Straight back no arc stroke... with a blade..?

Hi all,

I’m a straight back and through no arc putter so theory would suggest that a face balanced is best suited. Problem is I generally hate the visual appearance of a mallet, even the smaller ones.

There is nothing better than an Anser style putter... but these are not face balanced.

How many of you are using blade putters when the ‘theory’ suggests you are better of using a bigger face balanced putter..?

Cheers...

Have a look at the Bettinardi Studio Stock #2. I’m similar to you in that I have little arc to my stroke, but this works very well, only 1/4 toe-hang. I’m struggling to see much of a difference to the couple of face-balanced mallets I have in aiming, it really is very good.

You could buy an anser 5. It’s a face balanced anser.

Loren “Boss is the Moss” Roberts, one of the greatest putters, used a Zing style, toe heavy putter, but his stroke had very little rotation.

I believe matching your natural rotation with a putters toe hang is preferable, but not a must. If a blade feels more natural to you and you aim it better, then it sure sounds like a better fit for you. I would just recommend to not try to manipulate it’s rotation too much. Try not to think about it and just roll the ball to the hole. When you take your practice strokes, look at the hole and when you make the real stroke, look at the ball. Try to avoid looking at the putter head and ignore if it really is going straight back and straight through or not. Just see your line and roll the ball.

But as mentioned, there are face balanced blades out there if you really want one. Look for a long neck or a one with double bend shaft.

I got fit at the Cameron Gallery...my stroke with a near-face balanced putter, a heel shafted mid mallet, and a plain old Newport all did the same exact thing. I think certain putter heads matched to tendencies is a good starting point, but at the end of the day, what you like looking is the most important part of putter fitting. Get the right length for your set up, get a grip you like, make sure the lie angle is working for your, and get to work!

In addition to Loren Roberts as noted above, Steve Stricker and Jackie Burke, who could both roll it just a bit?, enjoyed a great deal of success with blade style/ toe hang putters and minimal arc/rotation strokes. Point being, use what within the rules allows you to start ball on line at intended speed, regardless of what may be considered traditional or common recommendation.

To Anser your question?, have couple of guys in our normal group with minimal arc strokes that putt very well with Ping Anser 5 and Titleist Scotty Cameron Catalina styles.

I've got a straight back and thru, and almost all of my putters are blades (and not face balanced)

works just fine for me

Bobby Grace lo pro

Ping Sigma G Kushin is face balanced. I believe the Cleveland Huntington Beach series also has a face balanced blade.

a longneck anser/newport might do ya

Any putter with the shaft line projected through the center of the face will be face balanced. Long necks meet this criterion.

Take a look at the Ben Hogan BH02 putter. Double bend shaft, blade (slightly wider), and face balanced. DBM finish, forged/milled, great selection of SS grips including the new Traxion pistol GT 1.0. I think this is the ticket: https://benhogangolf.com/collections/precision-milled-putters/products/precision-milled-putters-bhb02

In my experience and testing, I think a player that is straight back/straight through can put with anything. A stronger toe hang is beneficial for the stronger arc player because that's what the putter wants to do naturally. Put face balanced in a strong arc player's hands and that can be a disaster in large part because they have to fight harder to open the blade and it still never gets open enough so then they over release and always pull putts left. That's why the toe hang mallets have become so popular on tour in recent years. So given that, at SB/ST you can putt with whatever you like best; as said above Sticker seems to do just fine.

Several minimal toe hang putter suggestions have already been given and I'll had a couple. I putt with a 2018 Bettinardi BB1 and it has 1/4 toe hang at most. I chose the BB1 for the same reason you are looking, I'm SB/ST. The PING Vault 2.0 B60 has minimal toe hang in 1/4 toe range. As suggested above, MOST center shafted putters are face balanced but beware some are not, the Bettinardi Studio Stock 28 center shaft actually has 1/2 toe hang. The PING Sigma 2 Kushin Center Shaft is a nice putter also.

Happy hunting!

I claim to be SBST, but I think I'm more of a slight arc. I've treid some clubs that should work great but are only okay (center shafted, face balanced). I've also tried some clubs that shouldn't have worked at all that were really good (Odyssey #9 style flow neck mallets, lots of toe hang). Currently I'm using a Nike MC-02W, plumber's neck wide-flange Anser style which performs well, but doesn't set up very well to my eye because of the full shaft offset.

