Golf Putters- What’s the Best Putter for Me?

Part 2 of Golf Putters-What's the Best Putter for Me?

One could answer the question posed in the title of this article with just a short sentence. You should use the putter that allows you to make the most putts! A process to figure out how to do this will be described later in this article, but there are a number of considerations about putters and putting in general that one should be aware of before he or she sets out on the quest to evaluate the best golf putters for his or her individual game.

Look, Feel, Attractiveness, Tradition

On one level we might just as easily ask, what is the right color suit, tie, or style or color of dress for me, or what brand or color of car should I drive? There are a number of subjective considerations that come into play when choosing a golf putter, and these are not to be dismissed lightly. If you think a putter looks especially ugly, are you going to have your best results using it? I suppose someone could set up a scientific study or two to measure this concept, but in the absence of anything like that being available, one would doubt that using a golf putter that a golfer regards negatively would give him or her the best results possible. That being said, are you sold on traditional styles, like old-fashioned blade or mallet putters? Many golf putters are more or less takeoffs of successful putters of the past, like the Ping Anser series, for example. How does the putter feel to you when you take a practice stroke or hit a putt? How does it sound to you? All of these subjective considerations are part of the equation, and the feedback the putter gives a golfer, both in terms of how it looks and how it feels, are important parts of the puzzle.

What’s All This About MOI and CG and the “Sweet Spot”?

There are other technical considerations that are more quantifiable, however, and a serious golfer should be aware of these. Probably half of the golf advertisements we see, be they for golf putters or any other clubs in the bag, have some mention of MOI. This stands for moment of inertia, and for golf clubs it is a measure of how the club reacts to off-center hits. Generally weight is transferred to the perimeter of the putter head, and this creates a higher MOI. With a higher MOI the putter will not turn or twist as much when the ball is not hit in the optimum position on the putter face. Just because one putter has an MOI that is three times higher than another putter, will the golfer sink three times as many putts? The answer is no, but he may sink a few more. Dave Pelz, the well known short game expert and teacher of many touring pros comments in his book, “Putt Like the Pros”, that he did testing with golf putters of varying MOI. He found that a putter with three times the MOI of another performed about 10% better in terms of making putts. So using a putter with a high MOI might buy you an extra putt made every round or two, which is not insignificant. Pelz points out, however, that there is a downside. A putter with a high MOI will dampen any vibrations caused by miss-hits, so you may not realize when you are mis-hitting putts. When you see a golfer using a large mallet style putter, you can be sure that one of the goals of the putter designer was to increase the MOI of the club.

The CG of a putter head is the center of gravity. Club designers often try to place the CG as low and as far behind the face as possible, and doing this will help a golf ball fly higher and get into the air more easily. As it applies to putters, the CG is also important. In general the sweet spot of a putter is the point on the putter face directly in front of the CG. Pelz explains that this is not always the case, however. He calls the sweet spot the center of percussion, the point on the putter face where the putter will have zero twist or turn at impact. This point can actually move depending on how vertical or horizontal the golfer has the shaft of his putter during his stroke. If the putter shaft is held low, the sweet spot will move toward the putter heel, and if the putter shaft is almost vertical, it will move toward the toe. In general, golfers want to hit their putts on the sweet spot as often as possible, and as is the case with other types of golf shots, pros are able to accomplish this far more consistently than amateurs.

Alignment Aids

I have always had difficulty lining up golf shots, be it putts or any other type of shot. If you also fall into this category, have faith, we are not alone. Pelz has tested many players and measured scientifically how well they line up their putts. Most golfers, even pros, can be off by quite a lot. He speaks of a PGA Tour player who was a regular on the tour some years ago. On three foot putts he was aligned to the left edge of the cup, although he thought he was aiming at the middle. On twelve foot putts his aim was right on line. On thirty foot putts his aim was 3½ feet to the right! When the aim and alignment of golfers is off, they will make subconscious adjustments and muscle movements to compensate. This does not lend itself to consistency, and in the case described above, it would almost take a minor miracle for the golfer, who in this case was a PGA Tour regular no less, to make a thirty foot putt.

To address this problem there are certain things a golfer can do, and the most effective approach is to mark a line on the golf ball and align that with the intended target. Alignment aids on putters can also help, and there are some golf putters available with elaborate aids. The two and three ball putters from Odyssey come to mind, as do an assortment of other models. These can be of help to golfers, and one sees many touring pros using these as well these days.

Part 2 of Golf Putters- What's the Best Putter for Me?