Selecting a Putter
The single most important club in your bag.
The right Putter can mean the difference between a good day on the course, or a frustrating one. You don’t think so? Here’s two actual examples of the difference having the correct Putter can make.
The first example is of a hole I played with the second Putter I purchased. It wasn’t the right Putter for me for a number of reasons. I had developed a decent putting stroke by this time though. I wasn’t completely hopeless on the Greens. This happened on the 8th hole at Scarlett Woods Golf course in Toronto, Ontario. A fantastic course for beginners by the way. The Pin was placed back left on the Green, and the hole was playing about 170 yards long. At that time 170 yards was a 4 hybrid distance for me. I wasn’t making particularly good contact that day, and there was a bit of wind to deal with. I clubbed up, and decided to go with my 3 hybrid off the Tee. My Tee shot drifted left of the target. I was left with a difficult pitch over a bunker roughly 20 yards away with very little green to work with. I hit my 56 degree wedge which successfully cleared the bunker. Unfortunately my shot ran through the Green to the opposite side and settled in the fringe. At this point I’m thinking two putts for bogey on a par 3 that I missed the Green is perfectly fine with me. I actually finished that hole with a triple bogey! Now here is how it happened, and it’s all because of the Putter. I had a Taylormade Rossa Daytona blade style Putter. Why this Putter was wrong for me begins with the weight. It was definitely too light for me. A heavier Putter helps me follow through with my pendulum style swing. It also has a specially designed insert in the face of the Putter that reduces weight, and improves the feel at impact. I found the insert to be a bit spongy feeling, but it did get the ball rolling smoothly with perfect contact. The real problem was the combination of a spongy Putter face matched with an extremely soft covered ball. I was strictly using the Wilson Staff Elite 50 balls at the time, and they have a very soft outer layer. This meant that it required a lot of additional force to get the ball rolling when putting. My first putt struck me as requiring a little extra power to get it through the fringe, and on it’s way to the hole. The hole was on a bit of a downslope though, so I didn’t want to hit it too hard. Due to the fringe the bottom of my Putter brushed along the ground during the stroke. It slowed it just enough for the soft insert in the Putter, and the soft outer layer of the ball to come together and my ball travelled a total of 2 feet. It only just made the Green. Well at least I was on the Green now right. So now I’m looking at double bogey. One long lag putt plus a tap in, and I can get on to the next hole. My next putt wasn’t bad by my standards. I left myself a 4 footer with very little break for the double. It should of been an easy putt to make. With a Putter that feels too light in your hands, isn’t balanced right for your type of swing (toe weighted), and takes a fair amount of force to get the ball rolling. A short downhill putt is unnecessarily challenging. Needless to say I left it just short. Triple effing bogey!
Seven months later with a Putter far more suited to me the second example took place. It was on the 11th hole at Dentonia Golf club in Toronto, Ontario. This is also a 170 yard par 3, but it plays significantly downhill. I chose to hit my 6 hybrid which ended up being just a little too much club that day. My line was close to perfect, and I ended up rolling the ball off the Green, through the fringe, and settling in the short rough. The Green slopes downward to the hole from my position. Once again I’m staring down a shot that could potentially get away from me. The distance to the hole was about 25ft. I considered a short chips, but my chipping had been horrendous that day. Instead I chose to go with the Putter. I was using the third Putter I had purchased at this time. A Yes Milly face balanced mallet. It is a completely different design then the previous Putter. First of all it’s quite heavy, so once you begin your swing bailing out isn’t an option. It also has a face insert, but instead of being designed to provide feel. It’s firm not soft, and designed to quickly get the ball rolling. These two features practically eliminated my propensity to leave the ball short on touch shots. I used the same stroke I had used at Scarlett Woods. This time though the ball didn’t come to a complete stop at the edge of the Green. It rolled on through without losing too much speed at all. It tracked well, caught the downslope, and ended up in the hole for birdie! The speed of the ball when it dropped would have probably left me a 5 footer coming back up hill if I missed. A very doable putt for par. Either way a massive improvement over the last Putter.
A quick word about how much you should spend on a Putter. Given it’s importance, price should not be the deciding factor when purchasing a Putter. You still need to be careful with your budget though. While testing Putters I had some very good results with a Scotty Cameron model. It was three times the price of the Yes Milly Putter I eventually picked though. In the end I believe that there are features on the the Yes Milly Putter that actually benefit me more. The true alignment aid on the base of the Milly is one particular advantage. Once you’ve settled on which type and balance of Putter is for you. You should be able to find one that fits your price point as well. For instance Wilson makes quite a few different Putters at great prices. One of my particular favourites is the one available for less than $50 on Amazon as of the publishing of this post.
When I check my scorecards, and count the number of putts per round. I used to average 45 putts per round. Now I average 36 putts per round. That’s an improvement of 9 strokes per round of golf. There are very few clubs in your bag that can make that much of an improvement in your game. All it takes is switching to the model that’s the correct fit for you. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have the right Putter. So don’t take choosing a Putter lightly. Test as many as you can. Visit the putting practice area at your local course, or range. Ask to try a few swings with other Players Putters. Visit your local store and get a Putter fitting done. Once you know which type of Putter suits you. You can then decide which one to purchase.
Beginner’s guide to Golf