Indoor Putter Fitting?

[LeftyRM7]

Today I went to Club Champion(Charlotte, NC) for a putter fitting. I was unsure about getting fitted inside in a small area, much like the setup at a Golf Galaxy or Dicks, but the SAM Putt lab is what sold me on the idea. It didn’t hurt that it was 33% off during their winter promotion so I figured $67 was well worth the information I’d get.

 

In my 2 1/2 years in the game I’ve had one putter. An Odyssey White Hot Pro #1 that I'm quite fond of. I got it on clearance after spending some time rolling balls around at Golf Galaxy, something about it just felt right. I love my putter but I was ready to make a change if i had good reason to believe there was a better option for me.

 

Bruce Raffe was my fitter and he was great, highly recommended. I was actually surprised to find that a lot of the feelings I had were correct. Turns out all I needed was a length, loft and lie adjustment. He also added some weight to the butt of the shaft. I have a very straight backstroke and a slight arc stroke so my blade was close but it was too long and the lie was off. I also needed some loft with my natural forward press to get better roll. I noticed a difference as soon as he made the changes and the putt lab agreed. The biggest thing I got was better roll and I kept the face square longer. Sounds great to me.

 

Moral of the story, i feel like it was worth the money($118 total after the counter-balance weight and a new grip) to learn about my stroke and get my putter tweaked. I can’t wait to get out on the course to see some real results. Even though I still believe that a real putting green is best, i would highly recommend this type of fitting. If the putt lab had suggested a different type of putter, I wouldn’t buy one until I tried it on a real green. But in my case, this was enough to get me rolling the ball better and hopefully making more putts!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AlanMP]

Hey thanks for posting this. I was just about to ask about good putting fitters in the Charlotte, NC or Columbia, SC area. Sounds like you had a good experience there though. 

[RI_Redneck]

Considering half of the game is played with the putter for most of us, it only makes sense that it should be one of the FIRST clubs you get fitted for! Odd how so many seem to forget about it.

BT

[cnosil]

7 hours ago, RI_Redneck said:

Considering half of the game is played with the putter for most of us, it only makes sense that it should be one of the FIRST clubs you get fitted for! Odd how so many seem to forget about it.

BT

Some people will fit for every club in the bag and say that the putter is about looks and feel.   This approach works for lots of players since they don't want to think about anything mechanical and that getting fit would ruin their process.  I personally am a big proponent of getting fit for putters and understanding the how of my stroke.  Goal of fitting is to help you pick a putter that helps you accomplish what you need with the stroke.   I know people don't like indoor fittings, but everything you can do fitting wise can be done indoors.  

[pozzit]

Great write-up. Thanks for sharing your experience. I have had my hesitations about indoor fittings but the amount of data these systems can tell you is so much more then just rolling a few putts on a real green.

Using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[Live Free Golf MA]

CC Needham Massachusetts 

I had an amazing experience here as well. SAM Putt Lab is a great tool, I wouldnt trust anyone fitting with naked eye on an outdoor green. IMO a putter fitting is way more about numbers than what someone sees on a putting green. 

CC in MA was a great clean spot, they had a great set up for full swing & putter fittings.  They also offered basically every club repair/upgrade option you could think of.  Andie Savel was my fitter, she was very knowledgeable and didn't push anything on me that i didn't feel comfortable with. She gave me all the answers to any question i asked and responded fast via email after my fitting as well.