side saddle putters - what putter are you using?

[mv713]

On 5/11/2022 at 11:46 AM, Joe Duffer said:

mv713, what putter are you using?

Found 2 putters at 2nd swing golf to try side saddle putters to see if this is a style of putting that would help my game. before investing in a Bobby Grace. The first is a Ping Scottsdale Pickemup L 48 inch, the ball jumps up a lot when putting a stroke on it, my guess is it has to much loft.

The second putter i purchased was in a 19.99 bargain bin, a putter I never heard of Schrader Finalizer, it was a 50 inch putter, the only thing I was able to find on it was that it was a side saddle putter and had 0 loft. It was 50 inches, looked like someone changed the shaft on the putter, shaft looks like an iron extended shaft, I had to put new grips on and had it cut down to 46 inches. this is the one I have been using as the roll is pretty smooth, the head of the putter is very similar to the Bomar putters

 

On 5/11/2022 at 11:46 AM, Joe Duffer said:

mv713, what putter are you using?

 

 

On 5/11/2022 at 11:46 AM, Joe Duffer said:

mv713, what putter are you using?

 

 

[bluedot]

On 5/21/2022 at 5:57 PM, joshrad_golf said:

I recommend using the SeeMore putter they build.specifically for side saddle! Great feel of the club head, custom cut to length, split grip, and up to the legal limit in lie angle, making it as straight up and down as possible.

Until you posted this, I wasn’t aware that SeeMore was making this putter, and now I’m VERY curious!
 

Have you used any other side saddle putters that you could compare it to?

[BigEx44]

7 hours ago, bluedot said:

Until you posted this, I wasn’t aware that SeeMore was making this putter, and now I’m VERY curious!
 

Have you used any other side saddle putters that you could compare it to?

 

One of my early sidesaddle putters was a SeeMore SB20 center shafted putter.

https://www.pgatoursuperstore.com/sbc-20/1108182001.html?country=US&currency=USD

Seemore made it to spec for me (46" length and 500g head)

I moved on from it because it didn't line up to the hole as well as the F22.

I still have it in my "collection".

Edited May 25, 2022 by BigEx44

[bluedot]

3 hours ago, BigEx44 said:

 

One of my early sidesaddle putters was a SeeMore SB20 center shafted putter.

https://www.pgatoursuperstore.com/sbc-20/1108182001.html?country=US&currency=USD

Seemore made it to spec for me (46" length and 500g head)

I moved on from it because it didn't line up to the hole as well as the F22.

I still have it in my "collection".

Interesting; thanks!

[bluedot]

Well, I just placed an order for a Mezz…

 

I am not a well man.  This will be two LAB putters, to go with my FOUR Bobby Grace putters, a JuanPutt, an STX, a Holloway, a Bomar, a Ping B90, and a GP.  (In my “defense” I gave away one BG, so there are “only” two in the hall closet in addition to the F22 in my bag.  I’ve had cars that cost less than all of that.

 

This is going to be one of those things my wife will discover after my death and just shake her head and say, “WTF?”

[mv713]

11 hours ago, bluedot said:

Well, I just placed an order for a Mezz…

 

I am not a well man.  This will be two LAB putters, to go with my FOUR Bobby Grace putters, a JuanPutt, an STX, a Holloway, a Bomar, a Ping B90, and a GP.  (In my “defense” I gave away one BG, so there are “only” two in the hall closet in addition to the F22 in my bag.  I’ve had cars that cost less than all of that.

 

This is going to be one of those things my wife will discover after my death and just shake her head and say, “WTF?”

How would you rank all your sidesaddle putters starting with most favorite, which one is in your bag

[bluedot]

10 hours ago, mv713 said:

How would you rank all your sidesaddle putters starting with most favorite, which one is in your bag

Like BigEx44 and others, the Bobby Grace F22 is by far the best I’ve found. From time to time I’ll use either the Directed Force (now LAB 2.1) or the JuanPutt, but always come back to the F22 eventually.  I like BG’s other putters, but not nearly as much.

 

l love the DF/LAB, but I bought it very early on, and they hadn’t really figured out the weighting for a long putter back then. I think the idea of lie angle balancing is valid technology; it is a GREAT putter on really fast greens because it just wants to release straight down the line you’ve picked. But that putter head is so light that it’s difficult on very long putts, and useless from off the green.  They are building their long putters now with a head weight of 500 grams, so I’m hopeful that the Mezz will be really good.

 

The JuanPutt is helpful when I get into a funk caused by not releasing the putter done the line, which is my default flaw, along with a lot of the rest of the world.  The head is the width of the hole, the white stripe on top is the width of the ball, and the weight is excellent, so it’s a really good practice tool for me.  It’s also the putter that I used for most of the first couple of years of face on when I was practicing constantly, so it feels very familiar; I’d have no hesitation using it today.

