Cutting down belly putter to standard length

[sTmGolfer]

Thank you!!!

So I am an admittedly bad putter. I am in constant search of that "putter". I have had brief moments of mediocrity where putters have satisfied me for ... well ... brief moments.

I know, I know .... every WRXer has had the same story. But I recently did something I've never done before and have been blown away.

I had a PING Pickemup 43'' belly putter. I chopped it down to 39'' and had a really hunched over belly putter stance. Thought I would love it but ehhh ... less than satisfied.

So I chopped it again down to the current length of 35''. With a head weight of 390 grams and a heavy belly shaft, it is a match made in heaven. It smoothed my stroke out like I have never had before. Super solid feel, very stable stroke, and most importantly, CONFIDENCE.

Just curious if anyone has tried the same sort of thing and enjoyed themselves as much as I have ...

[Ilovemydriver]

I just stumbled across your topic. This sounds like a great idea. I am interested in the Pickemup in the standard length and specs, but the heavier head and shaft are sounding rather interesting.

Are you still liking it?

[farmer]

The biggest issue would be that the lie angle is different on a belly putter vs standard.

[NWS Alpine]

Not really. Most belly putters play the same as conventional putters. Long putters however require a very upright lie.

For example the TM Ghost belly putters are the same http://www.taylormadegolf.com/products/putters/Ghost-Corza-putter/product-detail-specifications

Ping putters are the same as well.

[half lung]

Count me as one of those people. Cut down a scotty pro plat mid sur to 35" and it feels great to me. It feels much smoother during my putts and the like the way the ball comes of the face with a heavier club. The weight really helps calm my hands down before my stroke because I get fidgety sometimes over putts.

Speaking of shaking hands before a putt. I saw at the Crown Plaza Charlie Wie bouncing the putter head of the ground before stroking the putt. I wonder if that is a way for him to calm his hands down or avoid a moment of trying to stay still but shaking before a shot.

[NWS Alpine]

It does relax the body but it also tells the mind exactly where the ground is. http://www.puttingzone.com/MyTips/bounce.html

[sTmGolfer]

[quote name='mrnoonan' timestamp='1306216908' post='3257680']
I just stumbled across your topic. This sounds like a great idea. I am interested in the Pickemup in the standard length and specs, but the heavier head and shaft are sounding rather interesting.

Are you still liking it?
[/quote]

Still loving it. I have tried the Pickemup in standard length at stores and demo days, and the feel is not the same as the belly head and shaft cut down to standard length. I really love the feel of the heavier shaft and head.

In regards to the lie angle, it is the exact same as the standard head would be. Only the Pickemup-L (long putter) has a different lie. Only difference, as stated above, is head weight and shaft weight.

[phil.b89]

I'm currently playing an old G2 Anser B head with a 35 inch shaft in it. Its not a heavy belly shaft but I really am a fan of the heavier head weight!

[half lung]

[quote name='NWS Alpine' timestamp='1306256379' post='3258591']
It does relax the body but it also tells the mind exactly where the ground is. http://www.puttingzone.com/MyTips/bounce.html
[/quote]

Thanks. Ill have to try it

[colin_ba]

I purchased a Scotty Cameron GoLo Mid S a while ago, however I was never quite able to adjust to the belly putting style. I was able to putt my ball online, however I was never able to get control of my weight (leaving a lot of putts short of the hole). After talking to my instructor, he recommended that I consider cutting the belly putter down to standard length which was what he had done several years ago and had good results in doing so. I contemplated doing this for several months however was reluctant because i did not want to deface the original Scotty Cameron shaft and de-value what was a pretty significant investment which i had used for only a few months. After looking into the matter for a while, I was able to find an after market shaft (mid length, step-less) for $50. I removed the original shaft/grip, installed the new shaft, and hacked it off. My Scotty Cameron GoLo Mid S was 45" and now is 35 1/4" with a Superstroke Slim Lite (55g) grip (swing weight is off the chart with 10g weights installed).

The heavier weight of the shaft and head feel absolutely awesome, and coupled with the Superstroke grip I am now rolling the ball better than ever. More importantly, I've never made more putts. I think that the shaft weight helps to offset the slightly heavier head which make the putter more balanced than i thought it would have been. Just for style, i purchased a Scotty Cameron Shaft band on EBay for 20 bucks completing what is a neat looking setup and one that i will game for a while.

P.S. Dont tell Scotty or any Scotty purists.

[Dead Solid Perfect]

I started a thread back in September about this. I had a 43 inch rife Barbados cut it down to 35 and put a Superstroke slim on it. It's on the heavy side but I putt great with it.

[rocknbeck]

I am considering cutting down my Ping G-2i Craz-E Long 45" putter. It has a very robust (thick) shaft so I'm curious to see if the feel is to stout or dead with the thick shaft. Any thoughts?

[Ayockdc]

I am interested in the same model as rocknbeck!