Recently I've settled on a couple of criteria that seem to "fit" my eye and stroke:

1) 1/4 to 1/2 shaft offset.

2) Straight or single bend shaft.

3) No insanely long hosel.

4) Squareish compact mallet or wide-flange Anser-style.

4) Cut it to the right length (34-34.5), add the right grip (Flatso 1.0 currently), and enough headweight to feel the head (usually 355-360g).

Waiting to receive a couple of impulse ebay purchases, but I'll update if I find the magical combination of those (and if it actually works).

I am also SBST, or close to it. also like the look of a blade. I've found two putters I enjoy using: the Cleveland Huntington Beach 8 and an older Scotty Cameron Squareback #1. Have tried the Stroke Lab Doublewide in a store and it felt pretty good.

> @ksted said:

> I am also SBST, or close to it. also like the look of a blade. I've found two putters I enjoy using: the Cleveland Huntington Beach 8 and an older Scotty Cameron Squareback #1. Have tried the Stroke Lab Doublewide in a store and it felt pretty good.

The Cleveland HB 8 was almost one of my impulse purchases last week, but I couldn't find much info on it. I liked the higher headweight and the width of it. How much offset does it have?

I also tried the Doublewide and didn't get along with it too well. I also have a Nike Method Core 04W which has a great looking head, but a lot of shaft offset. I may order a 1/4 or 1/2 offset double bend shaft and see if that helps.

I'm SBST or very close to it. Most putters I've tested and use are face balanced or have some toe hang, they all feel good. The only one I don't personally like are the toe down putters like an Odyssey #9 as I can feel the toe wanting to move and I over correct too much.

As for options, Bobby Grace Lo Pro, Sik Golf can do their blade in a face balance (double bend shaft).

I’m pretty close to SBST I think, and have been trialling a number of putters recently. So far, they’re all working well, little difference in outcome even though a couple have toe-hang.

Great replies everyone ??

Think it’s worth looking into a Anser style mid mallet, such as the SC squareback or the Evnroll ER2 or odyssey double wide. This could be a great compromise on being near face balanced but not a massive mallet head.

This was my solution!

After a couple rounds and some practice with a new putter, I highly recommend trying the Ping TR Tatum (straight arc). So far it's making a strong case for moving my Nike MC-02W to the garage for a while.

I could use a little more headweight and slightly less offset, but the more I use it, the more comfortable I feel with it.

For me...straight back and straight through, the plumbers neck doesn’t work well. I putt great with anything from face balanced to full toe hang but the neck or shaft bend seems to be a big factor in results, not the balance. Looking at guys like Stricker, Roberts...they used a short slant neck. I think the plumbers neck required a little more face rotation for it to swing naturally. Just my experience.

> @Mych said:

> I claim to be SBST, but I think I'm more of a slight arc. I've treid some clubs that should work great but are only okay (center shafted, face balanced). I've also tried some clubs that shouldn't have worked at all that were really good (Odyssey #9 style flow neck mallets, lots of toe hang). Currently I'm using a Nike MC-02W, plumber's neck wide-flange Anser style which performs well, but doesn't set up very well to my eye because of the full shaft offset.

> Recently I've settled on a couple of criteria that seem to "fit" my eye and stroke:

> 1) 1/4 to 1/2 shaft offset.

> 2) Straight or single bend shaft.

> 3) No insanely long hosel.

> 4) Squareish compact mallet or wide-flange Anser-style.

> 4) Cut it to the right length (34-34.5), add the right grip (Flatso 1.0 currently), and enough headweight to feel the head (usually 355-360g).

>

> Waiting to receive a couple of impulse ebay purchases, but I'll update if I find the magical combination of those (and if it actually works).

I had to check to make certain I hadn't written this! This post describes me to a T.

I finally broke down and am going in Friday to get a putter fitting at Club Champion. I am sick of experimenting on my own dime!

