How Does The Shape Of The Golf Putter Effect The Way I Play It (Video) - by Pete Styles
How Does The Shape Of The Golf Putter Effect The Way I Play It (Video) - by Pete Styles

So we often talk about the way different putters look and the way different putters feel. But there is also an element that a different putter can encourage you to make a different type of stroke. So when you’re next in the pro shop and you’re trying out all these different putters consider which putter suits your stroke the best. I’ve got two variations here, I’ve got a bladed putter in this hand and I’ve got a mallet shaped putter in this hand. Now the mallet and the blade line up slightly differently because they look differently when I look down at the top, they have different lines on them. There’s also a consideration but this is what we call a toe hanging putter, so the toe end of the putter hangs down a little bit, and the mallet shaped putters actually got a bit of a face balance in it, so you see this putter sits face balanced, and that’s down to the little crook in the neck here, the little goose neck. What we’ll often find is because the blade style of putter is heel shafted the centre of gravity is around the heel, that’s what it wants to rotate around. So this putter works quite well for somebody that has a bit of a gated action, slightly inside on the way back, then squares up and then comes slightly inside on the way through.

So as I set up to target this putters design for someone to swing it inside square and inside if I was to exaggerate the stroke slightly. And that would work better if that’s your natural stroke. Likewise here the mallet headed putter, this because it’s got the face balance element to it, it’s just going to be designed for someone that wants to swing, more in a straight line back and a straight line through, so without so much deviation to that gated idea not coming inside square and inside, but more straight back and straight through. So it’d be worth investigating what’s your natural type of putting stroke, then maybe you know if you need a bit of assistance without getting one of the PJ professionals, your local club, or even the guys in the pro shop to have a look at your stroke, work out what’s the best type of stroke for you, and then get a putter that’s fitted to that style and that design. It’s not to say that you can’t use a different style of putter, but it’s not necessarily perfectly well suited. And this is sometimes why people pick a putter up and they go well that feels lovely. Yeah that feels lovely. You have a go with that, see how that feels. That don’t feel right for me, no it’s not nice that, and that sometimes because the putter isn’t suited to their stroke. So a bladed design is going to be better for a gated action, and a mallet headed design works better for a straight back and straight through. Make sure you know what type of stroke you have then you know which is the best putter for you. 2014-10-14

So we often talk about the way different putters look and the way different putters feel. But there is also an element that a different putter can encourage you to make a different type of stroke. So when you’re next in the pro shop and you’re trying out all these different putters consider which putter suits your stroke the best. I’ve got two variations here, I’ve got a bladed putter in this hand and I’ve got a mallet shaped putter in this hand. Now the mallet and the blade line up slightly differently because they look differently when I look down at the top, they have different lines on them. There’s also a consideration but this is what we call a toe hanging putter, so the toe end of the putter hangs down a little bit, and the mallet shaped putters actually got a bit of a face balance in it, so you see this putter sits face balanced, and that’s down to the little crook in the neck here, the little goose neck. What we’ll often find is because the blade style of putter is heel shafted the centre of gravity is around the heel, that’s what it wants to rotate around. So this putter works quite well for somebody that has a bit of a gated action, slightly inside on the way back, then squares up and then comes slightly inside on the way through.

So as I set up to target this putters design for someone to swing it inside square and inside if I was to exaggerate the stroke slightly. And that would work better if that’s your natural stroke. Likewise here the mallet headed putter, this because it’s got the face balance element to it, it’s just going to be designed for someone that wants to swing, more in a straight line back and a straight line through, so without so much deviation to that gated idea not coming inside square and inside, but more straight back and straight through. So it’d be worth investigating what’s your natural type of putting stroke, then maybe you know if you need a bit of assistance without getting one of the PJ professionals, your local club, or even the guys in the pro shop to have a look at your stroke, work out what’s the best type of stroke for you, and then get a putter that’s fitted to that style and that design. It’s not to say that you can’t use a different style of putter, but it’s not necessarily perfectly well suited. And this is sometimes why people pick a putter up and they go well that feels lovely. Yeah that feels lovely. You have a go with that, see how that feels. That don’t feel right for me, no it’s not nice that, and that sometimes because the putter isn’t suited to their stroke. So a bladed design is going to be better for a gated action, and a mallet headed design works better for a straight back and straight through. Make sure you know what type of stroke you have then you know which is the best putter for you.