iPING Putter Fitting

[Scott W]

The App is free, so if you can make your own cradle then you can get the experience for much less.  My post above links to a GWRX thread which shows you how to make a decent looking one for about £5.

Cheers Stu

[Tin Pot]

I'm not suggesting using it in a medal, it was a suggestion so that you can get feedback on your actual stroke on the course 

I agree. Better a practice round.

[Stu-Pid]

I agree. Better a practice round.

The main reason being that it wouldn't be allowed in a medal!

[Tin Pot]

The main reason being that it wouldn't be allowed in a medal!

The main reason for you. I wouldn't use it in friendly rounds either, just a practice round to see what it said.

[Stu-Pid]

I just built my own very simple cradle out of an old case for my 3GS and a couple of cable ties.  It's pretty sturdy, and certainly seems good enough to give it a quick test on the living room carpet.

After 3 sessions my tempo was 1.7 (same every time), average impact angle was 1.3° closed , and I was surprised to see that my stroke type was a strong arc (between 13.0° and 13.9° closing).

What was interesting to me from those results is that on short putts I have a tendency to miss to the right, which would indicate an open face at impact, yet every single one of my 10 foot strokes was closed at impact.  I assume that my stroke on 3 footers isn't the same as for these 10 footers.

[3puttwizard]

^^ Working from home 

[Stu-Pid]

^^ Working from home 

It's called a lunch break.   

[gripmyshaft]

I just built my own very simple cradle out of an old case for my 3GS and a couple of cable ties.  It's pretty sturdy, and certainly seems good enough to give it a quick test on the living room carpet.

After 3 sessions my tempo was 1.7 (same every time), average impact angle was 1.3° closed , and I was surprised to see that my stroke type was a strong arc (between 13.0° and 13.9° closing).

What was interesting to me from those results is that on short putts I have a tendency to miss to the right, which would indicate an open face at impact, yet every single one of my 10 foot strokes was closed at impact.  I assume that my stroke on 3 footers isn't the same as for these 10 footers.

Post up your screenshots, would be good to see them (and others) so you can see the variety.

Have a look at most face angles on the app, you'll find most players are consistently closed face. Mine are usually quite closed with the shorter putter. It's your aim that dictates mostly where you're going to miss. Perhaps your misses are due to aim, rather than the degree of closed face. Ie a closed face by 1.3* aiming 4* right of the cup will miss to the right.

[Tin Pot]

Mine are here:

http://www.modsquadgolf.com/index.php/topic,12795.msg241950.html#msg241950

[Stu-Pid]

It's your aim that dictates mostly where you're going to miss. Perhaps your misses are due to aim, rather than the degree of closed face. Ie a closed face by 1.3* aiming 4* right of the cup will miss to the right.

I use a line on my ball to make sure that I'm aiming at the hole, and my putter is a Scotty Studio Design 5 with a large alignment aid, so I'm pretty confident that my initial aim is correct.

What I suspect happens is that I decelerate the stroke on the shorter putts, which changes the face angle at impact to be open.  I would imagine that a strong arc stroke like mine is more susceptible to changing face angles if your timing is out?  I believe that is why Pelz is such an advocate of SBST, as it reduces the margin of error at impact.

I might head up to the range later and try some putts of different lengths on actual greens to see if my results change as the putts get shorter.

[Stu-Pid]

I might head up to the range later and try some putts of different lengths on actual greens to see if my results change as the putts get shorter.

So, I headed up to the range this morning and after hitting 60 balls I headed over to the practice green for 10 minutes armed with my putter, home made cradle, and my iPhone.  The practice green is hardly tour quality, but it's true enough and although it was probably only running at about 7ish on the stimp, it was fine for what I wanted.

I started with a couple of sessions at the 10 foot range, and quickly it backed up my results from indoors yesterday.  Strong arc around 14° closing, face angle at impact between 1.0° and 2.5° closed, and tempo constant at 1.7.  What I did notice (and what I expected) was that my consistency was much better (+0.8 and +0.3) in the 'real world' situation than it was aimlessly rolling balls on the living room carpet without any real target or goal.

I then moved onto the putts that I mentioned that I struggled with, 3- 5 footers that I tend to miss to the right.  The only real difference on these putts was a change in tempo from 1.7 to 1.6.  Other than that it was very similar, strong arc (although only 13° closing rather than 14°), and closed face at impact by between 0.4° and 2.5°.

So I guess the question is should the tempo change on shorter putts, or should it stay the same?  Could this be the reason that I sometimes struggle on the shorter ones?

Interesting stuff either way, and definitely something that I'm going to work on at home.  I may even give the Pelz putting bible a read...   

[Tin Pot]

So I guess the question is should the tempo change on shorter putts, or should it stay the same?  Could this be the reason that I sometimes struggle on the shorter ones?

I believe the received wisdom is that the tempo should always be the same. But is 1.6 to 1.7 much of a difference?