Building a reverse arm lock (R arm lock) putter?

[BeefWellington]

Hi all,

 

I'm new to this site and hope I can get some good advice here.  The short question is-how do I find a good source to build me a reverse arm lock putter?  I do have some detailed information below should anyone care to read.

 

Back in 2016 I went through an amazing Edel fitting and was fitted into one of their classic designs that has sort of a mid mallet (blade with rounded back) head and counterbalanced shaft.  I'm trying to track down the specifics of that order.  I do love this putter, but over the years I've found that I've varied the way I set up to the ball and my stroke has improved.  That said, I was jacking around using this putter by locking it into my R forearm (I'm R handed) and putting down a metal ruler.  Although there was a ton of added loft and my stance was a bit uncomfortable, I was essentially non stop rolling them true off the center of the end of the ruler.  It was pretty remarkable.  Enough that I've repeated it on multiple days and think I should consider changing to another putter.  

 

I can only find stuff out there about L arm lock putters and am hoping you guys could help?  I really would hope to keep the same feel of this Edel, but obviously I'm assuming I would need to go somewhere and bring this putter to compare and get fit for a build?  

 

Looking forward to any advice.

 

Cheers!

[BeefWellington]

140 views and no one here has any ideas?

[BlueDragonKorea]

Matt Kuchar tested a reverse armlock Bettinardi earlier this year, if that helps

[5hort5tuff]

It's a hard and very rare build. Would involve experimenting eith lofts and lies.  If you did want to build one, I would almost guarantee you need putter with lofts and lies you may not be able to achieve with your current gamer. 

[BeefWellington]

Yeah, I am assuming it's a full custom job and fitting.  I just wonder which makers anyone here would recommend that would be able to do both?  I had a friend say the guy at swag may be able to do it.  Thinking it may be around $1500 or something.  Yikes!

[5hort5tuff]

I csnt imagine swag doing anything this custom.  If you know your specs there are makers who can do it.   The problem will most likely be the fitting in this case. 

[RedWings1]

The only putter Ive ever seen like that is the one Kuchar tried this summer.
You need to go to Bettinardi to get one of those if it's even available from their shop.

[PixlPutterman]

Id find a long neck black to mess around with, that amount of neck should let you bend a decent amount of negative loft into it

[jomatty]

The loft is the only thing that makes it different than a traditional arm lock, right?  If it were me I might try just extending a low lofted putter and having it bent close t9 zero loft as a starting point.  I remember hearing that Kuch’s was zero degrees but don’t know if the person saying this knew what they were talking about…

[jomatty]

https://golf.com/gear/putters/matt-kuchar-reverse-arm-lock-putting-what-is-it/?amp=1
 

This is the article I read that said zero degrees of loft.  72 lie angle. Seems a good place to start…he seems to use a very heavy head as well at 401 grams.  I’m sure someone could build this for you.  It’s hard for me to imagine Swag doing it though, but I don’t really know.  If you found a 2.5 degree lofted putter and bent it to 0 it might at least give you something to test with before sinking big money in a custom. I imagine a regular armlock grip installed backwards would work well.  
You might even be able to get one of those armlock grips that adds loft so you don’t need to bend your putter and install it backwards which should deloft the putter.  I don’t know how this would work but it would be a cheap way to play around with the concept.  Just lengthen an old putter and put one of those on backwards.  I have one of the grips on an old Rossie that made a functional armlock.  It was tfor me (and honestly I didn’t love the grip) but it was enough for me to test proof of concept for $35  and realize that armlock was not for me.  Ymmv and not sure if installed backwards would deloft the proper amount or not.

[BeefWellington]

Thanks for the replies.  I'll toy around with some stuff and let you guys know what I find out.

[KodakkuSensei]

My advice would be to find a cheap putter, cut and weld the head to your spec. That should be the cheapest way to get an idea on your proper spec.

[dnewma04]

Xander Dobreff, who is pretty active in the one armed golf and hickory golf communities made one that he really likes.  

[J13]

Contact Edel and see if they could help

[Myherobobhope]

1 hour ago, dnewma04 said:

Xander Dobreff, who is pretty active in the one armed golf and hickory golf communities made one that he really likes.  

