Forums

Putter Pal Analysis

• Cicero733 2,307 Posts

  Fri, Nov 30 2018 12:16 PM

  I’m new to WGT, 3 months, and have noticed a very strange anomaly with the Putter pal. This occurs on all courses and all greens, especially at Erin Hills and Kiawah. These are all straight puts with lengths less than twenty feet. It does not occur every time on every putt. It is sporadic and unpredictable.

  Dinged hit - The ball will usually move straight forward, however on some occasions it will come off either left or right at about a 25 degree angle missing the hole by a good foot or more. I know of no way to predict when this will happened.

  Miss the ding left - in these instances a miss-hit to the left of the ding will move the ball to the right of the hole.

  Miss the ding right - in these instances a miss-hit to the right of the ding will move the ball to the left of the hole.

  I thought I was seeing things or miss-reading a break, so I started to study it, and, yes, it occurs as described. Again it is sporadic and unpredictable.

  I empty cache files daily and restart periodically. This does nothing that I can see, the anomaly continues.

  Has anyone else noticed or experienced this and if so is there a solution or work around?

  I play the mobile version of the game on an iPad Pro. 

   

• DoctorLarry 4,302 Posts

  Sun, Dec 2 2018 2:16 PM

  I don't play mobile much but I do know that some putts look straight from a given view, but are really not straight.  More experienced players than I (who I watch on Youtube) will note that in their commentary and know how to line up those putts.

  Maybe you have already done this, but I guess the only way to check this out for sure would be to spend a fair amount of time on the putting green - or any green in practice mode - and take multiple mulligans to confirm putt behavior.

  Other than that, I am not aware of a different problem or solution.  Maybe some that play mobile more will chime in.

• Cicero733 2,307 Posts

  Sun, Dec 2 2018 2:50 PM

  Thanks for the input. What you suggested I already tried and that’s what prompted me to make the post. I have had several more occurrences since the original post. What I have been doing lately is moving the pointer either to the left or right edge of the hole and hope that I have guessed correctly. It doesn’t necessarily make the putt but it does aid in getting the ball closer to the hole. The whole thing is baffling. Does not occur on the medium to longer putts, just on the lengths originally mentioned.

• Robert1893 7,712 Posts

  Sun, Dec 2 2018 7:48 PM

  @Cicero733
  
  On truly straight putts, I've never experienced what you describe. But I've also seen very few truly straight putts. That's especially so for Kiawah. I suspect that you're simply not seeing some breaks that are there. 

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Sun, Dec 2 2018 8:50 PM

  It sounds to me like you're ignoring the "foot" break. That's the first 1/4 of your line and if you ignore it, you get what you're seeing-your putt starts off on the wrong line. You will also miss every time if you miss the ding on the down side of a roll. I'm assuming the same thing here that applies to PCs also applies to mobile.

• Cicero733 2,307 Posts

  Mon, Dec 3 2018 8:09 AM

  Thanks for the input. All of these suggestions, with the exception of unlocking, have been tried. As a mobile user some of the functionalities listed are not available. And the reverse look differential is taken into consideration. I think I am witnessing the statistical variation Deena describes. Over the weekend I thought about the “sweet spot” enhancements that can come with apparel upgrades and wondered if that could be a factor.

  The really aggravating issue to me is that I cannot predict, therefore master, the anomaly. I use the Ping Anser 2 putter in my virtual bag just as I used the Ping Anser 2 in my real world bag when I was able to play golf. I could always count on the response characteristics of my real world putter and in the virtual world my virtual putter is reliable probably 90% of the time. The issue occurs most frequently on shorter putts.  It’s just baffling to have a straight, very makeable, dinged 6’ putt finish 12” to the left or right of the hole. The ball does not curve to those locations like it’s following a break; it moves in a straight line from the putter face.

  Probably the best solution is to finish the round, go to my virtual club’s 19th hole, grab a virtual beer, and sit down and review the matter with the resident virtual guru.

• DoctorLarry 4,302 Posts

  Mon, Dec 3 2018 11:35 AM

  goldeena:

  I put this down to VEM and I am a staunch advocate that there should be zero statistical variance on the putting surface, suffice your equipment limitations.

  NO!  Never.

  Never happens in real life, should not happen here.

  Now, pool tables are a different matter!!  :-0

• MGB01 1,469 Posts

  Mon, Dec 3 2018 12:25 PM

  i play on pc with the begginners putter and unfortunatly i have maybe 2 out of 10 putts that will just bounce off the face of the putter stranglely like cicero has described.......nowhere near the line i had chosen.......seems to do it more when i use most of the putt scale or on a 20ft putt or more.......its something i have accepted because the meter speed is good for me and my ding rate is maybe 9 out of 10......so ill just accept it .....happy golfing