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Common sense, or nonsense

• flatstick96 208 Posts

  Wed, Jul 11 2018 10:54 AM

  abbielb:

  i putt fine with or without an expensive ball.....the expensive ball is irrelevent on the green...i actually putt  great with starter ball .....the expensive balls get me to   the green easier.......common sense i would have thought....why i use expensive balls with a free putter......so poor allocation of resources is ( purely your view )

  Obviously we can (and apparently, do) disagree - I feel that credits are best spent on clubs first, balls second - it seem you feel the reverse approach is a better investment.  I don't have empirical data to support my position, but my anecdotal observation, from playing many coin matches that fall into this category, is that a player with high end clubs and low end balls (we'll call him "player A") will usually beat the player with low end clubs and high end balls ("player B").  And I'm certain that, over time (and assuming they play with roughly equal frequency), player B spends more credits than does player A - because balls eventually expire, where clubs do not.  So if player A (top end clubs, cheap balls) is winning more, and spending less, I'd argue he has allocated his resources better than Player B has (low end clubs, expensive balls).  But that's just one man's opinion.

• Robert1893 7,666 Posts

  Wed, Jul 11 2018 11:06 AM

  flatstick96:

  Obviously we can (and apparently, do) disagree - I feel that credits are best spent on clubs first, balls second - it seem you feel the reverse approach is a better investment. 

  Since the other player has plenty of high-end clubs (just not a high-end putter), how do you come to this conclusion? 
  
  Regardless, his point is well taken. A person can putt fairly well with a starter putter. It's just a matter of learning it and learning the greens. In my opinion, it's on the green where the quality of equipment has the least effect. That's easily demonstrated empirically by looking at the number of players who have high-end putters and only average putting stats.
  
  And yes, I'm including myself in the group who has a high-end putter but only average stats. Ironically, it's the putter that newer players seem to want to upgrade first. It probably should be their last upgrade. I waited until Level 70. Never regretted that decision. 

• flatstick96 208 Posts

  Wed, Jul 11 2018 11:30 AM

  Whoops, I quoted the wrong one of his posts.  Fixed.  Thanks.

  My comment was aimed less at putting specifically, and more at general approach to investing in equipment.  I run into MANY players in coin matches with REALLY bad clubs, hitting balls that are 850+ credits/sleeve.  And they almost always get killed - and it's not because I'm some great player, I assure you.  I'm very, very average.

• Luckystar5 1,636 Posts

  Wed, Jul 11 2018 11:34 AM

  I totally agree Robert, better clubs, and better golf balls, are a must, prior to getting a high end putter.  Using better equipment to get to, and on the green, should be first prioity, and the closer to the hole the better. (To which better equipment makes that possible for most)   If can get the ball real close to the hole, u can use a hockey stick to make close up putts!  :^)  Longer putts you can usually lag it close enough to make it in  2 putts.  I upgrade my equipment,  only for a change. My opinion here, is based on those players that want to improve, and do better, not for those that just want to play occasionally, and don't care about score, just about having fun. 

• Robert1893 7,666 Posts

  Wed, Jul 11 2018 11:38 AM

  Luckystar5:

  I totally agree Robert, better clubs, and better golf balls, are a must, prior to getting a high end putter.  Using better equipment to get to, and on the green, should be first prioity, and the closer to the hole the better. (To which better equipment makes that possible for most)   If can get the ball real close to the hole, u can use a hockey stick to make close up putts!  :^)  Longer putts you can usually lag it close enough to make it in  2 putts.  I upgrade my equipment,  only for a change. My opinion here, is based on those players that want to improve, and do better, not for those that just want to play occasionally, and don't care about score, just about having fun. 

  +1

• Robert1893 7,666 Posts

  Wed, Jul 11 2018 11:43 AM

  flatstick96:

  My comment was aimed less at putting specifically, and more at general approach to investing in equipment.  I run into MANY players in coin matches with REALLY bad clubs, hitting balls that are 850+ credits/sleeve.  And they almost always get killed - and it's not because I'm some great player, I assure you.  I'm very, very average.

  Absolutely agree.

  The only thing I can think is they believe more expensive balls will compensate for their clubs’ deficiencies. 

• 1,800 Posts

  Wed, Jul 11 2018 2:40 PM

  i have top irons and balls to get me close to pins......i agree thats important......my point was......a top of the range putter doesnt suit me.....thats it.......cant ding them so miss putts......begginners putter i ding so in my opinion thats more important......can i just add....just this week shot my lowest score 55 in vt tour ...st andrews....so i guess my little old begginners putter did well.......but at the end of the day each player will use what they believe will lower their own score and not upgrade to fancy clubs if they just dont suit ....that to me makes sense...... i must say i wouldnt advise lower tiered players or newbies to upgrade just because they think it will improve their games.....use what works for you best.....i guess is my advice.....

• flatstick96 208 Posts

  Thu, Jul 12 2018 9:40 AM

  abbielb:

  i have top irons and balls to get me close to pins......i agree thats important......my point was......a top of the range putter doesnt suit me.....thats it.......cant ding them so miss putts......begginners putter i ding so in my opinion thats more important......can i just add....just this week shot my lowest score 55 in vt tour ...st andrews....so i guess my little old begginners putter did well.......but at the end of the day each player will use what they believe will lower their own score and not upgrade to fancy clubs if they just dont suit ....that to me makes sense...... i must say i wouldnt advise lower tiered players or newbies to upgrade just because they think it will improve their games.....use what works for you best.....i guess is my advice.....

  I agree with you.  Putters are very subjective - the best putter for one player isn't necessarily best for the next person.  Personally, I still think the L55 Daytona is the best VALUE in the pro shop (not the best putter, necessarily, but a fantastic putter for a very low price). 

  I only bought the one I have now (L98 sabertooth) because I had the extra credits (since I only buy cheap balls), and I liked it when I rented it.  It did take some time to get used to, and you're right - especially on long putts, hitting the ding is important - but if you do hit the ding, it holds it's line VERY well on long putts.  

• Mythanatos 2,203 Posts

  Thu, Jul 12 2018 4:27 PM

  putters aren't subjective really.

   

  the problem is that people really don't compare what they can do.

   

  errors get magnified the further away you are. so to test any putter.

  move back to 25 feet on a straight putt. use practice round. only count the putts you ding. and redo them over and over. you'll be surprised how much variance there is between certain putters.

• Dneirf 417 Posts

  Thu, Jul 12 2018 10:49 PM

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