[Putters] How long did it take you to find your favorite putter?

[ASD Dad]

Hey all! Just curious - How long did it take for you to find a go-to putter? For actual putting - Not throwing, I have my two favorite throwing putters - a Lat64 Pure in Retro Burst and a Prodigy Pa4 in 350.

I have only been playing a year and a half or so and have tried a lot of putters for actual putting! They all feel decent for the most part but none just scream "pick me!". I usually buy a few molds and then hit my practice basket hard for a week or two then take them on the coarse. Bead, micro bead, beadless, deep, shallow - feels like I tried maybe too many!

My current putters in no particular playing order: (I guess I am a "spush" putter - definitely not pure spin like Simon but I also dont just loft it up there)
Deputy
Magic
P2
Aviar
Judge
Swan
Dagger
Challenger
Ion
Wizard
Harp
Colt

Out of those my LEAST favorite - Wizard (could never get comfortable with it putting), Harp, Colt, Swan. Those last three I actually like throwing for upshots but hated putting with them.

Dagger and Challenger are new in the past few days and getting used to the deeper feeling dish but I have large hands with long fingers so it feels pretty good, just a lot different.

Prior to those two the putters I carried most often were the Judge and Deputy for a beaded or beadless feel depending on how I was feeling that day. The others felt "fine" but none screamed at me to carry them all the time.

So did a putter just click with you one day and then you stocked up and were happy ever after or do I just need to pick a mold and stick with it?!

BTW - I love putting. I practice at home several times a week from all distances from 6ft on out to around 50'. I also like playing putter only rounds (with my Pa4 or Pure). I figure as long as I can stay accurate from circle 2 in that will help my score more than bombing a big hyzer.

 

[Sethamphetamine]

Started with soft magnets, moved to hard magnets, then yeti aviars to kc pro aviars only to end up at hard daggers. A lot of frequent movement between the aviars and dagger days but settled on daggers for about 3 years now. Would recommend finding something comfortable feeling and sticking with it. Putting is very feel based.

 

[PMantle]

About 5 years. Went through many, many molds with soft Magnet and soft Judge dominating that time. Not even sure why I bought my first Hunter, but it worked from the start, and I putt nothing better.

 

[Jolt]

Testing putters is fun, a own more then i dare to count. . . my wallet hates putters

The ones i have more than 5pc of and have done more serious testing with are.. .

McPro Aviar. . nice to putt with but plastic is to slick for Nordic climate
JB Roach. . something about the outside of the rim. . my index finger "slides of" sometimes
Warden. . really liked it, but no . . wow
MAGIC. . hard to find a stack that feels the same
Deputy. . .nice straight putter, have +20 and i really like it. . .but one discs beat it out of the bag


My choice. . .RPM Discs Magma RURU, tried it "by mistake" and it clicked . . i hade problems with my putts hitting the cage. . but the RURU "auto corrects" the putts a inch high.

Can´t really explain it but the RURU got me to stop hitting cage and make more putts than ever . .

 

[GoobyPls]

About two years.

Was given a fresh KC Aviar when I started playing. Didn't click with it, probably because my low-spin putt at the time was causing early fade-outs.

Next tried a Neutron Proxy, because I read that "they're straight". I didn't realize that meant for driving, not putting. It had very little glide for long putts, and kinda sucks as a putting putter. Good thrower, though.

Then tried a Yeti Aviar. Did have a bit of success with it, but my small hands made it awkward to try and push the concave top with the thumb.

Then got a Prime Marshal from a Drew Gibson clinic. I actually really liked it. Would have taken over full time duties, except at the same time I got a...

Lucid Warden in a player's pack, back when they weren't in production. Fit my hand perfectly, not too stable/understable, tons of glide for outside-the-circle putts. It's still in the bag as a throwing putter, but I didn't like how slick it got when it was wet, so..

I bought a Classic Soft Warden. Much better grip when wet, plus hits and sticks for running long putts. But in the summer it's so floppy I don't always get a clean release.

Then I won a Prime Burst Warden in a raffle, right when Trilogy started producing Burst plastic. Loved it, and it gives much better grip than the Lucid while not being as floppy as Classic Soft. Ran with these for months until...

