A compelling new putter and laser alignment tool.
Chamber Putter
Industry veteran Vikash Sanyal is busy explaining his latest putter and alignment system. He has some cache, being one of the founders of both Odyssey Golf and Never Compromise Golf. And he seems extra passionate about his new Chamber Putter. It’s a mallet in which the back top plate can be interchanged with various alignment guide plates that showcase either red or white lines or shapes. One of these, vows Sanyal, will be perfect for your eyes as you stand over the ball and take a stroke. And then there’s the laser that magnetically clasps to the top of that rear plate and projects forward. You use that to adjust your alignment at setup.
“This is different in two ways than all of the other putter laser systems we’ve seen over the years,” says Sanyal. “One is the laser in connection with the adjustable alignment guides. Lasers tell you what you’re doing wrong with respect to aim, but adjustable alignment guides tell you how to fix it. And so this tells you what the issue is and then gives you the solution. The second way it’s different is its simplicity. Other lasers respectfully are hard to attach, kind of cumbersome, and not always consistent. The simplicity of ours and how it magnetically clicks to the back of the putter, and is ready to go in two seconds. In order for people to maximize the benefit of this technology, it’s about figuring out what they see and then reinforcing it every time they play because that’s how you build muscle memory in your eyes.”
He’s adamant that this is not a training aid but rather a completely usable putter, once you remove the laser. And he has throngs of current and past LPGA Tour pros helping him out – think Laura Davies, Juli Inkster, Beth Daniel, Meg Mallon, Karrie Webb, and Judy Rankin — and even using the system. No, you cannot attach the laser to your current putter – this one is proprietary.
But with enough use, I can see it helping you train your eyes and hands to perfectly align every putt you take from here on out. I tried the system at my local muni, using one of the Chamber target plates to show me where the laser was pointing. Essentially you aim to where you think you should at the target plate, and wait for the laser beam to pop on. It shows you exactly where you’re aiming. And then you can adjust. I found my aim to be pretty accurate with white lines in the plate. With a triangle shape in the plate, it drew my eyes and aim way left – something I found curious. But more importantly than anything, I discovered that my natural forward press meant that the laser beam – and thus the putter face – was aiming straight down into the ground. And that means a lot of my putts are probably skipping before they find a roll. So it gave me something to work on.
“It’s really about getting your eyes to work with your putter, as opposed to get your eyes to work against your putter,” says Sanyal. “Eyes are like fingerprints. Everybody is different, and has natural visual tendencies. This putter helps you identify what those natural visual tendencies are, with end results. Do you see color or black-and-white better? And then lines or shapes better? We guarantee that you will have one guide you naturally line up better.”
The putter and system is available for golfers. But know that if you’re struggling on the green, tangible help is here.