Putter Fitting at Club Champion

[ZackS]

I went to my first ever putter fitting today at Club Champion and wanted to share my experience. Things started by me telling the fitter what my main goal of the the fitting being finding a putter I can aim correctly and a little about my history. He then took my current putter and measured the loft/lie/length. We then setup the SAM Lab sensor, calibrated it and hit 7 putts. The results were not anything surprising to me. I had good overall consistency. I was aiming 1.7 degrees closed, take the club back on an arc and come back through from the inside with the face open. The SAM Lab software did suggest I need 1 degree less loft and that I use a face balance to 30 degree toe hang. So stroke wise my current putter was not far off. I think since I had mentioned aiming being my main concern and we had discussed the Edel fitting system and aiming we started there. With the fact I had mentioned I like the fang style putters and according to Edel is pretty neutral for aim we got the EAS 4.0 with a no offset shaft and 1 top and 2 bottom lines. The putter was a little too upright so we went flatter. When hitting putts I was making them but on the left side of the hole. We tried a single line on top and I started missing on the right side of the hole. He also made some wight adjustments during this after watching my stroke that improved the feel. At this point we also tried a few Lab and Evnroll options all of which I was regularly hitting the left edge of the hole with. Also tried a Bettenardi putter which I was aim good but I was not a fan of the head heavy feel as felt it would lag behind when taking the head back and in transition to the through stroke unless I gripped it tighter than I prefer to. We then went back to the the Edel with 2 top line, which I immediately was not a fan of as my eye still wants to look at a line and had to pick one of which neither is behind the ball. I was also missing on the right side with this setup as well. We then tried a single bottom line and I immediately started hitting the center of the hole. After a few rounds of that we put the SAM Lab sensor on, calibrated it and hit 7 more putts of which I kept hitting the center of the hole. 

As you can see from the pictures I went from aiming 1.7 degrees closed to .7 degrees open. Not only was the aim better but now my face at impact matches exactly the face at setup. Also the loft and lie were now on point. The through stroke was also a little more down the line instead of inside out as I feel I could let the putter naturally release now. I think because of this is why my rotational consistency improved as well. After hitting a few more rounds of putts and continuing to hit the center of the hole we did another round with SAM Lab and the results were virtually identical. Since I was hitting the center of the hole I thinking that the .7 degrees open might just be the calibration and not actually be open but I am not stressed as what matters is I am consistently hitting the center of the hole. Since they didn't have another putter fit right after my I stayed hitting putts for a while and from a few different spots on the putting green and continued to hit the center of the hole over and over. My fitter and a iron fit right after me and was the only one in that day so he still had to right everything up for the order as apparently with all the option it is a bunch for the Edel putter orders so I will get all the exact specs later. But I know that is was 34inches with a 68 degree lie with the standard round grip. It had a 25G weight in the head and he added shaft weights above and below the hands. 

To sum everything up it was a good experience and got what I was looking for. For the first time I feel like I can aim my putter where I want and I am very excited to the get the putter. Now for the hard part of waiting weeks for it to come in 

Edited August 20, 2023 by ZackS

[GolfSpy_APH]

Thanks for the write up and glad you found something that will work for you! 

I know the wait till be killer, but the good thing is that you can putt all year round so even if it's snowing there will be some enjoyment in practicing putts!

[Todd K.]

Great post.  I was thinking about going to a putter fitting at club champion or a local independent fitter versus trying putters at PGA superstore.   If he level of detail in the process is interesting to me.  In the past, I have just picked up a putter off the rack or have bought a used/demo putter.   This season, I finally had an experienced fitter help me with a new iron set.   I want to do the same with putter and driver/FW/hybrids soon. 

[TG8]

I did a full bag fitting at my nearest club champion a couple years ago.  It was a positive experience.  I will say the putter fitting was super short, maybe ten putts.. 
but the guy doing it made up for it by giving me a ten little loft lesson(was hitting up on it).  So we are lucky to have a great club champion in our area(stl, missouri). The fitter even gave my buddy watching a newish pair of golf shoes that he didnt like! 

