Putters- what was your "A-ha" moment?

[putt4_66]

Always used a heel shafted offset shaft putter - like everyone else. I messed around with a center shafted no offset putter, and.... Ah Ha! Putt MUCH MUCH better with that setup.

[Honman]

Finding the right putter. Picked up a rife Barbados when they first came out. Other than a round or two here or there it's still in the bag, what must be at least 5 years on. Picked up a black one, couldn't putt as well, got a camo insert bettinardi bb1, looks great I miss everything. Face balance mallets work for me, and this one works best. Do like the look of the manta, but thats because from the pics I've seen it looks like it has the same head shape (footprint anyway) as the Barbados. And considering Justin rose seems to be chief mallet tester at taylormade, this is no surprise.

[super20dan]

first time igamed a scotty cameron

[ShortSticks]

There have been two things for me that helped my putting.

1. Discovering center shafted putters. They just seem to get me over the ball better and my set up feels more natural with them.

2. Not being so hard on myself. I tend to get down on myself if I don't make putts that i think I should. I have watched the best putters in the world miss a putt or two, so why should I be any different. My playing partners say I am a great putter, but I feel the opposite. At the end of the round I can look back and see so many putts that I missed, but all they see are the ones I made that made them cough up their money.

[thegooddoctor]

Stopped worrying about mechanics and just swing the damn thing. Stand how and swing how you feel comfortable and find a putter that matches that...not the other way around

Happy hunting
Evan

[Puppetmaster]

[quote name='thegooddoctor' timestamp='1329928679' post='4350163']
Stopped worrying about mechanics and just swing the damn thing. Stand how and swing how you feel comfortable and find a putter that matches that...not the other way around

Happy hunting
Evan
[/quote]

I agree with this, and I saw many others posted it too. I improved the most seeing the path/line first, then just standing over the ball and thinking about propelling the ball on that line. Forget the angles, where the club is taken back, ball position, eyes, etc, that's fine in practice, but when I'm playing a round, it should all just "happen" without overthinking it. In terms of putter selection, once I saw the improvement following the new approach, I picked a putter that just feels natural to my stroke, and that's either a plumbers neck or flow neck heel shafted mid mallet, short and heavy.

[duffer888]

1 - thinking less
2 - practice once/twice a week.
3 - finding a 33" putter that has exceptional distance control and correct loft for a slight forward press.

These weren't individual moments but an evolution and the a-ha came with #3.

[avenali312]

My moment was when doing a drill I saw that had me only putting with my left hand (right handed golfer). It really straightened out my putts as I was putting too much pressure with my right hand and tended to push the ball right. Now, I putt with both hands, but barely put any pressure on with my right, it's just along for the ride.

Also, I had 2" cut off of my 33" Nike Oz Black T100 and it has put me over the ball better.

[GooseHook]

[quote name='duffer888' timestamp='1329930246' post='4350369']
1 - thinking less
2 - practice once/twice a week.
3 - finding a 33" putter that has exceptional distance control and correct loft for a slight forward press.

These weren't individual moments but an evolution and the a-ha came with #3.
[/quote]
So what putter was it? I have no forward press and A Piretti with 2* loft seems to work perfectly.

[JayLefty]

My back forearm was above my left forearm. Now I get set using my left hand and put my right hand on the putter second (Lefty Golfer) and it has made a world of difference. I now feel like my bottom hand is underneath my top hand. Huge difference. Now I don't miss everything to the right.

[Thrillhouse]

Breakthrough? its been a steady regression since I was 17.

[fore_life]

I read a tip I here a few weeks ago about just looking at the front of the ball instead of the back of the ball. My problem was deccellerating and I don't know if it's mental or whatever, but I am rolling the ball light years better than I have been in awhile. Seems like I'm stroking now instead of hitting

[mickw]

Oh...and one of these. My playing partners think I'm crazy...but from day one of using it, I have never questioned my alignment while standing over a putt. Confidence boost in knowing there is one less factor to worry about, I guess...

 

[vietnameeh]

my biggest aha moment

when i realized to stop pretending i was on the practice green... meaning not think about my stroke when i am playing...

on the practice green: work on mechanics

on the course: Read the break, Feel the distance... pick my line and COMMIT ...

i use to do the opposire... read the break pick a line... then think about my stroke.. the path... tempo... soo streaky

at least now... im more consistent... whether good or bad

[cmrl1986]

When I switched to a belly putter I didn't say "a-ha", but I did say " what the hell have I been doin the last 22 years!!" I'm 25! The switch really has been awesome.

[CEPHAS]

i switched from a anser style with full shaft offset to heel shafted 1/2 shaft offset and 35" to 34" and it has made all the difference. also i added alot of lead tape

[wolfpack]

Missing about 5 3footers to shoot 78. I decided i needed something that i couldn't miss from short with. Picked up a G2 craz-e (yes it looks like 1/2 a shoe measuring device.. i think that must have been the inspiration) but no more missed short ones. 5 feet is like a tap in now.

[url="http://image.made-in-china.com/4f0j00EqQTfbadItsv/Foot-Measuring-Device-Foot-Sizer.jpg"]http://image.made-in-china.com/4f0j00EqQTfbadItsv/Foot-Measuring-Device-Foot-Sizer.jpg[/url]

[myspinonit]

My moment was several years ago when a player partner suggested after a round that I try the " claw" . I had been knocking down flags all day, but I couldn't capitalize with any putts.

Well, I Googled it when I got home, and I've never looked back.

After 20 plus years of horrid putting, I suddenly turned into a very good putter. At least several of the guys in my club have since adopted the method after my results.

My "claw" is really the "saw" grip that I found on Google that fateful day; a You Tube explaining it by Mark O'Meara. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Qq49sA3FU

I think it is beneficial to use a centre-shafted putter for a "claw" or "saw" type grip to work effectively, as it is basically a straight back and forth movement. I did try a couple of non-centere shafted ones, but they quickly ended up on Craigslist.

Currently I'm using an Odyssey Backstryke 2-ball; my older centre-shafted 2-ball is the one I started this journey with, and it's staying in my closet as my backup. An added bonus of the Backstryke putters is as the shaft is at the back, there is no moment when the leading edge of the putter is obscured. That helps me as my left eye is much more dominent.

[dac]

still looking for my a-ha moment. but the things that help me most are less thinking on the greens.

[tincup09]

When I finally just decided that I was a great putter. I just keep that attitude and the rest takes care of itself.

[1970.gpp]

[quote name='browne11' timestamp='1329844752' post='4341909']I always played blade putters and was a pretty terrible putter. One day I picked up my buddies 2ball. He's righty and I'm lefty. Sunk 3 10 footers in a row right handed and haven't looked back. I play only big ugly putters now (not right handed tho).[/quote]

I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I started putting with a blade putter (PING Kushin) and was pretty accurate with it. Then, I started reading a lot and thought that I needed a more forgiving mallet putter. I dumped the Kushin and went through a series of mallets. This year, I picked up another blade putter and found my accuracy again...

[callawayjay]

1-Not taking practice strokes, except on REALLY LONG putts
2-Keeping my head perfectly still, long after impact, staring at the spot that the ball was.

[Sean2]

Putting with my shoulders...no arms or hands in the stroke.

[chrio]

Make sure ur eyes are over the ball and find a grip thats consistent and comfy
#1 feel the speed of the put
#2 pick the line of that speed
#3 pick a spot 1.5-2 ft in front of ur ball on that line
#4 make ball roll over ur spot
#5 pick ball out of cup
Don't complicate putting