That's actually an interesting idea... I'd definitely look into what one armed golfers are using on the putting green... 

 

Other bit of advice would be maybe reach out to @SeeMore Putters and see if they can custom build something... they easily put together a custom built putter for me (though I'm not reverse arm locking) and should have the capabilities to build out what you are looking for.

[Xdobreff]

Hello everyone 

chiming in on this topic 

trailing arm lock putting is what I’ve named the instrument 

i use a sacks Parente 54 at -2 loft 44”

when you lock to the trailing arm it increases loft thus at address it’s 0 loft 

 

the angle necessary to make a trailing arm lock is negative loft 

 

think like this 

lead arm needs + loft 

trail arm needs - loft 

 

bending the shaft to achieve that is ok as long as it’s within 4 in or hosel 

 

bending the hosel is also ok 

 

based on height i would say a 6ft person needs roughly 

43”

-loft 

70* lie angle 

 

i have found center shaft to work best 

 

hope that helps 

Best 

Xander 

 

[johnnyvv]

My L armlock is only 38 inches to stay legal ie. below left elbow. What length would a R armlock need to stay legal. I;m 5 foot 9.

[dc211]

I few weeks ago I had the same idea of trying right arm lock putting and google led me to this post.  Couldn't find any company selling a trail arm armlock putter so I made one myself.

 

Picked up an Evnroll midlock on ebay a few months ago to try arm lock putting and it never felt natural to me.  The midlock putter however came with an extra grip.  Since I had the grip sitting around I figured I'd put it on my old Odyssey 7 and try armlock from the right side.  The project ended up being pretty simple.  I pulled the shaft on the Odyssey, bent the neck to take the loft to zero and bring the lie angle up a bit.  Put an extension in the shaft to add about 5 inches and put the midlock grip on.  Putter loft and lie looks the same when I lean the shaft back a bit and lock it to my right arm.  Would recommend the Midlock grip as it allows you to arm lock without leaning the shaft as much.

 

I've only used it a few days but so far its worked well.  Adjusting to right arm lock has been much easier than left armlock.  Putting has always felt like more of right sided push motion for me, probably why I never did well with more left hand dominant strokes like left hand low and traditional armlock.  Photo of my homemade right armlock and my Evnroll left armlock.

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by dc211

[Ghostwedge]

2 hours ago, dc211 said:

I few weeks ago I had the same idea of trying right arm lock putting and google led me to this post.  Couldn't find any company selling a trail arm armlock putter so I made one myself.

 

Picked up an Evnroll midlock on ebay a few months ago to try arm lock putting and it never felt natural to me.  The midlock putter however came with an extra grip.  Since I had the grip sitting around I figured I'd put it on my old Odyssey 7 and try armlock from the right side.  The project ended up being pretty simple.  I pulled the shaft on the Odyssey, bent the neck to take the loft to zero and bring the lie angle up a bit.  Put an extension in the shaft to add about 5 inches and put the midlock grip on.  Putter loft and lie looks the same when I lean the shaft back a bit and lock it to my right arm.  Would recommend the Midlock grip as it allows you to arm lock without leaning the shaft as much.

 

I've only used it a few days but so far its worked well.  Adjusting to right arm lock has been much easier than left armlock.  Putting has always felt like more of right sided push motion for me, probably why I never did well with more left hand dominant strokes like left hand low and traditional armlock.  Photo of my homemade right armlock and my Evnroll left armlock.

 

That is a great looking putter. Like a lot of guys on here I dabbled with the arm lock putter but it's too uncomfortable. 

If you could get some video on here of you on a practice green with it ?

 

[Spayne81]

I found a Odyssey belly putter that I had bent to 0* loft and put a Superstroke Wristlock grip on it backwards (the nob against the right forearm).  I liked it so much that I turned my Scotty square back into a reverse armlock putter.

[Golfingfanatic]

Bumping this as I just discovered that Pinhawk is bringing one of these to the market!

[Ize]

Just watched Michael Newton's review of the pinhawk on YouTube looks so strange I definitely have to try it, will most likely just get the head due to shipping cost to Australia and build it up.

 

Look forward to hearing from anyone who's tried it.