Last year, when I picked up a Classic Blend Burst Warden from Hazy Shade. Even better grip than Prime, and a nice clean release every time out of my hand. If I miss it's because my mechanics or my aim let me down, not the disc. As long as they make Blend Wardens, I will probably putt with them. Unfortunately I'm told the owner of Hazy Shade putts with these as well, so when I want to pick out a fresh one, he's already had first pick of their shipment

I later found out that Warden mold is really close to the Classic Aviar. Had I known that, I probably would have switched to Classic Aviars when I gave up on the KC. At this point, the only thing that really makes the Warden better in my eyes is the plastics DD offers them in. Innova just doesn't have a plastic that provides the same kind of grip.

 

[Meillo]

So did a putter just click with you one day and then you stocked up and were happy ever after or do I just need to pick a mold and stick with it?!

Now you have tried a whole lot of putters of all kinds within only one and a half year of playing. I don't think that trying out even more helps. I'd say, pick one of those you have and work with it. Putters aren't magical. Putting is like driving: more the archer than the arrow.

 

[ru4por]

One second. Around 1993-95 I picked up a Magnet............have been using it since. No sense, in my world, to look for some magic in another putter.

 

[ASD Dad]

Now you have tried a whole lot of putters of all kinds within only one and a half year of playing. I don't think that trying out even more helps. I'd say, pick one of those you have and work with it. Putters aren't magical. Putting is like driving: more the archer than the arrow.

Well I started based off reviews online and watching pros who putt with a similar style to what I wanted to putt. Main reason I picked a Wizard was all the glowing reviews. I really do not like that putter at all!

That was not working so then I just started going off feel. Some just feel bad as soon as I picked it up. Some were OK. Some just felt good so I bought them right then. Even then some that felt good in the store did not feel good once throwing.

Several feel good enough which is why I bag at least two.

 

[mistabman]

It took me about a year to settle on Wizards. I auditioned warlocks, voodoos, magics, deputys and P2's. Really it was more about just picking one to get consistent with. Whatever you choose, you'll have to adapt your putt somewhat to that disc. If you can find a disc that you get a consistent release with and find a plastic blend that you like, that's 80% of the battle to me. The last 20% is smaller stuff like how it holds up in the wind, does it fly the same inside and out of the circle, stuff like that which can make a difference but isn't so critical.

 

[wolfmandragon]

Now you have tried a whole lot of putters of all kinds within only one and a half year of playing. I don't think that trying out even more helps. I'd say, pick one of those you have and work with it. Putters aren't magical. Putting is like driving: more the archer than the arrow.

If I give you a cedar arrow and you fire it out of a heavy compound bow, it will blow up in your face. I am not trying to be a jerkface, but this saying is not even true in archery.

One needs to find a putter that they click with AND one gets a clean release with.

It took me over 4 years to find the RPM Tui, which has the best hand feel of any disc I have ever handled. It also gives me a clean release, which is so important in a push/shovel/lob putt. I also bag an Atom and an Envy, both as a pure putter. I have used both for years now.

The Aviar P&A and the Shield, are both almost unputtable for me. I would rather use a fairway driver than either of those; yet this style putter is the most common and liked. Hey, different stokes for different folks.

In the end, I feel putters are more personal than performance based. Just use what works.

 

[Monocacy]

XT Colt is my primary putter, with a Medium Harp for strong headwind putts.

Only took me about 40 years to settle in on a putter (starting with Wham-O 165s).

 

[riltim]

I have tried a bunch of putters over the 7 years I've been playing but I always came back to the Wizard. Currently I'm on a Omega BB kick and I'm having a tough time seeing myself going back to the wizard. The Omega BB in ET (Innova XT) is everything I loved about the wizard but with a better hand feel. I am also sinking more putts than I ever have.

I know this thread is specifically about putting putters but I must note that the Omega BB has been a significantly better driving and upshot putter than the wizard too. They go far and are very easy to control.

 

[GoobyPls]

It also gives me a clean release, which is so important in a push/shovel/lob putt. I also bag an Atom and an Envy, both as a pure putter. I have used both for years now.

