The Loneliest Club in the Bag:  The majority of amateur golfers who understand the importance of proper club fitting are primarily concerned with their metals, irons, hybrids, and lob wedges. They focus on lie angles, grips, weights, shaft materials, flex, and so on, all in an effort to shoot lower scores.  Oddly enough, the most frequently used club in the bag and arguably the most important is generally ignored when it comes to fitting.  As you might have guessed it's the putter - always at the tail end of the line except when blaming a poor round.

Since the majority of strokes in a round result from putts it would behoove any golfer seeking to improve their score to use one that fits properly. Proper fitting consists of far more than knocking balls around a green with various demo putters.  There's a definite art to it that can be refined as deeply as the golfer wants to go with state of the art laser equipment operated by professionally trained technicians.

Some of the more important aspects to proper putter fitting include the following:

Head Balancing:  Putter heads are balanced in one of two ways and should be matched to your putting stroke.

1. Face balance - the face is horizontal when the putter is balanced on a finger. This is best suited for a stroke that goes straight back and straight through the ball.
2. Toe-hang balance - the face hangs at an angle when the putter is balanced on a finger. This is best suited for an arcing stroke path.

Loft: The weight of a ball resting on the green creates a depression from which it must be lifted before rolling begins, and that's the function of loft. The amount of loft depends on the shaft's position relative to the ball at address and that is unique to each individual. Most putters come with 3 to 4 degrees of loft and can be adjusted to square with the impact position. 

Length:  As a rule of thumb the distance a golfer's arms hang from the ground when in a putting posture determines shaft length and has a direct bearing on the lie angle. Always have the length fit before the lie angle.

Lie Angle: The base of a putter head must rest flat on the ground, its heel and toe design notwithstanding.  An improper lie angle will cause the ball to veer off target when struck and lofted from its depression on the green.

Weight:  This is a matter of personal preference so experiment.

Grip: Size and feel are a personal preference so experiment. 

Head Shape: There's certainly a wide variety from which to select but remember that performance counts more than appearance. Aiming the head at a target is critical to accurate putting so when checking out a putter be certain your ability to do so is not impaired.

Hosel Configurations:  As with the head shape the hosel configuration can affect your ability to accurately aim the putter, so same suggestion as above.

My best wishes to you and your family for a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season.

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