Arm Lock Putters

[Red4282]

Logged my first round with the armlock. Didnt putt bad, nor did i putt great. Results so far have kind of been complete opposite of what I anticipated. Speed control and lag putting  is money. I thought that is where Id have issues. Inside 8 feet has been shaky at best, and thats where I thought Id it would shine. To be fair, most the ones i missed were bad reads. However the stroke on the shorter ones just feels funny to me and stiff. I have always had a little starting hitch, much like a phil micklesons press to start the stroke. May have to incorporate some little hitch to keep the feel in the shorter stuff. 

[sheppick.dan]

Round 3 this week. 29 outta and zero 3 putts. Speed control was good on long putts. The shorter ones weren’t as automatic as I had hoped for. Still need some time practicing to truly get the feel and everything down. 

[rmgatl]

I play both Odyssey Ten and Evnroll EV5.2, like them both.  I putt pretty well with the Ten, but hoped the Evnroll might offer a bit more magic - which hasn’t happened yet so I might trade it.  

 

I putt left hand low and I think that’s pretty natural with arm lock.  I liked it immediately.  Have not sensed any sort of fidgetiness with exact specifications.
 

Left arm just swings with putter shaft against it.  I have never putted so relaxed, so little hand pressure.  I think it’s easier to be relatively infallible on those 5-10 footers.  If I read the putt right, line up my ball right, it’s going in.  I still need to practice to control speed on lag putts.
 

I went to it because my hands were a little shaky, maybe from a med I was taking (although I play piano, i.e. Beethoven op.110 no problem, go figure).  I’ll probably never go back to standard putter.

[chollz]

I've always been a below average putter but a good ball striker. I'm the guy who would hit 16 greens and shoot 75... And then when I would catch a hot putter I would be in the 60's.

 

I tried armlock on a whim once at 2nd Swing Golf in Scottsdale - they had a used Sik armlock putter on the putting green so I took it for a try. I was amazed how  "locked in" the putter felt. The rolls I could put on putts were pure and seemingly started on my exact line I wanted.

 

Soon after I tried that one in store, I purchased a Sik Pro C armlock for myself and really loved it. At first the long lag putts were challenging to get the speed right. But everything about 20 ft and in were amazing. I felt like if I missed a putt it was because I misread it. At some point I went back to a regular putter for the fun of it and found putting with the armlock method really really helped my stroke with a traditional putter. I tell my buddies putting armlock just during practice is a great training aid....

 

I have now gone back to armlock and am loving putting for the first time ever. I feel like I can make just about every putt I look at. I now have a PING Harwood armlock putter and love it. I don't see myself going back to traditional putting. It has truly helped my game.

[sheppick.dan]

Update. Played 2 balls on Sunday. 27 putts with ball one hitting 12 greens 0 3 putts. 29 putts ball 2 with 0 3 putts. I can’t remember how many greens I hit there. 
 

lag putting was 3’ and in I’d say 90% of the time. Anything under 8’ if I believed the break and line I picked it was dead center. 
 

missed 1 5’ that I felt I should have made. 

[smoothie4896]

posted this in the clubmaking section, thought someone might have some insight.

 

Got my first armlock putter and was wondering about graphite shaft options.  Length needs to be 39-40", was wondering do I need to get a "long" putter, designated for specifically armlock or broomstick?  Or can I use something like a BGT tour and just not cut it, if it would give me the correct length.  Most of the full length graphite shafts I'm seeing are around 36-38 raw length.  I play a Sik Flo C with a plumbers neck, so those lengths would be close.

 

Let me know thoughts, have done some research and having trouble finding definitive answers on this one.

[Nelson.br.1515]

I think the problem you will come across by just leaving a regular shaft long is weight/Stiffness. LAGP has a 180 gram specifically for long putters, BGT has a specific long version as well. One other option is getting an ACCRA made for L.A.B. long version. It is relatively cheap at $150. 

1 hour ago, smoothie4896 said:

posted this in the clubmaking section, thought someone might have some insight.

 

Got my first armlock putter and was wondering about graphite shaft options.  Length needs to be 39-40", was wondering do I need to get a "long" putter, designated for specifically armlock or broomstick?  Or can I use something like a BGT tour and just not cut it, if it would give me the correct length.  Most of the full length graphite shafts I'm seeing are around 36-38 raw length.  I play a Sik Flo C with a plumbers neck, so those lengths would be close.

 

Let me know thoughts, have done some research and having trouble finding definitive answers on this one.

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by Nelson.br.1515

[smoothie4896]

Just now, Nelson.br.1515 said:

I think the problem you will come across by jurist leaving a regular shaft long is weight/Stiffness. LAGP has a 180 gram specifically for long putters, BGT has a specific ping version as well. One other option is getting an ACCRA made for L.A.B. long version. It is relatively cheap at $150. 

 

Thanks for the reply.  How would the weight and stiffness change?  If I'm playing a BGT regular putter shaft at 39", or purchase a BGT long and play at 39", wouldn't they be the same weight/stiffness?  Or do you know if they're constructed different, just for the possibility of longer length?

 

 

[Nelson.br.1515]

Ya the long putter shafts are normally constructed different, have lower torque and a higher weight. LAGP normal shafts are 105g and 135g while their long/armlock version is 180g.  Also with armlock heads normally being heavier you want a heavier shaft to balance it out. 

[smoothie4896]

Got it, thanks for the explanation!  Was wondering if the "Long" putter shafts were just the same shaft, with just a longer raw length.

 

[ssf301]

I've used a Ping Harwood Armlock for a while now with good results.  I played in a Shamble yesterday and made 9 birdies which ties my personal best (playing from a really good tee shot every time helps A LOT).

 

My Ping is 41" and sits about 2" below my elbow.  It's a 70 degree lie angle with 6 degrees of loft.  The head weight is 385g, but I've added some lead tape to the bottom (there are a couple slots on the bottom of the putter which fit strips of lead tape perfectly) so mine comes in around 400g.  I also felt like I needed a little more loft on the face so I swapped out the grip for one of these:

 

https://arm-lockgolf.com/products/arm-lock-al3-converter-grip

 

It was very difficult to find any arm lock putters to demo.  We have 3 decent sized shops local and they had (and continue to have) zero armlock putters to look at.  I picked up a Bettinardi Studio 28 on eBay, followed by an Odyssey 2-ball and then finally this Ping Harwood.  I hated the Odyssey, it never felt comfortable and I seemed to be constantly manipulating the face to get it where it looked square behind the ball before stroking the putt.  I love the Bettinardi, I just think it looks great behind the ball, but I have more consistent results with the Ping.  

 

I've always been a pretty good putter.........excellent on the short ones, but I started getting the long putt yips a few years ago.  I've still not run across anyone else like me.  Usually people get the short putt yips.  I never had those, but outside 30 ft I got to the point whether I'd rather chip it than hit a long putt if I had the choice.  Armlock fixed all that.  I no longer have any issues with the long ones.  I've also never had any issues with distance control with the armlock at all.  In fact, if there is any weakness with the armlock, I'd say I'm slightly better on the short ones with a shorter putter.  I'm just the opposite of most in that regard.

 

It did take me a good couple weeks (hitting probably 1,000+ putts on the carpet in my house over the winter) to get comfortable with the armlock.  Now it's 2nd nature for me.

 

I'm averaging a hair under 30 putts per round this season.  That sounds lower than it is.  I'm a pretty good golfer, but tend to miss and fair number of greens by a little (a foot to a couple yrds off the green) and I'm a good chipper.   That gives me a fair number of 1 putt tap ins during any given round.

 

I love tinkering so there are other armlock putters I'd like to try, but it's definitely ordering blind in most cases so I'll probably just stick with my modified Ping Harwood for a while. 

[J_Tizzle]

22 hours ago, ssf301 said:

I've used a Ping Harwood Armlock for a while now with good results.  I played in a Shamble yesterday and made 9 birdies which ties my personal best (playing from a really good tee shot every time helps A LOT).

 

My Ping is 41" and sits about 2" below my elbow.  It's a 70 degree lie angle with 6 degrees of loft.  The head weight is 385g, but I've added some lead tape to the bottom (there are a couple slots on the bottom of the putter which fit strips of lead tape perfectly) so mine comes in around 400g.  I also felt like I needed a little more loft on the face so I swapped out the grip for one of these:

 

https://arm-lockgolf.com/products/arm-lock-al3-converter-grip

 

It was very difficult to find any arm lock putters to demo.  We have 3 decent sized shops local and they had (and continue to have) zero armlock putters to look at.  I picked up a Bettinardi Studio 28 on eBay, followed by an Odyssey 2-ball and then finally this Ping Harwood.  I hated the Odyssey, it never felt comfortable and I seemed to be constantly manipulating the face to get it where it looked square behind the ball before stroking the putt.  I love the Bettinardi, I just think it looks great behind the ball, but I have more consistent results with the Ping.  

 

I've always been a pretty good putter.........excellent on the short ones, but I started getting the long putt yips a few years ago.  I've still not run across anyone else like me.  Usually people get the short putt yips.  I never had those, but outside 30 ft I got to the point whether I'd rather chip it than hit a long putt if I had the choice.  Armlock fixed all that.  I no longer have any issues with the long ones.  I've also never had any issues with distance control with the armlock at all.  In fact, if there is any weakness with the armlock, I'd say I'm slightly better on the short ones with a shorter putter.  I'm just the opposite of most in that regard.

 

It did take me a good couple weeks (hitting probably 1,000+ putts on the carpet in my house over the winter) to get comfortable with the armlock.  Now it's 2nd nature for me.

 

I'm averaging a hair under 30 putts per round this season.  That sounds lower than it is.  I'm a pretty good golfer, but tend to miss and fair number of greens by a little (a foot to a couple yrds off the green) and I'm a good chipper.   That gives me a fair number of 1 putt tap ins during any given round.

 

I love tinkering so there are other armlock putters I'd like to try, but it's definitely ordering blind in most cases so I'll probably just stick with my modified Ping Harwood for a while. 

 

That is the biggest thing.  While I'm not an armlock guy, I do side saddle.  And I did the exact same thing over a winter working from home after I saw the merit behind it.  Consistency is key.

[Mtn_Mikey]

In March 2022 I was fitted for a SIK armlock putter 43" long and 70 degree lie angle with 2 degree loft according to the spec sheet from Club Champion. Why- because on May 5 I underwent L5/S1 fusion and knowing I wouldn't be able to play for a few months and wanted to at least be able to putt some to keep from going stir crazy. 

 

My other 2 putters are a Scotty Newport 2 and Scotty Futura X both 34' in length.

 

From a putting perspective after an adjustment period the Sik worked well. Dialing in speed took a bit of time and effort. 

 

Where I found difficulty with the armlock was putting from the fringe or just off the green if the close hole. Subsequently, as the back has improved, I've gone back to the Futura X.  The fine motor control seems better with the shorter putter. 

 

That being said-line up correctly, made a good stroke and they all work. It's what floats your boat at any point in time. 

[OspreyCI]

Currently using a DF 2.1 Broomstick for the last year and it has been great. I used a 2 Ball Armlock before this and always love trying the DF 2.1 in Armlock when I see one at PGA SS. Just seems automatic.
 

Anyone went Broom to Armlock? Any inputs? I am thinking of switching. 

[sheppick.dan]

2 hours ago, OspreyCI said:

Currently using a DF 2.1 Broomstick for the last year and it has been great. I used a 2 Ball Armlock before this and always love trying the DF 2.1 in Armlock when I see one at PGA SS. Just seems automatic.
 

Anyone went Broom to Armlock? Any inputs? I am thinking of switching. 

Never tried a broomstick. Had 6 birdies today with the armlock. I keep getting better each time I play with it. 

[Red4282]

Well, im a complete psycho. Armlock wasnt bad, but i expected better. Still struggled with stuff inside 10ft. Had a brief run with counterbalanced, now back to armlock. Made damn near everything today. Was reading well, and slowing my tempo down inside 10 feet was huge. I sure do hate that putter sticking up in my bag tho, so annoying.

[sheppick.dan]

3 hours ago, Red4282 said:

Well, im a complete psycho. Armlock wasnt bad, but i expected better. Still struggled with stuff inside 10ft. Had a brief run with counterbalanced, now back to armlock. Made damn near everything today. Was reading well, and slowing my tempo down inside 10 feet was huge. I sure do hate that putter sticking up in my bag tho, so annoying.

