Talk me into or out of arm lock putting

[iNeedMoreGolf]

I agree100%. Putting is all touch. Whatever gets you on your exact line and feels good to swing and be in a stance with. When you hit you putt with the right putter youll know its for you their's a big difference. Mostly comfort assurance confidence

[Z1ggy16]

Question for ppl who are into numbers and fitting :

If I play the ball just forward of center with my normal 3* putter and have a 0* AoA and present 2* of loft at impact, how much static loft would I want for armlock assuming I don't alter ball position drastically?

[Kev-Golfnut61]

Any recommendations on getting fit correctly? I live in Indiana. Just curious if getting fit would really help.

 

[Mudguard]

I've been pondering this. I used the Kuchar Betti with spectacular success for about two rounds then fell apart. Went back to a normal putter with the claw grip.

How does one choose the spec? From memory I felt the Betti was too short, it had a lot of loft which was fine, but when I look at the Odyssey offerings I'd no idea where to start. For example I'm 178cm tall (5"10) and of normal proportions. Using the claw I prefer a 35" putter or 36", putting normal handed 34".

There's unlikely a chance I can demo different configurations either.

[MattM97]

There are a lot of things I do already that will translate over to the Arm lock. Ball forward in my stance, forward press, how I hold the putter in my lead arm is basically locked in place and I'm generally using a longer putter as I'm upright.

 

But with all that said the armlock could be the worst thing for me. Only using one will tell.

[swizbeatz]

I’ll type out a longer response to my earlier post tomorrow on a computer, browsing on mobile now. I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on the betti models and how they are different.

[swizbeatz]

 

Mine is 44" I think, 2 inches longer than the old stock. The older kuchar model 1's and 2's were a little longer stock, the newer ones start shorter to reflect the change in setup Kuch has gone through. He used to be closer to his elbow and that's how I like mine, currently he's a little shorter. I haven't changed loft or lie on mine, I bought one on a whim and then did a SAM putter fitting after the fact and it didn't need to be tweaked. The setup is so important, once you find something that feels comfortable its really easy to do over and over with the arm lock. Most likely I got comfortable with it, setup got consistent, and when I did the fitting I was already putting so well that nothing needed to be changed.

The older models with the big single bend shafts are going to require more forward press. The newer Bettis come stock with 5* of loft and less offset, I think the newer ones probably feel more comfortable to more people but I've stuck with the original model 2. And I've bought every arm lock they have released for "experimenting" :).

The stroke for most people is going to feel straight back straight through. Even Kuchar, who sucks the putter inside at takeaway, doesn't actually have much face rotation. Bryson also has little face rotation but because of his setup is going to have a little straighter path too. For me what feels like straight back straight through is actually a very slight arc with 2* face rotation open at the end of back swing and shut at the end of follow through. For me its also a very left arm driven stroke and that's how I've been teaching my buddies. I'll hit putts with only my left arm on it during practice, my left thumb is on the right side of the putter grip and applies pressure into my left forearm making it stick. The grip never leaves my arm until the end of the follow through on very long putts. My buddy is actually using the claw with his right hand with very little pressure with some success as well.

Everyones setup is going to be a little different but its about finding something that feels comfortable and starts the ball on line. One you get that the putter will feel just as natural as a shorter one when you pick it up. It took me no time to get comfortable, it showed up, I used it during a practice round the next day, and put it in play in my local scratch team play event the following day. Most of my buddies that stuck with it see some promising things right away but it took them more like 10 rounds or practice sessions to say for sure they were going to try it for an extended period of time. Generally speaking people will be better from short range but say they have issues with lag putting. I think that has a lot to do with head weight and the milling or finish of the putter face. I've tried and Odyssey with a white hot face and couldn't feel the ball at all. I also had a betti model from two years ago with a ceramic coating on the whole head that for some reason put a crazy hot roll on the ball and was hard to control distance with. That lasted all of 3 rounds in the bag and its no wonder Kuch never used it. Personally I think the FIT face betti is top notch, last years are great as well as the original model 1 and 2 although being a left is an issue. There are people on the betti facebook group that have converted heads like the QB6 and QB8 to arm locks, I bet you could find a lefty version on there. I'd be happy to shoot you a pick of my hand position at address and help you find one when and if your ready, just shoot me a PM.

[Aucaveman]

So I picked up my new Mizuno m craft 3 Thursday, and picked up another armlock last night. I know, it's a problem, but armlocking just makes sense to me, even though I still can't hardly use it. Previously I had a kuchar Betti and didn't like the offset. This time I got an Odyssey armlock. It still has a good amount of offset. Does anyone use a regular putter lengthened to use as an armlock. I know they say you need the offset and extra loft, but I feel like a regular putter lengthened would be better for me.

