any thoughts?

well you asked for this Dazza, my preference is a trusty PGA pro mallet given to me by Today's Golfer for a review I did for them (although I've been using mallets for some 10 yrs now). what's so good about it, I get the feel I believe I need to gauge the length of putt, I feel pretty confident when I line my putts up that I'm 90% sure it's going in. so in a nutshell my putter makes me feel relaxed about taking the shot on, and that's worth loads to me.

You knew you would tempt me in with this one!!! I suppose different putters fit different strokes, as in someone will love a mallet putter while it wont suit the next bloke. For me, Ive gone from the Heavy Putter B3 (a lovely mallet), to the Scotty Cameron Studio Design 1 (a lovely blade), to the TM Rossa Daytona (a lovely anser). I think TaylorMades new AGSI (Anti-skid Groove System Insert) technology on their new range of putters is an exceptional development and puts a lovely roll on the ball. Well worth trying if your in the market for a new putter.

I played in a competion last month, and cleverly forgot my putter (i had been practising with it at home on the carpet to prepare myself!). I ended up having to use my 60degree lob wedge. I can promise you i had more single putts using this than my Taylor Made putter! I think it was probably due to really having to concentrate on hitting the ball from the centre of the club. I ended up with 30 putts in the whole round. Its all in the mind anyway

I'll try that one !

Would you have broke 30 if you used your driver ?

Probaly not! Last year i played in a 3 club competition. I chose 3 wood, 8 iron and sand wedge. Most had a putter as their 3rd club. I used the 3 wood to putt. I came second on countback. So it worked out quite well. When using a lob wedge to putt, just concentrate on hitting the ball just above the centre equator line. I find i use this club quite often to putt. Especially when i get the yipps with my normal putter. It's all down to concentration anyway

If your getting the yips with your normal putter and having to resort to your 'Lucky' lob wedge when putting, me thinks its time you went down the golf shop and spend some money on a new putter......

....mmmm......new putter....no stop it, must resist!)

I prefer to putt with a 7 iron as opposed to a lob wedge. In three club comps I tend to take a 4 Iron, 7 Iron and Wedge and its more then good enough to take prizes. Don't understand these people taking a driver or putter. Limits their options really.

I just got my new Yes! C-Groove Carolyne Broom Putter yesterday. Works okay on the shop carpet, will give it a test on course tomorrow but will then save it till next season. Like the feel, weight and balance of the putter. Not too sure about the like of alignment aids on it though. I know my Ping C10 didn't have alignment line as well but head was large enough to add one. The Yes is a lot slimmer so will have to practice more with it.

29 Putts for me at the weekend! Told you that AGSI technology was good!!

I have tried lots over the last few months and i have found that i really dont like the look of the ultra modern putters especially if it has plastic stuck all over it ala ping craz-e or the 2-ball. most of the putters i have seen in the shops are much along the same theme. the only one i have found that performed well and was pleasing to the eye (imho) was the callaway i-trax.

This was on my shortlist until i managed to locate and try the american classic flange by scotty cameron. I found it looked and performed perfect. So search over.

One thing i did find whilst testing every putter i could lay my hands on was that the Yes!! putters gave a lovely sound and nice roll but i just didnt like the styling (im shallow i know)

No offence intended to anybody who has a putter adorned with plastic "bling". whatever floats your boat (or sinks your putts)

What finish is on your Scotty colin? Mines got that oilcan finish that rubs off in the wet, damp, mud, green etc. Thats how I ended up with the Daytona, too scared of ruining the finish on the Scotty in the winter!!

Dont know to be honest. Its not oilcan though. Will check with Scotty later.

Colin

Scotty says raw billet no finish.

I was gonna buy a new putter, the MD stardust, as my current putter wasn't clicking right. Then this week I putted like a man possesed, I think it was less than 30 putts in the round. So Im stick with my Zebra for the time being

Bought myself an Odyssey White Hot #2 and have to say I am very,very,very impressed so far.  Made far more 1 putts last weekend. The more I am using it, the better it gets.  Best £90 I ever spent - Knocked a few shots off per round.

