Belly and Long putter for Juniors

Belly putters are for old people

i imagined that would be the response from members at my club

but i do have back problems fem playing cricket so mayb this woul;d help me with that aswell

just a thought

A friend of mine uses a long putter and is 16, I see nothing wrong with it if your putting is better with it,

I know a teaching pro who swears by his long putter...

he promised me hed quit golf and god go back to painting houses if the usga ever outlawed them.

I used a belly putter once and I hated it. I have seen juniors use them before and if it works for you do it.

Rich

I use this bad boy and im 16. Its a Scotty Cameron Red X Long and I love it. I switched to it in June. Ive tried to putt with a short putter again but I cant do it. Before I did not have a bad stroke, I just didnt make anything, so I decided I needed a change. Its 50 inches long. I love it so I would give it a shot if your have trouble getting it into the cup.

Simon

whatever works

The pro at my club let me try his long putter for a round. It was pretty nice but i just couldnt get the distance control down. Maybe if I practiced more with a long putter I would putt better with it but for now ill stick with a 34" putter.

I haven't tried one personally, but whatever gets the job done.

I don't know about you guys but I haven't ever seen anyone using belly/long putters, which I guess is pretty odd. The area I play in seems to be pretty conservative when it comes to equipment.

Back on topic, you could buy yourself the cheapest belly/long putter you can find and give a whirl and if it works out buy a better one. Can't hurt trying.

I don't know about you guys but I haven't ever seen anyone using belly/long putters, which I guess is pretty odd. The area I play in seems to be pretty conservative when it comes to equipment.

 

Back on topic, you could buy yourself the cheapest belly/long putter you can find and give a whirl and if it works out buy a better one. Can't hurt trying.

I played with one guy using it and he couldn't buy a 3 foot putt during the round. Funny but sad at the same time

I bought myself a belly putter a couple weeks ago and I'm currently testing it. It seems really solid, I like it so far. If it works, I say do it.

i agree totally with emc... those putters are for old people who cant bend down or have shaky hands.

I currently use a Belly Detour (I'll post pics If you want) & it is the putter I use most often. For Me a belly putter doesn't "fix" my stroke, but It helps me release the putter the same every time by maintaining my radius. After noticing how average I putt with a regular putter I too realized that I needed to make a change to get better. I have seen Plenty of college kids with a belly putter so don't be ashamed of using one If it makes you better. No one will question you if you beat them.

i agree totally with emc... those putters are for old people who cant bend down or have shaky hands.

Webb Simpson uses a belly putter. In fact, several players at Wake Forest use/used them including Kyle Riefers

I believe that their is a definate line between needing one and wanting to try one. Using a belly putter by the age of 16 i dont agree with. If you are having putting problems i would rty the Putting Arc first and really practice and put solid time into it. That being said belly putters are terrific training aids. they can teach you to keep your hands quiet.

On the next topic of the guys at Wake Forest using them that is a different story. Most i do say most of the guys playing at a school like Wake Forest or a Duke or Clemson are trying to make the tour and make a living out of playing golf. Which is why they make that switch when they get to college. They are looking for more consitency and more holed putts. These guys also have been using short putters for quite some time with little help. Kyle Reifers actually pairs up using his belly putter with a Putting Arc.

For juniors looking to switch i would say this... First work on your stroke, mechanics, and tempo. use a training aid like the Putting arc. It has done wonders for me. then if you are at a level at which you feel you want to make a living with golf and you putter truly HURTS you then give it a shot. but if you only make a few bad strokes per round then you can certainly work harder or more diligently before resorting to the belly or long putter. I belive this is why you see Vijay switch so often between the two. He is looking for consistency and usually when he switches from a belly to a short putter he begins to make many more intermediate length putts. which is why i feel belly putters are good for practicing with.

just my opinions on the subject,

-Dan

If you can put the ball to the hole better than with a normal putter, why not.

BTW

I have tried belly and long putters many times and they dont work for me :rolleyes:

I agree with what Dan has to say, really work on your stroke. I bought a putting arc and I can already feel a difference in my stroke, less wristy, more solid, all upper body.

Long putters take too many varriables out of the stoke, almost make you automatic. Provided you have the right line, if you miss anything inside of 6 feet with a long putter, you have serious issues.

Bottom line, putting under presure is the most challenging aspect of this game in my honest opinion, and long putters eliminate that challenge.

I agree with what Dan has to say, really work on your stroke. I bought a putting arc and I can already feel a difference in my stroke, less wristy, more solid, all upper body.

 

Long putters take too many varriables out of the stoke, almost make you automatic. Provided you have the right line, if you miss anything inside of 6 feet with a long putter, you have serious issues.

 

Bottom line, putting under presure is the most challenging aspect of this game in my honest opinion, and long putters eliminate that challenge.