The Aviar P&A and the Shield, are both almost unputtable for me. I would rather use a fairway driver than either of those; yet this style putter is the most common and liked. Hey, different stokes for different folks.

^^ That's the truth. Especially the last part. Case in point, I'm also a push/lob putter, and can't imagine trying to putt with my Envy.

 

[SD86]

I've tried a large number of putters. When I first started out, I was using the Aviar P&A but never liked it at all. I then tried a Judge and a Warden, often taking them out together and putting with them one after the other. Ultimately the Warden won, and no other putter I ever tried could beat it out, though the Pure and Pa4 were good.

Then I changed my putting style, and came to prefer beaded putters. And the Marshal came out. But I prefer firm plastics, and the Marshal did not come out in Classic (hard) for a while, so I continued with the Warden until the Marshall came out in Classic, and so I've been set ever since.

So in the overall, it was a good two years at least until I was totally set.

I'll also say that unlike drivers, putters are not just "it's the archer, not the arrow". You MUST be comfortable with your putter's plastic, its feel and its grip, and how it fits your putting style. Putting is all about confidence, and a major part of that is comfort with your mold in the plastic you like. Take your time to find out what you like best, and run with it.

 

[Meillo]

I agree that putters are more a personal thing, but does that mean you have to try 30 molds? It's not that he only tried one ore two, no he tried shallow and deep, bead and non-bead, OS and US, ... He has some he likes better than others. Those he should work with. Putting is confidence, form and knowing one's disc ... it's not having a magical putter. Form and knowing the disc is what is best improved if he works with one mold instead of continuing the search. Confidence is gained by success, which will come in the same way. ... But confidence is also a head thing: if you believe you'll have to find that magic putter, then that's what you should do.

I don't say that one should never have a look at a different putter again. I only say, that after one and a half year of constantly trying different putters, it might be a good thing to take some time working with only one mold, because maybe the reason why it does not click is not the putter but some form problem -- could be. There are always different levers to adjust, one should not only look at one of them.

 

[Keller]

I tried a bunch in the beginning, but once I learned how to putt, the decision became easier.

From my experience, too much time is wasted trying to find the perfect
"feeling" putter instead of just learning how to putt. Sure, find one that feels decent and leave it at that for a while. I would have saved myself a heck of a lot of time if would have known that in the beginning.

Anyway, for putting putters;
I have a stack of Wizards
A stack of Yetis
and a stack of Aviar P&As

That's it. If one of those doesn't work, then the problem is me.

 

[lines]

When i started playing again in 2013, the judge was highly talked about. I tried it, i liked it. I tried about 20 others and nothing felt better than a judge. At the same time i also had a wizard in the bag for upshots. I started using it for longer putts and over time it kicked the judges out. I like both.

I am now 65% wizards, 35% judges.

 

[elmexdela]

they all work for putting

i found the biggest differences in putters being in driving and actual flight

if you are good enough you can use any putter

 

[ASD Dad]

Thanks for the replies.

I can see the Wizard lives up to its reputation. I tried forcing myself to use that putter only for a lot of rounds due to that rep and we just never did click. I ended up giving it to my kid who loves the Wizard graphic.

So far I like the Dagger and Challenger. I tend to like putters that glide more and both seem to me to have a lot of glide. Maybe it is perception due to the deeper dish feel.

I tend to do OK playing putter only rounds with my Pa4 and Pure but I like to actually putt with one of the others.

I head to FL for a 9 day vacation and where we are camping there are 3 - 18 hole courses right in the park. I plan to get lots o rounds in if I can! Right now I just have my Pa4, Dagger and Challenger packed for putting duty.

 

[Stable]

Been playing since 2004. I'll try to recall all the putting putters I've committed to here. First to most recent.
DX Rhyno
KC Aviar
Pro-D Banger
PA4
PA1
McPro Aviar
Roach

I'm sure there have been others but these are the ones that stuck for the longest. The Roach is my favorite of the group. Of course, Discraft doesn't make a putting plastic that I'm crazy about. I'm using Jawbreaker right now but it's too soft & has an odd texture to it. I prefer a stiffer flight plate for putting & am hoping Discraft comes out with a KC Pro Roach. It would be amazing.