Is Fitting a Putter Really So Important?
I used to wonder if all those puts that didn't go into the cup were really my poor technique and alignment, or just my putter's fault. This past Wednesday I found out the truth and the results were eye opening.
I had been invited to spend a few hours with Scotty Cameron, probably the most well-known maker of putters in the world. This was really special in that usually only players like David Duval, Justin Leonard or Tiger Woods are given this kind of one on one treatment.
After meeting with Scotty, he gave me a brief tour of his facility, which is located in Carlsbad, California (everybody from Callaway to Taylor Made is located in Carlsbad). I can't remember when I have ever seen so many putters in my life. Then we toured the plant where each putter is made.
Very impressive! They actually have four different locations that manufacture 90,000 putters a year. You might have thought that more would be built each year, but the process he uses is absolutely meticulous. Only a perfect putter will do.
After signing a confidentiality agreement regarding his proprietary fitting system (which is patent pending) we got down to business. The Scotty Cameron 's putter fitting system takes a look at all the elements of the putting stroke. First the loft of the putter is checked by a high-speed camera and computer system.
This process looks at how the ball reacts after initial contact for the first 9-12 inches of the putt. If there is too much loft on the putter, the ball will impact with its depression and launch up in the air. This generally creates a putt that will come up short of the hole. If there is not enough loft, then the ball will start to roll too soon and end up past the hole.
The perfectly rolled putt starts up in the air (this in not something that can be seen by the human eye) then touches down between 6-9 inches. Just before the ball touches down, the ball begins to shift forward. Then the ball begins rolling end over end toward the hole. Let me tell you, until you see it, you just can't believe it really happens that way.
Next we looked at the angle of my putter shaft both at address and at impact. It was found that although I start with a slight hand press to de-loft the putter, I actually release the putter head just before impact.
Through his research, Scotty has found the optimum loft for everyone also determines what the shaft angle should be at impact in order to get a putt rolling at the hole. In my case, I needed only 2.75 degrees of loft.
The next step was to look at my stroke path during the swing. It was found that I swing the putter inside to square to inside. I also have a slight cut move before impact. This will create minor inconsistencies in my stroke over time, so Scotty showed me a simple putting devise I could build to help me work on my stroke. This probably saved me about $79 in equipment at the local golf shop.
We also found that at address I perceived the face of my putter to be square, when actually it was slightly open. After taking my usual stance, and just before hitting the ball, I could look up at the monitor and see that my putter face was actually open, and fix it before impact.
Now we get to the step that set everything up. The next camera showed the lie of the putter. It was found that the toe of my putter tipped up in the air a little. Scotty then adjusted this and had me use it again. Two things were now going on. One was that although the lie had been adjusted, I instinctively readjusted the lie to compensate for this adjustment.
So, now I had to physically change one thing in my technique, that was to cup my hands at address. Really not a bad thing at all. The second thing was the surprising benefit that when I now looked down at the ball at address, the face of my putter was square. Unbelievable! I was ready for the tour...
The very last thing Scotty does is to check a player's alignment. This is without a doubt the most important element in putting, because if you can't aim properly, then you won't make putts.
This process involves placing a small mirror on the face of the putter, and then aiming at a hole, which contains a laser system that reflects off the mirror and projects on a target grid. Where the reflection hits, shows where you have aimed.
Scotty told me that I was not to get too excited if my alignment was off because the average tour player was about 6-10 inches off the first time, and that the worst tour player he ever tested was low and about two feet off. To my surprise, my first try was about an inch off.
So maybe it was my equipment all along and not me. Well, in the weeks to come I am going to find out just what all this means to my game. When I have the answer, I'll let you know.
All this took three hours to complete and man was it ever exciting. I really did feel like David Duval working with the best in the game. This new system by Scotty Cameron will be available next year in about ten Titleist outlets, increasing to around 25 in 2001.
It will also be adaptable to the full swing as well. When that happens, virtually everything about fitting will be available to really custom fit a set of clubs to any player.
In case you didn't notice, I was custom fit to a putter that was adapted to me, and not the other way around. Thanks Scotty, I'm going out to practice with my new putter.