How much improvement would be necessary for you to use a broomstick putter?

[jomatty]

Being snowed in the last few days has left me with too much time to mess around.  I’ve bought several clubs but when I ran out of money had to start modifying existing clubs.  I found an old center shaft odyssey 7 that had an upright lie angle.  Not sure why it was upright but I imagine it involved cursing and acting like a child and it getting bent.  I hammered on the hosel a little more (I don’t have club bending equipment) and got it to around 78 degrees.  I found a s400 2 iron shaft and was able to extend it enough to get it where I think I would want it (44 inches so shorter than most but feels right).  It currently has a rigged up split grip that is just a cut up wrap grip.  I need to add a bunch of lead tape but it already feels pretty good.
The question is, how much better would it have to be to actually use this abomination?  How many strokes on my handicap would be enough for me to buy a LAB broomstick?  I’m currently at a 2 handicap.  If I had a crystal ball I think I would need to go all the way to scratch to be worth using something like this.  One shot just wouldn’t be worth it.  Maybe I’m too sensitive lol.

My wife, the sweetest woman alive, said she would make fun of me a lot 😂.  I think that is fair.  I am kind of hoping it doesn’t work out at all.  What is your handicap and how much would it have to lower to make you rock this bad boy (remember we have a crystal ball).

[jomatty]

The HORROR!  

[jda]

You already know the answer, right?  If it mattered, you would already know... and you would certainly use it and nobody would think less of you because they would be using them too.  🙂

 

This is not like somebody having a little part of them die by getting a Minivan because they just work better fr what you need with the sliding doors, easy to hook up car seats and storage and stuff.  If you are a 2, then you know how to putt and you also know that the tool is the least important part.

[MattM97]

I'd need at least some immediate comfort, local shop has/had some Mezz Broomstick putters, tried them out, not comfortable for me seeing as my trail hand is my non-dominant hand so it was really hard to get it going comfortably. 

 

Side note had armlock too and that maybe felt worse, glad I never went down that rabbit hole. Thanks LAB for making both of these and me not wasting time/money on them in the past. 

[roundersmitty]

I would use any new putter that would save me on average a stroke a round.  I tried armlock and broom style, no such luck

Edited January 20 by roundersmitty

[kwcsports]

It would have to help a lot. I've tried them, very uncomfortable for me. 

[manVSgolf]

On 1/18/2024 at 1:37 AM, jomatty said:

Being snowed in the last few days has left me with too much time to mess around.  I’ve bought several clubs but when I ran out of money had to start modifying existing clubs.  I found an old center shaft odyssey 7 that had an upright lie angle.  Not sure why it was upright but I imagine it involved cursing and acting like a child and it getting bent.  I hammered on the hosel a little more (I don’t have club bending equipment) and got it to around 78 degrees.  I found a s400 2 iron shaft and was able to extend it enough to get it where I think I would want it (44 inches so shorter than most but feels right).  It currently has a rigged up split grip that is just a cut up wrap grip.  I need to add a bunch of lead tape but it already feels pretty good.
The question is, how much better would it have to be to actually use this abomination?  How many strokes on my handicap would be enough for me to buy a LAB broomstick?  I’m currently at a 2 handicap.  If I had a crystal ball I think I would need to go all the way to scratch to be worth using something like this.  One shot just wouldn’t be worth it.  Maybe I’m too sensitive lol.

My wife, the sweetest woman alive, said she would make fun of me a lot 😂.  I think that is fair.  I am kind of hoping it doesn’t work out at all.  What is your handicap and how much would it have to lower to make you rock this bad boy (remember we have a crystal ball).

If I am 0.0001 stroke/round better with a broomstick, I am using it.

 

 

(Which I already do).  
 

 

It’s - imo - a better way to putt.  I

encourage everyone to give it a real

chance - NOT just 2 or 3 putts at their local retailer. It is also nice to go back

and forth for variety, keeps putting fresh.  
 

 

[jomatty]

7 hours ago, manVSgolf said:

If I am 0.0001 stroke/round better with a broomstick, I am using it.

 

 

(Which I already do).  
 

