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Putter fitting


RyGolfer12

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Hey all, I’ve heard so many conflicting opinions on if putter fitting is the way to go or not.. I know my putting problems are mainly user error but I’m curious how much a fitting can help me. 

Taylormade SIM Driver 9 degree, 3w, Hybrid

Mizuno JPX 919 Hot Metal Pros 4-Gw 

Mizuno S-18 wedges 54, 60 

Odyessy 2 Ball Mallet 

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13 minutes ago, RyGolfer12 said:

Hey all, I’ve heard so many conflicting opinions on if putter fitting is the way to go or not.. I know my putting problems are mainly user error but I’m curious how much a fitting can help me. 

While most putting issues are user driven, an improper putter can actually be a part of the problem.  Maybe you're using a face balanced putter when a toe hang might be a better choice.  Maybe the putter is too long or too short for you to get a good address over the ball.  This is not to say that you can't putt well with just about any putter or that you could adapt to a less than perfect fit putter, but a fitting certainly won't hurt your game and it will more likely make things easier in the long run.

Driver: :callaway-small: Rogue ST Max (10.5* set at -1 and neutral) -- Mitsubishi Tensai Blue 55g R shaft

Fairway: :callaway-small: Rogue ST Max 3 wood (16.5*) and Heaven Wood (20*)-- Tensai Blue 55g R shaft

Hybrids: :callaway-small: Rogue ST Max 5H (23*)--Tensai Blue 55g R shaft

Irons:  :callaway-small: Apex CF19 6-9, PW, AW -- KBS Tour Graphite  TGI 70 shafts R +1/2 inch 3* upright

Wedges: Edison 53* and  57* KBS PGI 80 Graphite +1/2 inch 2* upright

Putter: L.A.B. DF 2.1 -- BGT Stability shaft

Ball:  Maxfli TourX...Golf Bag: :ping-small: Pioneer...Shoes: :footjoy-small: Hyperflex... Glove: Red Rooster Feather

 

My Photography can be seen at Smugmug

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16 minutes ago, RyGolfer12 said:

Hey all, I’ve heard so many conflicting opinions on if putter fitting is the way to go or not.. I know my putting problems are mainly user error but I’m curious how much a fitting can help me. 

Don't know your problems but I believe fittings can be beneficial for putting.  Lets break it down:

Face Angle:  This is the largest factor in determining the putts direction.  Putter features such as offset, CoG location, and weight impact how fast the face rotates through the stroke.  If you miss right (and are right handed),  you probably want a putter that will rotate faster to get the face more square at impact. 

Putter Path:  Our setup and how we swing the putter influences the path the putter travels along.  Almost no one has a perfectly square putting path; most of us have a bias to the left or to the right.   While the face controls the majority of the direction,  we do need to look at path  as we might need to have the putter a bit open or closed at impact to account for the path bias.  

Loft:  The ball sits down in a slight depression on the green and we need to actually launch the ball a little to get it moving most efficiently.  Too little loft and you are driving the ball into the green which will influence distance control.  to much loft and your ball will bounce excessively; again impacting distance control.   Ball position also influences loft as well; forward in the stance may require less loft while back may require more.  

Lie Angle:  while there are exceptions (Steve Striker is a great example) the goal is to have the putter soled correctly.   It could influence the face angle at impact.   

It is always possible to fit your stroke to the putter you picked up; but your stroke may not perform consistently under pressure.   A fitting will help find the putter that works best with how you tend to swing the putter.    

As you have seen, generally two schools of thought.....don't need a fitting for anything (clubs, putters, etc) and off the rack is fine or fitting will help find the equipment that will perform best over the long term.  

Driver:  :ping-small: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven
Fairway: :titelist-small: TS3 15*  w/Project X Hzardous Smoke
Hybrids:  :titelist-small: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype
                :titelist-small: 915H  24*  w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype        
Irons:      :honma:TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite
Wedge:  :titleist-small: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite
Putter:   :taylormade-small:TM-180

Testing:   SPGC_logo.jpg

Backups:  :odyssey-small: Milled Collection RSX 2, :seemore-small: mFGP2, :cameron-small: Futura 5W

Member:  MGS Hitsquad since 2017697979773_DSCN2368(Custom).JPG.a1a25f5e430d9eebae93c5d652cbd4b9.JPG

 

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I have found that a putter fitting is the best bank for the buck fitting you can get.  

If you get a decent fitting, it takes variables out of the equation. 

With that said, I think you have to go in with some ideas of your preferences / what your misses - tendencies are.

Head weight, backweighting, length. head shape, alignment aid placement, loft, hosel config....lots of variables. 

I really benefitted from an Edel fitting, your mileage may vary.

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I  had my first putter fitting at Club Champion in Rochester, New York in June.   Overall, I thought it was a very good experience.  I was playing with a Brainstorm Happy Putter mallet which allows easy changes to face angle, offset, lie, weight and even right or left handed.  My expectation was to see why I always have been attracted to certain putters and if they really were right for my swing.  My thought was it's probably better to find something that can complement my putting stroke than rebuilding a putter stroke to the putter.  

