Among all clubs in a golfer’s bag, the modest putter might not seem like the most important club in your bag to be perfectly fit for you. Just look at any driving range compared to the practice putting green. It is quite easy to tell that putting is an afterthought for most golfers based on how much time they spend practicing putting. It’s the same story when it comes to custom club fitting. Rolling the ball along the ground when you putt may not be as appealing as sending a ball soaring into the sky towards the flag with your driver, but the putter plays a more consequential role in determining your score than any other club in a golfer’s bag . So when you look to custom fitted golf clubs to improve your game, it’s key to consider the putter, too.
We all know the famous golf saying: “Drive for show, putt for dough”. Anyone who has played golf can attest: the inability to hole the ball with your putter can raise a score quickly, and undermine an, otherwise, well played round. That’s why True Spec emphasizes the importance of a properly fit putter to maximize every player’s potential, performance and score. Not only can custom fit putters help improve your game by matching putter design features to specific tendencies of your putter stroke, they can provide more confidence on the putts that really matter. Here are four ways a custom putter fitting can help you build and maintain momentum from one hole to the next.
More consistent club delivery
The fastest route to improving your handicap is improving your putting. Nothing contributes more to good putting than a clubface that is square to the target at impact. One of the biggest reasons golfers struggle with putting is the lack of a square clubface at impact. A putter’s clubface must be square to the intended target within +/- 1* on a 10’ putt in order for the putt to be holed . The results of a clubface that is not square, or perpendicular, to the target line are putts that never start “on line”, thus resulting in misses to the left and right. Custom putter fitting is a solid solution for golfers suffering from those symptoms. By playing with a custom fitted putter designed for your stroke and impact patterns, you’ll consistently give more putts an opportunity to go in.
Improved Speed Control
If you’re missing your putts both short and long, your putter might be a big part of the problem. This could be due to a multitude of factors regarding how the putter is made, including loft, face material, your impact tendency on the face, and the size of the “sweetspot” on the putter. Even perfect technique cannot make up for a putter that does not match each player’s tendencies related to where they hit the ball on the face of the club, whether they hit up or down during their putting stroke, and whether their hands are forward of, even with, or behind the ball at the moment of impact. By adjusting the loft, face material, and overall head design concept, a club fitter can address these specific patterns, thereby helping golfers hit putts the intended distance more consistently.
Fit to YOU
One of the most important factors in good putting is repeatability. One of the more crucial considerations which contributes to this, is comfort. Golfers will typically revert to whatever feels most comfortable, specifically when related to the way they stand over the ball before making a putt. After all, if a player isn’t comfortable standing over the ball, there is greater opportunity for the golfer to become distracted from the primary goal, which is to hole the putt. During a True Spec custom putter fitting, the fitter will evaluate a player’s basic physical characteristics, and recommend a club that best suits that player’s physical makeup WHILE ALSO encouraging a comfortable, mechanically sound address position from which to start each putting stroke. This involves determining the ideal shaft length, and correct lie angle of the clubhead. A player who is forced to stand in a manner that does not complement their basic anatomy, and undermines good putting stroke fundamentals, will not experience the kind of consistency desired. Custom putter fitting accounts for these, and many other more complicated issues that should be considered when recommending the best putter to improve a golfer’s game
Quantifiable Data
All True Spec Putter Fittings incorporate quantitative putting stroke measurement tools, which include high speed cameras, and other diagnostic machines. These technologies deliver extremely accurate and precise metrics as to how each player makes their putting stroke. Player’s can see the improvements made to how they deliver their putter to the ball at impact simply by comparing and contrasting the data from all putters tested in a fitting. The numbers don’t lie. This gives an added piece of confidence to all players fit for their putter, by reassuring them that the recommended putter is the result of a data driven process that avoids opinions and bias.
If custom club fitting sounds like the right avenue to enhance your performance on the putting green, True Spec is the right resource for you. Find the closest True Spec location and discover how custom club fitting can maximize your performance on the green.
