I need both, but what first? New putter, or putting lessons/practice?
I'm only an occasional player (though I''d love to play more) and don't belong to a club nor have an official handicap. Over the last year or so, I've realised my putting has really been letting me down and I want to take steps to put it right.
I feel I can read a green OK and know where to aim etc. And the so-called "knee-trembler" five foot putts have never held any fear for me, I'm confident in those. My main problem is judging power on long putts. I seem to just go to pieces when deciding how hard I need to strike the ball. On a long putt, typically I will either give it a pathetic tickle and still leave it way short, or do the other extreme and smash it way past. I just can't seem to judge it correctly. This issue is always in my head, messing me up mentally when I'm standing over a long putt!
In the last few months I've had reasonably regular lessons on the range with a pro and we've chatted about putting and done a putting lesson. My pro thought my overall technique was ok, but he pointed out that the lie angle on my putter head is incorrect for me - something I'd never even considered. So even if there is no other reason to change my putter, there is this issue. Thought to be honest, I have no idea how much this particular issue is playing a part. (Probably very little?)
However, even with that issue aside, I have no confidence in the putter itself. I'm certainly not being a bad workamn blaming his tools, because I know that at the end of the day the answer is "You need to practice your putting". But mentally, I feel my putter is too light and feeble (I know, I know, it sounds weird!). I think I'd be happier and more confident using a heavier putter with a mallet type head. The heavier the better.
I flirted with a broomhandle putter recently that I bought for a few quid off eBay. Bloody heavy thing it was, but I felt really good with it and my lag putting and ability to judge weight of long putts was much better. However, this came at the cost of accuracy and I couldn't aim very well with it. My previous deadly accuracy from five feet or so went out the window! So I went off the broomhandle idea as it obviously wasn't going to be the cure to my woes and was just leaving me with a different problem.
My pro has given me the name and number of a guy who specialises in putter fitting, so I'll certainly be going to him at some point. He apparently sells those putters where you can add/take away weights and feels this may help me. But I wasn't really sure whether I should go along and spend the money on a new putter first - or try to get a bit more consistent in putting via lessons and practice first. Kind of a chicken and egg quandry really. Thing is though, for me practicing lag putting with any degree of regularity isn't possible. As mentioned, I don't belong to a club so I can't just rock up somewhere and do some practice on the putting green. I've practiced in my lounge which is quite long, but I have no real idea how closely the carpet recreates the speed of a typical green.
So appreciate any thoughts. And if anyone has had similar struggles to me, would like to hear how you overcame them!
