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Putting Is Fun: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Funnel Golf
Everybody who's ever tried it knows putting can be fun. It can also break your heart. This show takes the fun road.Putting Is Fun is a weekly conversation between Brian Manzella, a Top 100 teacher who spent 44 years coaching golf and will happily tell you he's a poor putter, and John Ortega, the putting guru who has coached PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp since he was 8 years old and co-founded John Byron Putters back when Scotty Cameron was still Scott.No systems. No gimmicks. Just two lifers who love this part of the game, telling the stories behind putters, putting greens, and the people who obsess over both, and teaching you something real along the way.New episodes weekly from Funnel Golf. Be your own coach.
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- 3 days ago57 min
Nicklaus's White Fang and the Putter Karsten Never Glued | Ep. 11
Tricked-out putters, all the way down. Brian Manzella and John Ortega on the first putter covers, $800 headcovers, black oxide and Cerakote, flipping a beat-up Scotty for profit, how Karsten swedged the Anser shaft with a ball bearing, the marble in Tom Watson's putter, Jack Nicklaus painting a Bullseye white, and why a black shaft on a black putter ruined Brian's putting. Brian Manzella is a Top 50 teacher. John Ortega is co-founder of John Byron Putters and long time coach to PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp. Be your own coach.Chapters 0:00 Putting Is Fun 0:37 New Orleans and rainy Costa Mesa 2:36 When did putter covers show up? 4:17 The John Byron Play Ball Series and the Straight Flush cover 6:30 $800 headcovers 7:39 Never game a Piretti without a cover 8:24 Black oxide and gunblue 10:15 8620 carbon steel and Cerakote 11:55 The first refinishers 13:17 A beat-up Scotty Cameron Studio: what it's worth 17:19 Pete Mata and Ohana Golf 18:05 $300 putter, $150 refinish, sells for $500 plus 20:02 Two guys by the beach making putters 21:20 Bailey Boo and custom headcovers 22:16 Tricking out the shaft 23:16 Karsten swedged the Anser shaft with a ball bearing 27:30 Tom Watson, the 8802, and Turnberry 28:58 The only game you can peak at 70 30:28 The black putter, black shaft problem 31:44 Lines, dots, and how a putter looks on the ground 34:22 Big Don and the Teaching Summit tangent 37:02 Tiffany green and the White Fang story 39:23 Bead-blasted Circle Ts and the Crenshaw silversmith story 41:50 Tungsten in an 8802 43:40 Why put an insert in a 303? 48:15 Smooth face vs. milled: smash factor 49:41 Garsons, Runyon, and the peak 52:52 Wish-list grips 55:28 The Spider song IOU 57:11 Putting is fun
- 2 weeks ago52 min
The Training Aid Episode: Putting Platforms, the Smittle Stick, and Se Ri Pak's 81 Putts | Ep. 10
Brian Manzella and John Ortega go through the training aids that actually work. The motorized putting platforms with projected break lines, why John is buying a Zen, and why Brian thinks every studio should have one. Bill Smittle's Smittle Stick for matching face rotation to your arc. Matt Bryda's Gimme Towel for speed. The origin of John's Groove Board, from kitchen slats to Se Ri Pak's 81 putts over 54 holes, and the first board off his new 3D printer. Plus the best aid you can't buy anymore. Putting Is Fun is a Funnel Golf show. Golf without the spin.Chapters0:00 Theme song 0:37 Intro: Brian and John 1:07 Putting platforms and projected greens: how we got here 3:56 The Dream Green, 30 years ago 7:57 The big players: WellPutt, Platform Golf, Zen, PuttView, Tour Putt 9:22 Why every studio should have one 10:13 Why John is buying a Zen 12:22 Sizing your platform 14:46 Would you go with a non-green surface? 17:37 What the projected lines teach you 19:32 Kids, early exposure, and the Drive, Chip and Putt flex 21:27 Does the putter's shape change your stroke? 25:35 The under-curl stroke: square face, curved path 27:48 The Smittle Stick 34:04 Center strikes only 34:44 The Gimme Towel by Matt Bryda 40:42 Origin of the Groove Board 43:27 Sold out at the trade show 45:36 The first board off the 3D printer 47:45 Se Ri Pak's 81 putts and Gloria Park 48:47 Favorite training aids that aren't made anymore 51:21 Outro
- 3 weeks ago59 min
Side Saddle Putting with Sam Osborne: Snead, Bryson, and the Stroke the USGA Tried to Kill | Ep. 9
