Putter headweights, what works for you? Why?

[golfluvzme]

I recently spent about an hour talking putters with former PGA Pro, Sean Murphy in a shop in Tempe. It was cool to get the perspective of someone who has talent and has relied on his flat stick most of his adult life to make a living. I didn't know it as we were talking, but Sean has more wins on the Nationwide/Nike/Hogan Tour than any other player, at 6 wins.

We spoke of styles, big name makers and little guys, and what trends were puzzling to him. The weight issue came up and that was where most of our talk remained.

During his time on tour, there were some of the all-time greats still present and more than willing to share their philosophies on the putting game.

Lee Trevino and Ben Crenshaw were the two that Sean seemed to put the most faith in. Ben is historically a well-respected roller of the ball and Lee, well, I honestly don't remember a whole lot about his prowess with a flatstick. When I think of Lee, it is always the "Power Fade" that comes to mind, LOL.

Both Ben and Lee, even back then, believed that players were starting to trend towards heavier putters and it was a mistake, in their eyes. Their reasoning was that on the rocket-fast greens that guys see on tour, the heavier putters did not allow players to make a smooth, controlled stroke with the release as they went through the ball. A heavy putter, based on simple movement of mass in relation to energy created, requires less stroke to achieve the same amount of roll on the ball, as a lighter putter. In print, that sounds like a good thing. In practice on a green, with a ball and hole in play, the action is less of a benefit. Having a lighter putter head allows the player to make a full, smooth stroke and release, without having to worry about too much energy being applied to the ball.

It made a ton of sense, in person, but is not that easily put into words.

Long story short, I am going to try a lighter putter, in the 330 gram neighborhood and see what type of results I get. What is your magic number and how did you arrive at that number? Share and comment on the theory I tried to put in the first few paragraphs.

Thanks,

LaMont in AZ

[Matt Saternus]

I have found that I am happiest with a putter between 330-340g for exactly the reason mentioned above: I feel like I can make a more aggressive stroke without worrying about the ball sailing past the hole. At 350+ I feel like I need to baby the ball and that never leads to a good stroke, at least for me.

[hckymeyer]

I'm currently playing 340g and it seems to work for me.

 

I just read a great article talking about how you should have a lighter head for faster greens, but I can't remember where I read it now.

 

I always thought the point of heavier heads was help take unwanted hand movement out of a swing. Great for amatures that don't have a perfect stroke.

[golfluvzme]

Meyer,

I agree with your thought of the weight helping to stabilize the hands of a person that was struggling. Not sure if that is accurate, but the idea makes sense to me.

I hadn't given this issue a whole lot of thought, until recently. When I think back, I had some of my best putting rounds while I was packing one of Scotty's 34"/340 gram Newport Beach's made for Asian export. Loved that putter and still believe it was one of Scotty's best OTR putters, ever.

Keep the thoughts coming and thanks for participating.

LaMont in AZ

[hendricks97]

So with this in mind, if I have a mallet that Ive never really been happy with the lack of pop off the face, I should add more weight to it to get th ball off the face faster?

[HoosierGolfer]

I'm pretty old school when it comes to putters. Headweight of 310/320 grams works best for me.

[Schuyler]

Putters to me are all about look, sound, and feel. Go with what feels best and gives you the confidence to drain the tricky 5 footers. I personally like a heavier putter...it just feels right.

[GolfSpy Tim]

just when I was considering that I might want a heavier putter..... now you've got me thinking.