side saddle putters - what putter are you using?

[Horseshoe2]

By the way, I find no difficulty going vertical on the Bomar (to each his own). In my opinion Vertiflex becomes an issue with the width of the head and the shape of the sole. The Resso is wide but the sole is radiuses on each side of the head. The F22 is flat if I remember correctly. The Bomar is narrow and radiused a bit.

[Horseshoe2]

I looked up the Resso on EBay. This is a later version which had a slightly nicer finish than the original. One thing to note is that the putter was actually designed to bend to any lie angle. You simply step on the head and bend the shaft insert. I have used my as a traditional and then bent it back to 80 many times. I actually bent it lefty for a friend to try although that is not recommended. A standard Allen wrench will take out the weight ports or remove the head. The original weights were 20g and 40g. The head will hold up to 4 weights. Unfortunately the seller does not list any spare weights but you could probably get some steel or brass rod cut to size. If I did not have one I would buy it. 

[J_Tizzle]

Seeing IG videos from BG with someone using this new putter.  I sure want to know when they're going to ship out.  I kinda regret not spending the extra $$ and getting the stability shaft.  In an email he said 3/14, but no tracking yet...

[Horseshoe2]

I was told on Friday it would ship this Wednesday 23rd

[brentflog]

31 minutes ago, J_Tizzle said:

Seeing IG videos from BG with someone using this new putter.  I sure want to know when they're going to ship out.  I kinda regret not spending the extra $$ and getting the stability shaft.  In an email he said 3/14, but no tracking yet...

Link?  

[BigEx44]

14 hours ago, J_Tizzle said:

Seeing IG videos from BG with someone using this new putter.  I sure want to know when they're going to ship out.  I kinda regret not spending the extra $$ and getting the stability shaft.  In an email he said 3/14, but no tracking yet...

 

550g.  That's pretty heavy.  And there are no weights to remove.  I'll be very interested to hear how you like it.

[mshills]

On 3/17/2023 at 12:21 PM, J_Tizzle said:

The Bomar was very difficult to get vertical.  If you don't believe me I have one I'd sell you for cheap!

Talk to me. How long, how’s the grip, how difficult was it (they are purported to be designed for SS putting so interested in your take!), and how cheap?

[Horseshoe2]

Are you asking about the Bomar or the BG Proto? My Proto shipped Yesterday so I cannot comment on it till after it arives, hopefully for the weekend.

[Horseshoe2]

If you are talking the Bomar Blaze, I ordered 48” and then began cutting down till I was happy at 46”. Nothing scientific, but I prefer my left arm to be horizontal to the ground when gripping the top of the club. Also, even more important it will not go in the trunk of my Jag if it is over 46”. 🥴 I have several other SS putters and experimenting ( I have gone thru a lot of shafts) 46 just seems to work. I am 5’8” and at 72 will probably not get any taller.

[Horseshoe2]

Regarding the weight. I have a side saddle that is about 600g and it is too heavy. According to Bobby the Proto is counter balanced with a grip that is about 330g. This will be interesting.  For me the weight definitely helps stabilize the stroke but with it all in the head I have had problems. I put some tungsten down the shaft of the Bomar and that helped but I worry about adding weight that is not totally in the head. We will see.

[J_Tizzle]

On 3/21/2023 at 7:37 AM, Horseshoe2 said:

Regarding the weight. I have a side saddle that is about 600g and it is too heavy. According to Bobby the Proto is counter balanced with a grip that is about 330g. This will be interesting.  For me the weight definitely helps stabilize the stroke but with it all in the head I have had problems. I put some tungsten down the shaft of the Bomar and that helped but I worry about adding weight that is not totally in the head. We will see.

 

Yeah one thing I liked about the F35 and F22 that I have is that they had a bunch of weights you could remove just to try it at different weights pending on the greens you're playing.  I always liked it heavier on fast greens and just let the ball get in the way, but in the fall/winter when the greens slow down I usually pulled 2-3 of the weights to lighten it up.  

 

Once again, really wish he'd give up on this whole switch hitter thing.  You could easily just throw 4 of the normal weights he uses in his putter on the back side of this new proto, add 1/2" to an 1" in length and just make it a big square, and let people have some adjustability.  I mean either way I'll buy them, so...  He's got me on the hook for about $500 every 12 months.