[mbrodeur86]

I had a putter fitting last year at golf Town (I'm in Atlantic Canada so only choice) and to me it has been the single biggest upgrade I've ever done in my bag. I highly recommend anyone looking to cut some strokes off their scores to get it done. For me we ended up fitting me in a second hand Ping Heppeler Ketsch at 35" and he lowered the loft as I tend to play on faster greens. It brought my handicap down from a 5.3 to a 3.9. I'm glad you had such a positive experience. It will b worth it 

[ZackS]

All my specs yesterday when they sent me the order summary. Edel EAS 4.0, 34 inches, no shaft offset, standard round grip, single bottom line, 25G head weight, 50G shaft weight at bottom of the grip and 30G shaft weight at the top of the grip. I loved the weighting system they have. Felt more like swinging a weight in my hands then swinging a weight at the end of a stick which allowed me to grip it looser not having to try and control the head. 

[K8golfer]

I also got fit at Club Champion. I loved the data from the SAM putt lab. I too was put into an EDEL although a blade with no markings. I am trying to love it and waiting for it to love me back. Now that I know the putter isn't at fault, I am experimenting with grips, ball positioning and most of all tempo. You can google an old SAM putt lab result from Tiger Woods back "in the day". 

[BillyEnforcee]

On 8/21/2023 at 9:35 AM, TG8 said:

I did a full bag fitting at my nearest club champion a couple years ago.  It was a positive experience.  I will say the putter fitting was super short, maybe ten putts.. 
but the guy doing it made up for it by giving me a ten little loft lesson(was hitting up on it).  So we are lucky to have a great club champion in our area(stl, missouri). The fitter even gave my buddy watching a newish pair of golf shoes that he didnt like! 

I too had a full bag fitting there and I felt the putter fitting was a touch short. I admittedly was there for Woods and Irons and the cost of the fitting only made sense to book a full bag. The data from the SAM putt lab was very cool however my swing with the sensor on seemed wierd. I wish he gave me some "practice stokes" before going full test mode. But this was also after pounding about 180 balls so I think I was a worn out. In the end it was a great experience I was the only appointment that day so I spent about 5.5 hours in what should have been 4 hours.

[alfriday101]

I did a putter fitting at club Champion on August 7th.  The results were eye opening.  

 

I went in expecting to get the LAB Mez1 Max based on trying the putter a few weeks earlier at the PGA Super Store and Second Swing.  I hit 10 putts with my putter.  My set up was good and my old putter length was good.  My face angle was "good" according to the computer at .1 degree open.  We quickly determined that my old putter was too heavy.  The surprise was that the data said I really needed 30 to 40 degrees of toe hang and a higher loft.  I was skeptical as I have played mostly face balanced putters for years.  

 

The fitter pulled out a couple of different putters with more toe hang and higher loft.  A bit of tweaking and boom, I found a putter that worked. I could feel the putter toe swing through when putting in the shop, but I didn't think it would show up on the course when I wasn't paying close attention to the feel of the stroke on the course.  The extra loft really helped the ball to roll better.  I ended up with the Odyssey White Hot Versa One--about as far away from a Mez1 Max as you can get.  

(An aside:  One of my golfing buddies did a fitting a few days later.  He went from a Scotty Cameron to a Mez1 Max, long putter.  He's still waiting on delivery)

 

My new putter showed up last Monday.  I have played a few rounds with it now.  It only took about 9 holes to figure out ball position and aim.  It's almost as if I am confident in hitting my line for the first time in years.  The roll will take a bit longer to adjust to. Pure roll tends to roll out more, but it holds the line better on our suboptimal greens.  

I'm excited about putting for the first time in years. I was a streaky putter.  I could have really good stretches, but then revert back to below average.  My base level with the new putter is already much higher than with the old.    

Sometimes it is the arrow.  I highly recommend getting a putter fitting.  I wish I had done it years ago.   

