Why You Should Get Fit For a Putter
Playing with a putter that isn’t fit to you is like driving somebody else’s car without adjusting the seat and mirrors – you might get to your destination, but it won’t be pretty.
Your putter is the most important club in your bag. It’s the only club that you use on every hole, which also makes it the first you should look to when trying to improve your game. The better you are with your putter, the lower your score will be, and the best way to ensure that your putter is most effective for you is to be fit for one.
The Big 3
Length
If your putter is too short, you’ll set up too far over the ball and pull the ball inside when you putt. If your putter is too long, you’ll set up too far from the ball. This will prevent a natural putting stroke and you’ll push the ball outside when you putt.
Having the proper putter length will ensure you’re set up properly over the ball and that you contact the ball square to the face.
Loft
Loft measures the angle of the putter's face to the ground. If your putter’s loft isn’t set right, the ball can bounce or skid after impact, causing an inefficient roll and the potential for the ball to begin off line.
A perfectly set loft optimizes the golf ball’s launch angle, ensuring minimal skid or bounce, keeping your putt on line, and getting the ball into a true roll faster.
Lie
Lie measures the angle of the shaft and the sole of the putter. If your putter has the wrong lie, the heel or toe will be up when impacting the ball. That will cause sidespin, effectively spinning your ball off line after contact.
With the correct lie, the putter head will be parallel to the ground when making contact with the ball, resulting in clean contact and an on-line putt.
Your putter length, loft, and lie depend on more than your height and putting style. These variables and more are taken into account during the fitting process.
More than Measurements
Feel
Every face milling has a specific feel and impacts the ball differently. When getting fit, you’ll take practice putts with the various face millings offered. You’ll feel the difference in feedback and see how each milling affects ball speed.
Look
You should feel nothing but confidence when looking down at your putter, but you can’t look at a picture and imagine what it will look like in your hands. By getting fit, you can hold each putter and see how it looks to you at address. You may find that you favor a certain head style or finish over others.
Greens
Every golf course is different, and some greens play faster or slower than others. Although this isn’t an end-all-be-all for which putter you choose, it can be helpful to consider during the fitting process.
Professional Fitters
As great of a golfer as you might be, you don’t know the game like professional fitters. They have seen and heard it all, fitting the game's best players to your weekend warrior. They can answer any questions and explain why your putter needs a certain adjustment, and they know how to put the science into plain language.
Quintec
The human eye can only see so much, but Quintec captures everything. Quintec records your putt at 720 frames per second. It measures your launch angle, forward and backspin, sidespin, and the distance it takes for the ball to achieve true roll.
By seeing these numbers, a fitting professional can precisely determine where to make adjustments to your length, loft, and lie to optimize the putter’s effectiveness in your hands. You can take putts once these adjustments have been made and actually see the improvement in your numbers!
No Golfer is "Standard"
Grabbing a putter off the rack or buying it online with standard measurements might work for you, but every golfer is different. Chances are that one or more aspects of that putter aren’t right for you. By getting fit for a putter, you eliminate as many variables as possible. All you have to do is find the line and hit the ball clean. Let the club do the rest.
Schedule a fitting at Studio B Oak Brook today, or visit our retailer map to find a Bettinardi-certified fitter near you.