I use the Odyssey White Hot Classic which I've not quite got there yet with it but guess this is down to not playing often enough.  Great feel but just not found my touch on the green. 

I used to use a really old classic style putter, on looking at my stats I used to average around the mid 30s for putting but my last few games have been in the low 40s !  eek   Also the 1 putts have gone and the 3 putts crept in.

Time for more golf and practice me thinks !  Back to the 2007 resolution.

i use snake eyes pure balance 1 putter and we all have our fav club this mine,its quite light and has a really big head when looking down onto it,i now one and two putt every hole now and its one club ill never change for all the tea in china check it out @ http://www.snakeeyesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/PureBalanceI_Putter.html

I bought an Odyssey tri-ball srt from ebay over xmas and it finally arrived yesterday. I feel like a kid at Christmas practising with it last night, can't wait to take it out and report back.

I have a pendulum style action so it's ideal for me and even though it looks like an agricultural tool the action is really light.

In the short period of time I have been playing I have tried several putters. I feel that putting and putters are a personal thing and you have to find what works for you, not your playing partner or your clubs champion or Tiger Woods. I started with an old fashioned blade putter the type you find on crazy golf courses. Very hard to line up and get a solid stroke with. Moved to a Ping Craz-E and although my line improved the pace on putts was not good. I'd roll the ball a long way past the hole and really struggled to get distance control with it. Guy at my club who I play with uses one and he leaves putts short everytime, he's glued a heap of lead tape on the club to try and get his putts up to the hole but it hasn't worked yet. I then switched to a Ping Doc15 Udranium Putter. Not very easy on the eye with the huge head but did putt the ball well with it. Only thing wrong with it really was my putting method didn't suit and I perhaps should have got some coaching on putting but from a source different to my course Pro. He told me to ditch the short putter and go for a long putter (he uses one and swears by them.) I tried a Ping C10 and got a very good stroke and distance control with it. Sometime the line was a little out but with a pencil and square I soon corrected that with my only alignment line on the head. Putter worked well and used it since the summer and got some good results with it. However I still felt something was not quite right and thus just before Christmas switched to a Yes! Carolyne Putter, in the Long Version. Feels very nice to putt with and gets the ball rolling true very quickly off the face. Good weight to the putter and balance. Only down side is the head being a anser style blade is bit narrow for me and I suffer alignment issues I'll need to sort out. Again the pencil and square have helped me create a line but the head being narrow the lines not that long to really get a square image when addressing the ball with a line on it.

I'd certainly recommend the Yes putter and to anyone having putting woes I say try a long putter. The great thing about the long putter is that is will only swing in one direction. You can't manipulate it like a small putter in the hands, with your wrists etc. Basically if I read the putt and line up correctly, I just need to get the pace right as I know the putter will swing on line.

My putting has really been letting me down so the pro lent me a see more malet putter yesterday to try, one i got used to the speed im so much more consistant, both on speed and line, the ball is rolling brilliantly so if i miss the hole its my miss read rather than then putter been wrong, which i dont mind. I think its all about confidence though. As i lost all confidence in my ping g5 or c5.
Was firing them in from all over the place, lots of 1 puts and hardly any 3 putts so well worth the money.

As im playing in the winter leage will the weather break my putter?? as a few of you have said your not using yours till the new season

Wow this topic was dragged up from the past. Flip reading my comments from Jan 11th seem a long time ago. I've moved away from the Long Putter and am currently experimenting with a Benross VMC Centre-Shaft Putter. Trying a new technic of inside-to square-to inside with the putter to get some consistancy.

Winter will definitely be tough on putters and putting. Longer grass, footprints, spike marks will all make putting and putting accurately a lot harder.

Blast from the past but thought it better than starting a new one.
No what i was asking chris was using my putter in the winter, will it spoil my putter?

