I have a blade putter and a mallet putter. Recently I picked up a 43inch belly putter and LOVE it.
I let the butt end of the putter ride against the top half of my belly button and grip it just like a normal putting grip - reverse overlap. The putter moves with horizontal hinging. I have found that ball position is the most critical element with this putter. And dead-center in the stance seems to work best. The other key element was finding the best place for the butt of the club.
I have a blade putter and a mallet putter. Recently I picked up a 43inch belly putter and LOVE it.
I let the butt end of the putter ride against the top half of my belly button and grip it just like a normal putting grip - reverse overlap. The putter moves with horizontal hinging. I have found that ball position is the most critical element with this putter. And dead-center in the stance seems to work best. The other key element was finding the best place for the butt of the club.
I have accidently built one and I'm anxious to try it out. I say accidently because I what I was actually building was my version of the hAMMY putter. The guy who invented it sent it to me to try out, but I didn't care for the anser style head. I built mine with a mallet head I had bought from a component shop a long time ago and never used. But while messing around with it on the carpet, I realized the length was just right for a belly putter. I have never tried belly putting before but I liked the way I was stroking it on saxony plush. I need to head down to Edwin Watts and pick up a long grip for it and try it on bermuda!
I have been using a belly putter for over 3 years and feel I am a better putter for it. 3' to 6' putts feel like gimme's. For the last 7 months I have been looking at the hole or really the spot that I am trying to roll the ball to. This helps me feel the proper distance and also keeps my head still. The down side is the occasional non solid hit. I am still experimenting with ball position.
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A mile from the place that golf calls home
The belly putter and the long putter should have never been ruled legal by golf's governing bodies. I made one once and it is a decent training aid, but they should not be legal in actual play. I think a lot of tour players (less now than before) look at it as a sign of weakness and it has a negative stigma attached (the real reason VJ switched back??). I know it's helped a lot of people.... but it's not golf
The belly putter and the long putter should have never been ruled legal by golf's governing bodies. I made one once and it is a decent training aid, but they should not be legal in actual play. I think a lot of tour players (less now than before) look at it as a sign of weakness and it has a negative stigma attached (the real reason VJ switched back??). I know it's helped a lot of people.... but it's not golf
I think there were one or two pros that were vocal about the longer putters being "unfair" for some reason. Jealousy, I'm sure - because it made some players better putters and they didn't like it.
But I've never heard any logical reason for them to be declared illegal. Any argument against them is only going to open the door to say many other "game improvement" advances in technology are equally unfair. The biggest one being the golf balls fly too far on the PGA tour. You no longer have to be a shot maker. Just bomb it and hit half of the fairways -and you'll do just fine.
I think a lot of tour players (less now than before) look at it as a sign of weakness and it has a negative stigma attached
The pros will do anyting if it gets the ball in the hole.
Lehman is cashing big checks and will be Ryder Cup captian--think he cares what anyone thinks about using a long putter?
If the R&A/USGA does try to take them out of the game, I'd be curious to see how they would word the rule.
Do you guys realize how much money can be made simply making and average of one more putt per round on the Tour? I think the pros would use one if it helped them putt - in a heartbeat.
I can't hit a barn with a long putter, but seem to put pretty well with a belly putter - I'm still not sure it's better than a standard length one. The jury is still out for me.
The belly putter and the long putter should have never been ruled legal by golf's governing bodies. I made one once and it is a decent training aid, but they should not be legal in actual play. I think a lot of tour players (less now than before) look at it as a sign of weakness and it has a negative stigma attached (the real reason VJ switched back??). I know it's helped a lot of people.... but it's not golf
I think there were one or two pros that were vocal about the longer putters being "unfair" for some reason. Jealousy, I'm sure - because it made some players better putters and they didn't like it.
But I've never heard any logical reason for them to be declared illegal. Any argument against them is only going to open the door to say many other "game improvement" advances in technology are equally unfair. The biggest one being the golf balls fly too far on the PGA tour. You no longer have to be a shot maker. Just bomb it and hit half of the fairways -and you'll do just fine.
The understanding or theory I heard was that it provides a fixed point which is not available with other golf strokes/equipment.
There have been some articles floating around, World Golf for one.
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