Too often, golfers buy golf clubs, including putters, directly from the shelves of their local sporting goods store, their local outlets, or from a fellow golfer. These purchases are made without any thought as to whether that particular putter is right for them or their game. Just as a good suit adapts to every inch of your body for an exact fit, your putter and every other club in your bag should adapt not only to your body but also to your game. Everyone is different and unique.
There is no set of series clubs designed to fit all golfers, or even most golfers. If you were to take the putter measurements of 10 professional golfers, you would find that all 10 had somewhat different measurements including length, lay angle, loft, offset, weight, and design. All combined with one purpose in mind: to help the golfer make more putts!
Can you imagine the frustration professionals would go through if they had to change their putting stroke to accommodate a different putter every time they decided to change their clubs? Yet 99% of all recreational golfers buy new clubs this way. They buy a club right off the shelf and then make adjustments with their body to compensate for this new putter.
Let’s take a look at the most important factor in putter fit and how to correct it:
putter length
The length of your putter has a direct effect on how you set up your putt. If you’re like most recreational golfers, you’re playing with a putter that’s either too long or too short for your natural stroke. Using a putter that is too long for you will place the ball too far from your body. This affects the way your eyes are placed on the ball, having your eyes not on the goal line, but inside it. This will also bring your arms and hands much closer to your body than you want, which will not allow your arms to hang naturally. This causes you to manipulate your hands and arms throughout the stroke to compensate for length.
Putters that are too short have the opposite effect. The ball is positioned too close to your body, causing your eyes to be way off your target line. Two shorts from the putter will also cause you to extend your arms further away from your body, which will cause you to “reach” for the ball during the stroke. To find the ideal length for your putter, you can use a very simple method from your own home.
Without a putter in hand, prepare to tackle a ball as if you were going to putt. Let your arms hang naturally in front of you as you reach out and grip an imaginary putter in the most comfortable and natural way. This will put your hands in their most natural position without being influenced by gripping a real putter.
Now, without moving your hands or arms from this position, ask a friend or spouse to put the putter back in your hands. Notice where your hands are on the stick NOW compared to where you held it in the past. You’ll probably be a bit surprised where your hands end up on the putter. This is the correct length that you should play with. Now, with a piece of tape, mark a half inch above the hand closest to your body on the butt of the putter, if your butt is now lower than it was before. If your new grip is higher on the grip, wrap the tape ½ in. under the bottom hand. This is the length of a putter you should play with.
Your local Golf Outlet or Pro Shop can take this information and make the necessary adjustments for you at minimal cost.