The fact that your prepared to play in the winter is a commendation Matt, "Well Done".

it will keep you working on your putting style and help you through next spring, not playing makes it stagnant and you'll feel as if your starting all over again.

i had trouble with my putter my golf pro gave a few pointers

so purchased a new one  

i had it cut down cause it was to long

then had one of the two thumb grips fitted but had it putt on side ways

now i stand more over the ball

i used to hold the club the same as all the others, he got me to change this to by putting my left hand to the bottom ive got more control, my stroke now is alot easier to control

ive found i nocked 6 or so shots off my putting and im still getting used to it

In my humble opinion (ha) the putter is one of the most over hyped clubs in the bag.  No amount of development, buzzwords or material science is going to effect what is the simplest of shots, but arguably the most important.  OK, it's true that certain areas of design may help, ceramic faces, head weights and grips for example, but ultimately it's a mind process.  If you don't feel comfortable with a club and the way it works for you it's not going to work.  My brother played off 9 at his best, yet still regularly turns in mid twenties putts per round.  He still uses a cast brass, aluminium shafted council crazy golf putter he stole 35 years ago, but he has got amazing spacial awareness that allows him to read greens in a way I can only dream of, and because he's used the same club for so long knows exactly what weight and line to use.   A pro may show you a new technique, may even recommend a putter but all it will do is to guide you closer to a style that he feels comfortable with and knows, after years of practice, will work.

If you can't read a green or visualise a put, then the most expensive or lavishly branded putter ain't going to help.  Find one you feel comfortable with, go to pro shops and golf barns and try them all.  Find one and stick with it, even if it's the cheapest in the shop.  Then practice, practice and practice more.  If you've got (like I have) a wooden or laminate kitchen floor practice on that, it exagerates errors.  Practice on carpet, practice before a round.

Whoops, sorry, got on my soapbox again there.    

Everything you have just said, I can agree with.

I'll second that....

Here's a question - How do you read greens?

Most programs I see on Golf Channel (Dave Pelz etc) or even talking with Pros when it comes to putting they all teach about the stroke, the setup, how you control pace etc, what line to take the putter on etc etc etc. No one ever tells you how to read greens and develop that Tiger Vision.

I'm probably not as bad a putter as I think. Everyone says I have a pretty good stroke and have very good weight management. However I just can't read greens. So I don't hole many putts because half the time my 1st putt on the green doesn't frighten the green. Is there an easy way to see the 'Line'? Its a question I've asked several times and to pros and they never seem to give an answer. I even asked my Optician last time I had my eyes checked if wearing glasses is a problem when putting as it makes things look flatter. He said it shouldn't but switching to contacts would be a closer to natural view.

I struggle to get down behind the ball these days so have had to start using the plumb line method for guaging the amount of break. It works really well and although not as good as getting down behind the ball it is a sound method.

I got an Odessey White Hot #7 in May after trying as many putters as I possibly could.  I found I was most consistent with that one but changing the length improved things further.  A quick fitting session showed that the 34" putter I was using was 1.5" too short for me, so I was able to get one that suited my stroke instead of having to putt unnaturally.  This putter feels smooth and I know how hard/far I have to swing to get the distance I need.  I'm now down at low 30's per round and rarely 3 putt because I'm comfortable with the putter and believe it will get me very close to the hole from most distances.  In all honesty, my putting is often my saviour on the course. 

I try to break the green down into sections if I'm more than six feet away.  I tend to work backwards and visualise how to get to my ball from the hole in three foot sections, reducing the impact of the break as I get further from the hole to account for the extra ball speed.  For example, I visualise a three foot putt from the hole, then a three fott putt from where the ball would stop, etc until I get to where I am.  This then gives me a line.  If I'm more than 12 or 15 feet away, I just aim to get it as close as I can with a view to making the second putt as easy as possible. 

Putting is the easiest part of golf! Well maybe not for everyone, but here's my method which works for me ..

Look at the slopes, think about how fast the ball will be travelling when its on that slope. If the slope is late then the break will be big when the ball rolls slow. If its early you dont need to borrow as much.

Work out if most of the break is early in the shot or later. If its early then imagine the line from the ball to the hole, if its late, imagine the line back from the hole to the ball. Then see the ball rolling in realtime in your mind and if it misses left imagine how it will roll aimed a little more right, repeat until the ball goes in the hole .. then hit the ball.

Alternatively, i sometime imagine an alternative place for the hole on heavy breaking, and very long/short or sever uphill/downhill putts. It gives you confidence in stroking the ball online when youre aimed way off the line of the hole.

