Miss left on putts, go face balanced?

[theboyslater]

Just been watching Trottie on his tour truck Tuesday say that if you miss left you should try face a balanced putter.

 

I always thought it was opposite, and that face balanced promoted more closure and more left putts.

 

Is Trottie correct?

[roundersmitty]

Several threads mention this debate.   Personally I believe eye dominance, ball position and hosel type, influence ball direction more than toe hang/face balance type of putter. 

[rooski]

Can you link the video? That doesn't make much sense to me given that a face balanced putter is more prone to closing than a putter with toe hang. Unless you're left handed I would think the opposite would normally be true

[Cwebb]

15 minutes ago, theboyslater said:

Just been watching Trottie on his tour truck Tuesday say that if you miss left you should try face a balanced putter.

 

I always thought it was opposite, and that face balanced promoted more closure and more left putts.

 

Is Trottie correct?

Of course it depends on the player and stroke, but a face balanced putter will generally have less face rotation.  So if a player is missing left, because the face is closing too much coming through, then a face balanced putter could possibly help that

[MattM97]

I'm of the thoughts that face balanced putters like to open so if you're pulling a bit or closed often it could help. 

 

Nothing is concrete in putting you have to try it out and see as there are many factors. 

[Soloman1]

Aim more right.

[getitdaily]

Not necessarily. 

 

Face balanced putters can stay more square to your path since they resist rotation. That can lead to a closed face at impact.

 

Resolve why your face is closed at impact before trying a new putter.

[mshills]

If you want a new putter, go for it!

 

On your L miss, is it the starting line, the strike, or the read? Each has a different root cause to address. 

[Golf64]

Left is my typical miss too. Always go with more toe hang. Presently gaming a SC 2.5+. Great putter for me.

[mvvraz]

Alternative suggestion - try an ultra light putter. The main reason putters kept getting heavier and heavier is that it helped players turn the face over and made the stroke more "automatic" in that sense

 

I also used to miss almost exclusively left (pull), I now use a Super Rat I with 10g weight as well as a Newport with 10g weights. Both heads are around 303 grams if I remember correctly. The newport already has a BGT Stability Tour 2 shaft that's way lighter than standard steel shafts, and I'm waiting on another for my Super Rat

 

Might not solve it for you, but ever since I started playing extremely light putters my left pull pretty much disappeared completely 

[metaldog]

For me the less toe hang the putter has the more the putter wants torque open (like how it does when you balance it on your finger face balanced putters torque 90* right)

for me the most pully putters to most pushy putters:

center shafted blades -> odyssey 3 70 degree toe hang -> cs mallets -> plumbers neck blades -> forward cg mallets -> all the other mallets -> face balanced 

 

the light bulb moment for me was when odyssey came out with tri-hot and odyssey eleven, I was pushing everything and trying a front cg with more toe hang fixed it for me 

[bluedot]

7 hours ago, roundersmitty said:

Several threads mention this debate.   Personally I believe eye dominance, ball position and hosel type, influence ball direction more than toe hang/face balance type of putter. 

I think eye dominance is a much bigger deal in putting than most realize.  After a lot of damage and procedures on my right eye, I’m essentially playing with only one eye now; I was always left eye dominant, but now it’s extreme.

 

I saw an ophthalmologist who specializes in sports vision issues, and was told, among other things, that I would tend to miss putts to the side of the dominant eye, all other things equal.  She was correct, and on shorter, makeable putts, I actually “add” an inch or two of break to my read to compensate.
 

I’ve also read that elite athletes, including Tour pros, tend to have a very low degree of eye dominance, at least relative to the general population.

 

[5hort5tuff]

It could definitely help...but you will only know from testing...trial and error. 

 

Face balanced does not promote more closure...it is the opposite. 

 

Also...you can try a putter with minimal toehang

[philly2kuk]

I always pulled face balanced putters left and my coach said get some toe hang. My putting was better ever since but maybe that’s just me.

[Mike_C]

Does your putter have offset?

[Phabs]

Am I thinking about this completely wrong?  More toe hang would mean faster closure rate of the face … worse pulls left? 

[MattM97]

5 minutes ago, Phabs said:

Am I thinking about this completely wrong?  More toe hang would mean faster closure rate of the face … worse pulls left? 

 

Depends on the tempo of the stroke too. Some if too quick probably closes, too slow leaves open, gotta have that goldilocks tempo. 