[JWK1969]

Wow...thanks to all who have shared their various experiences!  I have been looking at getting a putter fitting for a time, since that is clearly the weakest part of my game.  A friend of my parents is an excellent golfer and had a fitting done for his putter, which told him he was aiming 1 deg. left or something like that.  After the fitting, he used his new putter to shave an entire stroke off his index pretty quickly, which is saying something for a 3.  And I'd read about the Edel system, so thought I'd go for that.  Reading about other fittings that can put a player into any brand based on the numbers, though, is attractive.  While I've used a blade-style putter for a number of years, I'm open to a clean sheet fitting, with mallets and blades in consideration.  Am curious to know whether a different shape (and, as described by OP, different locations/styles of aiming lines) will help me find better lines.  When I go through the fitting, I'll come back and share the results.  Again, thanks!

[cnosil]

20 minutes ago, JWK1969 said:

Wow...thanks to all who have shared their various experiences!  I have been looking at getting a putter fitting for a time, since that is clearly the weakest part of my game.  A friend of my parents is an excellent golfer and had a fitting done for his putter, which told him he was aiming 1 deg. left or something like that.  After the fitting, he used his new putter to shave an entire stroke off his index pretty quickly, which is saying something for a 3.  And I'd read about the Edel system, so thought I'd go for that.  Reading about other fittings that can put a player into any brand based on the numbers, though, is attractive.  While I've used a blade-style putter for a number of years, I'm open to a clean sheet fitting, with mallets and blades in consideration.  Am curious to know whether a different shape (and, as described by OP, different locations/styles of aiming lines) will help me find better lines.  When I go through the fitting, I'll come back and share the results.  Again, thanks!

If you are planning on doing a fitting and buying a putter,  CC is offering free putter fittings this month.    
 

I am always hesitant about relying on where I aim and not where the putter points at impact.   Impact is what determines the startline.   Being open or closed at setup isn’t bad as long as you do it consistently. As mentioned above, Tiger sets up open.  
 

Also, distance control is what makes you a better putter not necessarily  better startline; unless you’re really bad at hitting your line.   If you want to test, setup a 20 foot putt and putt to a maker.   Move the balls laterally off the line and see if your dispersion is wider left/right or long/short.  Left to right is startline and long to short is distance control.   

[JStapp]

On 8/19/2023 at 11:51 PM, ZackS said:

I went to my first ever putter fitting today at Club Champion and wanted to share my experience. Things started by me telling the fitter what my main goal of the the fitting being finding a putter I can aim correctly and a little about my history. He then took my current putter and measured the loft/lie/length. We then setup the SAM Lab sensor, calibrated it and hit 7 putts. The results were not anything surprising to me. I had good overall consistency. I was aiming 1.7 degrees closed, take the club back on an arc and come back through from the inside with the face open. The SAM Lab software did suggest I need 1 degree less loft and that I use a face balance to 30 degree toe hang. So stroke wise my current putter was not far off. I think since I had mentioned aiming being my main concern and we had discussed the Edel fitting system and aiming we started there. With the fact I had mentioned I like the fang style putters and according to Edel is pretty neutral for aim we got the EAS 4.0 with a no offset shaft and 1 top and 2 bottom lines. The putter was a little too upright so we went flatter. When hitting putts I was making them but on the left side of the hole. We tried a single line on top and I started missing on the right side of the hole. He also made some wight adjustments during this after watching my stroke that improved the feel. At this point we also tried a few Lab and Evnroll options all of which I was regularly hitting the left edge of the hole with. Also tried a Bettenardi putter which I was aim good but I was not a fan of the head heavy feel as felt it would lag behind when taking the head back and in transition to the through stroke unless I gripped it tighter than I prefer to. We then went back to the the Edel with 2 top line, which I immediately was not a fan of as my eye still wants to look at a line and had to pick one of which neither is behind the ball. I was also missing on the right side with this setup as well. We then tried a single bottom line and I immediately started hitting the center of the hole. After a few rounds of that we put the SAM Lab sensor on, calibrated it and hit 7 more putts of which I kept hitting the center of the hole. 