Once you convince yourself youre hitting the ball down the right line at the right pace, youll suddenly start stroking the ball out of the sweetspot of your putter everytime, and that builds confidence. 

By the way, why have i never heard anyone mention Odyssey Black Series putters when the best putter question comes up? Theyre easily the nicests looking putter in the shops, both to stand over and as far as materials and build quality goes. They get the ball rolling so well its like youre rolling it off the palm of your hand to get them started.

One from the archives here!

David you make some good points and i always try to "visualise" the putt before taking the shot.

On the odyssy shout, they make some very good putters, but i personally think that the 3ball putter are a bit of a joke (sorry if anyone out there uses one) they are huge.... and i just cant help thinking that they are more gimmic than helpfull.

So onto my putter history. I first started out with a Donnay simi blade with a polymer insert, I have to say that this was a very good putter and for £8 you cant go far wrong. I then progressed to a Taylormade Nubbins B7 (blade with a off set) which i used for ages and thought that it was the best about. Hoever after using a friends Taylormade Mezza Rozza for a couple of rounds i couldnt fault it and im now a mallet convert.

So for my recomendation i would currently say that the Rozza mezza is great, well balanced and feels great, and you can currently get one in very good condition 2nd hand for no money at all. hoever this is a heavy Mallet and doesnt suit everyone so shockingly i would say have a good look at the donnay range (currently available from sport soccer/sports world) they are very cheap an in the styles of many of the high end putters on the market. (yes im risking a lynching here but worth saying).

Well thats my tuppence worth.

Cheers

danny

I am wondering the exact same question as the OP, as I am in the market and have been obsessive in my search for the right putter.  Yes! Ping, most of the Odyssey's, Wilson, all didn't suit at all, from the budget range to the most expensive.

I have been eyeing up a Mizuno Bettinardi C putter - lovely look (not too gimmicky), lovely weighting, lovely feel to the grip etc but as the shop don't allow/have any balls to 'try' with I couldn't be confident of spending £100+ on a putter.  Can't find another shop to try it in either.

However having looked at the Taylor Made Classic Rossa blade and the Odyssey White Hot Steel two ball Blade putter and both are roughly the same price £75-£80. 

The TaylorMade is great to have in the bag (looks wise), and plays really well but I am not 100% sure I am confident enough with the weight of it.

This is where the two ball surprised me - I was a cynic to be honest, but the slightly angled face, the two part insert was forgiving and the two ball just made me feel confident about the weight.  I just can't get over the gimmicks!!

I need a putter for next weekend, so have to decide quickly, don't want to get it wrong!.

Also, big (stupid) question, 33" 34"or 35" length for a 6ft 3" bloke - is it about comfort or your height, or your floor to wrist length?

Here's a question - How do you read greens?

Chris, I believe there are those that can do this naturally and those that learn from their mistakes, I've always been pretty good at reading a green (the rest of the golf side might be dodgy) sometimes the weight has let me down, i'm either short or too long but generally I'm there or thereabouts and in some cases my putting has helped me out more than once.

Those that learn do so by remembering the way the ball tails/falls off and therefore by nature this will take a while especially if they don't play the sort of courses that have these type of greens regular.

When I have a difficult putt I use the wording on the ball as my target line and my stroke weight as the point where the line breaks.

Excellent point, Wayne regarding the break point.

IMO every putt is a straight putt that is not always aimed at the hole.

I might also mention that I am now the owner of Waynes PGA Pro Mallet and it is working very well.

Glad it's still doing well for you, must admit it was good for me too, just once I'd got the "Futura" there was sooooo much more feel with that, that I knew I had to switch. 

So when are you giving me the futura?

sorry mate that may be a long way off, unless of course you have a putter with distinctive looks and feel like the futura to swap??????????

Only joking.

It's alright John, I only took it as one

I still think the Scotty Cameron Newport and Studio 1.5 styles are my favorites.  Have 3 of them, no 4 now.  Two in London, one in Wisconsin and the other in Boston.  Hell, I've got a set of clubs in three different cities, lol.  Beats carrying them on the plane through that nightmare called the Tube and Heathrow.