[BogeyDog11]

[quote name='sTmGolfer' timestamp='1304389236' post='3203711']
So I am an admittedly bad putter. I am in constant search of that "putter". I have had brief moments of mediocrity where putters have satisfied me for ... well ... brief moments.

I know, I know .... every WRXer has had the same story. But I recently did something I've never done before and have been blown away.

I had a PING Pickemup 43'' belly putter. I chopped it down to 39'' and had a really hunched over belly putter stance. Thought I would love it but ehhh ... less than satisfied.

So I chopped it again down to the current length of 35''. With a head weight of 390 grams and a heavy belly shaft, it is a match made in heaven. It smoothed my stroke out like I have never had before. Super solid feel, very stable stroke, and most importantly, CONFIDENCE.

Just curious if anyone has tried the same sort of thing and enjoyed themselves as much as I have ...
[/quote]

If it works for you, it works.

[Mattz]

I will cut a new Yes Sandy mid lenght to standard lenght for next season, any more people have done it?

 

Im looking for warnings and bad experiences to know what I might get into.?!

[Choo Choo]

I cut an old Cleveland Belly down to 34" and it feels great but I can't control distance on long putts.

[Benkross]

I bought a TaylorMade Spider belly and cut it to 35 put a Superstroke Pistol 1.0. Was a little too heavy and i removed the two 4g weights. Feels better but tbd if i keep putting with it

[TPDawnPatrol]

One of my gamers is a Scotty Studio Stainless mid sur belly putter (370g head) cut down to 36" with a 120g grip. Sweet!

[mister2cool]

So far I have done this to two formally belly putters and have had mixed results.

First one I did was a Taylormade Ghost Manta that I got for super cheap as experiment. Cut it down to 33.5" and installed a Ping paddle grip. With headweight of 380g I expected it to feel very heavy but that wasn't the case at all. Oddly even though its swing weight tipped out at F10, in the hands it felt the same as any other putter. The roll was fantastic and fairly easy to get the putts online.

 

With a little experience, I went onto chop a Mizuno Bettinardi BC5 Belly. Its head weight is 395g, and I took it down to 34". Tried it and I literally got sore from putting.. it was off the scale on swing weight. Removed the grip.. took down another inch and same result. Changed grip to a Super Stroke XL with 50g counter weight and finally got swing weight down to F12, barely registered on the scale.. I am basically still struggling with its weight.

 

The Betti has the beefy belly putter shaft while the Manta does not. I wonder if that made a big difference. Another puzzling thing is that I also have short version of the BC5 that's 355g. Now both putters are at the same length, but require completely different putting stroke. My best guess is that they might have slightly different lie angle.

 

In hind sight, I think I made a mistake with the Betti.. I should have done XL grip with counter weight and left its length at 34", or even extend it to 35". it might have worked better as a true counter weighted set up. I have not gone back to test that as it is somewhat a paine to blow off the XL grip with large port for counter weight. Maybe I'll just replace the shaft all together.

 

So the warning I would say is to be mindful of swing weight due to the heavier than usual head, and possibly slightly different lie.

[zzyzxx33]

I cut my Kombi from 42 to 38.5 inches, put in a 50 gram back weight and a round Scotty Cameron grip. It few really nice on my indoor putting green, but I'll have to wait a few months to get back to the course. We have 3 plus feet of snow in Bend and it's snowing again.

[T-MAC]

I have a Cameron Studio Style MID with a 370g head that I cut down and made a DB putter with. Cut it down to about 2.5 inches longer than my normal playing length, put a 30g weight in the shaft and slid on a DB grip. Works great.

One thing to keep in mind on belly putters with thicker shafts is that the grip will feel fatter than normal. It's like putting a grip on a normal shaft with about 8-10 wraps underneath.

[Rick Danger]

I just picked up a Mizuno Bettinardi BC5 Belly with the thought of doing a counterbalance conversion. Any recommendations based on your experience? I normally play putters at 34" so I'm thinking of cutting this 36" and starting with a 50g weight then adding more to taste. Did you ever do anymore work on that putter?

[mister2cool]

I moved my grip up a little so overall length is now 35", and I putt with 34". That couple inch made a lot of difference in terms of feel as I am not struggling to hold on to the very tail of a sledgehammer as I did when it was at 33". Superstroke has a fairly rigid core so it's not totally noodle in the last couple inches where the shaft doesn't reach. It does move a tiny bit but it's totally OK as experiment. I'd extend or replace that shaft if I really want to make this permanent and take it out on course again.

I personally prefer a short overhang above my hands and most my CB putters are 35". But I can definitely see 36" would work fine. Depending on your hand position, just watch out for the top getting snagged on your shirt.

[Big L]

I have a White Hot mid center shaft putter that I cut down to 36 and put a Superstroke 3.0XL on it. I grip it at around 34" and it's been old reliable for quite a few years now. It was the only putter I was succesful with using left hand low with as well. It's definitely the putter I use when I feel the stroke starting to get a little squirly cause the weight makes things a lot easier. The head is still a bit on the heavy side and I've thought about putting a counter weight in to help balance it out, just haven't had the chance to.