I was somewhat surprised that my putting stroke had a significant rotation to it.  I had always thought I was more of a straight back and through.  As a result, the mallet design was better suited to my stroke.   That validated why I tended to always migrate to mallet-type designs.  My flatter lie proved to be right on, but the loft appeared to be way off.  The combination of the putter's standard loft and my swing yielded over way too much overall predicted loft.  Given everything, my overall consistency was an inconsistent 67%.

At this point I was hoping to pull out my wrench and make adjustments to my existing putter.  Unfortunately that didn't happen.  My fitter dove into new putters until it appeared that the Evnroll ER10 the best fit.  Back  on the SAM puttlab, a tweak to the putter they had in stock (deloft it a few degrees)  and I got my measurements.  My putter face was now 0 degrees open at impact, my predicted launch angle was down to the desired area, my swing dynamic curved for back  and forward swing were on top of one another and overall consistency rose to over 88%.  

I ended up getting the Evnroll putter and it arrived about 2-3 weeks later.  To Club Champion's credit when I feed back to them that I didn't get a chance to optimize my existing Brainstorm putter, they offered me a complementary session to do so.  Unfortunately, living in Key West, it's 160 miles to the closest facility.  When I got my new putter, I would say it was about a two plus weeks of not my best putting performance while I got used to a heavier putter with basically 0 degrees of loft.  After that short engagement period and visiting friends with faster greens, I was able to putt much better.  So, the Evnroll putter is staying in the bag.

So my putter fitting overall was a very good experience.  The time (about 1 hour) and expense was well worth it.   I answered some of my questions about why I liked certain putters and what was actually going on in my stroke.  Going into a putter fitting, I'd have some goals you want to accomplish and make sure those are communicated to the fitter upfront so both of you don't waste too much time.  Given roughly 30-40% of your strokes are putts, gaining insight into your stroke and equipment is well worth it. 

Ping G430 Max driver 10.5 degrees with an Alta Quick45 gram senior shaft
Callaway Epic 3 wood, Project X Evenflow Green 45 gram senior shaft  
Callaway GBB Epic Heavenwood, with a Mitsubishi Diamana 50 gram senior shaft
Ping G 20.5 degree 7 wood, with a stock Alta 65 gram senior shaft
Ping G 26 degree hybrid, stock Alta 65 gram senior shaft
Callaway Paradym X irons, 7-AW with Aldila Ascent Blue 50 graphite shafts
Edison wedges:  50, 55 and 60 degree, KBS Tour Graphite A flex shafts
Putters:  L.A.B. Direct Force 2.1 putter, 34.5" long, 67 degrees lie
 
2022 MGS Tester:  Shot Scope Pro XL+ with H4  
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Putter fittings are key if you want to lower your score. You use your putter 18 times per round or 30 strokes (give or take a few) so having it dialed in to your preferences is a big deal. Swingweight, length, neck design, head shape, sight lines, and MOI are all contributing factors in the right putter for you. Without a proper fitting, you are sacrificing one or all of these. 
 

I worked in a repair shop and saw all kinds of Frankenstein projects people would try to improve their putting because they bought the putter off the rack or on eBay without being properly fit. 
 

As far as types of fittings go, Quintic and SAM are probably the best, so I would look for places or fitters that offer that service. 

“I should of yelled Two!”

 

Driver: PXG 0811x Gen 4 / Tour AD TP6s

3W: PXG 0341x Gen 1 / Tour AD TP6s

3HY: :taylormade-small: GAPR / KBS Stiff

4-PW: :taylormade-small: P770 / Nippon Pro Modus 3 120 Stiff + 1/2”

Wedges: :taylormade-small: MG3 / Nippon Pro Modus 3 120 Stiff + 1/2” 50-09, 54-11, 60-10

Putter: :cobra-small: Grandsport 35

Ball: Pro V1

Bag: Sun Mountain C-130

Cart: Clicgear 4.0

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Was putting terribly so paid for a proper fitting. Overall I found it very helpful. Showed where my misses were and what I needed to work on stroke wise. More importantly, the fitting suggested the putter I currently have is good for me so I know I can be confident in it now. 

Driver: Titleist TSi2 10 / Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue Raw 65 S

3 Wood: Titleist TSi3 15 / Project X RDX Smoke Black 70 6.0

Hybrid: Titleist TSi3 18 / Fujikura Atmos HB Tour Spec Red 7 S

4 Iron: Titleist U500 / Graphite Design Tour AD DI 85 S

5 - 9 Irons: Mizuno 921 Tour / Nippon Modus 3 120 S

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 46F, 50F, 54S & 58M / Nippon Modus Wedge 115

Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport Select (2016) / BGT Stability Tour

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV

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I fitted myself using the PING putter app- it’s been going well. I has the PGA SS adjust the lie angle according to the app recommendations. I bought a face balanced putter based on the data and I used the measurements in the Odyssey static online fitter. I play the Odyssey Two Ball Ten tour lined. When I bought it at Golf Galaxy- the fitter confirmed all of my work.