[swizbeatz]

I don’t see how that would work, it would have 0 loft and the ball would be driven into the ground. In theory.

[jas904]

I do. I use a 385 gram headweight Ping Ketsch that has 7* loft and 71* lie angle, a BGT Stability arm lock shaft and a Superstroke 1.7 flat side against arm. I love it.

[coops]

I didn't like the way the Bettinardi arm lock sat at address either.

 

If you're left eye dominant like me, or like to have the ball forward in your stance you could try what I've ended up with :-

 

an Armlock AL2 grip - the bore is at an angle in the grip so it helps with the setup and loft when converting a putter to arm lock Amazon.com : Arm-Lock Golf Professional Jumbo Putter Grip - 17-Inch Long for Arm Lock Putting Putter Grip in White/Blue : Sports & Outdoors

then because I already liked the look (as in the very rectangular shape helps my aim and the centre shaft etc) of an old Seemore FGP... I got a new FGP Giant in the counterbalance length and weight. The extra weight and length is just fine for converting it to armlock.

 

 

[Aucaveman]

So the grip is 17 inches. So on a 35 inch putter it would end up being around 42 inches total??? That's assuming most grips are around 10 inches. I'll prob give it shot. I took out the Odyssey tonight and was not feeling it. Made 3 birdies with the Mizuno after swapping. Prob need to say that I prefer a light putter too. Like really light. I have all the weights removed from the mizuno. Which puts the head weight around 339. It's still almost too heavy.

[coops]

No - the Armlock grip slips over all the way down.. so your 35" putter would be 35" with a long grip - useful if you want to go the old Langer standard length putter arm lock method ;-)

 

Either extend a regular putter if you like very light, or a counterbalance model which are made longer and heavier overall to start, I'd say.

[br61]

Last fall I bought 40" Odyssey V-Line Arm Lock putter from CPO during their Black Friday deals. An experiment that did not go as planned. I'm 5'10", it felt too short and too flat.

But I knew it might work if I ordered a putter at around 75* and 42" or so in length. When I found out about new Odyssey Big Seven Arm Lock, ordered it at 3* upright at 75* & 43" and will give it 5-10 round tryout. So far, the lie angle looks really good. I noticed Sik does offer more upright standard lie angles in their models than Odyssey, Bettinardi and Ping.

I have a JumboMax grip coming, I ordered it at 43" and will see how it feel as it is easier to lob 1" off if needed.

[swizbeatz]

Another buddy was able to order his way upright from betti too just fwiw. Also check out the new Bettinardi pictures on here, looks like they are doubling down with the less offset and less loft movement at least on the tour level. I'm going to find out if they plan to come out with anything new this year or continue with the SS arm lock from last year. The notchback is better than the rounded mallet in last years model.

[Tugu]

On a non performance note, if you walk and carry these are less than ideal. For obvious reasons.

[WDE321]

Ok so as someone who struggled with short putts, 3-7 feet and even had a touch of the yips with my wrist. Arm locking saved my game. Long story short I had counter balance 38” Scotty Cameron 7M I traded a #7 to my cousin for. Well Long story short I took it to PGASS and the guy behind the counter luckily used an armlock putter and he knew exactly what to do. He added 6 inches to it (I am 6’3”) and he used the lie/loft machine they have to bend it to around 73 and 7. I originally put a cheap Winn belly putter grip on there and couldn’t ever really get it to lock to my arm. Well I loved the idea behind it and usually started all my putts on the correct line. I ordered a JumboMax grip and it was an absolute game changer. It’s thicker and it fits perfectly against your arm. I make everything inside of 10 ft. The only part I struggle with is lag putting for around 40+ feet. Any fellow arm lockers have any tips for lag putting?

[MattM97]

Have a pushcart when I walk, the constant on and off of a carry bag messes with my bum shoulder and back. But if I was I'd probably toss it up with my woods.

[BeanFrog]

What's the standard way to measure an armlock putter? I have two, both listed at 42", but there is a definite difference in length.

[dlow206]

I am interested in armlock putting, but I would need a much shorter than standard armlock putter. I am thinking it would need to be around 36". I an almost armlock a standard 35" putter lol (if it was bent to the right loft and lie). With a standard putter, i typically use a 32" putter but choked down almost all the way down the grip.

 

With needing such a short armlock, is it better to buy a standard putter at 36" and have it bent to the right loft and lie? Also, with it being about 36" do i still need the additional headweight that is typically in an armlock putter.

[Honeybadger]

When I tried armlock putting for about a season, I lost all feel and couldn’t lag putt. 

