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Time for a new putter - which one?

• jsweetcr 1,209 Posts

  Wed, Feb 6 2013 12:26 PM

  Been looking at my putting lately and thinking that I may need to get me a new putter.  The starter putter has certainly done me right for a while, but just noticing my ability to drain those 15-20 footers is very limited with the lack of forgiveness and precision it has.  Was no problem when i could drop the ball within 8 ft regularly, but now as my approaches lengthen and I progress, i am finding I have less 5 and 8 foot putts and more 12 and 15 and 20 and I just am not making them even with just a slight miss of the ding

  Available to me at the moment are the Ghost Manta and Spider L 30 and 35 respectively, Redwood L44, Nike L51, Daytona L55, and Max Master.  Although it seems the no brainer decision would be the Nike or the Max(based on dots) I feel both of those are out of my price range.  I have a full set of G20s to purchase in one level as well. 

  From what i have read here before it seems the redwood and Daytona are more suited to people who like "off ding" putting due to there high precision but low forgiveness.  My game over the past couple months has really been built more on forgiveness because of having the K15s and I don't off ding putt(except when i am inside 4 or 5 ft)

  That leaves the 2 ghost putters.  Essentially they have the same dots in all areas, but dots don't tell the whole story.  Increments are different. 

  Would like to hear some peoples feedback on these different putters or any other advice. I find there are a huge group of really giving people who pass on some really good advice. I have received it before and it did me wonders, so I thought I would come back to the well. 

  Also open to any other advice as maybe I have missed something in my research of the putters and again numbers don't really tell the whole story.

  Thanks in advance

• forcefan 279 Posts

  Wed, Feb 6 2013 1:00 PM

  Excellent post. Quite thorough. 

  I copied the following from someone here (I'm sorry I cannot credit the author):

  "Balance works with the precision rating and represents consistency throughout the different distance increments of your putter.  The higher the balance rating, the more you can rely on the ball consistently going the distance you've struck your putt, especially so on longer putts.  Balance also works with forgiveness to help reign in the effect of miss-ding hits, also making them react more consistently on longer putts."

  I can comment on the L44 Redwood. I've had it for roughly 40 levels. Both Balance and Forgiveness are rated well below the various MAX & Nike putters. Everything drops inside 4 ft - those few 'fall off the edge of the world' putts we run into on occasion notwithstanding.

  The Redwood was a solid putter for me through Tour Pro. However...We as a team have not adapted well to Tournament greens. Reasonably straight putts inside 12 ft should drop more often than they do, IMO. Many a round, 2-3 strokes per nine holes are lost due to lip-outs. It's maddening, I tell ya!  8*)

  Hence the desire to upgrade.

  However, putters are so very expensive (all my purchases have been made using earned credits), and renting for one day isn't nearly enough time to make a good assessment. So...

  I very much look forward to the responses you receive.

• GlassMan27 573 Posts

  Wed, Feb 6 2013 2:22 PM

  I am very much biased, but my recommendation is the level 55 Daytona. I've played it since I was able to buy it way back in the day. I've tried other putters along the way, all of which are now collecting dust in my virtual closet, as I've always gone back to the trusty Daytona. I don't know why I like it, I just know it's what works best for me. There really is no 'best' putter. Look through the bags of the top players and you will see players using just about every putter in the pro shop, it really is just a matter of personal preference and putting style.

  Cheers

• snikern 39 Posts

  Wed, Feb 6 2013 3:23 PM

  I'm not so old to this site, in fact i believe i can be called a rookie for 6 more months..lol. So i do not have so much knowledge about the different putters, but i have found out that it matters to find a putter you like. 

  And i do believe GlassMan77 when he say there really is no "best" putter. Its all down to find one you like and from there is pure skill that will bring your putting to next level. And skill kan only be gained through practice. 

  I have the level 35+ ghost and i'm very, very happy with it. I'm able to hit the cup a lot, and when i miss its my fault. So i will stick to the ghost till i reach level 80 + and then i will start looking for a new putter. I don't think there is nothing much to gain by buying a new putter before i can buy the best putters out there. 

  Of course, that is just me. And i might say this because i haven't tried the level. 50+ putters, but i can't imagine the different is big enough to justify the credits.. 

   

  Anyway. Good luck. I hope you make a decision you are happy with..

