Forums

Ping red wood putter

• 158 Posts

  Fri, Jan 8 2010 1:18 PM

  As for the forgiveness factor of a putter, does it mean that more forgiving putter will be more tolerant to a mishit ?

• Faterson 2,902 Posts

  Fri, Jan 8 2010 1:35 PM

    Quoting from FAQ:

  FAQ:

  Forgiveness: Displays how much Distance and Precision the ball will lose if not hit perfectly

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Fri, Jan 8 2010 1:45 PM

  mannyo68:

  he problem with the Redwood versus starter putter is that I am less accurate with the Redwood from 15ft in. break or no break.

  The strength of your putt is key in dropping the short ones. As BB said above missing on the wrong side is crucial-it'll never go in. Trying to get 15 footers to drop using the 15 ft scale leaves you susceptible to the meter quirks but using the 45 ft scale shortens that backswing and makes hitting the mark much easier. The ball seems to run truer too. 

  Many players use the miss method to steer the putt. Instead of moving the aimer miss on the high side. How much you miss by is directly related to how fast the dots are moving. I see basically 3 speeds on the dots-slow-faster and fast. Practicing is the only way to figure out if this works for you. I like BPB2's green because you're on in 2, or 3, and have 7-8 putts before you max out. Putt back and forth without sinking it to see what works.

  Whatever you do don't give up. I went to the Redwood from the Anser and was in the same boat as you until I realized just how precise the putter is and then it got easier. GL

   

  YJ

   

• mannyo68 23 Posts

  Fri, Jan 8 2010 4:09 PM

  I appreciate all the replies. Still no one recomending dropping the Redwood for the Spider? Anybody?? Also use the 45 ft meter to drop more 15 footers? Is this accurate. What about the amount of break to play witht the Redwood versus starter set. Same lesss more. It seems like the Redwood stays straighter longer. Is this what the precision characteristic means. I have done the practice thing on the greens leaving myself multiple 10 to 15 footers and still batting lower than .250 on those. Not worth 600 creds to me to hit less than 25% of my 10-15 footers. I will try the 45 scale later to see if it helps. Any advice is truly appreciated. Thanks

• rglrguy 442 Posts

  Fri, Jan 8 2010 5:33 PM

  mannyo68:

  Still no one recomending dropping the Redwood for the Spider? Anybody??

  I have both the spider and the redwood. I have played many practice rounds trying to get a feel for the redwood, got OK.... but never as good as with the spider. So I am using the spider. I still own the redwood and still practice with it hoping to get some value for my money (6 bucks.........lol), and maybe with these tips I can get it to work. As for now I am using the spider, and my putting is pretty good. If the putt goes in............it doesn't matter what hit it.

  Hope this helps

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Fri, Jan 8 2010 5:45 PM

  manny-I highly recommend you use nivlac's approach to putting. Just try it.  I know you said you had another way but apparently that isn't working out too well. The Redwood is extremely accurate when you have the correct footage down. Using niv's method allows you to use your 45, 90 and 150 ft scales extensively allowing for the shorter backswing and ease of hitting the mark. 

  On dropping 15 ft putts with the 45 ft scale I misspoke. I should have said the 90 foot scale. Imagine how short the backswing is with that-the club only moves once and it's going 16 feet.

  Knowing breaks and how to aim at them is a practice thing. There are no do this or do that answers to figuring breaks. Knowing your putter is what it starts with and IMO if you go to another putter you're going to face the same problems. You already dropped the $ on it at least explore all of its possibilities before you give up.

  Again, this is only my opinion. GL

• dorkfeatures 712 Posts

  Fri, Jan 8 2010 6:10 PM

  @ manny,

  Hi - yep its the Spyder for me.

  Its the only one I've purchased so far, but after the initial trouble just getting use to something different to the basic putter, I'm very happy with it.

  Was about to drop it and go back to the basic putter, when someone posted me and told me to stick with it, practice, practice, practice - which I did, and now I love it.

  The art of shotting real low is to get that second / third shot in real close so you just have those 5 - 10 ft's. That said you're not going to get that close all the time, but for me the Spyder works real well.

  Shot my best round yesterday at Kiawah - 61. Should have been 59 had two total brain fades. But single putted 13 greens - which is not bad. Not all 5 ftrs either.

  Hope that helps.

  Cheers Doug

• pillsy 489 Posts

  Fri, Jan 8 2010 6:51 PM

  mannyo68:

  I appreciate all the replies. Still no one recomending dropping the Redwood for the Spider? Anybody?? Also use the 45 ft meter to drop more 15 footers? Is this accurate. What about the amount of break to play witht the Redwood versus starter set. Same lesss more. It seems like the Redwood stays straighter longer. Is this what the precision characteristic means. I have done the practice thing on the greens leaving myself multiple 10 to 15 footers and still batting lower than .250 on those. Not worth 600 creds to me to hit less than 25% of my 10-15 footers. I will try the 45 scale later to see if it helps. Any advice is truly appreciated. Thanks

  want to drain a 15-footer?  use the 150ft scale and the 1st avatar movement is 17ft (for Very Fast greens).  drop it back a tiny bit, and you've got the minimal backswing to deal with.  want to hit a 8 footer?  use the same 150ft. scale and after you see the 1st movement (17ft), drop it back to HALF of that power (8.5) and your backswing is even shorter.  this to me is the reason i've liked the redwood so much.  6 footer?  use the 90 ft. scale (13 ft, 1st movement again very fast greens) and cut it back to half of the 1st movement.  adjust the strength based on green speed.

• mannyo68 23 Posts

  Sat, Jan 9 2010 2:00 AM

  I have to admit all this talk of avatar movements did not have me convinced that it would help. I took Yankee Jim's advice despite my Red Sox loving heart and tried some practice rounds using avatar movements. I have to say that after 2+ hrs of trying it out that I am starting to come around. The confidence is building. I will reply later today after I play some Match Play games to let you know if it really helped. That is where I have been the most frustrated with the Redwood. The Match Play putts are extremely important to drain. I read Pillsy's post above and am a little confused. He suggested that to hit a 6 footer use the 90 scale go to first move which is 13 then come back halfway which should be 6.5. If the first move on the 30ft scale is 6ft wouldn't it be better to use that?? Just wondering.... Thanks again for helping me not throw the Redwood into the ocean at Kiawah!!.. Not yet anyway!!

• cobra4 359 Posts

  Sat, Jan 9 2010 3:56 AM

  I use the spyder putter and am very comfortable with it, it took quite a few rounds to get used to it so be patient with it. Any putts over 5ft i tend to use the 0-50 scale  , so your chances off hitting the line consistently are very good, plus the fact it is a short take back which means your not waiting for the meter to come down which gives you the tendency to click early. When your lining up a putt, take the line as far as you dare go so you know you won't miss on the low side, missing on the low side dosn't give the putt a chance to go in. With practise you will start to see the breaks better, but remember, always take the line as far as you dare and watch those putts drop in ......