[Horseshoe2]

More than the weight, the issue for me on the F22 was the width of the face and the soft insert. To each his own.  Whatever works is the best putter. Anyway, I just got notice my Proto delivered today so I will be in my back yard tonight trying it out. Will give some initial impressions and I hope to be able to play tomorrow afternoon. My home green runs about the same speed as the ones at my club but without a lot of breaks and no real long putts so it is not conclusive. Let you guys know soon.

[J_Tizzle]

19 minutes ago, Horseshoe2 said:

More than the weight, the issue for me on the F22 was the width of the face and the soft insert. To each his own.  Whatever works is the best putter. Anyway, I just got notice my Proto delivered today so I will be in my back yard tonight trying it out. Will give some initial impressions and I hope to be able to play tomorrow afternoon. My home green runs about the same speed as the ones at my club but without a lot of breaks and no real long putts so it is not conclusive. Let you guys know soon.

 

Oh yeah you're a bit closer to him than I am in Missouri, so no surprise you got yours earlier.  Hopefully mine shows up tomorrow/Saturday for my Sunday round.

 

I will agree with the width, thats why I liked the look of the new proto and the LFI, but I'll disagree with the insert, I think its the best insert in golf lol.

Edited March 23, 2023 by J_Tizzle

[Horseshoe2]

Got the Proto in, it was late when I got home so not much time. Initial impressions positive.

1. it sets up well no matter the angle

2. Well made and looks great with the stability shaft. Great look and feel to the grip.

3. Heavy. 2 lbs (46”) but that is a positive for me. To compare the Bomar Blaze is 1 lb 10 oz.

4. it does not put heavy due to the counter balance in the grips. I have another SS that is 1lb 14 oz but the weight is all in the head so it feels much heavier.

5. beauty is in the eye of the beholder but to me it looks good. Small black brick on a stick, will give my buddies something to b**** about.

6. initial results it rolls the rock very well, probably better than anything I have ever used but will reserve a final opinion on the course. 
7. sound and feel are great but if you like a soft insert you may not like this. For me I like the solid feel and personally I think a smooth face is the best. Realistically how much effect can a fancy face have due to the small contact area on a put and the short time on the face. The ball is not compressed on a putt.

8. is it worth $644? Of course not but none of them are worth what they cost.

 

more impressions tomorrow or Saturday.

 

[J_Tizzle]

10 hours ago, Horseshoe2 said:

Got the Proto in, it was late when I got home so not much time. Initial impressions positive.

1. it sets up well no matter the angle

2. Well made and looks great with the stability shaft. Great look and feel to the grip.

3. Heavy. 2 lbs (46”) but that is a positive for me. To compare the Bomar Blaze is 1 lb 10 oz.

4. it does not put heavy due to the counter balance in the grips. I have another SS that is 1lb 14 oz but the weight is all in the head so it feels much heavier.

5. beauty is in the eye of the beholder but to me it looks good. Small black brick on a stick, will give my buddies something to b**** about.

6. initial results it rolls the rock very well, probably better than anything I have ever used but will reserve a final opinion on the course. 
7. sound and feel are great but if you like a soft insert you may not like this. For me I like the solid feel and personally I think a smooth face is the best. Realistically how much effect can a fancy face have due to the small contact area on a put and the short time on the face. The ball is not compressed on a putt.

8. is it worth $644? Of course not but none of them are worth what they cost.

 

more impressions tomorrow or Saturday.

 

 

Excellent news and thanks for the initial thoughts!  I can't wait to get mine in, and I completely regret not getting the Stability shaft...  I love the idea its heavy in totality but not necessarily just head weight with the CB aspect of it and that it sets up well at any angle.  I honestly hated my Bomar because its super light (like you said) and I always felt like if I tried to hold it even slightly upright the toe immediately dug into the ground.

[Horseshoe2]

Played again yesterday with much better results. It will stay in the bag. My initial thoughts are still there and I will add the following.

1. due to the weight (which I like) I found I was tentative. Our greens are fast and until I went ahead and stroked the ball I was leaving everything short.

2. you have to let the putter work. Once I trusted the stroke I was putting much better.

3. I find I am stroking the ball better when I just set up naturally and do not try to have a certain lie angle. It seems for me somewhere between 80 and 90 works best with closer to 90 on short puts. 
4. the shape of the sole is great for any angle you choose.

 

Don’t look for it on eBay - yet, I think this one will last a while. I don’t have a history of long term relationships with putters. Good luck to everyone who has it on order.

 

Finally, I think the stability shaft is fantastic. I will probably order one for my Honu just to experiment and see if there really is a difference. Hard to really know if you can’t try side by side.

[CanPuttWillPutt2]

On 3/26/2023 at 2:27 PM, Horseshoe2 said:

Played again yesterday with much better results. It will stay in the bag. My initial thoughts are still there and I will add the following.

1. due to the weight (which I like) I found I was tentative. Our greens are fast and until I went ahead and stroked the ball I was leaving everything short.

2. you have to let the putter work. Once I trusted the stroke I was putting much better.

3. I find I am stroking the ball better when I just set up naturally and do not try to have a certain lie angle. It seems for me somewhere between 80 and 90 works best with closer to 90 on short puts. 
4. the shape of the sole is great for any angle you choose.

 

Don’t look for it on eBay - yet, I think this one will last a while. I don’t have a history of long term relationships with putters. Good luck to everyone who has it on order.

 

Finally, I think the stability shaft is fantastic. I will probably order one for my Honu just to experiment and see if there really is a difference. Hard to really know if you can’t try side by side.

interesting. Thanks for the update. I confess I went for the stability shaft on the f22 and love it. (Edit. No. I’ve just seen a stability shaft, picture and it turns out that is NOT what I have on my f22) 😀

Edited April 3, 2023 by CanPuttWillPutt2

[J_Tizzle]

Still waiting for mine to show up.

 

BG could at least give me shipping information vs just waiting and getting excited every time I get a doorbell notification only to find out its my wife's orders...

[Horseshoe2]

Played today on a Donald Ross course with radical greens. Very fast and lots of break. This thing is growing on me. You just have to trust it and not try to steer.

[J_Tizzle]

Nearing close to a week with no shipping information or even communication from BG on this putter...  I had to go double check my credit card to make sure I actually did purchase it.

 

I had a friend go through the same thing (terrible communication from BG) and it took him 2 months to get a new face insert for his putter.

 

I'm pretty sure he's a one man crew and he's probably out doing putter fittings at courses in NC etc, but come on.

[Horseshoe2]

Sorry to hear of the delay. I will update. I have now played 4 rounds with the Proto. The first two were a disaster. However, I am now putting better than I can remember. Hope I didn’t jinx it with this post. I first had trouble with leaving the ball short. I think that subconsciously I thought the heavy weight would blast the ball past. Also, I kept trying to position the hang of the putter in a specific position ie. Vertical or about 80 degrees. I find when I just let it lay as it comes natural to me the best stroke comes.  I am also a believer in the Stability Shaft. Even if I abandon the Proto I will put this shaft in my other long putters. Hope it keeps working, I do not have a history of long relationships with putters. I have plenty in the closet of darkness that are there as punishment.  Good luck.

[CanPuttWillPutt2]

Ahhh man, I keep looking at the picture of it on the BG website wondering if it’d be better than my f22! 🤦‍♂️

[Horseshoe2]

To each his own, for me the f22 was too wide. Kept hitting my foot. Also, I just did not like the sound and feel of the insert. This head has a great feel and sound. It does not feel hard like you would think. I think the mass of the head deadens the feel. It is perfect for me —- for now.

[mshills]

Anyone have in hand photos?

[J_Tizzle]

17 hours ago, mshills said:

Anyone have in hand photos?

 

I'll post pictures of my entire collection when (if) it arrives...

[BigEx44]

Something interesting may be developing in my choice of a gamer putter for SS.

I'm a member of a private simulator golf club that has an excellent indoor putting green.

This winter I decided to work hard on 4-5 foot putts figuring it would really help my short game.

So when the simulator bays were full, or after a sim round, I'd go into the putting room and knock off a bunch of putts (hundreds at a time).

As a result, I've literally hit thousands of 4-5 footers to a hole with a very slight subtle break in it.

(I'm a little over 3,000 putts and counting...)

It's interesting what you discover about your stroke and your putter when you hit that many putts.

And btw, I've recorded every putt I've hit so I know my make %'s as adjust my putting style (soled vs 90*) or experimented with different putters.

Here's the interesting things.

1) I've discovered I putt better with head soled.  Even on these short 4-5 footers.  More stability.

2) When I went through a period where I was struggling a bit with my BG.  I decided to introduce my DF into the mix.  And so far (I still need to get in more putts with the DF) it is outperforming the BG.  My make % with the BG is about 75%.  The DF is currently hovering around 80%.

This might entice me to give my DF a shot on the golf course.  I've never before felt tempted to pull my BG from the bag.  But I can't ignore my data.

 

[Horseshoe2]

Sorry, what is DF?

 

[bluedot]

1 hour ago, BigEx44 said:

Something interesting may be developing in my choice of a gamer putter for SS.

I'm a member of a private simulator golf club that has an excellent indoor putting green.

This winter I decided to work hard on 4-5 foot putts figuring it would really help my short game.

So when the simulator bays were full, or after a sim round, I'd go into the putting room and knock off a bunch of putts (hundreds at a time).

As a result, I've literally hit thousands of 4-5 footers to a hole with a very slight subtle break in it.

(I'm a little over 3,000 putts and counting...)

It's interesting what you discover about your stroke and your putter when you hit that many putts.

And btw, I've recorded every putt I've hit so I know my make %'s as adjust my putting style (soled vs 90*) or experimented with different putters.

Here's the interesting things.

1) I've discovered I putt better with head soled.  Even on these short 4-5 footers.  More stability.

2) When I went through a period where I was struggling a bit with my BG.  I decided to introduce my DF into the mix.  And so far (I still need to get in more putts with the DF) it is outperforming the BG.  My make % with the BG is about 75%.  The DF is currently hovering around 80%.

This might entice me to give my DF a shot on the golf course.  I've never before felt tempted to pull my BG from the bag.  But I can't ignore my data.

 

BigEx44, I LOVE this!

 

I try to hit 100 putts a day on my indoor mat on the days when I do not play golf; 25 at a time from 5 feet, and using a Srixon two color ball to get a good visual on how tight the roll is.  I haven't hit nearly as many putts as you have; your diligence is just impressive!

 

I think my results are similar.  I've never been convinced that the tradeoff between holding the putter vertical vs the loss of MOI or sweet spot or whatever compared to having the putter soled is worth it, and having my left arm coming out from my body (instead of across) with my thumb pointed toward the hole ( a la Randy Haag) seems helpful.  Haag has always said that keeping the top hand still is THE key fundamental to face on putting, and while I'm not sure I agree with that 100%, I do get a better pendulum swing and a tighter roll with my top hand in that position.

 

The DF/BG thing is also very interesting to me.  I think the perfect situation would be to carry both, and use the DF from 5' and in; NOTHING releases down the line like that putter!  But the BG seems to put a tighter roll on the ball (less loft?) and seems to be better for lag putting from distance?  I've used both on the course, including tournaments, and I think both are great options.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

 

[BigEx44]

6 minutes ago, bluedot said:

BigEx44, I LOVE this!

 

I try to hit 100 putts a day on my indoor mat on the days when I do not play golf; 25 at a time from 5 feet, and using a Srixon two color ball to get a good visual on how tight the roll is.  I haven't hit nearly as many putts as you have; your diligence is just impressive!

 

I think my results are similar.  I've never been convinced that the tradeoff between holding the putter vertical vs the loss of MOI or sweet spot or whatever compared to having the putter soled is worth it, and having my left arm coming out from my body (instead of across) with my thumb pointed toward the hole ( a la Randy Haag) seems helpful.  Haag has always said that keeping the top hand still is THE key fundamental to face on putting, and while I'm not sure I agree with that 100%, I do get a better pendulum swing and a tighter roll with my top hand in that position.

 

The DF/BG thing is also very interesting to me.  I think the perfect situation would be to carry both, and use the DF from 5' and in; NOTHING releases down the line like that putter!  But the BG seems to put a tighter roll on the ball (less loft?) and seems to be better for lag putting from distance?  I've used both on the course, including tournaments, and I think both are great options.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

 

Agree.

I haven't been paying attention to the roll.  But I like the idea of getting a two colored ball.

The thing I've noticed with the DF is that line balance.  I can feel the putter wanting to stay square.

It just feels like I don't have to think as much about the stroke with the DF.  That's nice.

And I struggled a bit with my BG lag putting last year.

My DF is a bit lighter than the BG - so I'm wondering if that might help?

But....I also have a bit of tremors (that I inherited from my Dad) that get worse if I'm even a little anxious about a putt.  So the heavier BG may be better for that.

I'm at least now tempted to try my DF on the course.

I'll probably start my "real" golf season that way and see what happens.

I can always go back to the BG.

 

 

[BigEx44]

31 minutes ago, Horseshoe2 said:

Sorry, what is DF?

 

 

L.A.B. "Directed Force" putter.