As you can see from the pictures I went from aiming 1.7 degrees closed to .7 degrees open. Not only was the aim better but now my face at impact matches exactly the face at setup. Also the loft and lie were now on point. The through stroke was also a little more down the line instead of inside out as I feel I could let the putter naturally release now. I think because of this is why my rotational consistency improved as well. After hitting a few more rounds of putts and continuing to hit the center of the hole we did another round with SAM Lab and the results were virtually identical. Since I was hitting the center of the hole I thinking that the .7 degrees open might just be the calibration and not actually be open but I am not stressed as what matters is I am consistently hitting the center of the hole. Since they didn't have another putter fit right after my I stayed hitting putts for a while and from a few different spots on the putting green and continued to hit the center of the hole over and over. My fitter and a iron fit right after me and was the only one in that day so he still had to right everything up for the order as apparently with all the option it is a bunch for the Edel putter orders so I will get all the exact specs later. But I know that is was 34inches with a 68 degree lie with the standard round grip. It had a 25G weight in the head and he added shaft weights above and below the hands. 

To sum everything up it was a good experience and got what I was looking for. For the first time I feel like I can aim my putter where I want and I am very excited to the get the putter. Now for the hard part of waiting weeks for it to come in 

Probably the most important fitting that no one does. 

[bliming1969]

ZachS, I was fitted last summer with the same Edel EAS 4.0.  My setup is different, of course.  I absolutely love my putter a year later.  I have a ton of confidence in long putts that I can lag them up close.  My short <6' putts have been a mystery the last month or so.  I'm clearly seeing something wrong because I wasn't missing those before.  I can't blame the putter though.  The fitting process for the Edel was easy and simply made sense.  All the options would be overwhelming without a certified fitter to work through the best setup options.  Hope you enjoy yours.  Give it a full season to get used to it.  For me, the new putter was a big shift from what I had used for the previous 10+ years so it took time to gain the confidence back.  Stay the course.  BL

[ZackS]

1 hour ago, bliming1969 said:

ZachS, I was fitted last summer with the same Edel EAS 4.0.  My setup is different, of course.  I absolutely love my putter a year later.  I have a ton of confidence in long putts that I can lag them up close.  My short <6' putts have been a mystery the last month or so.  I'm clearly seeing something wrong because I wasn't missing those before.  I can't blame the putter though.  The fitting process for the Edel was easy and simply made sense.  All the options would be overwhelming without a certified fitter to work through the best setup options.  Hope you enjoy yours.  Give it a full season to get used to it.  For me, the new putter was a big shift from what I had used for the previous 10+ years so it took time to gain the confidence back.  Stay the course.  BL

I am very excited to get it. The only negative so far is having to wait for the custom order and then going to play with my current putter knowing I have one better for me I can't use yet . I see you are new to the forum, Welcome!

[JWK1969]

So, as promised, here I am to report on my putter fitting.  I went to Club Champion near me (as noted by some, they are giving free putter fittings if you end up buying a club...otherwise, it's their normal fee).  Here was the process for me:

