When Do You Switch Putters?

[GolfSpy AFG]

So let me bare my soul for a moment..I've been positive strokes gained in putting for the bulk of the season (so far) but over the last 3-4 rounds my distance/speed control has been atrocious.  I game an Odyssey White Hot OG Double Wide; it's face balanced, which I prefer...I'm more of a straight-back/straight-thru kind of putter. I was fitted for it. However, waiting in the wings is an Enroll ER7 which is also face balanced and I have had bent & tweaked to fit my specs (more upright and more loft), and every time I pick it up I hole everything on my practice green.

So, when is time to put the back up in play?  I'm VERY tempted to promote the Evnroll,  but  another part of me says "this too shall pass" and to dance with the girl I brought...the Odyssey.

Thoughts anyone?  When do you dance with the girl you brought versus promoting the girl you're a little bit interested in?  

[RickyBobby_PR]

I swear whenever I feel like I want a change, or just for the heck of it

[Nolan220]

@GetoffmylawnThis is one club I barely never change I only had two putters in the last 15 years so I might not be best at answering this but once in a while I’ll go back to my blade and I usually like it but when I go back to the mallet I see why I like it so maybe just play a round with the new putter and see what happens worse case you can always go back

[revkev]

Very infrequently - I’ve had 3 over the last 15 years and I only have the other 2 because I was selected as a tester for MGS. I’ve at my teacher’s advice gone back to the EVNRoll ER5 which was ne that I tested 7 years ago or so. I find it much better from off the green than the L.A.B. putter and where I play, that’s a factor. 

[Jonesie]

I have two putters. Every time I stop in the super store near me, I walk the putter section and try a handful looking for lightning in a bottle but, a good friend once told me to “Date” my Driver, but “Marry” my putter. Meaning find one and never change it since we hit it most often.  There is some wisdom in that folksie advice, however occasionally my putting stroke gets a little out of calibration and I that’s when I bring out my second putter. My day to day putter is a heavy mallet. My fixer putter is a center shaft mallet that’s pretty light. It makes me really concentrate on the basics. I use it for a round or two and am pretty happy/relieved to go back to my original in a day or two. 

[cnosil]

I like to explore the field and give everything a try     I probably change putters too often and am trying to rein myself into using just a single putter.   Then I look at my stats and think I picked the wrong one.     People change drivers, irons, and other clubs all the so putters should be the same. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

I have been a pretty consistent putter and although I often have others that make it in for a round or two I seemingly always go back to the old reliable Stroke Lab 7. Maybe someday I will find one that is a better fit or whatever, however I don't make permanent changes very often in terms of new gamer putter. 

[Randall Robbins]

I've only had two in the last 15+ years as well.  My Bobby Jones is backed up by a See More FGP.  Will pull the FGP out once in a while just to get a different look, but the Bobby Jones is so good to me that it's hard to ever give it up - besides, with the hickory shaft and weight, it's really a cool looking and good feeling putter.

[Tallwood88]

I play around with some lead tape or install a new grip before buying a new putter. Often, I've found adding or removing a piece of tape has really helped me get a different feel for the putter head. One that I thought was too heavy, I drilled a couple of strategically placed shallow holes. I'm a tinkerer, obviously. I've had 4 putters over the past 20 years and won 1 of them in a raffle.

[Bevineau]

Never, same putter for the last 25 years. STX with the exchangeable rubberized face. One weighted for fast greens and one heavier for slow greens. I don't believe they make STX putters anymore. I learned to play on domed concrete like greens. 

[gregh729]

Too often. I am always trying to find the magic one.

I was talking to some friends last week and realized I need to pick a putter and stick with it to become consistent 

[Shapotomous]

I have two that I bounce between.  After a couple months it seems one goes a little stale and I break out the other.  I am sure it is all me and not the putter.  I probably concentrate a little more on my stroke and line with the different feel and different look when i switch and that is what explains the improvement when I change over. 

[Ronan Armstrong]

I got fit for an Edel about 6 years ago and it's been in my bag about 3/4 of that time. However, I occasionally tinker with a Tei3 Santa Fe (Just a hair too light), a Truss TM 2 which stayed in for about 6 months and did pretty well - which was a surprise to me. I've got a Sik Flo with Stability shaft which saw a few months action around Christmas.

I kept coming back to the Edel - knowing it was fitted gave me that extra bit of confidence. But, I missed the forgiveness of the Truss and Sik so I took the plunge and bought an Edel EAS 4, 2nd hand - I had the spec sheet from my original fitting so altered everything to match the other Edel as much as possible and the other putters have been put in the back of the cupboard. I'm confident this will be in my bag for a long stretch.