[Cactus Jack]

1 hour ago, Ize said:

Just watched Michael Newton's review of the pinhawk on YouTube looks so strange I definitely have to try it, will most likely just get the head due to shipping cost to Australia and build it up.

 

Look forward to hearing from anyone who's tried it.

 

Nice find. Posting the link for easy access:

 

 

[Golfingfanatic]

Just ordered the Pinhawk Deadbolt after trying this style out with a regular putter. Will post a full review in a few weeks time.

[AdamMH]

In order to get what I wanted in a right-arm-lock putter I ended up actually just designing a putter head from scratch, having it CNC'd in China, and building it at home. Zero loft, zero offset, center shafted with slight toe hang.

[Ize]

Well just ordered the deadbolt head was cheaper shipping as I'm in Australia.

 

Found a KBS C taper 130 X parallel I'll use as the shaft should be plenty stiff enough and a 17 inch Winn long grip.

 

Will let everyone know how it turns out when I get it.

[Sons_of_Pitches]

On 2/25/2022 at 12:11 PM, dc211 said:

I few weeks ago I had the same idea of trying right arm lock putting and google led me to this post.  Couldn't find any company selling a trail arm armlock putter so I made one myself.

 

Picked up an Evnroll midlock on ebay a few months ago to try arm lock putting and it never felt natural to me.  The midlock putter however came with an extra grip.  Since I had the grip sitting around I figured I'd put it on my old Odyssey 7 and try armlock from the right side.  The project ended up being pretty simple.  I pulled the shaft on the Odyssey, bent the neck to take the loft to zero and bring the lie angle up a bit.  Put an extension in the shaft to add about 5 inches and put the midlock grip on.  Putter loft and lie looks the same when I lean the shaft back a bit and lock it to my right arm.  Would recommend the Midlock grip as it allows you to arm lock without leaning the shaft as much.

 

I've only used it a few days but so far its worked well.  Adjusting to right arm lock has been much easier than left armlock.  Putting has always felt like more of right sided push motion for me, probably why I never did well with more left hand dominant strokes like left hand low and traditional armlock.  Photo of my homemade right armlock and my Evnroll left armlock.

 

How tall are you and what length did you go with?  I’m 5’9” and like the feel of the reverse armlock albeit using a normal putter for some rough testing. That said, I’m  looking to order a pinhawk reverse armlock but unsure of length.  I typically play my putters at 34” but thinking 40 or 40.5 for the reverse arm lock.  
 

@Ize, @Golfingfanatic, @AdamMH - what length did you go with and how tall are you?

Edited August 21, 2022 by Sons_of_Pitches

[Ize]

Im 6' 1" and normally play a 34 inch putter and have tried a few armlock putters at 41 & 42 that felt about right but I'm really unsure what length I'll end up with going reverse, thats another reason I'm building it myself I'll leave it ungripped untill I work out what feels comfortable set up wise. I do feel like it will end up shorter than a normal armlock due to it resting against the right arm but could be wrong.

 

Probably won't get the head in for a week or so yet it has been posted though.

[AdamMH]

4 hours ago, Sons_of_Pitches said:

How tall are you and what length did you go with?  I’m 5’9” and like the feel of the reverse armlock albeit using a normal putter for some rough testing. That said, I’m  looking to order a pinhawk reverse armlock but unsure of length.  I typically play my putters at 34” but thinking 40 or 40.5 for the reverse arm lock.  
 

@Ize, @Golfingfanatic, @AdamMH - what length did you go with and how tall are you?

 

I set mine up at 37" and it feels just a little short, and I'm just shy of 6 foot tall. That said, I play my putter w/ a 17" grip and keep my right hand at the bottom of it... So YMMV.

[Sons_of_Pitches]

1 hour ago, AdamMH said:

 

I set mine up at 37" and it feels just a little short, and I'm just shy of 6 foot tall. That said, I play my putter w/ a 17" grip and keep my right hand at the bottom of it... So YMMV.

Hrmm… thanks for the info. Guess it would be best to go longer then cut it down if it’s too long and just regrip. I was thinking of doing the same thing as far as hand positions go and going with a 17” grip as well…. Decisions decisions on the length….