Hi, I am a fairly new golfer, hence a high handicapper, I bought a cheap Dunlop Set just so i could play a round with my own clubs.  I have slowly been replacing each part of the set.  I got a new driver and R7 xD irons (which are amazing!), also bought a crazy 68 degree wedge (to get out of some extremly tough parts of my local course!).  Anyway, I still have the original dunlop putter, is it worth replacing?? I was convinced i needed to buy one this morning but just had the best putting round of my life (only one 3 putt!) so do people think they really make a difference? will they make my putts more consistent? if so, what putter would people recommend (and where to buy it)???? I like to buy really good quality clubs as i believe i will convince myself to upgrade later, so why not buy the best to start off with?! I want to spend as little as possible but prob willing to go up to about £60-£70 maybe more if people think it would really make a difference to my game.

 Also what 3 wood would people recommend? Oh and i need a new sandwedge as i currently dont have one!  Which would be the priority to buy first??

 Thanks in advanced for any help or advice!

Putting is art more than science. How many putts per round do you take? Do you feel confident with this cheap putter? If it had another name would it matter?

It's all about getting it in the hole, Sam. However you do that best is right for you. If you feel like a change go and play around with as many putters as you can first. 

How much did you spend on a Driver, have you got a Driver yet, well most people will spend £200-£300 on a Driver that they will hit about 12-14 times a round, well a putter you will hit as much as 30-40 times a round, maybe spending £200 on a putter is steap, though when you look at the numbers, we all should have a Scotty Cameron in our bag at that money, as the Driver you will buy when ready to will no doubt cost £200plus

I have a scotty and I just love the pendulum balnced feel to it.

tried the others and apart from an oddesey two ball, haven't felt comfortable with anything else.

as was pointed out earlier, feel is one of the most important thing as confidence is half the battle with putting.

go to a shop which has a lot of choice, find out what you like the feel of and shop around for the best price for it on the net. 

Sam,

Let's be honest here, you WANT a new putter, you don't need one.

We convince ourselves that this club or that club will change our game but it won't. Most of the time the NEW club feel will last a few rounds and then back to the same old same old.

Don't get me wrong, I have all the gear from a Scotty to Burner driver. This week I have bought a new Burner 5 wood, because I wanted it, not because I needed it.

IMO you should go to Direct Golf or the like and have a good play with a few different types. Make sure you don't take your credit card, not the first time anyway.

I have had a few putters, Ram Zebra to 2 Ball to Taylormade Rossa Daytona (won this).  I have settled on a very old fashioned type of putter, the Scotty circa62, because it feels great and instills me with confidence. So don't think you have to go for for the Modern Looking Radio Arial at the end of a shaft. If you take a look at the real expensive putters you will see they are all very similar basic design, they are all basically a copy of the original Ping Anser which you can get pretty cheap on fleabay.

Two things you should definately consider are getting a few putting lessons to get some sound fundamentals and just as important IMO is getting your new putter fitted by a Pro ie Loft, lie and Shaft length, this has helped me quite abit.

Go on treat yourself. Life is too short to let others put you off.  If you want one get one.

If that don't work get a different one!!

 When you have one of every shape and size you can go back and forth as you wish.

I have three at the moment and am putting best with the 20 year old one!

But I know I will go back to the two ball at some point after a dodgy round of missed puts.

Everyone should have a 68 degree wedge!! its 0 degrees bounce as well so works quite well as a grass cutter!

I got it mainly due to some very very deep rough at my course that i like to hit into now and again. Makes chipping out a lot easier!

where you playing Sam??? Bethpage ????

Sam Emery wrote (see)

Everyone should have a 68 degree wedge!! its 0 degrees bounce as well so works quite well as a grass cutter!

I got it mainly due to some very very deep rough at my course that i like to hit into now and again. Makes chipping out a lot easier!

Seriously though,  had a 64 degree a few years back, great for 10 foot high shots a 3 foot of distance... nut 68 degrees? it must be horizontal. Where did you get such a thing?

On the putter question I have to agree with Jahmoo. Folks spend a fortune on Drivers that get used about a third of the time of a putter. Do yourself a favour and get a Scotty or even the new Betti BC's are pretty good.

Sam,

you must have a special talent because most people on here wil tell you to bin / kill / sell

the 64 degree lob. For a mid to higher handicapper they will usually cost you more shots than they save. One thing is for sure a "missed" lob wedge can zing 60 yd over the green and kill your playing partner, very embarrassing and potentially life threatening.

Myself I have a 58 degree low bounce lob wedge, I find this is plenty of loft for any shot I need.

One small point - some putters are made of cast metal ( 2 ball ) and others are milled from soft steel. The cast IMO generally look better when they get old where as the soft (expensive) steel ones can often rust and are more likely to get dinged accidentily.

I have a 2 ball which is 4 years old and it looks fine, I play 3-4 times a week so it has had some use. Then I won a TaylorMade rosse daytona, nice putter, but the bloody thing started to rust after 3 months, I didn't know I had to clean it and oil it DOH. So if you're not willing to give a clean to your putter after every round stick to the cast type (they are generally cheaper anyway). Of course I have a Scotty which I wipe down a couple of times around, one high maintenance club - but it is bloody gorgeous so it's worth it.

Sam, I've shot my two best rounds (a 65 and a 67) using a £15 dunlop blade putter. i holed everything I looked at.

With putters, expense/brand names etc are almost entirely irrelevant. What works, works.

well i think the rough i hit into isnt part of the course  seriously though there is some very long grass (knee high), i bought it as a novelty club really, off ebay for about £15.  I hardly ever use, but i do sometimes just to get myself out of deep trouble.  I wouldnt dare use it on a fairway, as the 0 bounce means i would dig a trench instead of taking a divot!  Anyway its always a talking point with people i play with! I can post a pic if people wanna see it.

 as for the putter, i think i will get a new one, the current one was second hand when i bought it and isnt in great condition.  I've looked at some scottys and they look amazing! but i wanna find one that i can play with instead of just looking nice. Might go and try some out this afternoon!

If i do decide on a new one, how important is it to get the length right? i didnt think there was much difference? Guess i'll ask the local pro what he thinks.

Lastly, any more suggestions for online shops? I currently use www.onlinegolf.co.uk and they seem to be reasonably priced

Putters are the one bit of equipment where you should spend so much money it hurts - not because you get anything better than the one you've already got, but because: - 

a) you can then use the same one for the whole of your golfing life and become good with it

c) it makes opponents think you can play a bit (unless of course it is a poxy Two Ball or similar)

b) you can't really blame the damn thing when you miss

d) you will think twice about snapping it over your knee or hurling it in the lake beside the 18th green

Get a Scotty - or if you want to be really cool - an original Ping BeNi Scottsdale Anser

....or even a repro bronze Anser - probably the best putter ever made.

Disagree Taz. If i look into an opponents golf bag before a match, the one thing i do not want to see is a set of shiny new clubs and a beat up old cheap putter. you can be sure that if a player carries a putter like this, it is because he damn well knows how to use it!

anyway, this is all academic. It is plain that Sam is itching to part with his hard-earned, and has fallen for the Scottie marketing hype.