While designing and developing golf putters, extra caution is followed to ensure that all the rules regarding putter design are followed. Several factors affect the way one putts and how the ball follows the line of putt. Apart from the skills and confidence of the player, it also depends on putter specifications.
Explain Putter Fittings
Dimensions of a putter are an important factor that determines the performance of the putter in the game. The length of the putter shaft is known to affect the swinging motion of the player. Traditional putter fitting length for men was 35” and for women 34”. Further research into the science of putting has indicated that the swinging pendulum motion of the golfers help them to putt really well. Hence, the putter length has been reduced to 34” for men and 33” for women. Such putter fitting length allows golfers to keep their shoulders parallel to the green and eyes just above the ball, such that they strike the golf ball with the right simple pendulum swing.
Another important factor that governs putter fittings is the lie of the putter head. While establishing the right putting set-up, players oft make the mistake of keeping the toe of the head in air. As a result, the ball would inevitably move left of the golfer and lose the line of putt. Similarly, if the heel of the putter is lifted in the air and there is misaligned lie, the movement of the ball would be towards the putting line. In both the cases, a golfer would have missed putts at the end of the day. Thus, the lie angle of the putter head can make or break your putt.
Perhaps the most popular concept in putter fitting is putter loft. The loft in the putter helps in providing a consistent skid and overall roll towards the hole. Very few golfers realize the importance of putter loft. When a ball is struck with a putter head, it has a tendency to slightly lift in the air. If the loft in the outer head is too sharp, it may cause the ball to bounce and follow a path which you would not want. If there is loft at al, it is likely for the ball to not lift from its earlier position against the putter head. It has been observed that if the putter loft or launch is 4 degrees, then golfers are able to control the distance and also prevent skidding of the ball. Almost all golf giants dedicate a great deal of time and energy on understanding the concept of loft in the putter head.
Putter head weight is another factor that determines if the ball follows the swinging motion of the putt. It has been observed that now-a-days, the putter heads are too light in weight. The proper putter head weight which is also called as swing head weight must range between C4 and D6. This putter swing weight enables the golfer to have a better control of distance and direction of the ball during the putt. If the weight of the putter head is too light, then the ball may not follow the proper direction and distance. A too heavy putter head affects the distance control though the ball may abide by the direction it is struck in.
The putter fitting also includes a certain Playability Factor that affects how a particular player is performing. Some players may be quite happy having a bigger sweet spot. The factor that controls this is called Moment of Inertia of the putter head. All these matters tend to get important while designing and developing a putter. After all, putting is the most important part of the game and contributes more than 40% of the overall scores.