Good luck 

Driver: Callaway Paradym; Hzrdus Silver 50 Gram

3 Wood: Ping 410; "Otto Phlex" Project X Evenflow Riptide 

7 Wood: Callaway Epic Max 

3, 5-7 Irons: Callaway Apex 19

8-AW Irons: Callaway Apex Pro 19

Wedges: Callaway MD4 54, Callaway MD4 58 X Grind 

Putter: Evnroll ER2v; Midlock and Standard 34 inch with Gravity Gip

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On 7/30/2021 at 12:12 PM, CarlH said:

While most putting issues are user driven, an improper putter can actually be a part of the problem.  Maybe you're using a face balanced putter when a toe hang might be a better choice.  Maybe the putter is too long or too short for you to get a good address over the ball.  This is not to say that you can't putt well with just about any putter or that you could adapt to a less than perfect fit putter, but a fitting certainly won't hurt your game and it will more likely make things easier in the long run.

Concur with your statement. I did a putter fitting and realized that I putter better with face balanced and longer length putter. I had a toe hang and it wasn’t working for me. 

 

PXG Gen 4 0811X 7.5 degree Evenflow CB 50g

PXG Gen 4 0841X 3 Wood Evenflow CB 60g

PXG Gen 4 0817XF Hybrid 22 degree Evenflow 80g

Wilson D9 Forged 5-GW

Cleveland RTX ZIPCORE 52

Cleveland RTX ZIPCORE 56

Kirkland Signature KS1 Putter

Maxfli Tour Gloss White Golf Balls

Maxfli Tour X Gloss White Golf Balls

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have had putter fittings on my mind with the various putter tests going on so I have been looking at local places to go get one done.   When I was on the GG site I noticed they were doing free putter fittings this weekend;  had some time so I headed over to see what they would recommend. You can see a video about their fitting here: https://www.golfgalaxy.com/s/putter-fitting    While I did see some of data;  the big drawback is that you don't get a copy of the systems results nor could I really dig into the data since I wasn't given the tablet.

The device was attached to my gamer and I rolled some 8 foot putts.  The data indicated that I had minimal arc and that my face angle was slightly closed but pretty much always less than .75*.   The nice thing was that I was able to roll putts from different distances to see if stroke length had any impact.   The system provides a score for the putts and it consistently scored my     

I think tried a couple of putters (ping, TM, Odyssey) and we found that I putted best with blade putters that were < 350 grams.   

Overall probably not the greatest fitting,  but it did give me some data about my stroke.   I personally wouldn't pay for this fitting but it was fun.  

 

Driver:  :ping-small: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven
Fairway: :titelist-small: TS3 15*  w/Project X Hzardous Smoke
Hybrids:  :titelist-small: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype
                :titelist-small: 915H  24*  w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype        
Irons:      :honma:TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite
Wedge:  :titleist-small: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite
Putter:   :taylormade-small:TM-180

Testing:   SPGC_logo.jpg

Backups:  :odyssey-small: Milled Collection RSX 2, :seemore-small: mFGP2, :cameron-small: Futura 5W

Member:  MGS Hitsquad since 2017697979773_DSCN2368(Custom).JPG.a1a25f5e430d9eebae93c5d652cbd4b9.JPG

 

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I got fit years ago (2004), and it made a massive difference (>4 strokes per round). Now admittedly I was replacing what I learned was an exceptionally poor fit, but I didn't know that beforehand, and I was still the best putter in my league despite a bad fit. I have not changed putters since, though I've had the lie adjusted a few times, as it tends to creep more upright. (The fact that I occasionally bang it in frustration has nothing to do with that. 😉) Lately I've been lacking confidence in my alignment, and I'm considering a new fitting to get something that looks different. I take regular lessons, and my instructor looked at my putting early on, and told me, "Don't let anybody ever change a damn thing!" Still, I have a lesson with him next Wednesday, and I'm going to ask him what he thinks. 

Moose, my cat, is Siamese

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Let me start by saying putting is a strength of my game.  However my gamer of 7 years, Ping Nome TR, got dinged up pretty bad right in the sweet spot and the grooves got damaged, the feel just wasn’t the same.  So I started experimenting with similar putters, bought a Ping  slight arc, but it just wasn’t the same, decided it was better to go get fit than buy and try a bunch of different putters.  I went to Club Champion and got fit on SAM Lab, it was a great experience, the Ping I brought was really good, my overall was 84% and my consistency was 90%.  The fitter thought it was going to be hard to find something better but based on my numbers thought I could use a putter with a little more toe flow.  We tried a few different options and I did find something better, EVNROLL ER5.  My overall number with the EVNROLL 88% and my Consistency was 93%.  

So yes I bought a new putter and I have had my best year putting ever, I think part of that is due to the fact I KNOW this putter fits ME!!  The numbers prove it and I think it was worth the money to get fitted.

If anyone wants to see the reports I can post them

Ping G425 LST 10.5* - Rogue White 130

Ping G425 LST 14.5 - Rogue White 130

TaylorMade SIM 19* Tensei Pro White

Srixon ZX5 4&5 iron Modus 120

Srixon ZX7 6-AW Modus 120

Vokey SM8 54* 60* Modus 125 wedge

EvnRoll ER5B

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