Question:

Ray, Good review, well thought out, and reasonable.  You obviously spent a lot of time with the putter. Actually, the putter is slated to go back to Jeff at this point unless there is someone else out there who wants it. Well, John, who gets the Pegg next? Ray Pezzi Bellaire, MI

– John Pflum, Jr. PKG Consultants, Inc. 5533 Fair Lane Cincinnati, Ohio   45227 513/272-5533 Web: http://www.pkgconsult.com

Response:

I’d be glad to try it… dsc

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, after all the back-and-forth in this group regarding the Pegg Putter, I was very happy to see a nice long cardboard box sitting on my front porch when I got home today. (Thanks to John Pflum for shipping it to me). I had plenty of work to do in my home office but in light of the fact that it was a sunny 70-degree October afternoon in northern Michigan (with snow in the forecast for the weekend), I did the responsible, adult thing and headed for the golf course immediately. The model I tried was the PP-III. Take a look at the website if you want to see what I’m talking about rather than trying to envision it. I think it’s safe to say that, for the great majority of us, the PP-III is unlike anything you’ve ever used before. It has long side rails that reminded me of the USS Enterprise ("The starboard nacelle was hit, Captain Picard!") Those side rails are probably designed as an aid in alignnment and they also help make the head EXTREMELY heavy.The grip is also unusual–think firm pipe insulation covered with a thin black fabric. It also has a pretty flexible graphite shaft. Now don’t take the fact that it’s different as a negative judgement on my part. To begin with,  the putter looked to be extremely well-made; the milling of the brass head was a work of art. Beyond that, however, I give Jeff Pegg a lot of credit for thinking about the mechanics of putting and trying to build a product better suited to the intended result. The easy thing to do would be to simply make another Ping knockoff like everybody else has done. Jeff Pegg has blazed a different trail entirely. So, how did I like it? Well, at first I loved it. I threw down 5 balls on the practice green and hit some 60- footers to start. 4 of the first 5 went in and the other  lipped out. As I was walking up to the cup to pick up those balls I was thinking that I’d never use my trusty old Ping Pal 4 again and wondering if I’d be the oldest guy in history to make it through Q School.  At some point, though, reality set in and I started missing putts–particularly makable putts under 10 feet. So after hitting lots of putts over a couple of hours or so with the PP-III, I went back to my Ping. Based on my experience of a few hundred putts today, I have to say that if I had to go out and play for my best possible score right now, the Ping would be in my bag, not the PP-III. That does NOT mean that I didn’t like it. I absolutely LOVED the amazing feel of the ball coming off the clubhead. I think it’s probably a result of that graphite shaft and the heavy head,  but the ball comes off with an almost liquid feel. It’s completely unlike the crisp "pop" feeling I get from my BeCu Ping Pal but still quite a bit different than the muffled feel you get off something like a TaylorMade Nubbins.  I LOVED the way the ball rolled; it seemed to roll very true with almost no skipping or hopping. So what was the problem? Well, the putter didn’t fit me– and that’s no fault of the putter. My usual putting stance is a crouch with an open alignment and my arms bent close to my body (think Jack Nicklaus in the ‘86 Masters). The PP-III doesn’t fit that type of stroke. The lie is far too flat to fit that approach. Take a look at the Pegg website and you’ll see a photo of a guy standing very upright with the arms well away from the body and fairly straight — the classic pendulum stroke.  After a while on the practice green, I adopted that type of stroke out of sheer necessity because it was the only one which produced consistently good results for me. I have to admit that after 20 years of putting out of a crouch it felt very strange and mechanical for me to be standing rigidly upright with my arms away from my body and I suppose it’s no surprise that a stroke I just tried today didn’t produce results as good as those produced by a stroke grooved by tens (hundreds?) of thousands of putts over a lifetime of golf. There’s one more thing I liked about the PP-III, though. When I did go back to my Ping, I putted better than I have in a LONG time. I was making putts all over the place and all of a sudden draining 3 10-footers in a row was easy. I don’t know why, because I was back in my normal crouch, not standing upright using a pendulum stroke. Perhaps the PP-III had just enough of a lasting impact on my normal stroke to get me swinging the putter head down the target line longer. Whatever it was, I was putting great with the Ping and the PP-III came in second. By the time I finished, though,  I started thinking that the PP-III has value simply as a training aid (think "Momentus") let alone as a putter you’d take out on the course. So, would I buy one? Well, I don’t think the PP-III is the right stick for me; the PP-I looks like it might suit my stroke better. If I could get one with a more upright lie I’d buy one in a heartbeat. Those of you who are taller (I’m 5′10"), stand upright over the ball, and normally employ a pendulum-type stroke would probably love the PP-III. Finally, for our ever vigilant spam-cops here in RSG, let me say right now that I’ve never even spoken with Jeff Pegg, have no financial interest in the success of his business, and have received no inducements whatsoever to write a positive review. The foregoing is simply my honest opinion. Well, John, who gets the Pegg next? Ray Pezzi Bellaire, MI