 

It’s - imo - a better way to putt.  I

encourage everyone to give it a real

chance - NOT just 2 or 3 putts at their local retailer. It is also nice to go back

and forth for variety, keeps putting fresh.  
 

 

The variety aspect is a real thing for me.  One concern I have also goes back to your suggestion of “giving it a real chance”.  It would be a shame if there were real gains to be had and I tried for a round with this thing I’ve thrown together and decided it wasn’t for me.  
that said the idea of dragging another long club around is not appealing.  Kind of the reason I didn’t want to try the LAB Df2.1.  The head is so big it just looked like it would be a pain to lug around.

maybe I need to open my mind a bit though… 

[Itsjustagame]

Don't you play to shoot the best scores possibe? So if a particular club results in better scores (even one shot) then it's "worth it". 

[jomatty]

58 minutes ago, Itsjustagame said:

Don't you play to shoot the best scores possibe? So if a particular club results in better scores (even one shot) then it's "worth it". 

Not necessarily.  While I play to shoot the best score possible, it is not the only factor.  It’s a game and the goal is enjoyment at the end of the day.  I certainly understand why some would get the most enjoyment out of the lowest score possible, and for the most part find myself in that camp.  That said, when you are dealing with small margins and slight improvements, like a putter change may have, what putter I enjoy the look and feel of becomes a factor.
“One shot” like you (and I) mentioned is a significant improvement and maybe I was too quick to dismiss it.  Going from a 2 to a 1 handicap would be a lot for me.  I don’t have any real low hanging fruit, I just need a lot of overall improvement to lower my handicap so that would be hard to pass up.  Most likely though, if there was improvement, it would seem that it would be worth a fraction of a stroke and that would still be tough call.  It’s not like I’m a terrible putter or anything.  I just think there is room for improvement and that is is possibly the “lowest hanging fruit” as far as there is any.

[jomatty]

18 hours ago, MattM97 said:

I'd need at least some immediate comfort, local shop has/had some Mezz Broomstick putters, tried them out, not comfortable for me seeing as my trail hand is my non-dominant hand so it was really hard to get it going comfortably. 

 

Side note had armlock too and that maybe felt worse, glad I never went down that rabbit hole. Thanks LAB for making both of these and me not wasting time/money on them in the past. 

I also tried armlock, however that never felt good to me.  At some point I may give it another go, but that felt worse than the broomstick.  The broomstick feels good to me, which worries me lol.

Interesting that you found it hard to get the putter in motion.  My dominant arm is my trail arm so maybe it is something I’ve just never thought about.  When putting, especially with the long putter (on mat at home) I really feel like my chest does all the moving, although I’m sure that is a feel vs real thing.

Anyways, it’s good that a more traditional style suits you, as you seem to gravitate towards really nice custom builds.  They seem a lot more fun as short putters.

[jomatty]

19 hours ago, jda said:

You already know the answer, right?  If it mattered, you would already know... and you would certainly use it and nobody would think less of you because they would be using them too.  🙂

 

This is not like somebody having a little part of them die by getting a Minivan because they just work better fr what you need with the sliding doors, easy to hook up car seats and storage and stuff.  If you are a 2, then you know how to putt and you also know that the tool is the least important part.

Yes I know that the tool is the least important part but when you start talking about a complete technique change like this I think it becomes a more relevant talking point than “should I switch to a mallet”.  I suppose you are right that I do know that if there are strokes to be saved I should switch.  I have no reason to believe the broomstick will be better though as I’m a decent putter so the conversation is most likely moot.

This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands and are snowed in.  You build something that it seems like you should try lol

[Maine Golfer]

As long as I enjoyed doing it, i'd use it. The times ive tried them they feel really funny and not right for me. 

[MattM97]

11 minutes ago, jomatty said:

I also tried armlock, however that never felt good to me.  At some point I may give it another go, but that felt worse than the broomstick.  The broomstick feels good to me, which worries me lol.

Interesting that you found it hard to get the putter in motion.  My dominant arm is my trail arm so maybe it is something I’ve just never thought about.  When putting, especially with the long putter (on mat at home) I really feel like my chest does all the moving, although I’m sure that is a feel vs real thing.