1. Putter specs.  They measured my current butter knife for lie, weighting, etc.  Turns out my Mizuno has a loft of almost 6 degrees (too much, really) and a 45 degree toe hang.  It's a blade M Craft-II.
2. Stroke telematics. They attached some instrumentation to the putter shaft and then had me hit 7 putts with it, to get to average specs for my putter stroke.  My stroke generally was pretty consistent in terms of opening the putter face on the backswing and closing it as I swing through, though the blade was almost 2 degrees open on contact.  They then present the swing path on the screen with all of the various telematics (6 degree loft, hitting up on the ball by a certain degrees, forward shaft lean at impact, canceling out a little hitting up on the ball, and so on).
3. Recommendations.  The specs from #1 and the averages from #2 are fed into their algorithm and it spits out various recommendations.  The first was that I should be playing a mallet putter.  This was to get a little more mass and reduce the deflection of the face on backswing and through swing.  The second was, given my swing path, I should have a face-balanced putter face.  The third was that the loft should be 3.5 degrees.  The fourth was that I was fine with a "normal" grip size.  More on this last later.
4. Putter testing round 1.  The fitter then went around to their various models (a large number of brands/heads arranged around the putting green) and picked out about 5-6 that met the requirements.  He made sure to bend them to the right loft as recommended.  I hit probably 5-8 putts with each, noting feel, ease of set up on line, speed, etc.  After that round, I picked out the top 3 for a second round.  Included in round 1 was a Bettinardi Inovai 6, Scotty Cameron Phantom 5S (center shafted), Scotty Cameron Phantom 12 (I picked this one out), Taylormade Spider, Edel mallet (had a round back, don't know the model), and one other.  The 3 moving on were the Bettinardi, the Scotty Cameron 5S, and the Edel.  The Taylormade, while it promoted getting set up on line very easily, seemed to have a harder insert and thus less feel to it.  I probably could have adjusted, but coming from a Mizuno, I was looking for similar feel.  The Scotty 12 was just a little light, and didn't have the same feel to me that the 5S did.
5. Putter testing round 2.  I took the three that made it to the second round.  Hit a bunch of putts with each.  Instead of the hole, this time, they had me hit at a coin (like a poker chip sized ball marker).  The other fitter there, while walking by, commented that I would find it much easier to hit the coin with 1 of the 3 (turned out to be true).  
6. Winner declared.  That one happened to be the Scotty 5S.  In rolling that one, I find the line much better and more easily.  The other two were close, but just a little more variation in line (and pace, actually).  I probably would have scored the Bettinardi and Edel an equal second.  The variation in direction and pace was very close.

While the algorithm recommended a "normal" grip, the fitter did notice a few times during all of the putting that my backswing sometimes had a bit of a bobble in it, which I would stop my swing, reset, and try again.  He recommended moving to a midsize or large grip to account for the size of my hands (I've played jumbo iron and fairway wood grips before) as well as having a stronger/more dominant right hand.  I elected to go with 3 wraps under the standard Scotty grip to build it up to a midsize.

I found the whole thing fascinating.  I had wondered if playing a mallet would be better, and it seems that, for my stroke, it will be.  Of course, real world results will truly be the judge.  But I did like that it seemed far easier to get aimed properly with the mallet, without any loss of feel from my current Mizuno.  One additional note:  my fitter did recommend a 34" shaft (my Mizuno is 35") because it would help me get a little closer to the ball.  I noticed the difference with that, too.

All in all, a good experience, and very educational.  I look forward to my new Scotty being built and delivered.

[cnosil]

Saw this video on club  champions  YouTube page. I thought it was a really good example of a comprehensive fitting process.  Leveraging technology but also the knowledge of the fitter to do some instruction as well as not just go with the result that is spit out by the tool..  
 

 

[ZackS]

6 hours ago, cnosil said:

I thought it was a really good example of a comprehensive fitting process.  Leveraging technology but also the knowledge of the fitter to do some instruction as well as not just go with the result that is spit out by the tool.

Agreed, the part that sucks is what you see with Ian I think is few and far between. Not that there aren’t good fitters out there. I started this thread based on what I thought was a good experience and was happy with my fitter. But Ian is on a different level than most. 

Edited September 15, 2023 by ZackS

[cnosil]

19 minutes ago, ZackS said:

Agreed, the part that sucks is what you see with Ian I think is few and far between. Not that there aren’t good fitters out there. I started this thread based on what I thought was a good experience and was happy with my fitter. But Ian is on a different level than most. 

Agree.   That said, putter fitting is a special talent and just because you have a good fitter for full swing doesn't mean they will be a good fitter for putters.  IMO, too many just have you hit the requisite number of putts and go with what the tool spits out.   

[WaffleHouseTour]

I’d never buy another putter without a proper fitting. I had an Evnroll that I liked but had a very consistent miss to the right. Went to CC and did a fitting first to see if they could adjust my existing putter.  Bent the neck as far as they thought they dared but not as far as they wanted. Played a couple more months and the miss was better but still there. Went back and got a fit for me Evnroll w the proper neck - miss disappeared. Played around w a counter weight. I don’t think you’ll ever get this putter out of my hands. I was very happy w the fitting.  Pulling a putter off the rack? No way.