Response:

Ray: I have the PP III and use it crouched over with my hand on a second grip placed below the installed one, with my right arm alone, and only a few inches from the ground – about 18 or 20.  It is uncanny.  So the club can be adapted to the lie angle, length of shaft and grip, etc.  You do not have to use the model setup you refer to.  Find your preferred setup and then use it. I still call it "the automatic putter" and if you had it fitted to you and used it for more than a single session, you would never ever ever go back to anything else.  You note its ability to roll the ball; you didn’t mention its absolute reliability for alignment or distance control, which are, of course, the biggest reasons for its design. SO each to his own preference.  It sounds a bit like someone test driving a Corvette after having used a Ford Pickup and the strangeness of the Corvette puts off the unfamiliar driver. Suit yourself, but you will NOT output a minimally experienced putter with a PP III.  On your best day! George

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, after all the back-and-forth in this group regarding the Pegg Putter, I was very happy to see a nice long cardboard box sitting on my front porch when I got home today. (Thanks to John Pflum for shipping it to me). I had plenty of work to do in my home office but in light of the fact that it was a sunny 70-degree October afternoon in northern Michigan (with snow in the forecast for the weekend), I did the responsible, adult thing and headed for the golf course immediately. The model I tried was the PP-III. Take a look at the website if you want to see what I’m talking about rather than trying to envision it. I think it’s safe to say that, for the great majority of us, the PP-III is unlike anything you’ve ever used before. It has long side rails that reminded me of the USS Enterprise ("The starboard nacelle was hit, Captain Picard!") Those side rails are probably designed as an aid in alignnment and they also help make the head EXTREMELY heavy.The grip is also unusual–think firm pipe insulation covered with a thin black fabric. It also has a pretty flexible graphite shaft. Now don’t take the fact that it’s different as a negative judgement on my part. To begin with,  the putter looked to be extremely well-made; the milling of the brass head was a work of art. Beyond that, however, I give Jeff Pegg a lot of credit for thinking about the mechanics of putting and trying to build a product better suited to the intended result. The easy thing to do would be to simply make another Ping knockoff like everybody else has done. Jeff Pegg has blazed a different trail entirely. So, how did I like it? Well, at first I loved it. I threw down 5 balls on the practice green and hit some 60- footers to start. 4 of the first 5 went in and the other  lipped out. As I was walking up to the cup to pick up those balls I was thinking that I’d never use my trusty old Ping Pal 4 again and wondering if I’d be the oldest guy in history to make it through Q School.  At some point, though, reality set in and I started missing putts–particularly makable putts under 10 feet. So after hitting lots of putts over a couple of hours or so with the PP-III, I went back to my Ping. Based on my experience of a few hundred putts today, I have to say that if I had to go out and play for my best possible score right now, the Ping would be in my bag, not the PP-III. That does NOT mean that I didn’t like it. I absolutely LOVED the amazing feel of the ball coming off the clubhead. I think it’s probably a result of that graphite shaft and the heavy head,  but the ball comes off with an almost liquid feel. It’s completely unlike the crisp "pop" feeling I get from my BeCu Ping Pal but still quite a bit different than the muffled feel you get off something like a TaylorMade Nubbins.  I LOVED the way the ball rolled; it seemed to roll very true with almost no skipping or hopping. So what was the problem? Well, the putter didn’t fit me– and that’s no fault of the putter. My usual putting stance is a crouch with an open alignment and my arms bent close to my body (think Jack Nicklaus in the ‘86 Masters). The PP-III doesn’t fit that type of stroke. The lie is far too flat to fit that approach. Take a look at the Pegg website and you’ll see a photo of a guy standing very upright with the arms well away from the body and fairly straight — the classic pendulum stroke.  After a while on the practice green, I adopted that type of stroke out of sheer necessity because it was the only one which produced consistently good results for me. I have to admit that after 20 years of putting out of a crouch it felt very strange and mechanical for me to be standing rigidly upright with my arms away from my body and I suppose it’s no surprise that a stroke I just tried today didn’t produce results as good as those produced by a stroke grooved by tens (hundreds?) of thousands of putts over a lifetime of golf. There’s one more thing I liked about the PP-III, though. When I did go back to my Ping, I putted better than I have in a LONG time. I was making putts all over the place and all of a sudden draining 3 10-footers in a row was easy. I don’t know why, because I was back in my normal crouch, not standing upright using a pendulum stroke. Perhaps the PP-III had just enough of a lasting impact on my normal stroke to get me swinging the putter head down the target line longer. Whatever it was, I was putting great with the Ping and the PP-III came in second. By the time I finished, though,  I started thinking that the PP-III has value simply as a training aid (think "Momentus") let alone as a putter you’d take out on the course. So, would I buy one? Well, I don’t think the PP-III is the right stick for me; the PP-I looks like it might suit my stroke better. If I could get one with a more upright lie I’d buy one in a heartbeat. Those of you who are taller (I’m 5′10"), stand upright over the ball, and normally employ a pendulum-type stroke would probably love the PP-III. Finally, for our ever vigilant spam-cops here in RSG, let me say right now that I’ve never even spoken with Jeff Pegg, have no financial interest in the success of his business, and have received no inducements whatsoever to write a positive review. The foregoing is simply my honest opinion. Well, John, who gets the Pegg next? Ray Pezzi Bellaire, MI

