vzuanich Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 My current putter is a Ping Ally3, which is face balanced. I just bought a Yes! Tracy II, which is simlar in look, but its a toe down putter. Curious what everyone's thoughts are on the benefits/drawbacks for a face balanced vs. toe down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8thehardway Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 My current putter is a Ping Ally3, which is face balanced. I just bought a Yes! Tracy II, which is simlar in look, but its a toe down putter. Curious what everyone's thoughts are on the benefits/drawbacks for a face balanced vs. toe down. Face balanced putters promote/encourage/suit a pendulum putting stroke - taking the putter back and through with the face constantly square to the target - while putters with toe hand are intended for strokes where the putter opens on the back stroke and closes on the follow through. Some think that the pendulum stroke is the logical stroke since the face is constantly oriented to the target while an open/closed stroke requires exact timing to orient the closing face to it's target. Others argue that the open/closed stroke is natural, while the pendulum stroke requires unnatural manipulation to make it work. My right wrist is over active during putting. A face balanced putter and the claw grip style used by Tom Kite allow allow me to completely take it out of the equation when using mallet putters such as Gauge Design's Eldik-M or the original Cameron Futura, whose upright lie angle makes it especially easy to employ that grip. Alternately, the Byron S-4 with its 400 gram faced balanced anser-style head allows me to use a conventional grip and still have quiet wrists. Visually, I also prefer the lack of an offset neck. Normally, long necks encourage less toe flow (a quarter toe hang) and shorter necks encourage more toe flow (a full toe hang). The quarter toe hang is intended to open and close the putter face slightly while a full toe hang does so more dramatically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the1stunner Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 (edited) My current putter is a Ping Ally3, which is face balanced. I just bought a Yes! Tracy II, which is simlar in look, but its a toe down putter. Curious what everyone's thoughts are on the benefits/drawbacks for a face balanced vs. toe down. It depends on your posture. If you stand tall your spine angle will be fairly vertical. with proper mechanics in this position the stroke becomes an arc. Like these guys If you have a horizontal spine angle, your stroke will be straight back & straight through like these folks Arc putting works better with putters that have "toe hang" (the proper term), straight back & through is better suited for face balanced putters. Hope this helps. Edited March 14, 2006 by the1stunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vzuanich Posted March 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Does the hosel configuration affect face-balancing? For example, would you be able to take a Tracy II putter, which is toe down, and turn it into a face balanced putter by having someone like Slighter change the hosel setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the1stunner Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 (edited) Does the hosel configuration affect face-balancing? For example, would you be able to take a Tracy II putter, which is toe down, and turn it into a face balanced putter by having someone like Slighter change the hosel setup? Sure the offset makes a hugh difference as well as the length of the neck. I am not familiar with the YES putters cuz they suck, but if you take a long neck scotty cameron & a santa fe, the toe flow is totally different. Long necks have verry little toe flow where as the santa fe as quite a bit of flow. Edited March 21, 2006 by the1stunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8thehardway Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Does the hosel configuration affect face-balancing? For example, would you be able to take a Tracy II putter, which is toe down, and turn it into a face balanced putter by having someone like Slighter change the hosel setup? Don't see why not. I'm no expert but I would think conversion to Face Balance is a function of shaft design, lie angle and hozel (size, weight, placement and design). If your going to go to Slighter, you might discuss all the aspects involved. For example, if you use a claw style of putting grip it's worth noting Chris DeMarco has a lie angle around 80* (vs an average of 72*). You might also like S bend shafts, which tend to throw a little weight more towards the center (Gauge Design Eldik-M) or a modified S bend (YES Victoria) without a hozel or an S bend hozel (WRX 03 Prototype). So many choices. While I think YES makes a fine putter, my Victoria model doesn't suit my stroke so I'm biased when I suggest that, for the price of reworking your Tracy II you might find it worthwhile to ask about face balanced Slighters. When I get around to selling off a few of mine I'm going to get that Needle model. :tsg_smilie_money3: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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