Golf World: Fitting your putter to your stroke

[Moecat]

http://www.scrippsnews.com/content/golf-world-fitting-your-putter-your-stroke

 

Do you know that 43 percent of your strokes taken on the golf course are taken on the green. Yes, putting!

 

And, I am absolutely sure that you all spend at least that amount of time practicing your putting? Wrong!

 

Everyone would like their putter to work like a magic wand and just tap the ball and have it disappear into the cup. But to be a better putter, a good place to start is the putter itself. In other words, the putter must fit your stroke.

 

Here are some fitting variables that you should look at.

 

-- Loft: The standard loft of a putter is two to four degrees. If your ball tends to bounce a lot, I would recommend very little loft on your putter. Most golfers unconsciously put loft on their putter by breaking down their left wrist and using their right hand excessively through impact.

 

Set up with your hands slightly ahead of the ball at address with 60 to 70 percent of the weight on the front leg. This will cause you to de-loft the putter at impact and create a true roll. The best putters in the world tend to hit up on the ball with a de-lofted putter at impact.

 

-- Lie angle: The lie angle of the putter can be flat or it can be upright. Your lie angle will be determined by how you stand to the ball. Some golfers like Jack Nicklaus like to get their eyes right over the ball. This would require a more upright putter. Then again, some players like to stand tall to the ball with their eyes inside the ball. Players like Justin Leonard and Tiger Woods putt this way. These golfers generally putt with a flatter lie angle. If the toe of your putter is up in the air when you address the ball, the putter is too upright for you.

 

-- Overall weight: To be truthful, most putters are too light for their users. A light-headed putter will make you swing it faster and quicker, which is not good. The heavier headed putter (360 grams or more) is better for the average golfer as it allows him or her to swing it slower and with more rhythm.

 

-- Length: This is another problem. Most players have putters that are too long for them. A longer putter has to be swung slower, and oftentimes the body gets in the way of the arm swing.

 

-- Balance: Two types of options here. Most putters are now being made with face-balance weighting. This putter fits the straight-back-and-straight-through stroke. The other option is the toe-hang balanced putter. This putter fits the arcing type of stroke.

 

-- Grip size: The bigger, jumbo grip favors the big-muscle shoulder pendulum stroke whereas the smaller grip favors the handsy type of stroke.

 

-- Putter type: There are more blade type of putters on the PGA Tour, and more mallet type of putters on the LPGA and Champions tours. Generally, the mallet is much easier to hit in the center of the face.

 

-- Offset vs. No Offset: There are advantages to both types. The less the offset, the easier it is to aim, as sometimes the offset causes aiming problems for the average player. But the offset is good in a way for the average player, as it ensures that the hands will be ahead of the ball at impact.

 

My advice would be to make sure a qualified fitter will fit your putter to your stroke, and you will avoid those three-putt greens.

 

(Dr. Jim Suttie, 2000 National PGA Teacher of the Year, is available for lessons at Suttie Golf at The Club at Twin Eagles in North Naples, Fla. and Cog Hill Golf Club, Lemont, Ill. Suttie is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher and rated No. 15 in Golf Digest Best 50 Teachers. Contact him at Jmsuttie(at)aol.com.)