 

I think I’d really like the old STX, too, but the insert is so soft that I just can’t seem to get used to it.  The others are all too small and/or too light for me, but that may be because of so many years with the JuanPutt, DF, and F22, which are all BIG!

[BigEx44]

On 5/25/2022 at 10:10 AM, bluedot said:

Well, I just placed an order for a Mezz…

 

I am not a well man.  This will be two LAB putters, to go with my FOUR Bobby Grace putters, a JuanPutt, an STX, a Holloway, a Bomar, a Ping B90, and a GP.  (In my “defense” I gave away one BG, so there are “only” two in the hall closet in addition to the F22 in my bag.  I’ve had cars that cost less than all of that.

 

This is going to be one of those things my wife will discover after my death and just shake her head and say, “WTF?”

 

Definitely let us know how you like it.

[bluedot]

18 minutes ago, BigEx44 said:

 

Definitely let us know how you like it.

They say 5 weeks, so I’m hoping before the 4th of July.

[brentflog]

Did anyone here ever get the f18 switch hitter from BG?  It doesn’t look like it is even for sale anymore?  I find it a little intriguing 

[The Pearl]

On 5/25/2022 at 8:10 AM, bluedot said:

Well, I just placed an order for a Mezz…

 

I am not a well man.  This will be two LAB putters, to go with my FOUR Bobby Grace putters, a JuanPutt, an STX, a Holloway, a Bomar, a Ping B90, and a GP.  (In my “defense” I gave away one BG, so there are “only” two in the hall closet in addition to the F22 in my bag.  I’ve had cars that cost less than all of that.

 

This is going to be one of those things my wife will discover after my death and just shake her head and say, “WTF?”

 

 

What do you think of the Bomar putters?

[bluedot]

2 hours ago, The Pearl said:

 

 

What do you think of the Bomar putters?

It's well-made.  I have two things that keep me from using it.  It's too small and too light; it is the lightest of my putters (other than the GP, which is a whole other thing, really) by nearly 50 grams.  And it's at a 76* lie angle.

[CrookedRiverGar]

I have a Reeso VTX side saddle/face on putter. If anyone has one, how do you adjust the lie angle? I know there is a hex nut in the middle of the back of the head that can be loosened, but when I do that it doesn’t fit in the groove. I’m confused. Am I missing something?
Thanks.

[Horseshoe2]

I have two of them, bought direct from Sandy before he passed. The Shaft is glued into an aluminum piece that then attaches to the head with the hex nut. This aluminum piece can be bent. I know it is scary but you simply stand on the head of the putter and bend the shaft to the position you want. Take it slow and review as you go along. You will have to “overbend” a bit since the aluminum has a “memory”.  I actually bent one to a left handed and it did not break until I tried to bend it back to right handed. Eventually the aluminum will fail but you will have no problem adjusting to normal lie angles.  I am saying aluminum because that is what it looks like. I think it was some sort of special alloy.  Hope this helps.

[CrookedRiverGar]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[Horseshoe2]

On 5/29/2022 at 7:54 PM, bluedot said:

It's well-made.  I have two things that keep me from using it.  It's too small and too light; it is the lightest of my putters (other than the GP, which is a whole other thing, really) by nearly 50 grams.  And it's at a 76* lie angle.

You can take off the grip and put tungsten or lead down the shaft, cork it and effectively add whatever you want. I added 35 grams to mine and it is considerably more stable, probably will add a little more.

[Horseshoe2]

On 5/29/2022 at 5:08 PM, The Pearl said:

 

 

 

 

On 5/29/2022 at 7:41 AM, BigEx44 said:

 

[Horseshoe2]

Which LAB did you get and how do you like it? The 2.1 looks too flat for sidesaddle. Due to the angle necessary for stroking there should be a little rocker  to the bottom. The Mez 1 looks like a winner to me. I rolled a few with it as a traditional and it felt really good. Probably will spring for one but would like your opinion first please.

[AriA]

I'm also dying to hear how the Mezz performs

[bluedot]

On 6/6/2022 at 2:51 PM, Mike Phillips said:

Which LAB did you get and how do you like it? The 2.1 looks too flat for sidesaddle. Due to the angle necessary for stroking there should be a little rocker  to the bottom. The Mez 1 looks like a winner to me. I rolled a few with it as a traditional and it felt really good. Probably will spring for one but would like your opinion first please.

I guess this is to me?
 

