Is The PING Slight Arc/Straight Arc For A Mallet Legit Or Is It Just A Marketing Ploy

[Sean289]

I am aware that face-balanced putters will generally suit a straight stroke whereas toe hang to various degrees will suit an arc stroke.

I'm having difficulty comprehending if PING's slight arc mallet models actually suit a slight arc stroke.

My understanding is that the shaft bend is a little closer to the putter head in the slight arc model which changes the centre of gravity and has 6 degrees of toe hang. I can't understand how that would equally translate to comparing a face-blanced blade to the standard 45 degree toe hang of a blade.

Surely the slight arc and straight arc model of a PING mallet would perform very similarly and still suit a SBST stroke?

I hope I'm proved wrong from those who have experience with both types. I just can't wrap my head around the idea that a slight arc model with a slightly different shaft bend and a minuscule amount of toe hang can make the putter totally suit an arc stroke when it is virtually face-balanced.

[ruffellprefley]

there are variabilities to the amount of arc in a person’s swing, hence a difference in the amount of toe hang on putters. the slight toe hang fits a slight arc whereas more toe hang fits more arc. can a sbst player use a 45* toe hang putter? sure. can an arc swinger use a face balanced putter? yep.

[Sean289]

there are variabilities to the amount of arc in a person’s swing, hence a difference in the amount of toe hang on putters. the slight toe hang fits a slight arc whereas more toe hang fits more arc. can a sbst player use a 45* toe hang putter? sure. can an arc swinger use a face balanced putter? yep.

 

I'm totally aware of that and I agree with you. Just the bit I'm having difficulty with is logically, I just can't see how the slightly different shaft bend with a mere 6* more of toe hang equates to someone having a blade with 45* of toe hang.

[ruffellprefley]

i don’t follow what your confusion is, i guess. 6* of toe hang for a very slight arc but almost sbst stroke. 45* of toe hang for someone who has a more pronounced arc

 

it doesn’t matter what the head shape is. you could have a toe down mallet. you could have a face balanced blade. the amount of hang of the toe is “supposed” to match with the amount of arc in the stroke

[Sean289]

i don’t follow what your confusion is, i guess. 6* of toe hang for a very slight arc but almost sbst stroke. 45* of toe hang for someone who has a more pronounced arc

 

it doesn’t matter what the head shape is. you could have a toe down mallet. you could have a face balanced blade. the amount of hang of the toe is “supposed” to match with the amount of arc in the stroke

 

But 45* degrees of toe hang in a blade is for a slight arc. Approximately 60* degrees of toe hang for a blade is for a strong arc.

I'm not disagreeing or arguing with you, I just can't see how 6* would make any difference. That's 7.5 times less toe hang than the standard 45* for a slight arc.

[Z1ggy16]

6* of hang isn't going to make much of a difference. Feel, looks/alignment, lie and loft will matter so much more than a few degree of hang.

 

Watch Spieth putt. He uses a blade that probably has 45* of hang... yet he's pretty much always SBST. He's a good putter because he can read greens well, starts his putt rolling online (factor of correct loft/lie) and has tremendous pacing skill. In fact, a lot of skilled golfers use blades but are pretty much SBST.

[Sean289]

6* of hang isn't going to make much of a difference. Feel, looks/alignment, lie and loft will matter so much more than a few degree of hang.

 

Watch Spieth putt. He uses a blade that probably has 45* of hang... yet he's pretty much always SBST. He's a good putter because he can read greens well, starts his putt rolling online (factor of correct loft/lie) and has tremendous pacing skill. In fact, a lot of skilled golfers use blades but are pretty much SBST.

 

I agree that feel, looks, lie and loft matter a great deal. But if you're agreeing with me that 6* isn't going to make much of a difference, then do you think that the slight arc mallet model that has a slightly different shaft bend and 6* of toe hang is just a marketing ploy?

I'm not trying to be righteous, I'm just wondering does my logic make sense or am I way off the mark?

[Nessism]

There is very little difference between a Ping slight arc and a straight mallet in terms of toe hang. If you want toe hang get a plumbers neck putter or maybe a different brand.

[Z1ggy16]

6* of hang isn't going to make much of a difference. Feel, looks/alignment, lie and loft will matter so much more than a few degree of hang.

 

Watch Spieth putt. He uses a blade that probably has 45* of hang... yet he's pretty much always SBST. He's a good putter because he can read greens well, starts his putt rolling online (factor of correct loft/lie) and has tremendous pacing skill. In fact, a lot of skilled golfers use blades but are pretty much SBST.

 

I agree that feel, looks, lie and loft matter a great deal. But if you're agreeing with me that 6* isn't going to make much of a difference, then do you think that the slight arc mallet model that has a slightly different shaft bend and 6* of toe hang is just a marketing ploy?

I'm not trying to be righteous, I'm just wondering does my logic make sense or am I way off the mark?

I think it's somewhat of a ploy. I do think Ping engineers genuinely think it might make a difference... but in reality it's just another product in their line up to appeal to a wider range of players.

 

I honestly never liked blades until I just hunkered down and played with one full time. Now I can't imagine using anything else other than maybe a slightly wider flange blade like #1W, etc. The feel and feedback from a blade is so much better than a mallet.

[Jc0]

6* of hang isn't going to make much of a difference. Feel, looks/alignment, lie and loft will matter so much more than a few degree of hang.

 

Watch Spieth putt. He uses a blade that probably has 45* of hang... yet he's pretty much always SBST. He's a good putter because he can read greens well, starts his putt rolling online (factor of correct loft/lie) and has tremendous pacing skill. In fact, a lot of skilled golfers use blades but are pretty much SBST.

 

I agree that feel, looks, lie and loft matter a great deal. But if you're agreeing with me that 6* isn't going to make much of a difference, then do you think that the slight arc mallet model that has a slightly different shaft bend and 6* of toe hang is just a marketing ploy?

I'm not trying to be righteous, I'm just wondering does my logic make sense or am I way off the mark?

I think it's somewhat of a ploy. I do think Ping engineers genuinely think it might make a difference... but in reality it's just another product in their line up to appeal to a wider range of players.

 

I honestly never liked blades until I just hunkered down and played with one full time. Now I can't imagine using anything else other than maybe a slightly wider flange blade like #1W, etc. The feel and feedback from a blade is so much better than a mallet.

 

It does make a difference. What determines arc vs straight for a putter is where the shaft would intersect the putter head without the bend. In straight putter the intersection would be at the center of gravity (middle of face) so no toe hang. In an arc putter the intersection is more towards the heel. Now when you do the to hang test the head falls so that the cg is in line with the shaft. What is different between blade and mallet putter is that a blades cg is much closer to the face so it has to rotate a much greater angle to line up the cg. In a mallet the cg is farther back so less rotation is needed.