An important thing to get right is the putter length. Most putters are supplied to pro shops in either 35” for men or 34” for women, and not much else is offered or sold. Putter length is important because if a player has the correct length he or she will be able to stand to the ball correctly. A player will be able to stand in a comfortable position, with their eyes correctly positioned to the ball and the arms hanging and relaxed under the shoulders. The length can be determined by using either a fitting club with a telescopic shaft or by using the players existing putter, getting them to stand in the correct position and marking where the top of the grip should be.
What effect does loft have?
Putting experts have for some time thought that the correct loft for a putter should be around 3-4 degrees, but have based this on their own experience of observing how well the ball seemed to roll, rather than having any scientific evidence to back this theory up. To give the optimum ball roll most putters have a loft of between 2 and 5 degrees and it is important that you take the reading of the players existing putter rather than relying on a manufactures published figure. Loft and lie angles can also change through use or tolerances when built for putters. The players hand position, putting stroke and type of greens played on can all influence loft recommendations. The ball will initially skid after the impact then roll with top spin along the target line, the optimum ball roll will be created when the minimum of skid is produced, followed by the top spin.
Too little loft can cause the ball to jump up at impact giving poor roll, while too much loft can create undesirable backspin, especially on long putts. Depending on the golfers’ technique, they may be adversely affecting their performance by adding or subtracting from the effective loft of the putter.
Putting experts have for some time thought that the correct loft for a putter should be around 3-4 degrees, but have based this on their own experience of observing how well the ball seemed to roll, rather than having any scientific evidence to back this theory up. To give the optimum ball roll most putters have a loft of between 2 and 5 degrees and it is important that you take the reading of the players existing putter rather than relying on a manufactures published figure. Loft and lie angles can also change through use or tolerances when built for putters. The players hand position, putting stroke and type of greens played on can all influence loft recommendations. The ball will initially skid after the impact then roll with top spin along the target line, the optimum ball roll will be created when the minimum of skid is produced, followed by the top spin.
Too little loft can cause the ball to jump up at impact giving poor roll, while too much loft can create undesirable backspin, especially on long putts. Depending on the golfers’ technique, they may be adversely affecting their performance by adding or subtracting from the effective loft of the putter.
What is Face Plane Tilt?
This is the effect that the loft and lie have on the putter will have at impact, if the putter is 3-4 degrees to upright for you, the ball could miss the hole left, (right handed players) even if you put the perfect stroke on it!
