Answer to Finding the Right Putter..

The answer to our last post.


By a wide margin, heel no offset.

We think we know why. If you built a mechanical model of most players strokes you would find the arc to be bigger than the player perceives. Much bigger. The proof for the player comes when we ask them to hit putts with their eyes closed on PuttLab. Almost always, there is a change in arc shape. I have never seen a player reduce the arc with their eyes closed. Not once.

So by using the heel shaft it frees up their stroke, by eliminating the steer. No putter design flows easier than heel shafted no offset. That design also gives the player the best "feel" or awareness of the club position. Even though the heel shaft is an exaggerated example, it helps. We can then show them how the proper fit can be used most efficiently.

You might find it interesting that when they putt with their eyes closed, we ask if they can feel the increased rotation.

The answer is always no. Why? Because the movement of the putter better matches the movement of the arms /shoulders/body. without the illusion created by vision, it reduces the feel to back and through and not open and closed. More fun, is to manipulate the putter to eliminate rotation while their eyes are closed and listen to them complain about how their normal stroke feels.

Once they understand why they chose the heel shaft, we can discuss which model is appropriate for their mechanics, while factoring in player tendencies. The more I do this the more I am sympathetic to the player tendencies.

Finding the right Putter Design.

A few years ago, Byron Morgan built 6 putters for me. 3 different hosel locations with 2 different offsets. Over the course of owning the putters I have used them to help people discover which putter design best suited their stroke. We have a number of tests that we use.

The tests have not been as successful as I would have liked. Not because of the information they provide. Far from it. It is because when the player learns which putter works best for them and what "finished" putters would correspond to their discovery, they run scared. "I could never use a putter like that."

So now after documenting the results over a period of time, we have enough data to share which of the putters was the most efficient for the most players.

Want to guess? You have center, mid, and heel shaft locations - full and no offset. P.S. The center shafts are face balanced.

Considering a Putting Lesson?

When someone comes to me for help with their putting, no matter what the level of expertise, I am looking for answers to the following questions. I never want to take something for granted, so regardless of the player's opinion I stick with this outline. It has proven to be better to apply what the player knows after the lesson than before.


Hopefully, the following advice will help you get the most out of your lesson.


1. Vision. Are we set up in a position that maintains an accurate perception of the target line? I am more concerned that you know where the line is than where the putter is pointed.

2. Does the stroke match the setup? Does the putter move on the appropriate arc defined by your distance from the ball.

3. Is the putter fit for setup and balanced to the stroke? 

4. Does the player use a consistent sequence of motion?

5. Does the player use length of stroke to control distance?

6. What compensations to putter design are necessary to allow for a player's natural tendencies?

7. Does the player read greens with an understanding of his mechanical tendencies. Example, inside out or hook strokes create faster initial ball speeds than hold or cut strokes.

For more than 50 years having a flat reminder on the grip of your putter has been the accepted standard equipment for putting. With the invention of Science and Motion PuttLab, the ability to measure putting strokes precisely shows some very strong evidence that using a reminder grip or grip with a flat side may be a detriment. The following assumes a correct installment and relationship of reminder to face.

1. We have to realize that in all golf swings, not just putting strokes, the club head moves in a circular motion. To try and do otherwise is mechanically very difficult. Shoulders move in a circular motion around the spine, arms and hands move with the shoulders, also around the spine. So unless you can make your arms grow longer during the movement, the putter will move around the spine in a circle defined by the length of your arms and your distance from the ball.

The arc at the bottom of the stroke will be straighter or more curved at varying degrees depending on the tilt of your spine and how far you are from the ball. The closer you are to the ball the more upright the circle and so the arc at the bottom of the circle with appear to move straighter than an arc tilted away from the ball.

2. The vast majority of golfers are more comfortable with the ball away from them when putting rather than close. Due to this set up most players swing the putter on a tilted circle that would create a curved path at the bottom.

3. We have found many of the golfers who mechanically are set up for a curved path try to swing the putter on the straighter line. This is the dilemma for most golfers. Trying to make the circular motion of the putting stoke match the imaginary target line that is straight. We call this steering the putter.

4. The desire to steer the putter is influenced by the references we use. A line on the putter, lines on the ball, and a flat reference on the top of the grip are all guides or aids to help us move the putter on a straight path.

5. It is easier to fix the steer than try to move the path to straight! There are physical reasons we stand off the ball. Vision, comfort and balance are not variables we can easily change to match a desired path. We can make the changes but over time we will regress to original position.

6. To eliminate the steer it helps to eliminate straight line references, especially from the grip. As the putter swings and moves in the curved motion we still reference the flat portion of the grip to target. This conflict between perception – the straight line and actual path causes us to twist the putter as it moves along the path. The ball goes primarily where the face is pointed at impact as 82 % of the direction the ball leaves the putter is determined by face at impact. The twisting motion of the putter, as we try to match curved to straight, makes controlling the face of the putter much more difficult than if we simply allowed the putter to swing square to whatever direction the putter is moving during the stroke.

So by replacing the flat with a round reference on the grip we lose some of the urge to twist the putter while in motion. The “feel” reference of the straight line is gone and we are more likely to allow the putter to move freely with the path. Without the steer the results of the stroke become more predictable and our new found consistency makes us a better putter.

Advice for Buying a New Putter



High MOI at Impact Low MOI in Motion.

1. Think of your putting stroke in terms of rotation and not path shape. Before I am done I am going to convince everyone this is the correct point of reference for putting strokes. OEM's won't touch it because of the perception that rotation is a bad thing. Please repeat after me. "Every stroke has a rotational requirement and every putter has a rotational value". If they match, how much rotation you have doesn't matter.



2. Use moi as a tool to complement rotation as well as impact. Webster defines moi as resistance to twisting IN MOTION. Toe hang is the defining parameter of moi in motion. Weight distribution and location of cog are the defining parameters of moi at impact. Too many golfers have high rotation strokes, fighting low rotation putters. Some of you, although not as many, have the opposite. A low rotation requirement, using a putter with a high rotational value. A putter that fits rotation is the best way to control distance. Ultra High MOI, used with the wrong rotational requirement, kills feel because it masks feedback.



3. Putting at a high level is not easy. It takes knowledge of your stroke, a system to read greens, and maybe most important the ability to roll a ball a precise distance. With understanding and a decision to do things the same way every time, the implementation of the stroke is very easy and simple.



4. When you consider a putting change, think about what the putter is built to do. I hear everyday that someone loves the looks, but can't use a certain style of putter. Unless you make the changes necessary to fit the putter you try, you will never know. Ex. A player uses a face balanced 33" putter at 72 degree lie angle. He wants to try a full toe hang-heel shaft. So he gets it with the same specs FB@33&72 and can't putt with it. Never knowing that at 34 and 69 it may have been the best thing he ever did for his putting.



5. THERE IS NO BEST WAY. I have a very comprehensive fitting system that I think allows a player to make the decisions that build the best stroke for the individual. Even with all that work I have had just as much success reverse engineering the process by making suggestions to help players that tell me they have to use a certain style putter.

Knowledge and consistent implementation. Who would have ever thought?