Sam Osborne (No More Lies) joins Brian Manzella and John Ortega for the first three man Putting Is Fun. Sam has putted side saddle for eight years and makes the case that it is technically superior. Brian covers how one comment from Bobby Jones got Sam Snead's croquet stroke banned, John tells the inside story of the putter he built for Bobby Schaefer and Bryson DeChambeau, and all three dig into putter length, anchoring rules, and why non-golfers learn it faster. Ends with a challenge: try it for half an hour on the practice green.0:00 Putting Is Fun intro0:38 Sam Osborne joins the show2:44 Tour tip: pack a full change of clothes3:50 Why side saddle putting today4:51 Sam's story: sick of being in his head6:40 John tried it too: the Bryson connection9:20 Brian's dad, the Wilson Augusta and Johnny Miller11:28 Sam Snead, croquet style and the Bobby Jones rule change15:01 Who else did it: K.J. Choi and Bryson on tour17:53 The coffee cup putter: how the Bobby Schaefer putter got built19:26 Why Bryson quit: USGA and PGA Tour pushback20:36 Rock or stay steady: different ways to putt face on22:01 Brian's Langer stroke and the Ben Doyle story24:30 Equipment: putter length and the Bobby Grace F2228:35 Design by Bobby Schaefer: titanium heads and a square shaft32:09 Technique: point your body at the hole33:40 Loft, anchoring and how Bryson changed the stroke35:45 Isn't that illegal? Croquet putting in the 30s to 50s38:05 Did the USGA target Bryson because he is different?40:07 Would you teach a kid to putt side saddle?41:05 Better speed control facing the hole41:40 The putt-putt booth: non-golfers learn it faster44:59 What John would build now: the GP Dion putter46:54 The ten minute fix48:20 What the anchoring rule actually allows48:54 How to try side saddle this week50:14 Other weird methods: one handed, the claw, the double saw51:56 The upside down grip that ended up with K.J. Choi56:25 Don't go down like a punk: try something57:32 Wrap up: 148 million golfers, give it a go
- Sep 3, 20261h 5m
They Called Scotty Cameron "The Copycat Kid" | Ep. 8
They called Scotty Cameron the Copycat Kid. His original designs shut that down for good.Brian Manzella is a Top 50 teacher and runs his Studio in the Sky in New Orleans. John Ortega is co-founder of John Byron Putters, runs the Ortega Golf Lab in Costa Mesa and is long time coach to PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp. This week the two of them go all the way down the putter rabbit hole: why a third of golfers who show up for a fitting are playing something that grossly doesn't fit them, how Cameron busted through the Copycat Kid nickname with the Futura, the Phantom, and the Teryllium insert in an Anser, why the Circle T (the tour only version of his retail putters, some of them one-off designs for particular players) has the gravity it does, the Tour Championship putter count that ended in a dead tie between the TaylorMade Spider and the Camerons, Michael Kim's 59 with a zero torque Spider, the 8802 Gary Koch talked John out of making, forged vs. milled, welded necks vs. one-piece, and why the big box putter wall is quietly costing you strokes.If you've ever paid too much for a putter, or too little attention to the one you have, this one's for you.Be your own coach.
- Aug 27, 202654 min
Blade Putters Are Disappearing | Ep. 7
Mallets are winning on tour by a landslide, blades are vanishing from the racks, and after 20 years of better equipment and better data, tour putting stats have barely moved. This week on Putting Is Fun, it's the trends episode.Brian Manzella, Top 50 teacher, and John Ortega, co-founder of John Byron Putters and long time coach to PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp, break down why mallets keep winning, whether a blade can steal the mallet's advantages, the truth about zero torque putters, and the one stat that should make everybody in golf wonder why. John also pulls out a Millennium X John Byron putter, number 14 of 100, and tells the story behind it.Watch the full video episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@funnelgolfxChapters: 0:00 Putting Is Fun intro0:53 This week: putting trends1:21 Mallets vs non-mallets: the tour win count2:01 Why mallets win: grooves, MOI, and aiming systems3:28 Can a blade steal the mallet's advantages?4:24 The John Byron Millennium X: number 14 of 1006:24 Zero torque putters: mallet mania's next wave10:14 Why tour pros skip zero torque: Jake Knapp's feel12:00 Would John Byron Putters ever make a mallet?13:20 Mallet city: the Roger Dunn story15:04 Ping, Ryan Fox, and blade-style MOI17:18 Big grips: has SuperStroke peaked?21:09 The Apollo hump shaft and modern graphite23:57 Johnny Miller, Daiwa, and graphite shaft history28:00 Stroke curve, shoulder rotation, and the robot35:49 The putting ruler under 150 dollars37:35 3D printed putters40:04 The Putting Package: rigid vs flexible strokes43:11 Trackman 4 for putting lessons49:16 The wrap-up stat: putting stats haven't improved in 20 years53:39 Outro
- Aug 20, 20261h 3m
You Can Become a Great Putter Without Ever Playing Golf | Ep. 6