Anyways, it’s good that a more traditional style suits you, as you seem to gravitate towards really nice custom builds.  They seem a lot more fun as short putters.

 

There was a video I think I saw recently where LAB said the broomstick method is basically a 1 arm putting technique. The top hand just holds it in place and the lower hand basically drives the putter, which makes sense and how I felt it, my problem my lower hand is my weak hand.

 

Arm lock I was very seriously considering it during the arm lock craze just never did cause $$$$ at the time and after trying it I'd have to put in a crazy amount of practice that I can also apply to traditional setup.

 

Funny thing with customs is now there are custom options for these and CB too just not something that would work for me. But I like that there are other methods to roll the rock.

[jomatty]

11 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

There was a video I think I saw recently where LAB said the broomstick method is basically a 1 arm putting technique. The top hand just holds it in place and the lower hand basically drives the putter, which makes sense and how I felt it, my problem my lower hand is my weak hand.

 

Arm lock I was very seriously considering it during the arm lock craze just never did cause $$$$ at the time and after trying it I'd have to put in a crazy amount of practice that I can also apply to traditional setup.

 

Funny thing with customs is now there are custom options for these and CB too just not something that would work for me. But I like that there are other methods to roll the rock.

I’ll have to check out that video.  Could be I’m experimenting with the long putter completely wrong.  Not wrong, I suppose, but different than how others are employing it.  I just sort of did my regular putting stroke band rocked my shoulders/chest.  Once it thaws out I’ll have to watch the LAB video and others and experiment if I really want to play around with this more.

[caniac6]

I tried a LAB broomstick on the practice green at my course. It was the worse feeling putter I have ever tried. I couldn’t feel it at all, and had no idea how hard to hit the putt. Obviously, some guys have had great success, but it would take a lot of practice for me to use one.

[jomatty]

27 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

There was a video I think I saw recently where LAB said the broomstick method is basically a 1 arm putting technique. The top hand just holds it in place and the lower hand basically drives the putter, which makes sense and how I felt it, my problem my lower hand is my weak hand.

 

Arm lock I was very seriously considering it during the arm lock craze just never did cause $$$$ at the time and after trying it I'd have to put in a crazy amount of practice that I can also apply to traditional setup.

 

Funny thing with customs is now there are custom options for these and CB too just not something that would work for me. But I like that there are other methods to roll the rock.

Uh yeah…I was doing it wrong lol.  If I end up using one of these damn things I’m blaming you!  I could have taken this lead tape slathered monstrosity that I built with a hammer and a 2 iron shaft out to the course, used the wrong technique, and came back to report “long putters are not for me”.  Now, every putt is a tight end over end on the putting mat and it seems like it deserves an actual trial.  Damn…

[Phabs]

Isn’t enough improvement that would make me switch.   I honestly don’t think them or the armlocks should be legal.  Just my opinion 

[getitdaily]

I am a + cap but I'm a strokes gained negative on putting compared to other scratch or better players. 

 

I'd have to see immediate 30 or sub 30 putts per round avg to switch. I'm almost always 31-33 putts. When the sun is up earlier and I get more morning putting practice before work then I start to dip into sub 30 putting rounds. So if a broomstick enabled me to go sub 30 with less practice then I'd be about it. 

 

 

[Shilgy]

On 1/18/2024 at 2:52 AM, jomatty said:

The HORROR!  

Ok…so it works for snow removal.  How is it on putting greens?

[Broken3wood]

I have started messing with one as well. Distance control has been where I traditionally struggled. With the broomstick style putter, I find it easier to control that. To answer your question, "What would it take". Any piece of equipment that is going to help me find more enjoyment, play better, and feel more comfortable is going in the bag. Damn what it looks like, or what anyone else thinks. I'd love to be able to afford an LAB custom broomstick, it's just not in the cards to drop $700 on a putter. 

[Shilgy]

Is playing a broomstick really any worse than putting a LAB Directed Force 2.1 in play? 
 

I just did…and it works!  
 

Play what works best for you.