I went from the L70 to the L96 a while ago and was very impressed with the higher level version. Exactly how much better than the L70 one isn't something I could really say, probably not even 1 shot per round but that would be a guess. It does seem to have almost killed off the dreaded 3 putt for me though, unless I'm hitting a long putt on either slow greens or those mental ones Shoe and Icon throw at us now and then.
I move the marker to aim my putts and find missed dings have a drastic effect on how far the ball goes, I've left several putts short because of this. The L70 one wasn't really any better though, it was just a bit easier to hit the ding so it happened less frequently.
As bluzgolf already mentioned, it's a question of whether that slight edge is worth it. Just be aware it will be a very slight one.
I'm also a bit of a gear freak though and not having the putter with the most dots wasn't really an option. It's exactly because of that that I'm duffing 15 tee shots per hole on the par 3 course trying to reach level 97 as soon as I can. I'd reckoned on about 2.5 months to get the 90 odd thousand I needed but after hearing about this par 3 trick I think 2 weeks will be nearer the mark. Only about 36,000 to go now, 3-4 days with any luck.
bluzgolf:
Well except for this last week, I had no clue what was what.
You too? I had a nightmare on Merion's greens yesterday. Several putts went against the indicated break, even when both front and rear view and putting and pitch view agreed which way the slope was.
Not even my $40 toy could help me there.