Brian Manzella and John Ortega build a putter from scratch. Not a club, a person.Ep. 6 is for two kinds of listeners: someone who has never held a putter outside of a mini golf course, and the golfer who has been doing it wrong long enough that the only fix left is starting over. Jack Nicklaus asked his teacher to reteach him golf from the beginning every year, so there is no shame in the reset.What to buy and what to skip. Why $50 on the used rack plus $15 for a grip beats most new purchases, what a brand new Ping Anser runs off the shelf, and whether the line on the putter and the line on the ball are worth anything. Then the first lesson itself: the reverse overlap grip nearly every great putter used, how much wrist is too much, what a gravity powered putting robot reveals about the arc of a stroke, and where your neck and eyes belong.Then break. Why putts curve, why architects build the tilt into every green on purpose, and the two dollar yardstick drill that teaches green reading with no system, no fingers in the air, and no math.Finally, the honest timeline. How often to practice, and how long before you stop embarrassing yourself.Chapters:0:00 The Putting Is Fun song and intro2:01 Becoming a putter: beginners and the great reset3:55 The first putter: what to buy and what to skip13:14 What a brand new Ping Anser costs off the rack18:17 Lines on the ball and lines on the putter20:06 Your first session: lesson, YouTube, or the putting green25:08 The reverse overlap grip32:10 The gravity powered putting robot and the stroke arc35:20 Wrists: how much is too much, and the flying wedge39:35 Neck parallel to the ground, and where your eyes go43:11 Finding a straight putt and why putts break51:58 Learning to read break: the yardstick drill58:09 How often to practice and the honest timeline61:19 The whole plan in one minuteBrian Manzella is a Top 50 teacher and runs his Studio in the Sky in New Orleans. John Ortega is co-founder of John Byron Putters, runs the Ortega Golf Lab in Costa Mesa and is long time coach to PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp.
- Aug 13, 20261h 1m
Aimpoint vs Vector Putting, and Grok's 25 Best Putters | Ep. 5
Aimpoint took over the PGA Tour and never made it to your Saturday game. Brian Manzella and John Ortega break down both green reading systems, the lawsuit between them, and the reason amateurs quit before either one starts working.Then a drill for anyone who is never going to learn a system: an alignment stick, a repeatable image, and enough repetitions to build an internal GPS.In the second half, Grok hands over its 25 best putters of all time. Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Bobby Locke and Brad Faxon lead it. Billy Casper is not on it anywhere, which is where the argument starts. Also: the putters who lifted the club off the ground before impact, David Toms opening the Tour School finals with six straight bombs, and the practice green money game called 11.Brian Manzella is a Top 50 teacher and runs his Studio in the Sky in New Orleans. John Ortega is co-founder of John Byron Putters, runs the Ortega Golf Lab in Costa Mesa and is long time coach to PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp.
- Aug 6, 20261h 0m
Are Zero Torque Putters Already Fading on Tour? | Ep. 4
Brian and John are back from the US Open at Shinnecock with a report from inside the ropes. John's student Jake Knapp returned from six to eight weeks off with a thumb injury and posted 190 mph ball speed on his first day back. Wyndham Clark signed a putter-only deal with Ping on Wednesday and won on Sunday. And the zero torque putter revolution some predicted? It's quietly stalling on tour.Also in this one: how the USGA tamed Shinnecock's domed greens, the real differences between Bermuda, Poa annua, and bent, why every putt at Pebble breaks toward the ocean, the digital level calibration tour players swear by, John's "Zen Point" aiming stick drill, and the origin story of the Arnold Palmer 8802.Brian Manzella is a Top 50 teacher and runs his Studio in the Sky in New Orleans. John Ortega is co-founder of John Byron Putters, runs the Ortega Golf Lab in Costa Mesa and is long time coach to PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp.Respect the three-footer. Putting is fun.
About Putting Is Fun
Everybody who's ever tried it knows putting can be fun. It can also break your heart. This show takes the fun road.Putting Is Fun is a weekly conversation between Brian Manzella, a Top 100 teacher who spent 44 years coaching golf and will happily tell you he's a poor putter, and John Ortega, the putting guru who has coached PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp since he was 8 years old and co-founded John Byron Putters back when Scotty Cameron was still Scott.No systems. No gimmicks. Just two lifers who love this part of the game, telling the stories behind putters, putting greens, and the people who obsess over both, and teaching you something real along the way.New episodes weekly from Funnel Golf. Be your own coach.
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