430 Max Driver 10.5 Degree
Titleist TSR1 4, 5, & 6 Hybrids 
Titleist T350 Irons 7 - W48 
Cleveland
CBX ZipCore  52 56 & 60 Degree Wedges

LAB Mezz Max Broomstick Putter / TPT Shaft  (Platinum @ 45/78)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

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One of the most stable putters on the planet is a center shafted putter, the L.A.B Golf putters. Both the mallet and the new blade are lie angle balanced. The brand is formerly directed force putters. Adam Scott used the mallet at The Masters.  They’re incredibly stable and the only putter out there that squares itself.

 

im a big centershaft guy. My gamer right now when not using my LAB is a Scotty Buttonback Newport I had converted to true center shafted (most are back from center and have a little toe hang. Mine is dead center and perfectly face balanced, as is the square back I had customized). I’ve got a bunch of different ones in my collection. 

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One of the most stable putters on the planet is a center shafted putter, the L.A.B Golf putters. Both the mallet and the new blade are lie angle balanced. The brand is formerly directed force putters. Adam Scott used the mallet at The Masters.  They’re incredibly stable and the only putter out there that squares itself. 


It is an Interesting putter. I would say you have be fitted or the putter won’t swing correctly. I tried some different ones and struggled with short putts. Hard to get used to the look of the shaft; I don’t forward press so the look was really odd and caused me to constantly tweak my setup which resulted in my stubbing the putter in various spots. I found one that fit me a bit better and I was able to get the putter to swing correctly.

I would be interested in it a more detailed test and see if I could adapt but $425 is a little steep for an experiment especially when resale value is so poor.

Heard some reports that they don’t generally perform very well. Depending on your mindset you could probably adapt your swing to the putter and do okay with it, but isn’t a guaranteed improvement.

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All I have in the bag these days. I toyed with them on and off for a few years and last season they gave me the best numbers on the SAM putt lab for my stroke. Currently have a Stroke Lab V line in the bag and a Scotty Global Limited 5MBS as its backup if the Odyssey doesn’t behave.


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  • 3 months later...

i wanted to put my 2 cents since i didn't see much love for the cs based putters.

putting is all individual we all know that, with a club that's responsible for half of your strokes  if u want to be a par player u can't escape putting 36 putts and lower to achieve that ,

i have the x tour spider center shaft and it helped me taking my putting from 36 to 29is per round and i kept stats for months between  a bunch of different putters with l neck twist neck double bend etc , seems like for my cs is the answer since im very low almost table top style of putter.

surprisingly not to long ago i tried the marxman o works with s neck ( full on arcing stroke type putter ) and i hit it as magnificent as i am the tour spider..

next ill game it for 7 games and compare the stats .

i think knowing ur putting style and finding the right putter is a lot more simple then people think it and i really am against the whole "go to the shop and just pick one up that u like and sits well with ur eyes " i mean that really not a way to approach it now is it?

start with putting stroke arcing or not, then pick putters that are fit for that style of putting and pick lets say 4 of them, at the store take a bunch of 8 footers and just compare the 4 diff putters.

take the 2 best ones and just game them on the course and pick stats. 

i like to go for 7 rounds with a putter and collect data such as how many 3 putts i had and average per game , and then do it all over with another putter. this is great for building confidence.. now all i have to do is hit the driver and the apache and there u have it ( easier said then done we all know that )

as long as ur average is 1.8 -1.9 a hole tho u can't ask for much more really  so there u have it.

 

Edited by @diamondguy808
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  • 2 weeks later...

Ian now seems to recommend the Directed Force putter which by design is center shafted. The results seemed pretty good but man... so ugly.

Is it so good simply because lie angle balance? And are all center shafted putters lie angle balanced? If so... it would seem like it simply comes down to MOI because the DF putter does twist quite a bit on miss hits, but the ball still travels very close to target line.

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It’s difficult to imagine that the average (and even the better golfer) could repeat their stroke often enough to strike the ball in the true center of the face.

One slight strike off center and the torque and rotation of the head will have an effect on roll.

I think the closest thing to a CS putter that would work is what SeeMore has done for two decades.


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  • 4 weeks later...
On 8/26/2019 at 8:45 AM, bens197 said:

It’s difficult to imagine that the average (and even the better golfer) could repeat their stroke often enough to strike the ball in the true center of the face.

One slight strike off center and the torque and rotation of the head will have an effect on roll.

I think the closest thing to a CS putter that would work is what SeeMore has done for two decades.


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But the torque force will be very small because the distance from the middle of a center-shafted putter is very small, right?

I'm really curious of the physics behind TXG Ian's comments. In a simplistic way, heel-shafted face balanced putters are mimicking center-shafted because the weighting is designed to be balanced around the center of the face. If you turn the grip of either putter 2* open, I THINK the toe of each putter will move the same amount because both are rotating around the center of the putter.

Having said that, I know that physics isn't simple and there well may be other factors that make a heel-shafted face balanced putter behave differently. And I'm interested in understanding why it would behave differently than a center-shafted face balanced putter.

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  • 2 weeks later...

When playing with long clubs, you need to remember to do a slow and even swing so that the club does all the work for you. This is necessary in order not to create an additional range of the ball, In this article - https://golfwithasmile.com/putters/top-rated-center-shafted-putters-review/  you can read about different clubs for different types of players, where they will explain in detail which club is best for you.

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