I don’t have the Mezz yet; hoping it’ll come in early July.  Fwiw, I really liked the 2.1; it was just too light.  I got mine VERY early on, back in 2016, and at that time they weren’t adding extra weight to long putters, which they do now.  Mine isn’t even the “2.1”; It’s labeled as the “Reno” model, though it’s the same design.  Mine is a great putter for fast greens, and very useful for practice purposes when I find myself not releasing the putter properly, but the lack of head weight makes it problematic on really long putts and especially out of the fringe.

 

I never found the need to sole the putter flat to be a problem.  The LAB putters feel so good releasing that it’s well worth the effort to use them soled.  

[Horseshoe2]

Thanks, I was worried your wife found your collection and hijacked the Mez before you got it.  Aparently the 2.1 long is the same weight as the standard.

[mv713]

I just purchased a Bobby Grace, been to the Pratice green a few times and used the putter in a round early this week. Been putting sidesaddle approximately 1 month.

I have been trying to putt using the pencil grip with my right hand and putting my left thumb on the top butt of the club. Although this feels natural it seems like I have a difficult time bringing the putter straight back and thru, this has caused me to be very shaky on short putts and find I am missing to many. Yesterday I went to the practice green to try different grips such as the right hand gripping the club like you would toss the ball, this grip did not help on short putts as I seemed to be pulling putts.

I then tried taking the right hand with the back of the hand facing the hole and the palm facing the shaft this grip was in front of the putter rather than on the side or in the back.

This grip was not natural and seemed ark ward but I was able to put short putts in the hole on a consistent basis, even did pretty well on mid length and longer putts.

I found it made no difference on how I put my left hand, with the thumb on top or not on top. 
Do any of you side saddlers putt this way, is it legal, I don't feel like I am anchored to any body part?? One more question do you try to hold the club at a 90 degree angle or sole the putter ? 

 

 

 

 

 

[rexroh]

The right hand grip is similar to throwing boules (Pétanque) and is used to stop using too much wrist in the throw.  As you have found it also works for your putting.  With practice it should give you more control and feel. 
 

 

[BigEx44]

7 hours ago, mv713 said:

I just purchased a Bobby Grace, been to the Pratice green a few times and used the putter in a round early this week. Been putting sidesaddle approximately 1 month.

I have been trying to putt using the pencil grip with my right hand and putting my left thumb on the top butt of the club. Although this feels natural it seems like I have a difficult time bringing the putter straight back and thru, this has caused me to be very shaky on short putts and find I am missing to many. Yesterday I went to the practice green to try different grips such as the right hand gripping the club like you would toss the ball, this grip did not help on short putts as I seemed to be pulling putts.

I then tried taking the right hand with the back of the hand facing the hole and the palm facing the shaft this grip was in front of the putter rather than on the side or in the back.

This grip was not natural and seemed ark ward but I was able to put short putts in the hole on a consistent basis, even did pretty well on mid length and longer putts.

I found it made no difference on how I put my left hand, with the thumb on top or not on top. 
Do any of you side saddlers putt this way, is it legal, I don't feel like I am anchored to any body part?? One more question do you try to hold the club at a 90 degree angle or sole the putter ? 

 

 

1) Have you tried using the pencil grip that feels so natural to you (which is the grip I also use...) and not worrying so much about going perfectly straight back and straight through?  I think my stroke comes a little to the inside on my BS but I don't try to get to anal about it.  I just let the putter swing naturally. (and my putter coming a bit to the inside might be because of #2 below....).  And I've been putting lights out this summer.

 

3) Of course when your practicing - you can work on a SBST stroke - but I wouldn't get tied up in knots about it while you're on the golf course.

 

2) I used to hold the putter at 90 degrees but have recently found myself putting better with club mostly soled (I may be a little toe down).  The stroke just feels more stable to me which is especially helpful for lag putts.

[bluedot]

21 hours ago, Mike Phillips said:

Thanks, I was worried your wife found your collection and hijacked the Mez before you got it.  Aparently the 2.1 long is the same weight as the standard.

LAB now recommends a 500 gram head weight for a long putter.  On their website, there is a tab labeled “LAB 101”, and under that a tab labeled “broomsticks”.   They don’t typically give info about head weight, since they are going to weight each putter head according to the lie angle, but the 500 gram recommendation is an exception. I’d guess the difference is that they know most of the long putters they make are going to be at, or very close to, the 77-79*  lie angle limit range.
 

 

[bluedot]

9 hours ago, mv713 said:

I just purchased a Bobby Grace, been to the Pratice green a few times and used the putter in a round early this week. Been putting sidesaddle approximately 1 month.

