Putter fitting experience

[doctorgriffo]

Just finished a putter fitting session - the first one I’ve had that wasn’t rolling a bunch of putts in a big box store - and it was truly enlightening. Using the SAM putt lab setup outside on the putting green with my current putter, the initial 5 putts confirmed what I had suspected about strengths and weaknesses - tempo was really good (my strength has always been speed  control and lag putting) and the stroke was very consistent in all other metrics with one concern highlighted: too much opening and closing of the face around impact. If everything else wasn’t perfect, then this added a lot of variation to my putting outcomes (which explains why I am so hit and miss from 6-10 feet). I delofted the putter slightly as well, but not by much and easily fixed by adding a little loft to the putter. The fitter then gave 2 options: try to address  this with a change of putter, which was option number 1, and if that didn’t work then adjust my mechanics. Basically, see if technology could fix it first, and if not then make a few tweaks to my putting action.

The first putter to try was a TaylorMade truss, which I quickly rejected because it looked too weird at address. If it doesn’t look right at address, and makes you really uncomfortable just standing over it, then there isn’t much point going any further. I then tried different shapes of Edel torque balanced putters, with zero offset, and these helped a little bit. We then switched from putter fitting to putting lesson, and adjusted my grip and address position. The combination of the two, and using a shorter putter, felt odd for a while but after rolling a dozen or so putts we got the analytics into the green category and the face rotation under control. It was truly amazing to switch back to my regular putter, an odyssey stroke lab double wide, and feel how hard it was to control the rotation compared to the Edel (simply by putting down a couple of alignment sticks and seeing the amount of rotation of the putter head).

Now I need to a) identify which of the Edel shapes I like the best and b) find a bunch of cash to afford one..... Anyone out these using an Edel torque balanced putter, and if so did you notice much difference between the mallet and blade shapes?  

 

[cnosil]

22 minutes ago, doctorgriffo said:

Now I need to a) identify which of the Edel shapes I like the best and b) find a bunch of cash to afford one..... Anyone out these using an Edel torque balanced putter, and if so did you notice much difference between the mallet and blade shapes?  

In the world of Edel fitting it isn't so much about which shape you like best,  but which shape you should use to fix your aim bias.  Watch some of the Edel videos on Youtube where David explains his fitting process and the influence of shape. 

[thomapa1]

I was recently fitted for an Edel putter.  A few words of wisdom.  

Their putting system places emphasis on aiming.  What I found most unique about their putter fitting is that they can give you a few different hosel configs to try during the fitting.  I wish other Mfgs could do this.  

Honestly, any putter fitting will help you.  I think you benefit most when you may have already defined what head shape works best for you - what preferences you have, if you have tried backweighting before, if you know what your current misses are. 

They are solid putters overall.  I am honestly very surprised at how much I like the round grip, it allows me to use my feel to aim vs using the grip structure as another alignment aid or detriment.  I already did my due diligence prior, so I knew that the mallet shape was best for me.  If I am honest, I think I would have liked the E-4 putter better due to the milled face vs pixel insert - but not available in lefty.  

I also found it interesting that I backweighted my old putter myself by dropping weight into the top of the shaft.  My miss was a pull right (I am a lefty).  The fitter explained that Edel puts the weight a bit lower in the shaft so it is more aligned to your hand position.  The weight being too high up could lead to pulls (which matched my misses).

In the end, my experience = my lag putting, long and mid range is the same/better as my old putter. 

I am making many more short putts mostly because I feel confident that I see the line, line up to my line and putt on my line - whereas I did not feel this way with my old putter. 

Real evidence = I looked at my # of putts with old putter and new.

Over 19 rounds I averaged 32.7 putts with old putter, only 1 round under 30 putts.

Over 6 rounds with new putter, average = 30.1 putts with 3 rounds under 30 putts and still getting used to it.

[thomapa1]

Also - the head alignment markings made a very big difference to my visual perception. 

Very easy when you get fit with Edel to test / customize / see what works for you what does not.  Again - wish other Mfgs could offer this.

 

And some pics to enjoy....

[BMart519]

7 hours ago, thomapa1 said:

 

Real evidence = I looked at my # of putts with old putter and new.

Over 19 rounds I averaged 32.7 putts with old putter, only 1 round under 30 putts.

Over 6 rounds with new putter, average = 30.1 putts with 3 rounds under 30 putts and still getting used to it.

What was your old putter and was it fitted? I love seeing actual numbers from folks and not just some feeling they have about better lags and tap-ins. 

[thomapa1]

Old putter was a Gauge Design GAA-8.

I bought it used in 2004 after spending about 5 years going thru various other head shapes, insert types, etc (White Hot, Cameron Anser, Bobby Grace, Ping Piper).  I settled on mallet, no insert, double bend shaft (limited choices with hosel design).  I used it for about 3 years.  DIY backweighting after trial and error.  Then got fitted with it where the fitter agreed that it was a good fit for me, but cut it down, added some lead tape to head and adjusted shaft bend a bit.  I really love the putter and in my mind I was a very good putter with it.  Last year I got frustrated after paying attention to my putting stats and mostly missing shorter putts / not feeling locked in with my aiming. 

The Edel is an easy transition based on all the previous effort I put in.  It is really not too different but improves the weak spots I identified.