[vietnameeh]

I have been on and off arm lock.

 

I just picked up a double wide arm lock (had a metal x 7 arm lock)... I actually liked it with the stock grip.

 

Just swapped the grip for a superstroke flatso 17. Flatside on left arm....... I am not sure I like it LOL I am pulling putts like crazy on the course. I have smaller hands so I may go back because IT WAS BAD ! 

 

spent time on the practice green and tried everything (ball position, shoulder alignment, etc). I am narrowing it down to the grip change since that's the only thing that has changed. 

 

but with all things I need more time to assimilate 

 

love this thread some good info

 

[dlow206]

Started armlocking within the last month, still trying to work through the technique and which grip i prefer. I like that the SIK putter comes very upright at about 78 degrees. I also had to cut it down to somewhere between 36" and 37" otherwise it would be illegal. 

[doc52]

Did you cut it down to 36” or 37” because it was going past your elbow? 
 

I have mine at 77 degrees and putting the ball forward in my stance. Putting has been great since gaming the armlock for 5 weeks. 

[Jaygolf37]

I briefly looked into this same topic, both for myself, as well as my students.  I needed to know what it was about so I could try to answer their questions.  Short version was that I loved the stability, but didn’t like the rigid technique required for it.

I have started experimenting with a broomstick Craz-E (not anchoring), and I love it.

[ChaosTheory]

1 hour ago, doc52 said:

Did you cut it down to 36” or 37” because it was going past your elbow? 
 

I have mine at 77 degrees and putting the ball forward in my stance. Putting has been great since gaming the armlock for 5 weeks. 

 

I started a couple of weeks ago, and love it.  I also have the ball forward.  The putter shaft is in line with my armpit.  I feel like that's the pivot point of the stroke.  Because the shaft is not leaned forward, I don't really need any more loft than normal.  I bent mine up to 76 lie angle, seems about right.  I could live with 74-75 as well.

 

It feels like a bunch of loose joints have been firmed up.   MUCH less directional variance than my conventional putting.   If a person is already great from 10 feet and in, they probably don't need it.  But if you kind of suck at 3, 6, 10 footers, try it.

[MattM97]

I should update this since I started this thread 9-10 months ago.

 

The whole covid supply chain issues didn't help much, almost impossible to find an armlock putter for a fair price in LH and I wanted to buy one without the grip so I could measure and cut to size cause I could be anywhere from 39-44" for length. So I did the most logical thing I worked on my putting and it was probably my best aspect of my game in 2021 but it still wasn't great.

 

I contacted a putting coach and despite needing work in other aspects of my game my schedule couldn't commit to that so I decided to improve my putting even more. Won't hurt my game honestly if my putting is always on, probably saved me a few rounds. He immediately saw a few issues and we worked on those and my putting got much better and now have all winter to improve it even more.

 

I still want to try armlock one day but I have to do it right if I'm even going to attempt it. Hopefully this thread helped some others wanting to try or avoid it.

[dlow206]

3 hours ago, doc52 said:

Did you cut it down to 36” or 37” because it was going past your elbow? 
 

I have mine at 77 degrees and putting the ball forward in my stance. Putting has been great since gaming the armlock for 5 weeks. 

Yeah, greater than 37" and it for sure goes past my elbow. I'm barely 5'5" with shoes on and have proportionately shorter legs for someone my height, so i generally need short putters. In a standard putter, i use a 31" putter. 

[doc52]

13 hours ago, MattM97 said:

I should update this since I started this thread 9-10 months ago.

 

The whole covid supply chain issues didn't help much, almost impossible to find an armlock putter for a fair price in LH and I wanted to buy one without the grip so I could measure and cut to size cause I could be anywhere from 39-44" for length. So I did the most logical thing I worked on my putting and it was probably my best aspect of my game in 2021 but it still wasn't great.

 

I contacted a putting coach and despite needing work in other aspects of my game my schedule couldn't commit to that so I decided to improve my putting even more. Won't hurt my game honestly if my putting is always on, probably saved me a few rounds. He immediately saw a few issues and we worked on those and my putting got much better and now have all winter to improve it even more.

 

I still want to try armlock one day but I have to do it right if I'm even going to attempt it. Hopefully this thread helped some others wanting to try or avoid it.

 

Exactly what my fitter did for me. Ordered the shaft uncut, initially trimmed and started at 42" and got down to 41.5" and working my way down if I need it. I'm putting well at 41.5" and do not see the need to adjust length any time soon.

[RH82]

Where's the preferred area on the lead forearm where the top of the grip should hit? A few inches below the crease of your arm?