[dback]

On 4/22/2023 at 10:12 PM, Getoffmylawn said:

So let me bare my soul for a moment..I've been positive strokes gained in putting for the bulk of the season (so far) but over the last 3-4 rounds my distance/speed control has been atrocious.  I game an Odyssey White Hot OG Double Wide; it's face balanced, which I prefer...I'm more of a straight-back/straight-thru kind of putter. I was fitted for it. However, waiting in the wings is an Enroll ER7 which is also face balanced and I have had bent & tweaked to fit my specs (more upright and more loft), and every time I pick it up I hole everything on my practice green.

So, when is time to put the back up in play?  I'm VERY tempted to promote the Evnroll,  but  another part of me says "this too shall pass" and to dance with the girl I brought...the Odyssey.

Thoughts anyone?  When do you dance with the girl you brought versus promoting the girl you're a little bit interested in?  

It’s all about what has you feeling confident! When I’ve made litter changes it’s usually to a different style, mallet to blade, etc. Probably just a weird mental thing but I’ve found I usually putt above average for me after making a switch. More focused or maybe it loosens me up?

No harm in switching up the gamer for a round or two and seeing how it plays.

[Placasse61]

On 4/22/2023 at 10:12 PM, Getoffmylawn said:

So let me bare my soul for a moment..I've been positive strokes gained in putting for the bulk of the season (so far) but over the last 3-4 rounds my distance/speed control has been atrocious.  I game an Odyssey White Hot OG Double Wide; it's face balanced, which I prefer...I'm more of a straight-back/straight-thru kind of putter. I was fitted for it. However, waiting in the wings is an Enroll ER7 which is also face balanced and I have had bent & tweaked to fit my specs (more upright and more loft), and every time I pick it up I hole everything on my practice green.

So, when is time to put the back up in play?  I'm VERY tempted to promote the Evnroll,  but  another part of me says "this too shall pass" and to dance with the girl I brought...the Odyssey.

Thoughts anyone?  When do you dance with the girl you brought versus promoting the girl you're a little bit interested in?  

It isn't like your not dancing with the girl you brought if you dance a song or two with the new interst. Would probably reinforce a deeper interest in your real dance partner.

[JeffK]

I've been using the same Scotty Cameron Santa Fe for the past 20+ years. Have never changed it. If I'm putting poorly it the six inches between my ears that's the problem, not my putter. Actually putting pretty good at the moment. I have been thinking about getting another putter as I play on two courses with different speed greens, so maybe using a different putter for each course might help.

[Old Joe]

Switch way too often. Almost daily test my rotation of 6 putters to see which is working. Whether that carrie’s onto course is a whole different issue. I also change stances, grips, techniques, sometimes mid-round. BTW, i average 27 putts per round. Just always feel like i can do better. 

[Julius]

On 4/23/2023 at 4:12 AM, Getoffmylawn said:

So let me bare my soul for a moment..I've been positive strokes gained in putting for the bulk of the season (so far) but over the last 3-4 rounds my distance/speed control has been atrocious.  I game an Odyssey White Hot OG Double Wide; it's face balanced, which I prefer...I'm more of a straight-back/straight-thru kind of putter. I was fitted for it. However, waiting in the wings is an Enroll ER7 which is also face balanced and I have had bent & tweaked to fit my specs (more upright and more loft), and every time I pick it up I hole everything on my practice green.

So, when is time to put the back up in play?  I'm VERY tempted to promote the Evnroll,  but  another part of me says "this too shall pass" and to dance with the girl I brought...the Odyssey.

Thoughts anyone?  When do you dance with the girl you brought versus promoting the girl you're a little bit interested in?  

I changed from Odyssey to EvnRoll and haven't looked back. Even just this weekend  I was playing around with the Odyssey at home on my putting green, but when I pick up the EvnRoll, which has much more heft and girth, I feel more comfortable and therefore confident with it.  I have multiple putters - PING, Odyssey, Bettinardi, EvnRoll, See More - I still go back to the EvnRoll as it just ticks the boxes for me and like the results.  When you start to not feel comfortable and question the stick, probably time swap out for a while. 

[funkyjudge]

5 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I have been a pretty consistent putter and although I often have others that make it in for a round or two I seemingly always go back to the old reliable Stroke Lab 7. Maybe someday I will find one that is a better fit or whatever, however I don't make permanent changes very often in terms of new gamer putter. 

