Thanks to Blake T and JHern for the scientific analysis, not that any of it makes much sense to me.
basic jist:
softer/grippier putters spit more on the left side and catch more on the right side.
stiffer/smoother putters spit more on the right side and catch more on the left side.
stiffer/smoother putters have a larger area you can hit without a tendency to spit than softer/grippier putters.
very sticky putters and very slick putters spit more than medium grip putters.
JHern's calculations almost make me regret dropping out of the engineering program during college. but then i remember taking a bunch of classes with 38 dudes and 2 girls from china in them and that i would have only been able to take 4 electives throughout my undergrad and i realize it's better to just have someone else do the math for me
By happenstance my personal preference in putters has gravitated to a medium level of stiffness, not because I think they "catch" any better but merely because I think I can hit center chains more often with them.
heh, something that is independent of the behavior of the disc after it comes in contact with the basket is whether or not the putter will in fact come in contact with the basket. putters that are overly soft don't retain true shape in flight. putters that are overly stiff lack touch. your favoritism towards medium stiff putters is about right on with what putter is the easiest to throw consistently.
Just from watching lots of putts (millions??) hit chains I am unconvinced that any putter or style is more effective than any other at staying in the basket once it enters. It strikes me as arbitrary which putts stay in and which bounce out or blow through.
a spit can happen to nearly anyone with any style and type of putter, which is partly the reason some people believe current baskets are an inferior catching device. without commenting much on that, what i can say is that there's 2 types of players who chronically complain about spits.
1. those with god-like putting abilities who can drill almost everything and 1 spit out of 500 "good" hits is too many for them.
2. those with a putting style that that spits a lot no matter where they hit the basket.
i've played with some very good putters and noticed that their putting style and aggressiveness of their line has a great effect on the # % of putts that stick vs. spit.
with my putting style, i average 1 spit every 125-200 "good" putts (depending upon wind, type of basket, which putter i'm using, etc.). i can live with that.
i've seen putting styles that could hit the exact same points on the basket as my putting style, but they average like 1 spit every 10-12 "good" putts.
why do they get 10 times as many spits as i do? one thing i've noticed is that putters who have a lot of spits tend to have the focus of their putts being "to hit a spot on the chains."
my putting focus is "to bounce the disc off the chains into the basket."
this difference in focus affects how you will attempt your run. you'll see lots of players who run a 30' putt with 55' worth of power on their putt. they will inherently have more spits/cut throughs than someone who runs a 30' putt with 37' of power on their putt.
a few things i have gathered over the years:
putts thrown with hyzer/anhyzer will tend to riccochet in the direction of the angle. a hyzer putt will want to kick left and an anhyzer putt will want to kick right. i believe this is true even if they hit they actually kick in the opposite direction, e.g. a hyzer putt that hits the extreme right side of the basket and bounces to the right will still fight to move left.
flat putts are more apt to riccochet the way the chains wish to push them.
hyzer putts have more cut throughs than flat/anhyzer putts.
nose up putts have a higher spit % than flat or nose down putts, with nose down putts having the least number of spits and cut throughs (note: this does not mean i advocate putting nose down).
putts that hit the basket on a straight line or while rising are more apt to spit than putts that are dropping.
what i've concluded is that a flat (hyzer/anhyzer angle) putt with a flat to slight nose down that reaches the basket while it is dropping have the smallest chance of spitting/cutting-through/bouncing out, etc.
each basket has its own "spit zones". in descending order from biggest spit zone to smallest spit zone:
mach III
mach V soft chain
"shallow basket" discatcher
chainstar
mach V
mach II new
newer discatchers
i find shallow basket discatchers and chainstars to be the worst for hitting the "ring" that holds the chains together and bouncing back out.
shallow basket discatchers and mach V's are the worst for hitting dead center pole on the upper half of the basket and bouncing straight back out. i would include mach III's but their upper links dead center can just bounce out without the disc hitting the pole
I consider several factors when choosing a putter for a particular shot as I am sure most of you reading this do-- it is not a matter of ' I always whip out ___'.
i definitely have different putters for different situations. i put in careful thought before i choose when/where/what to whip out
I use a soft magnet because it will go through the cage on low line drives(not on purpose).Should the cage be included on soft putters?They have an extra chance of going through in low.I have never seen a hard putter do this.
i don't factor this in because it's not something that can be done from every angle, nor have i ever met anyone who could make more than 1 out of 10 of these if they were trying to do it.