Putters: Heel shafted vs Centre shafted

[AndyP]

Can some of you putter HOs please tell me what the performance difference is between a heel shafted putter and a centre shafted putter?

Is there a performance diff or is it just a visual thing?
Are there disadvantages and advantages to either of these types of putter?
Anything else?

And while we are at it, we'll run a little poll on what is preferred.

Cheers
Andy

[terryand]

The heal putter is supposed to help a swinging door style stroke and a centre and face balanced putter is supposed to help a straight thru putting stroke.

Terry.

[AndyP]

The heal putter is supposed to help a swinging door style stroke and a centre and face balanced putter is supposed to help a straight thru putting stroke.

From your observations, do you know what type of putting stroke I have (besides lofted )?

[Jarro]

just go and try both types P .. it's the only way to be sure what's right for you

[terryand]

The heal putter is supposed to help a swinging door style stroke and a centre and face balanced putter is supposed to help a straight thru putting stroke.

From your observations, do you know what type of putting stroke I have (besides lofted )?

I don't know whether I would pick it up. You really need a well trained eye to pick these things.

Can have a look if you like and try a few drills, like a club on the ground to see if the putter archs away from it or stays parallel with it.

Terry.

[McMw]

won't ur golf pro shop let u take some samples out to the putting green to try out???

[Ducky]

I am a terrible putter, so to me it doesn't make a whole lot of difference as to where the shaft is positioned, but I have found that with the center shaft position in my Yes Golf 'Natalie' putter I am able to line up putts more accurately (of course, that doesn't help when you can't read the green in the first instance).

[markTHEblake]

when the first centre shafted putter came out called the Schenectady, the R&A banned it for 50 odd years, because they thought it made putting to easy.

i figure thats a good enough reason for me.

[AndyP]

just go and try both types P .. it's the only way to be sure what's right for you  

I don't know what you are talking about.  Is this your way of saying you don't know the difference?

I asked for comparisons, not what the best putter is for me.

[gazgolf1]

For me the centreshaft mallet style works best...I'm a straight back straight thru putter and with the centreshaft entering the putterhead directly over the sweetspot thats where my focus is.I find with heel shafted putters I'll worry about the face opening on the backswing and closing coming thru.
Bottom line with a centreshaft I aim the shaft/sweetspot at the hole.

[Jarro]

just go and try both types P .. it's the only way to be sure what's right for you  

I don't know what you are talking about.  Is this your way of saying you don't know the difference?

I asked for comparisons, not what the best putter is for me.

i've never owned a centre-shafted putter

but i seriously doubt you've hit many putters anyway .. how do you know what you're missing out on .... GET OUT THERE AND TRY SOME AND STOP ASKING US WHAT YOU THINK YOU NEED

[BrisVegas]

After trying out a few different putters in the last 2 years, I reckon centre-shaft works best for me. I've tried both mallet and blade styles in centre and heel shaft. I think I am more of a straight-back-straight-through kind of putter like Gaz, so the centre shaft makes that easier to do.

I didn't know until I tried them out on the course though.

[McMw]

I like to switch putters every now and then...

atm, I have 4 cs putters - one's a broomie, one's a belly, and the other 2 are ping CS and oddie CS...

the oddis CS has the spot in the bag atm...

I also have a wilson full mallet blade putter, and an anser putter...

so it really depends on what feels good in the hand at any given time...coz my set-up/stroke/tempo changes every other week...

[AndyP]

but i seriously doubt you've hit many putters anyway .. how do you know what you're missing out on .... GET OUT THERE AND TRY SOME AND STOP ASKING US WHAT YOU THINK YOU NEED

Topic isn't about me or advice for me, it's a discussion about putters.

[miro]

i have recently gone to a centre shaft putter having never used one before.

My short putting (4 feet) is very good. For some reason (maybe not related to the putter) my long range distance control sucks. My suspiscion is that I don;t hit the middle of the putter with a centre shaft all the time.

Anyway have another a heel shafted putter on the way which will cure all my putting ills and make me the best putter on the planet. Either that or I will buy another one!

[macleod]

i want to swap back to a centre shaft but Vegas beat me to the punch on gaz's putter

i started with a never compromise centre shaft years ago as my first official ho'd butter from the Us and miss it greatly somedays.

i have a 'closing door' style, but the centreshaft just seem to line up better for me, plus if i cut it down a smidge it would be perfect.

dion, give me a yell when you want to shift the mezza

[oz]

Heel-shafted for me. Just like the way they fit my eye, moreso than centre-shaft. Concur with miro, though, and would say that at short range, centre-shafted is very effective, because of the straight-back/straight-thru nature of the shorter stroke. JMO, YMMV, etc etc...

[BrisVegas]

i want to swap back to a centre shaft but Vegas beat me to the punch on gaz's putter

sorry Scott.

dion, give me a yell when you want to shift the mezza

28 putts yesterday mate...

[BrisVegas]

I have an almost textbook putting stroke....

Paint a picture here Richard.... for those that haven't played with you, nor seen Billy Mayfair on TV... how would you describe your "almost" textbook putting stroke and (keeping it on topic) why is it more suited to a heel shaft?

Does your putter have offset to help with the slice? What about sight-lines? I mean, you couldn't exactly use a straight line could you?

[Fishman Dan]

Come on Vegas, he has a simple rule with putting - Play within the "V"

Textbook stuff. Wrong sport, but textbook all the same.

[Courty]

Hmmm. I have always had heel-shafted putters (currently using an Odyssey DFX 1100). I think it is because the offset appeals to my eye. A non-offset putter appears to me the way a blade 1-iron does. The shaft being in the centre doesn't worry me, but I haven't ever seen a centre-shafted putter with offset. Does such a beast exist?

[McMw]

if u miss a lot of putts to the left - a non offset (CS) putter might be the way to go...

vice versa, if u tend to miss your putts to the right, an offset putter might help...

has always been my theory...however weird it may seem...

[Jarro]

if u miss a lot of putts to the left - a non offset (CS) putter might be the way to go...

vice versa, if u tend to miss your putts to the right, an offset putter might help...

what if you miss on both the right and left sides

[Jarro]

if u miss a lot of putts to the left - a non offset (CS) putter might be the way to go...

vice versa, if u tend to miss your putts to the right, an offset putter might help...

what if you miss on both the right and left sides    

It must mean you're using some scotty cameroon piece of crap.
Either that or a middle ear infection.

thanks Billy

[Courty]

if u miss a lot of putts to the left - a non offset (CS) putter might be the way to go...

vice versa, if u tend to miss your putts to the right, an offset putter might help...

has always been my theory...however weird it may seem...

I don't miss on one side consistently. My biggest putting problem would easily be distance control. Every time I 3-putt it's because the first putt was waaay long or waaay short. That could also be because our greens are crap.