If your not going to miss inside 6 feet then why not use it?

I agree with what Dan has to say, really work on your stroke. I bought a putting arc and I can already feel a difference in my stroke, less wristy, more solid, all upper body.

 

Long putters take too many varriables out of the stoke, almost make you automatic. Provided you have the right line, if you miss anything inside of 6 feet with a long putter, you have serious issues.

 

Bottom line, putting under presure is the most challenging aspect of this game in my honest opinion, and long putters eliminate that challenge.

 

If your not going to miss inside 6 feet then why not use it?

To put it simple...whoever puts the ball in the hole with the least amount of strokes at the end of the day wins.

The issue is it's taking a big part of the game that makes the game difficult, out of the equation. Its the design I'm not a fan of. It significantly reduces the potential for yips, by making your whole upper body move as one. In my mind, I'd rather learn how to make my whole upper body move in sync and putt with a conventional putter, than play with a putter 4 feet long. To me, it just wouldn't feel right to put in play, because it's like a training aide.

Most players of yesteryear frown upon it. But, if its legal, have fun with it.

Its not that I don't want to make every 6 footer, I just want to use equipment that keeps some aspect of the game difficult and something that needs to be practiced, toned, and refined. In this day and age of custom fit drivers, irons, wedges, and putters, something needs to be kept old school, and that my friend, is the anatomy of the putting stroke.

The issue is it's taking a big part of the game that makes the game difficult, out of the equation. Its the design I'm not a fan of. It significantly reduces the potential for yips, by making your whole upper body move as one. In my mind, I'd rather learn how to make my whole upper body move in sync and putt with a conventional putter, than play with a putter 4 feet long. To me, it just wouldn't feel right to put in play, because it's like a training aide.

 

Most players of yesteryear frown upon it. But, if its legal, have fun with it.

 

Its not that I don't want to make every 6 footer, I just want to use equipment that keeps some aspect of the game difficult and something that needs to be practiced, toned, and refined. In this day and age of custom fit drivers, irons, wedges, and putters, something needs to be kept old school, and that my friend, is the anatomy of the putting stroke.

I see where your coming from, but the way I see it is that if you want to be the best player you can be and the long putter allows you to do that then go for it. Nothing against what you said but thats just my opinion.

yep, I see what you are saying. Everyone has their opinion, I just wanted to make sure people knew where I'm coming from. I had to re-read my own post alot just to make sure I understood!

Back in the day it was more of a geezer stick, but nowdays more young people are using them, myself included. I started dinkin' around with one at the store and started to get a really good feel for it....so I bought it :rolleyes:

The issue is it's taking a big part of the game that makes the game difficult, out of the equation. Its the design I'm not a fan of. It significantly reduces the potential for yips, by making your whole upper body move as one. In my mind, I'd rather learn how to make my whole upper body move in sync and putt with a conventional putter, than play with a putter 4 feet long. To me, it just wouldn't feel right to put in play, because it's like a training aide.

 

Most players of yesteryear frown upon it. But, if its legal, have fun with it.

 

Its not that I don't want to make every 6 footer, I just want to use equipment that keeps some aspect of the game difficult and something that needs to be practiced, toned, and refined. In this day and age of custom fit drivers, irons, wedges, and putters, something needs to be kept old school, and that my friend, is the anatomy of the putting stroke.

Vince, I totally see where you are saying. This is coming from someone that absalutely no way no how could get accustomed to a belly or long putter. To me, it is almost like saying something to the affect that todays large drivers are making it to easy for us to hit fairways, or make solid contact. Likewise, going back to the old saying, 'It's the indian, not the arrow', this is also the case with putting. I agree with the fact that a belly putter will help you make a more solid stroke (anti-yip, etc.), you still have to put a stroke on the ball that will make it go in the hole. I do want to make the point, that if "Long putters take too many varriables out of the stoke, almost make you automatic." then I really think that we would see a LOT more tour players using long putters. The point was made earlier that, 'these guys are solely out here to make a living', and rightfully so, they will use any equipment that will make them the most successful in every tournament they play in.

In essence, I want to aggree and disagree at the same time. I think for the right person a long/belly putter could lower the scores for a lot of people out there...but there are going to also be a lot of people out there that putt much better with a standard length putter. We are all entitled to our own opinion, and I thoroughly respect yours in the aspect of keeping the game traditional. Just throwing that out there!

:rolleyes:

Good post, i gotcha on those points.

You're right, I've tried them, and could never get use to having something that long. So, I'm biased in a way there.

You guys have to explain me one thing. ;)

Does it really make you a better putter or is it just a personal feel of what you like best?

Because otherwise there should be more pros playing them...

Thomas

I wouldnt use one if it didn't make me a better putter. There are a lot of pros that do use long putters because they putt better using them. The pros that use regular length putters don't putt well so they don't use them.