Using opposite of putter I keep getting fitted for...?

[mktrout]

Every time I get fit for a putter by Sam putt lab or someone else, it comes up a face balanced mallet.... straight back, straight threw swing.  But when I use them I dont feel i hit them well and miss to the left.  Then I pick up an old heel shaft putter, with basically the most tow hang you could possibly get... and hit it well.  So whats up with that?  I think could be weight, since the ones I seem to like are older lighter heads, but every fitter says they are totally wrong for my swing.

[Phabs]

Just went through this this morning.  My blade putter is about 60* of toe hang and I’ve putted absolutely lights out with it this year.  Sam recommended 30-45* of hang in a mallet, I’m not a mallet guy and never will be.  I asked the fitter to just adjust the putters I brought to the recommended loft and lie and I’ll be on my way.  
 

I’ve been doing gate drills once a week for about two hours and it’s molded my stroke to more straight back and straight through, thus the reason I went in to double check some specs. 

Edited June 13, 2021 by Phabs

[North Butte]

On 6/12/2021 at 6:33 PM, mktrout said:

Every time I get fit for a putter by Sam putt lab or someone else, it comes up a face balanced mallet.... straight back, straight threw swing.  But when I use them I dont feel i hit them well and miss to the left.  Then I pick up an old heel shaft putter, with basically the most tow hang you could possibly get... and hit it well.  So whats up with that?  I think could be weight, since the ones I seem to like are older lighter heads, but every fitter says they are totally wrong for my swing.

A couple thoughts come to mind.

 

First, if the face-balanced mallets you have tried just happen to be Odyssey putters you won't be the first person to find they tend to hit the ball more left than you thought you were aiming. But I'm guessing you have more general issues.

 

My suspicion is that the "fittings" are trying to zero in on a putter that you will hit online with no compensations in your stroke. The idea being that you will return the putter face at impact to precisely the angle you aimed it at address. 

 

Some people (I am one) actually have a habit of lining up aimed in one direction but at impact returning the putter to a slightly different face angle. So as a compensation, we have gotten used to aiming somewhere other than on the intended starting line of the putt. Totally unconscious, of course. 

 

In theory, that is not the best way to putt. Taking absolutely perfect dead aim at address then repeating that exact same face direction at impact would be more consistent, no doubt. But in my case at least, after a quarter century or more of putting one way it would a huge adjustment to re-learn how to do it differently.

 

You've probably developed a little compensation of some kind that facilitated by that "swinging gate" action with a heel shafted putter. It's up to you whether to learn to eliminate that compensation or just live with it. FWIW, my own preference is the face-balance mallet. I can't putt a lick with heel shafted blades although I really like the visuals of them and wish I could!

 

P.S. I've never had a putter fitting. But at various times over the years during golf lessons my teaching pro had shown me my putting stroke on video. He pretty consistently points out two things. One is that on a straight putt I am initially not aimed quite at the center of the hole. The other is that at impact I am very consistently starting the putt toward the center of the hole. His advice years ago was if it ain't broke don't fix it and my putting stroke is by far the "least broke" of anything in my golf game. So I got that going for me.

Edited June 14, 2021 by North Butte

[nicelife]

"I keep getting fitted for...?" Why do you keep doing it to yourself?

 

[driveandputtmachine]

Putting is so individual it is really hard to say SAM puttlab is the end all be all.

 

I know folks that aim one way, and deliver the club to square.

I know folks that aim center and push or pull it out of the hole.

 

Starting the ball on your intended line consistently and with proper impact and loft delivered are what matters most with putting.  If you can do that repeatedly you are better than 95% of golfers in the world.

 

The problems that can be fixed with a putter fitting are

1. Aiming incorrectly.  With Edel and some others you can learn where you aim your putter, and how it differs with different hosel attachments, different sight lines and different head shapes.

2. Delivering the putter poorly.  Using SAM and other tools you can determine if a different amount of toe hang can help with where your common miss is, but also making sure to keep your good putts the way they should.

 

If you already aim, let's say right, and your stroke is grooved to deliver the putter head a bit left to compensate, and it is grooved....unless you want to spend the massive time to re-learn how to putt stay away from fittings.   It can undermine some peoples confidence. 

 

If you aim poorly and don't deliver it well or consistently, well then a putter fitting could help you a lot.  Or if you aim properly and deliver it wrong all the time.  Or if you aim poorly and deliver to the same poor aim spot it can help.

[Belltower]

Seems like one of those deals where technology may actually hinder some people. I know you could probably find data that says the opposite, but I feel like ball don't lie. If the ball hugs the ground and rolls end over end where you're wanting it to go, it really shouldn't matter what putter it is or whether SAM says you're good with it or not.