Which Putter? Decoding The Mystery.

Which Putter? Decoding The Mystery

This is the most important club in your bag as you will use it 40-50% of the time in a round of golf. How it stacks up in terms of length, grip, shaft orientation, loft and lie angle are all important criteria. Correct length helps in positioning your eyes over the ball while proper lie angle allows the club to lie flat and helps in alignment. A putter that has too much or too little loft will push the ball up or cause it to bounce. Over sized grip can cause awkward feel while those that are too thin will encourage too much wrist movement. Though looks are important, it is only secondary as it only helps in confidence building. Colours and graphics are cosmetics for aesthetic reasons to entice you so that a fool and his money is soon parted. Not so for the rest which I shall emphasized below.

Price and Quality

Is the price of a putter related to its quality? Yes, very much so as they say, you pay peanuts you get monkeys. You can get one hell of a putter that costs $300-$400 plus but for $50, you may still get one heck of a putter if that's the one that feels right, like it's built for you and always gets the ball in the hole. Just like wine, not every "Chateau La Expensive" is the one for you as you may prefer a simple, less tangy "Beaujolais" that makes you happy. If you can putt with a typical and conventional putter, stick to that. Those belly and long putters (broomstick type) are for golfers who are too handsy, have the yips or have back problems. Remember, we all need happy endings. But then, today's putters are all of good and high quality. Its like what you would pick - a Toyota, Mercedes Benz, BMW or Ferrari.

How to Differentiate

There is such a vast array of putters for selection out there that it is indeed mind boggling for anyone who wish to pick a right one even when choosing one from the same brand. Every pro shop salesman can only tell you that the one you are going to choose is a good one because they sold many of it or because it is a very popular brand. Sometimes, an updated or upgraded model may not necessary be better for you. Of course, every club is personal since different people choose a club for a different reason but knowing how long your putter should be, which head shape is for you, the feel and yes even how the neck looks and how you swing is vital in your selection.

Just like your drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons, putters also come categorised into super game improvement, game improvement and player's type. In identical fashion, the bigger the head, the friendlier the club due to extreme perimeter weighting. Using modern metals, rubber components and other technologies, engineers can now proportioned weight distribution better in critical areas. Before we go into the details, we have to establish a few things - (i) How do you putt? (Straight back and straight through or in an arc?) (ii) What head shape is appropriate? (iii) What kind of hosel (neck) is suitable? (iv) Do you prefer the feel of metal or inserts on the face? (v) How long should your putter be? (vi) Lie Angle (vii) Milled or cast?

How Do You Putt?

Do you know how you putt? Do you putt straight back and straight through or do you putt in an arc? I bet you don't even know it and those who thought they knew it could be wrong. With today's camera and video technology, the minutest of details can now be captured and some who thought they putt straight are actually putting in an arc albeit a small arc. Modern video cameras when hooked on a computer can capture how long it takes for the ball to be in contact with the putter face on impact, how many seconds it takes before it starts rolling, etc. More on this another time in a different dedicated article.

Face balanced or Toe/Heel balanced?

Use your index finger and run it across your putter shaft and try to balance the putter on your index finger at some mid-point. When your putter is completely balanced, look at the face to understand how it is tuned and balanced. When the face is facing up with the toe and heel in a straight line, it is a face-balanced putter and mostly found in mallet putters and centre-shafted putters. This is most suited for straight back and straight through putting. Conversely, if you putter face is lopsided with the toe end dropping lower, it is a toe/heel balanced putter which are created for those who putt in an arc. Shaft orientation and hosel/neck connection plays a part too. We will come to that later.

Length

Standard lengths found in stock clubs are usually 33, 34 and 35 inches. Tiger uses one which is 35 inches but do not imitate him as he stands at 6 ft. 1 ins. and weighs in at 185 pounds. Like every other club, the shorter it is the easier to use but it doesn't mean we should all go and get a shorter one. It depends largely on your the lie angle. Have you seen golfers on the course who would tilt their putters towards the toe and some who would lean it towards the heel? This could be partly affected by the length and definitely the lie angle. Each of us are different in height, arm lengths or just simply a preferred style of set up so we have to pick a length that is suitable and most comfortable.

What does the Head Style says?

Does size matters? Please note this is not a sex question. So when you travel and when filling up immigration forms, don't say twice a week under the "Sex" column. The answer is actually the same - it depends on how you use it. There are basically three different types of putter club heads - mallet, half-mallet and blade. Mallet has the biggest mass and in definition considered most friendly due to extra weight at the back to give more forgiveness with stability and to have more resistance to twisting (MOI). Half-mallet are those that look like a mallet and a blade, a sort of hybrid between the two while blades are suitable for better players but the latest blades can be considered to be friendly to use too.

Beginners, straight back /straight through players and those with alignment problems could do well with a mallet as the alignment aid created is usually a larger optical alignment plus the fact that it is more forgiving when not struck perfectly well and still goes a reasonable distance and direction. Blades are less forgiving in this respect with lesser weight distributed behind and a smaller alignment guide, so this is more suitable for those who are pretty confident while the half-mallet will find the bags of those who wanted a bit more forgiveness and some playability without feeling that they are wielding a shovel.