Haha, ya it is. 
 

ive gotten pretty comfortable 8’ and in. Over that and it’s not instant make but I’m also using a taylormade del monte as I didn’t want to spend 400-600 on a LAB without trying it first. 

[Red4282]

33 minutes ago, sheppick.dan said:

Haha, ya it is. 
 

ive gotten pretty comfortable 8’ and in. Over that and it’s not instant make but I’m also using a taylormade del monte as I didn’t want to spend 400-600 on a LAB without trying it first. 

To be honest the “zero torque” thing is nice but i dont know how much it has actually made a difference. However the DF head is probably the the most forgiving putter ive ever rolled and im certain that has improved my lag putting.

[sheppick.dan]

10 minutes ago, Red4282 said:

To be honest the “zero torque” thing is nice but i dont know how much it has actually made a difference. However the DF head is probably the the most forgiving putter ive ever rolled and im certain that has improved my lag putting.

My biggest struggle which I think I solved on Sunday was is tend to press forward too much then close the face and pull my putt. 

[DrizZzY22]

Not to change the subject of this thread, but I recently bought a Spider Armlock and had questions. I really love how I roll the ball with my armlock but I struggle find the correct ball position which is causing me to struggle how to aim the putter. Is this something any of you have experienced? If so what do you think should be the correct position.

 

Thanks

[sheppick.dan]

22 hours ago, DrizZzY22 said:

Not to change the subject of this thread, but I recently bought a Spider Armlock and had questions. I really love how I roll the ball with my armlock but I struggle find the correct ball position which is causing me to struggle how to aim the putter. Is this something any of you have experienced? If so what do you think should be the correct position.

 

Thanks

I am currently working that out as well. Too far back and I close the face and de loft. Too far forward I feel like I don’t make good contact. I’ve found club shaft middle stance (middle of my sternum) to be the best. 
 

I struggled today had 31 putts and one 3 putt from 90 feet but to be honest that 3 putt wasn’t so bad considering the slope of the green there was no way to get first put within 10 ft. 

[Billy MacGregor]

Oldish thread but I've been having trouble finding information on this....

 

I've been arm locking for two years now and I love it.  I use a standard length Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft 10 that I've extended, added weight to, and adjusted the loft and lie.  The only issue I have is that adding loft requires me to bend the shaft/hosel.  When I do that, it closes the face and makes alignment sort of awkward.

 

My question...Is there an arm lock putter that achieves the higher loft by actually milling the loft into the face rather than bending the hosel?

 

Thanks

[Drrussell]

Long time armlock guy here. I usually play a Bettinardi putter. 42” and 79 degree lie angle. 

 

Armlock: 4 different Bettinardi’s. 2 Cobra putters. 1 SIK putter.

Standard: 1 Bettinardi, 1 Scotty

Wrist lock: 1 Cobra putter

 

[crisps]

I started golfing 3-4 season ago and the armlock was the first putter style I used. I definitely made many long range birdies I did not deserve with that putter, probably helped me roll the ball better than I should have been able to at the start. But I had some alignment and distance control issues and found I could consistently get it closer with a standard putter.

 

The armlock I used was a Odyssey Stroke Lab Double Wide. 

 

One thing I disliked which seems like the standard for armlock was the offset/loft. Actually I think right now I can put the best and most using a standard putter like an armlock, except I am way too hunched over. But the armlock stability combined with a normal putter loft works great for me.

[Jenksy13]

On 7/1/2023 at 9:10 PM, Southside Seminole said:

It’s the only way to roll!

That Tour spec sik is my absolute dream putter I wish they still sold them. They never come up for sale in the UK.

[ALIF]

On 1/20/2024 at 9:05 AM, Billy MacGregor said:

Oldish thread but I've been having trouble finding information on this....

 

I've been arm locking for two years now and I love it.  I use a standard length Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft 10 that I've extended, added weight to, and adjusted the loft and lie.  The only issue I have is that adding loft requires me to bend the shaft/hosel.  When I do that, it closes the face and makes alignment sort of awkward.

 

My question...Is there an arm lock putter that achieves the higher loft by actually milling the loft into the face rather than bending the hosel?

 

Thanks

Sik made their putters like this. That's what I use.