> @zeke013 said:

> > @Mych said:

> > I claim to be SBST, but I think I'm more of a slight arc. I've treid some clubs that should work great but are only okay (center shafted, face balanced). I've also tried some clubs that shouldn't have worked at all that were really good (Odyssey #9 style flow neck mallets, lots of toe hang). Currently I'm using a Nike MC-02W, plumber's neck wide-flange Anser style which performs well, but doesn't set up very well to my eye because of the full shaft offset.

> > Recently I've settled on a couple of criteria that seem to "fit" my eye and stroke:

> > 1) 1/4 to 1/2 shaft offset.

> > 2) Straight or single bend shaft.

> > 3) No insanely long hosel.

> > 4) Squareish compact mallet or wide-flange Anser-style.

> > 4) Cut it to the right length (34-34.5), add the right grip (Flatso 1.0 currently), and enough headweight to feel the head (usually 355-360g).

> >

> > Waiting to receive a couple of impulse ebay purchases, but I'll update if I find the magical combination of those (and if it actually works).

>

> I had to check to make certain I hadn't written this! This post describes me to a T.

>

> I finally broke down and am going in Friday to get a putter fitting at Club Champion. I am sick of experimenting on my own dime!

Same here. I like a mid mallet, straight shaft, simple design, no hosel.

> @zeke013 said:

> > @Mych said:

> > I claim to be SBST, but I think I'm more of a slight arc. I've treid some clubs that should work great but are only okay (center shafted, face balanced). I've also tried some clubs that shouldn't have worked at all that were really good (Odyssey #9 style flow neck mallets, lots of toe hang). Currently I'm using a Nike MC-02W, plumber's neck wide-flange Anser style which performs well, but doesn't set up very well to my eye because of the full shaft offset.

> > Recently I've settled on a couple of criteria that seem to "fit" my eye and stroke:

> > 1) 1/4 to 1/2 shaft offset.

> > 2) Straight or single bend shaft.

> > 3) No insanely long hosel.

> > 4) Squareish compact mallet or wide-flange Anser-style.

> > 4) Cut it to the right length (34-34.5), add the right grip (Flatso 1.0 currently), and enough headweight to feel the head (usually 355-360g).

> >

> > Waiting to receive a couple of impulse ebay purchases, but I'll update if I find the magical combination of those (and if it actually works).

>

> I had to check to make certain I hadn't written this! This post describes me to a T.

>

> I finally broke down and am going in Friday to get a putter fitting at Club Champion. I am sick of experimenting on my own dime!

Where’s the fun in that!

> @Joelsim said:

> > @zeke013 said:

> > > @Mych said:

> > > I claim to be SBST, but I think I'm more of a slight arc. I've treid some clubs that should work great but are only okay (center shafted, face balanced). I've also tried some clubs that shouldn't have worked at all that were really good (Odyssey #9 style flow neck mallets, lots of toe hang). Currently I'm using a Nike MC-02W, plumber's neck wide-flange Anser style which performs well, but doesn't set up very well to my eye because of the full shaft offset.

> > > Recently I've settled on a couple of criteria that seem to "fit" my eye and stroke:

> > > 1) 1/4 to 1/2 shaft offset.

> > > 2) Straight or single bend shaft.

> > > 3) No insanely long hosel.

> > > 4) Squareish compact mallet or wide-flange Anser-style.

> > > 4) Cut it to the right length (34-34.5), add the right grip (Flatso 1.0 currently), and enough headweight to feel the head (usually 355-360g).

> > >

> > > Waiting to receive a couple of impulse ebay purchases, but I'll update if I find the magical combination of those (and if it actually works).

> >

> > I had to check to make certain I hadn't written this! This post describes me to a T.

> >

> > I finally broke down and am going in Friday to get a putter fitting at Club Champion. I am sick of experimenting on my own dime!

>

> Where’s the fun in that!

>

>

I didn't say I would stop! I just said I was sick of it!

I've posted this one before, it's a Piretti Cortino LN (long neck). It's a face balanced blade and I love it! Unfortunately I've only seen one on Ebay and I bought it!

Yeah, it's definitely not absurd to want a SBST putter stroke with a blade, 1/4 hang or more. What I've found works best is counterweight and a lighter head. Too much headweight and I start pushing longer putts because the toe is swinging back and not returning quick enough at impact. Ymmv

Ping anser x, face balanced and traditional anser dalehead shape...