The Basics of Choosing the Right Putter
Because we use the putter more than any other club in a round of golf, this club can make the most difference in how you score. There are five basic elements to how a putter should be fit to help you putt the best. The discussion below is for "conventional" putters, though some of the elements hold for belly and long putters.
- Putter Length. When you have the right length putter, your arms will hang down comfortably from your shoulders and your eyes will either be right over the golf ball or just inside the golf ball. When you are in this position you can make a comfortable putting stroke that can be on the line that you choose. Watch the PGA and LPGA tour players - they are ALL in this position with their putting setup.
- Putter Lie Angle. Once you have the right putter length, the lie of the putter should allow it to sit flat on the ground so that the ball will travel in the direction the face is pointing. If the putter is not flat on the ground, you will have to manipulate the putter to make the ball travel on your line.
- Putter Loft Angle. Based on high speed video of ball roll off putters, the optimum loft angle for putters At Impact is 3 to 4 degrees. This loft will allow the ball to get to a "pure roll" as soon as possible. If you add loft to your putter with your stroke you might need more than 4 degrees of loft, if you de-loft your putter you might need more putter loft to have 4 degrees of loft at impact.
- Putter Head Weight / Swingweight. This element is all about feel and so your ability to easily swing the putter to hit the ball correct distances and to keep it on line for short putts. For almost all players, putter swingweights should be in the range of C-8 to D-8. Head weighting becomes important, shorter putters need to have enough head weight so that players can"feel" the putter head.
- Putter Head Design. If putts are struck off center of the "sweet spot - toward the heel or toe - they will not travel as far as for a center of face hit. There are many putter designs available that have high Moments of Inertia (MOI) - so that weight is moved to the heel and toe of these putters. These putters can in fact produce better off-center results than putters with low MOI.
Thanks to the newly published Ralph Maltby "Golf Club Fitting & Performance" book for much of the information discussed above.
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"Vanishing Lofts" Continued - And Your Short Game
You may wonder why I used the word "continued" in the title of this section. If one looks at the history of iron clubs lofts over the past 50 or 60 years, there is a continuing trend to what has been called "vanishing loft disease." In the mid 1980s, for example, the typical loft for a 6 iron was about 34 degrees; for the past few years typical 6 iron lofts have been 30 degrees. The loft of a typical 4 iron in the 1930s was 30 degrees!
The reason for reducing club lofts every few years is simple - we all want to hit the ball further, or at least to not lose much distance with age. New technologies in face materials and other improvements can help, but only so far. So from time to time companies make their irons a "little" stronger to help us achieve what we are asking for. As a result we have hybrid clubs to help us hit what used to be long irons, and we have gap wedges to prevent a large gap in lofts between pitching wedges and sand wedges.
The point for you and your game is that you should know what you are getting, and particularly how this should influence your choice of the lofts of your scoring clubs - particularly your sand wedge and higher lofted wedge if you carry one.
Many players believe that a sand wedge should have 56 degrees of loft. Say that you are playing a set of clubs that has a 30 degree 6 iron. If each lower lofted iron has 4 degrees less loft, then your pitching wedge loft would be 46 degrees and your gap wedge 50 degrees. There would, then, be 6 degrees of loft between your gap and sand wedges. If instead you played a 28 degree 6 iron and had 4 degree loft differences, the loft between your gap and sand wedges would now be 8 degrees.
The point? With loft gaps of 6 to 8 degrees, that 56 degree sand wedge may not be the right club to get you the distance you hope to achieve with your full sand wedge shot. You may need to consider carrying a 54 degree sand wedge, and perhaps a 58 degree wedge, to help you play your best.
Be sure to ask about your iron lofts when you buy them, and then be sure you get wedges that fit the best with those irons.
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Coming Next Month!
Next month I will be attending a Level I and Level II Certification Class offered by the U.S. Golf Teaching Federation on June 11-14 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Four days of learning golf swing fundamentals to improve my clubfitting efforts, and lots of golf in the afternoons. Tidbits of info. that can help you improve your golf game will be shared.
The Fit Is IT!
Tony Wright
GAME IMPROVEMENT GOLF
Oak Ridge, TN
tony@gameimprovementgolf.com
www.gameimprovementgolf.com
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