[Unteachable]

Ping has done a lot of research in this and it’s a big part of their iping putting app. Closure rate is something they are are very big on in determining how much toe hang is needed. 
that, along with alignment, proper length and lie and weight are all important factors in putter selection. 
I’ve been pretty much exclusively in face balanced putters for 15 years based on Sam fittings but noticed my tendency for pulling shorter putts along with missing longer putts right decreases with a Scotty with 20 degrees toe hang. 
when I went to ping my closure rate put me on the border between slight and strong arc putters. Looking forward to seeing what happens when I get in

[LG97]

As someone who has a tendency to push putts I've found that a face balanced putter tends to exaggerate my pushes rather than fix them due to the clubs resistance to closure. Weight, hosel type and offset all seem to play more of an effective part in helping a specific miss than toe hang for me.

[Cliffy2020]

Or go with a torque balanced putter and forget about toe hang altogether !
 

[10&8]

Maybe try a flatter lie angle on your current putter?

[theboyslater]

TXG also had an interesting video of this today. Johnny also pulling his putts with a toe hang putter, and then putted straight with face balanced. 

I think he and I react to the putter opening on the backstroke and feel we need to overly close on the thru stroke.

I need a fitting!

[MattM97]

33 minutes ago, theboyslater said:

I need a fitting!

 

Or a lesson but both should improve your game 

[URStillAway]

From years of myself missing short putts left and  watching others doing the same I believe it’s either  excess body / head/ hips/ knee / shoulder movement rather than the style of putter.  
 

Keep everything still and putt with the shoulders 

[Brentwood]

On 9/19/2023 at 11:09 PM, theboyslater said:

Just been watching Trottie on his tour truck Tuesday say that if you miss left you should try face a balanced putter.

 

I always thought it was opposite, and that face balanced promoted more closure and more left putts.

 

Is Trottie correct?

I definitely always thought the same as you with FB promoting more closure. Putting is so personal though I don't think the answer is necessarily universal.

[RobS]

If you miss left because you have some arc to your stroke and close the face at impact, toe hang would be the common solution.  Toe hang conceptually slows the face rotation.  If you miss left because you aim left that's a different issue that requires a different solution but in either case, I don't see how a face balanced putter solves either problem.

[RobS]

On 9/20/2023 at 11:04 PM, Phabs said:

Am I thinking about this completely wrong?  More toe hang would mean faster closure rate of the face … worse pulls left? 

Look at it this way, a toe hang putter naturally hangs/balances open.  It requires more force to rotate it back to square than a putter that naturally balances square or with less toe hang.  While it's not exactly apples to apples, think about it like a driver with movable weight like the stealth plus.  The "fade" weight position is out towards the toe, in concept, to slow the face closure.  With the weight in the toe, it sort of creates the driver equivalent of a putter with more toe hang.

[ShawLF]

On 9/20/2023 at 10:04 PM, Phabs said:

Am I thinking about this completely wrong?  More toe hang would mean faster closure rate of the face … worse pulls left? 

 

37 minutes ago, RobS said:

Look at it this way, a toe hang putter naturally hangs/balances open.  It requires more force to rotate it back to square than a putter that naturally balances square or with less toe hang.

 

@RobS is correct.

 

One part not discussed yet is what happens in transition. In general, a toe hang putter will open less in the backstroke because the toe is resisting motion more than the heel. In transition the face will open because the toe wants to continue to move in the backstroke direction. In the forward stroke the face will continue to want to open because the toe wants to resist motion just like it did on the backstroke but in the opposite direction. So the net effect is that the player will have to add force to return the face square, otherwise the putt will miss to the right.

 

However, in general is meaningless. The net effect comes down to the player's stroke and how the player responds to the forces acting on the putter.  So two people will have the complete opposite outcome and this should be expected. Same is true for putting grip. 

 

Also, "face balanced" isn't really face balanced. It is face balanced when the putter shaft is horizontal. But the putter is at ~70* when putting, so it isn't face balanced as played and actually exhibits considerable "toe hang".

 

Edited September 22 by ShawLF

[pingfool]

56 minutes ago, RobS said:

If you miss left because you have some arc to your stroke and close the face at impact, toe hang would be the common solution.  Toe hang conceptually slows the face rotation.  If you miss left because you aim left that's a different issue that requires a different solution but in either case, I don't see how a face balanced putter solves either problem.

 

Miss left because you aim left - YES!

 

Welcome all suggestion to correct aim. Right eye dominant. Have always felt stance (open) and ball position were/are the two variables. Prefer heel shafted putters.

[ShawLF]

4 minutes ago, pingfool said:

Miss left because you aim left - YES!

 

Welcome all suggestion to correct aim. Right eye dominant. Have always felt stance (open) and ball position were/are the two variables. Prefer heel shafted putters.

Set up to a putt and check if your aim is correct using a laser or string line. You can make putts with the laser on and off and check your start line. change your ball position relative to your eyes and find something that looks straight. It may take some practice to train your brain what straight looks like.

 

This is the setup I use.