• fmagnets 3,640 Posts

  Wed, Feb 6 2013 4:02 PM

  I'd recommend the Max Master. It may seem expensive, but you will never need, or have the inclination, to buy another putter. You'd be saving shots, and learning with the only putter you'll need, from this point onwards. In every other aspect of equipment buying, you need the levels to get the best, yet you can buy this now.

   

• jsweetcr 1,209 Posts

  Wed, Feb 6 2013 5:35 PM

  Some good points.  Yea not sure why, but I was sort of steering clear of the redwood, just didn't look that attractive to me, but thank you for your opinion about it, I would have hated to buy it and have that frustration

  I already knew before writing this post that there is no best putter and what is great for one player might be horrible for another, just interested in what people have experienced. Like forcefan, the majority of my credits are earned and I plan to keep it that way. I have very little opps for free credits cuz of my country, so renting and trying a bunch of different putters really just isn't in the cards for me.

  fmagnets brings up a valid point. Just go for a great putter straight away and never have to buy another again.  Why spend 800 here and another 1000 there and another 1200 there between now and level 90, just pay the 2500 now and stick with it for life.  I doubt I can pull it off but I will have to do some searching and digging to see if that may be possible. Would like to hear more feedback from players with that putter and positive experiences before going after that.

  I guess the Nike putter would fall into similar category with the Max.  Saw another post about a guy trying to decide to upgrade to the L77 Nike over the L51 and would it really be that much better.  it sounded nominal, so sounds like the L51 Nike could be a lifetime putter as well.

  Some interesting and valid points, I hope to hear some more

• jsweetcr 1,209 Posts

  Wed, Feb 6 2013 5:45 PM

  and actually snickern i was leaning towards the L35 ghost spider. It seems like a solid putter and I have seen a lot of people with it from all levels and tiers.  The few times I have played with people who have had them they seemed to putt very well with it.

  Like i said before in the original post though, the dots don't tell the whole story.  Your playing style and ability are certainly going to affect a lot

• Chinajohn 1,190 Posts

  Wed, Feb 6 2013 5:52 PM

  I use the Ghost Manta and I have done since I was able to buy it, it was one of my first upgrades. It's an excellent putter and I'll keep it until I reach Tour Master (if I reach that level, my average is a bit static at the moment). It is accurate and reasonably forgiving. It does have one flaw, there is a huge hole in the 20ft increment, on tour pro / very fast greens when you work out your 'aimed' distance i.e. taking elevation into account, when you end up with 14 - 17 (inclusive) foot distances if you use one bacskwing (10ft) and add you are ALWAYS short even if you add a stupid amount, and if you use two backswings (20ft) and subtract you are ALWAYS long. However, the work around is easy, you just go up to the 40ft increment and use that.

  Of  course if you don't use the 'backswing' putting method all that was useless to you. For me I'm going to stick to that system for a while as it works for me, when I'm ready or if my putting deteriorates (any more) I'll give the 'other' system a try (using putter pal / WGT Caddy and adjusting distance using a multiplication factor) and for that I'm probably going to go with the Max Putter, just for the extra increments. 

• jsweetcr 1,209 Posts

  Wed, Feb 6 2013 6:00 PM

  Like I said, dotswise(is that even a word) the Manta and Spider I think are identical. Just that the Manta has more even increments(20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 300) versus the Spider (15, 25, 50, 100, 150, 300)

  I do in fact use the backswing method and on Very fast greens feel that my distance control is pretty spot on. Where i need help is in the precision, because I miss the ding so I miss the putt, on longer putts.

  I am not familiar with the "other" method of putting using an adjusted calculation, but would be interested in hearing about it, as I do in fact have the WGT Caddy Lite version ( probably will get full version in the near future, it does help)

  And yes the Max Putter does have a ton of increments which is another + for it.

• fmagnets 3,640 Posts

  Wed, Feb 6 2013 6:03 PM

  In case it is any use to you, I have used the L30 Ghost Manta (same specs as the L35 Ghost Spider), the L71 Nike, and tried the L55 Daytona during the free rental. They are all perfectly good for what they are, but the Max Master is noticeably better than them all. If you ding at will, anything is good enough really. But the fact that the Max will hole a straight 11 footer even if you miss the ding slightly is the clincher for me. And then you get more holed long putts as an added bonus because of the top rated balance.