My story is fairly similar.  For the last 6 or 7 years, it has been my first-generation EVNROLL ER2 putter that I got fitted for by "The Man" himself (Guerin Rife, founder of EVNROLL) the first year that he exhibited these putters at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.  I have had other putters in my bag briefly during that time period, but I always revert back to that EVNROLL putter.  However, that is about to change, as I broke down and got fitted by Michael Brown at Makefield Putters last week, and will have a brand-new Makefield Model V-S Putter in a couple of days.  Mine will have a double-bend shaft, 68* lie angle, 1.5* of loft, a Sweet Roll 120-gram grip with some tape buildup under my lower hand, and it's 34" long.  For reference, only the 34" length is the same as my EVNROLL ER2, which has a 71* lie angle, 4* of loft and a Gravity Grip.

[ScramblinMan]

I try to stay loyal to one putter (especially if it’s behaving consistently). A poor round of putting, will not discourage me to switch. I feel as though the putter is the most “sensitive “ club in the bag and I don’t want to jeopardize any ill fated retaliation (the yips) for a bad round! I’ve been using an odyssey OG white hot seven for past 2years and feel confident with all length putts…

[KM144]

So I’m probably echoing some of what’s been said already but the tl;dr is - sometimes you just need to change what you’re looking down at to get the confidence back  

My suggestion is grab 2-3 putters that look drastically different, go roll them on a putting mat or at the closest putting green and see if that unlocks anything.   

I’m a headcase when it comes to putting - I’ve kept all the putters I’ve used since I was 16 so sometimes I’ll go roll them after a few bad putting performances. I usually end up sticking with my current gamer but that exercise helps free me up mentally. 

[Kwoodfield]

Honestly, I used to switch all the time and I used the excuse because my putting is terrible. But I have been putting with an odyssey o works for almost two years without taking it out of my bag and my putting is getting so much more consistent. I guess it helps if you look at the same thing every day vs something different every few days.

[FmrCaddie13]

You already own the Evnroll so this isn't a $ question. You got fitted and bought it for a reason. In practice you prefer it. So it's all mental now. Why wouldn't you play it at this point? What is holding you back? Subconsciously you may be putting worse with the Odyssey to give yourself a reason to switch. Or you have lost confidencd in it knowing the Evnroll seems like an even better choice for you. Stop torturing yourself and game the Evnroll already. It's not like you have to throw the other putter away.

[Rheustess]

I don't switch putters often because I feel it is the one club you must develop a personal relationship. I do like to try as many putters as possible always looking for one that has the perfect feel and best fits my eye. 

[Dooby]

51 minutes ago, ronanarmstrong said:

I got fit for an Edel about 6 years ago and it's been in my bag about 3/4 of that time. However, I occasionally tinker with a Tei3 Santa Fe (Just a hair too light), a Truss TM 2 which stayed in for about 6 months and did pretty well - which was a surprise to me. I've got a Sik Flo with Stability shaft which saw a few months action around Christmas.

I kept coming back to the Edel - knowing it was fitted gave me that extra bit of confidence. But, I missed the forgiveness of the Truss and Sik so I took the plunge and bought an Edel EAS 4, 2nd hand - I had the spec sheet from my original fitting so altered everything to match the other Edel as much as possible and the other putters have been put in the back of the cupboard. I'm confident this will be in my bag for a long stretch.

I got fitted for an Edel earlier this year. The EAS 1.0. But the fitter didn’t even have me try other Edel models and I’ve been wondering this whole time if the 4.0 or 5.0 would’ve been better for me. Even asked Edel if there’s any sort of swap policy since my Edel is barely used but they basically said good luck. 

[Frickenhacker]

Never, It's not the putter. My putting issues are self inflicted!

[Slight shank]

Not often. I have 2 that I rotate. One of them gets played 80 percent of the time but it does get a time out now and then 

[ZackS]

My first putter was just a hand me down blade I played for a bit. Then a 2 ball because I sucked at alignment. That I played a few years then got a Scotty Cameron mallet as a gift that lasted 10 years. After I realized how dependent I was on the line on the ball and matching to the big line on my mallet. To the point I would have to mark and align the ball on anything basically over 2 feet. I made a drastic switch to a Oddesey #2 to force myself to learn to aim and kept it another 10 years. Don’t get me wrong I still use the line for longer putts as I am more confident knowing it’s correct but don’t have to mark and realign short putts. I recently switched to a Odessey double wide as I wanted to go back to face balanced with a little more forgiveness. So I rarely switch. 

Edited April 24, 2023 by ZackS

[coupwcu]

I have a few putters but my gamer is my gamer. Evnroll ER2.2. Mountains would have to move for that to change. That being said, I do take some of the others out on the course from time to time just for the fun of it.

[wbn]

I switch after 3 putts start creeping in too often. Sometimes I take a hybrid out of the bag and carry 2 putters. If the front nine is going bad, I switch on the back nine.