I like a center-shafted putter that fits my setup in terms of length and lie, has excellent alignment visual aids or design features, does not have a "busy" look, does not have a goose-neck hosel, does not have too much or contrasting colors unless they are functional for alignment and/or stroke control, is not too large of a footprint in the putter head, has good weighting and a low center of gravity, does not have much loft, has a flat-top grip of some sort, and has a substantial head weight.
This is just my set of preferences that has developed over the years. If the putter is basically not screwed up and has a decent length and lie, then the grip and overall weight seem to be important for basic good putting. After that, it's a matter of fine-tuning to your body, stroke, and likes and dislikes.
While I acknowledge that the
Ping Craz-E putter works pretty well, it's not my cup of tea -- too many french curves and air holes.
For a similar reason, I don't personally like the
Titleist Scotty Cameron Futura putter.
For big-headed putters, I like the
Mitchell Brass Cup a lot,
and also the
Railgun putter.
The Red X is a fine putter for a center-shafted mallet.
I have liked the
Taylormade TPi 25 a little better, but the two are close.
A number of other companies make a very similar putter, such as the Carbite mallet and the Odyssey White Hot.
The best grip is the
Pure Pendulum grip from Janis Zichmanis in Canada. The putter as a whole is also pretty darned good. It's currently my favorite, along with the Mitchell Brass Cup.
The old Hal Hannon Plop putter is a great putter -- center-shafted and face-balanced and nicely heavy. I have a 14-degree lie Plop that I always like to putt with.
I'm pretty open to innovation, and try out new stuff all the time. I'm still working with the
Pivot Putter by my friend Karl Schmidt
and also trying out different biomechanics, like the one-arm belly putter style of the
Down-the-Line putter.
I learned last weekend that putting genius Dave Gunas Jr. clasps a belly putter to his lead forearm ala Bernhard Langer's anti-yips stroke, so Dave basically has a one-arm lever action. This is the same biomechanics that Dr. George Shoane at Rutgers says results in a lot stiller head during the stroke than does the conventional two-armed stroke.
Just my two cents.
Thanks for asking.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone
http://puttingzone.com>
Golf's most advanced and comprehensive putting instruction.
Over 1,000,000 visits and growing strong ...
518 Woodlawn Ave
Greensboro NC 27401
336.790.8176 home
336.340.9079 cell
