Why Weld Neck?

[Gohigh]

Other than converting one neck style to another, are there any other reasons to weld a neck on a putter? 

 

Ive seen a lot more welded neck conversion these days, and it seems to be a desirable thing rather than not. 

 

Arent there disadvantages as well? 

 

I would imagine taking two pieces of metal and welding it together would change the feel of the putter over one milled piece? Or am I wrong to think that neck and head are milled together? 

 

I know a good weld can be just as strong and durable as any one piece metal, but arent there chances for voids and seams that might not have fused together fully? 

 

Ive not owned a welded neck putter, but Im interested to hear the feedback from those who have. 

 

Your thoughts?

[Phabs]

You’re splitting hairs looking for a feel diff between a properly milled one pc head and properly fitted weld neck.  

[MattM97]

Some welds are literally just for show cause people like them. 

 

Some weld necks are because some putter makers don't weld their own heads so they either get a batch of plumber necks or no necks and welds them on. 

 

Some weld necks are for cost saving measures. It takes a much bigger block to mill, more mill time, more waste, more ware on bits, etc. 

 

Some weld on necks because people want extra details and easier to work on or multi material. 

 

Lots of reasons to weld a neck on a putter. It just varies from putter maker to putter maker with their reasons. 

[kb7]

Some do it just for looks. I can not remember who it was, but there was an IG refinisher chopping necks off Scotty's and welding them back on to get the weld neck aesthetic. Not my cup of tea, but to each their own. 

 

FWIW I noticed no real difference in how solid my putter felt w/factory slant neck vs welded plumbers neck.

[jholz]

As @MattM97 states - and I'd trust just about anything guy says about putters - there's probably a lot of reasons for welded necks.

 

But, I would argue that among putter aficionados, the welded neck is a badge of honor. It shows that someone individually worked on your putter - giving it a sense that it's something really, really special.

[MattM97]

3 minutes ago, jholz said:

As @MattM97 states - and I'd trust just about anything guy says about putters - there's probably a lot of reasons for welded necks.

 

But, I would argue that among putter aficionados, the welded neck is a badge of honor. It shows that someone individually worked on your putter - giving it a sense that it's something really, really special.

 

Yeah I don't know that much, if I did I'd be on the practice green at Austin CC right now for an OEM. 

[jholz]

2 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

Yeah I don't know that much, if I did I'd be on the practice green at Austin CC right now for an OEM. 

 

You know more than me dude. Don't sell yourself short. We are all in the same boat here. Only luck and talent separate us from our dreams. 🙂

 

I always appreciate your contributions man. Learned a ton from you.

[MattM97]

15 minutes ago, jholz said:

 

You know more than me dude. Don't sell yourself short. We are all in the same boat here. Only luck and talent separate us from our dreams. 🙂

 

I always appreciate your contributions man. Learned a ton from you.

 

Appreciate it, just wanted to become a better putter so deep dived and learned as much as I could. Hopefully my putting skill actually shows this year on the course. 

 

But my main thing is to help others get a putter they want or looking for. 

[Skhacker]

For the smaller putter makers, it’s far cheaper and faster to mill the head and neck separately then weld it on. Much less waste as well. For the big oem’s, they don’t care about waste as much as they’re hammering out tens of thousands of units and don’t want to have to pay people to weld the two together. Usually milled out of country and then assembled in the USA or Mexico. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by Skhacker