I have been trying to putt using the pencil grip with my right hand and putting my left thumb on the top butt of the club. Although this feels natural it seems like I have a difficult time bringing the putter straight back and thru, this has caused me to be very shaky on short putts and find I am missing to many. Yesterday I went to the practice green to try different grips such as the right hand gripping the club like you would toss the ball, this grip did not help on short putts as I seemed to be pulling putts.

I then tried taking the right hand with the back of the hand facing the hole and the palm facing the shaft this grip was in front of the putter rather than on the side or in the back.

This grip was not natural and seemed ark ward but I was able to put short putts in the hole on a consistent basis, even did pretty well on mid length and longer putts.

I found it made no difference on how I put my left hand, with the thumb on top or not on top. 
Do any of you side saddlers putt this way, is it legal, I don't feel like I am anchored to any body part?? One more question do you try to hold the club at a 90 degree angle or sole the putter ? 

 

 

 

 

 

1. That grip is legal.

2. Some guys sole the putter, some guys try to go vertical, and some are in between.  There is a trade off involved in going vertical, as there is with ANY club that isn’t soled. You lose a little bit of sweet spot, and you risk changing the face angle; typically with the heel off the ground you COULD be aimed slightly to the right.  This is something you have to work out thru practice; there isn’t one answer.

3. Consider the possibility that the short putt issues have nothing to do with the method or the grip, but are about the universal tendency of golfers to decelerate on short putts. When we do that, we miss low a LOT, but we get two way misses, too, because we’re “popping” the putt instead of stroking it.  Don’t worry about taking the putter straight back; it’ll be straight enough, I promise.  Focus on not taking it back past the toe of your front foot, or something like that, which will allow you to release the putter down the line. Again,this is a universal in putting; it doesn’t have much, if anything, to do with method.

 

And in that regard, try to avoid the tendency we all have to make every putt a referendum on the method, which is REALLY easy to do! Be confident that using binocular vision and letting one arm swing naturally is a better way to roll a golf ball across a green. You can still misread the putt, or get the speed wrong, or decelerate on the thru stroke; those are NOT side saddle issues!

[mv713]

On 6/9/2022 at 8:08 AM, bluedot said:

1. That grip is legal.

2. Some guys sole the putter, some guys try to go vertical, and some are in between.  There is a trade off involved in going vertical, as there is with ANY club that isn’t soled. You lose a little bit of sweet spot, and you risk changing the face angle; typically with the heel off the ground you COULD be aimed slightly to the right.  This is something you have to work out thru practice; there isn’t one answer.

3. Consider the possibility that the short putt issues have nothing to do with the method or the grip, but are about the universal tendency of golfers to decelerate on short putts. When we do that, we miss low a LOT, but we get two way misses, too, because we’re “popping” the putt instead of stroking it.  Don’t worry about taking the putter straight back; it’ll be straight enough, I promise.  Focus on not taking it back past the toe of your front foot, or something like that, which will allow you to release the putter down the line. Again,this is a universal in putting; it doesn’t have much, if anything, to do with method.

 

And in that regard, try to avoid the tendency we all have to make every putt a referendum on the method, which is REALLY easy to do! Be confident that using binocular vision and letting one arm swing naturally is a better way to roll a golf ball across a green. You can still misread the putt, or get the speed wrong, or decelerate on the thru stroke; those are NOT side saddle issues!

I went to the practice green today and took your advice about about not taking the putter back past my toe and being mindful about releasing the putter down the line. what a world of difference it made, i really felt good about my putting practice today.

thank you very much for that bit of advice.

[bluedot]

Got an email yesterday afternoon from LAB Golf that the Mezz I ordered in late May has shipped; should be here in NC early next week.

 

So I played in my regular weekday game today using the F22, and made everything inside 10’ and had tap-ins on the rest.  27 putts, no 3 putts.

 

So how do putters know that you’re thinking about replacing them?

Edited June 24, 2022 by bluedot

[Chopper1986]

Does anyone have any information on the GP Side Saddle putter? I have recently switched to broom putting style, using a really old Ping broom. The problem is the lie angle is to flat for me, I much prefer a more upright putter. Would the GP work as a broom putting style? Or does anyone have any recommendations? I am UK based so trying to find a broom style putter is like finding rocking horse sh!t 🙂

[Joe Duffer]

On 6/23/2022 at 6:39 PM, bluedot said:

Got an email yesterday afternoon from LAB Golf that the Mezz I ordered in late May has shipped; should be here in NC early next week.

 

So I played in my regular weekday game today using the F22, and made everything inside 10’ and had tap-ins on the rest.  27 putts, no 3 putts.

 

So how do putters know that you’re thinking about replacing them?

Well....... we're waiting!