There are various necks and hosel designs and unlike colours and graphics, these are not for aesthetic styling reasons.















The first picture you see here is a centre-shafted half-mallet putter (Odyssey)  while the second one is a double-bend shaft (or "S" bend) half-mallet putter (Carbite). 
 How is the Neck/Hosel Designed for?

Double-bent shaft was created for those who tend to twist their clubs too much when putting so it is meant to prevent twisting. The third putter here is a blade fitted to a flare tip neck (Odyssey).

The flare tip is created for golfers who like to rotate - opens and closes the the club head when putting with a slight offset. The black and red putter (TaylorMade) is a full mallet (double bend shaft). The face has lines to grip and roll the ball better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are pictures of milled putters - blade style and designed with a plumber neck. The plumber neck is a one shaft offset and is suitable for golfers who focus most on the forward roll. Because the offset is exactly one shaft, the set up becomes automatic in that your hands are naturally ahead of the ball and this will promote a forward roll to the ball. The view from the top is also slightly different say from a centre-shafted one.



Tiger uses a one-shaft offset plumber neck blade identical to the one you see with the scarlet coloured background which is the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 (his is a previous model). In this pix, you can see not only the plumber neck clearly but also the perimeter weighting.

The other pix shown is an Odyssey Black Series. There is another style which closely resembles this plumber neck but it is called a slant neck which is essentially a plumber neck but from the shaft line so as to promote an upward strike on the ball and one other that is a half shaft offset plumber neck which is called a crane neck. All blade style putters are most suitable for those who putts in an arc. How does Tiger putt? I'll give you the answers. Watch this space....

Metal face or Inserts?

Putter faces are getting increasingly sophisticated. Inserts are getting very popular. What they do is to provide a softer feel, better roll and dampen vibration. Golfers think that what they hear is what they feel and studies have shown that the preferred sound of a putter on impact is a "click". Soft feel however, is not equal to soft reaction and roll. Rubberised faces grip the ball a little longer before release to create more top spin for a better forward and immediate roll.


There are also those with grooves and lines on the face solely to prevent and reduce back spin. In every golf club - driver, woods, hybrids, irons and wedges backspin is needed to get the ball up in a certain trajectory. Some are reducing spin rate these days due to more forgiving club properties so as to give more distance safe for the wedges which need backspin to bite on greens but backspin from a putter is direction and distance control killer.

Lie Angle

Essentially it is the angle of the shaft to the ground when the putter is resting flat. When too upright, the putter toe will be lifted and conversely when it is too flat, the heel sticks up. This will cause alignment problem and prevent consistent contact since the ball will roll left or right. The problem can be overcome by finding an experienced club fitter who can help to adjust the lie angle by one or two degrees. Most putters created use a standard lie angle and loft usually with a lie angle of 71 degree and a loft of 4 degree (or 2 degree). We often look at angles to tell lies but seldom bother about the putter's lie angle. The culture does not exist here as most are bought with a standard given lie. As we are of different built, height and have different length of arms and also our own unique style of set up, how is that we can use a putter with a standard lie. Set up with toes or heels pointing up are largely affected by lie angle.

Loft

When the golf ball is at rest on the green, it is actually in a kind of slight depression in the grass. A putter's standard and typical loft mostly at 4 degree is created so as to help in lifting the ball off the depression but such an action creates backspin when it gets lifted too much and will skip if there were insufficient lift. A solid putt is one where the stroke encourages a natural closing of the face as it strikes at the ball on impact. A forward roll is most important to keep its alignment and intended distance.

Weight

Putters that are too light will probably cause over compensation in that you will add too much right hand action into the stroke thus causing a pull in your putt.

Milled or Cast?

Milled putters are the most expensive ones in the market because they use a superior method to casting. In casting, they pour molten metal into molds and once it cools, the molds are removed in a mass production kind of way. Milling involves using a computerised milling machine to cut and shape the putter out of a block of carbon or stainless steel with precision, each done individually. This is called a CNC Process (Computer Numerical Control). 100% milled putters are one-piece including the hosel which adds purity to its already high quality.


Take note that when offered a milled putter, check if they are 100% milled or just the club head. This is not to say that putters made from casting are inferior because in today's hi-tech world, they are made with high quality too. To put it in perspective, putters made from casting are like your Toyota whereas those CNC 100% milled are the Mercedes Benz and some may even say Ferrari or a standard hi-fi set versus high end equipment which audiophiles love for their "purity" or minced meat versus premium choice cut.


Why do golfers readily fork out $800 to $1,500 to buy a driver which no matter what you do can't get you much more closer to the hole and yet not consider getting a $400 putter that can get you in the hole? Finally, with all said and done, the best putter for you is the one that consistently gets the ball in the hole. Take care that your putter has a cover to protect its face surface from knocks and scratches which can cause dinks and dents especially the milled putters.


You should also bring along a piece of dam cloth while playing to wipe off sand particles and impediments which may get lodged in the dimples of the golf ball. Not only does it interfere with the roll but it will also cause scratches to your putter surface. Always remember the adage: "Drive for show and putt for dough". This is your dough maker.

Golf as in life, play as it lies!