Response:

Well, after all the back-and-forth in this group regarding the Pegg Putter, I was very happy to see a nice long cardboard box sitting on my front porch when I got home today. (Thanks to John Pflum for shipping it to me). I had plenty of work to do in my home office but in light of the fact that it was a sunny 70-degree October afternoon in northern Michigan (with snow in the forecast for the weekend), I did the responsible, adult thing and headed for the golf course immediately. The model I tried was the PP-III. Take a look at the website if you want to see what I’m talking about rather than trying to envision it. I think it’s safe to say that, for the great majority of us, the PP-III is unlike anything you’ve ever used before. It has long side rails that reminded me of the USS Enterprise ("The starboard nacelle was hit, Captain Picard!") Those side rails are probably designed as an aid in alignnment and they also help make the head EXTREMELY heavy.The grip is also unusual–think firm pipe insulation covered with a thin black fabric. It also has a pretty flexible graphite shaft. Now don’t take the fact that it’s different as a negative judgement on my part. To begin with,  the putter looked to be extremely well-made; the milling of the brass head was a work of art. Beyond that, however, I give Jeff Pegg a lot of credit for thinking about the mechanics of putting and trying to build a product better suited to the intended result. The easy thing to do would be to simply make another Ping knockoff like everybody else has done. Jeff Pegg has blazed a different trail entirely. So, how did I like it? Well, at first I loved it. I threw down 5 balls on the practice green and hit some 60- footers to start. 4 of the first 5 went in and the other  lipped out. As I was walking up to the cup to pick up those balls I was thinking that I’d never use my trusty old Ping Pal 4 again and wondering if I’d be the oldest guy in history to make it through Q School.  At some point, though, reality set in and I started missing putts–particularly makable putts under 10 feet. So after hitting lots of putts over a couple of hours or so with the PP-III, I went back to my Ping. Based on my experience of a few hundred putts today, I have to say that if I had to go out and play for my best possible score right now, the Ping would be in my bag, not the PP-III. That does NOT mean that I didn’t like it. I absolutely LOVED the amazing feel of the ball coming off the clubhead. I think it’s probably a result of that graphite shaft and the heavy head,  but the ball comes off with an almost liquid feel. It’s completely unlike the crisp "pop" feeling I get from my BeCu Ping Pal but still quite a bit different than the muffled feel you get off something like a TaylorMade Nubbins.  I LOVED the way the ball rolled; it seemed to roll very true with almost no skipping or hopping. So what was the problem? Well, the putter didn’t fit me– and that’s no fault of the putter. My usual putting stance is a crouch with an open alignment and my arms bent close to my body (think Jack Nicklaus in the ‘86 Masters). The PP-III doesn’t fit that type of stroke. The lie is far too flat to fit that approach. Take a look at the Pegg website and you’ll see a photo of a guy standing very upright with the arms well away from the body and fairly straight — the classic pendulum stroke.  After a while on the practice green, I adopted that type of stroke out of sheer necessity because it was the only one which produced consistently good results for me. I have to admit that after 20 years of putting out of a crouch it felt very strange and mechanical for me to be standing rigidly upright with my arms away from my body and I suppose it’s no surprise that a stroke I just tried today didn’t produce results as good as those produced by a stroke grooved by tens (hundreds?) of thousands of putts over a lifetime of golf. There’s one more thing I liked about the PP-III, though. When I did go back to my Ping, I putted better than I have in a LONG time. I was making putts all over the place and all of a sudden draining 3 10-footers in a row was easy. I don’t know why, because I was back in my normal crouch, not standing upright using a pendulum stroke. Perhaps the PP-III had just enough of a lasting impact on my normal stroke to get me swinging the putter head down the target line longer. Whatever it was, I was putting great with the Ping and the PP-III came in second. By the time I finished, though,  I started thinking that the PP-III has value simply as a training aid (think "Momentus") let alone as a putter you’d take out on the course. So, would I buy one? Well, I don’t think the PP-III is the right stick for me; the PP-I looks like it might suit my stroke better. If I could get one with a more upright lie I’d buy one in a heartbeat. Those of you who are taller (I’m 5′10"), stand upright over the ball, and normally employ a pendulum-type stroke would probably love the PP-III. Finally, for our ever vigilant spam-cops here in RSG, let me say right now that I’ve never even spoken with Jeff Pegg, have no financial interest in the success of his business, and have received no inducements whatsoever to write a positive review. The foregoing is simply my honest opinion. Well, John, who gets the Pegg next? Ray Pezzi Bellaire, MI

Response: