Why are current putter so heavy?

[MadGolfer76]

Most putters feel like whiffle ball bats to me. The amount of lead tape I have to put on them just to get them feeling right is absurd.

[vanillafunk616]

Because it's what the average hack looks for in a purchase. If you ask the average golfer what a putting stroke is, they will tell you straight back straight through "pendulum". Even though if you break it down, that's really not what they're doing.

[RogerinNewZealand]

Weight/ Feel/Sound at Impact.

Thats the combo i look for.

Plus predictable on Long, Medium, Short putts.

 

As peoples average weight gets heavier... maybe we need a heavier putter.

I have tried many Anser style putters and Mallets.

My current Scotty Pro Platinum Mid Slant was 332ish, now at 345ish, plus Ping Grip,

its the all around putter that you look for, one that you have Lots of Confidence in !!

Being WRX, we tend to tinker, add lead, go to a Putting Tuition Class, learn, progress !!

That is to be encouraged !

[Byrdman2230]

I think that the length of the putter is an important factor here. I can imagine someone who plays a 32 - 33” inch putter wanting a heavier head. For me, I play a 35” putter and 340 - 345 feels best.

[BIG STU]

I've been using an old TM Manta mallet putter with a variation of Super Stroke grip for the past 8 seasons. I would sharpie a nice thick black line 360 around the ball and line up every putt. As you may have guessed I absolutely sucked at putting. I needed to somehow get my "feel" for distance putts back.

 

It started with an Odyssey Toe-Up Anser style putter with a GolfPride SNSR small traditional grip at 355g. I like how light it felt and I noticed that my distance controle was way better. I thought I had figured something out.

 

Fortunately my appendix tried to kill me and I had to have it removed. This meant that I could not swing a club for 5 weeks and if it were not for watching golf on tv and practicing putts I would have gone crazy. Like Howard Hues I was secluded and had nothing but time on my hands. I spread out every club I owned (27) onto the floor of the living room. Cleaned and polished them all. Took photos and tried not to trip over the Kleenex boxes I had adopted as my new footwear. That was all on the first day. Turns out one of those 27 clubs was my grandfathers old Bullseye putter.

 

I thought I would use the Bullseye as a "practice" club while recovering. It was incredibly light and had no sightline. It looked like a cocktail weenie. It even had the original leather grip. The colour of bergundy and paper thin. Once I was able to leave the house and hoblle out to the practice green I spent hours there practicing with this little gem. In order to try and get my feel back I removed the stripe on my ball and putt with the blank side up. I have even gone back to a slighly open stance that I used as a kid.

 

Well, here we are a few months after my surgery. I have only had a chance to golf a few times but I am beating my average number of putts by 4-5 shots per round. It very well could be the honeymoon phase for this putter or the fact I can't hit a green in reg to save my life but I truly think that a very light putter combined with no alignment aid allows me to be free and trust my judgment. A lot like when I was a kid and just felt the shot. There is no more pressure. Its wonderful.

 

Cheers, Jeff

I actually have several Bulls Eyes and practice with them some along with some vintage 8802 blade style putters . I have never gramed out a putter head. Never have changed a grip to balance one out either. Like another member said I also use lead tape to get it to what feels good to me. I could care less about the weight and could care further less what weight Joe Pro putts with. After all I am the one putting with it. Yeah I have a "weight kit" for all of my putters including my 97 Santa Fe it is called a roll of lead tape. Everyone's sense of fell is different so I say go with what's best for you. Btw If you can get a good consistent roll with a Bulls Eye IMHO you could putt with anything made

[Q-Lock]

I get a lot more wobble in my putter stroke when it's to light.

 

Me too. I much prefer the added weight for stability. It's what works for me.

[DK<80]

Most putters feel like whiffle ball bats to me. The amount of lead tape I have to put on them just to get them feeling right is absurd.

 

I think it depends on what type of putter/type of shaft you have.....but I just recently had a putter weighted by adding lead shavings into the shaft itself, rather than add strip after strip of lead tape.

 

Works great, not a single piece of lead tape on this putter head :)

[Stuart_G]

not a single piece of lead tape on this putter head :)

 

You say that like it's a good thing? :taunt:

[Ghostwedge]

SG. @ question....

Got a friend who games a TM Daddy Long Legs putter, looks to have the stock Winn grip on it, assume this thing is counter-balanced. He hates the thicker grip, is there an original Ping or pistol type grip that is counter balanced on the market ? Or does he have to go with aweight kit under the thin putter grip ? Iʻll pass along your expertise. Thanks.

[Stuart_G]

Not familiar with the stock grip on that club do can't say if this will be slim enough or not - but Superstroke has a slimer 1.0" diameter grips with the counter-core tech - Countercore Pistol GT Tour.

 

I think Winn has a long midsized 15" counterbalanced putter grip - originally designed for belly putters (128 gm - may be too much, you'll have to check the actual weight on that stock grip)

 

But other then that, I'm not aware of any standard (0.900) or midsize (+1/16) putter grips that have additional weight added. That doesn't mean there aren't any (there probably are). It's just not something I've spent much time looking for. I like to tweak the weights in finer increments so prefer to use the Tour Lock Pro's with standard grips.

 

https://www.golfwork...plugs/p/tlcp8v/

 

but if you don't want to mess with cutting a hole in the grip cap, there is also:

 

https://www.golfwork...utters/p/cw40v/

or

https://www.golfwork...stem/p/gw0113v/

[JDCON]

I currently play an Odyssey White Hot #9. It's pretty light, so I added about 20g of lead tape on the sole. My reasoning is I tried a Scotty Cameron Newport 3 and a Bettinardi Queen Bee #9, both of which are very heavy, and loved them. And, since those two are so expensive, I did my best to save a little and give myself something similar for an extra $10.

[dsmil]

For anyone who cuts their putters down in length, the heavier head definitely makes it easier to get SW back to a good level. I cut mine down to 31" and even with a 350g clubhead, it still needs a ton of lead tape.

[taouilm]

Heavy putter is new to me but getting used to it. I find it great for short putts but having a tough time judging long range putts

[IHFN]

It bugs me how heavy putters are, but it also depends on the green speeds. As greens get faster, I go lower in weight. I want less mass hitting the ball so I can still make an aggressive stroke on fast greens. Right now we just punched our greens so they are running like a 5 and I'm using a heavy Evnroll. I use the same stroke as if they were fast greens with a light putter, I just have more mass behind the ball to get it going. It makes the transition to fast greens easier. I'm not changing my stroke. I'm just changing the tool.