How do I pick the right putter for me?

‘How do I pick the right putter for me?’ It’s a question we get asked a lot.

When it comes to find the right putter there can be a huge array of options. Narrowing it down to which head shape, hosel and shaft length can be extremely confusing.

How do I pick the right putter for me?

To help you make better decisions, I met up with Nick Boulton, European fitting manager at Ping Europe for a putter fitting to find out.

The first big consideration when looking for a new putter is getting something where the toe hang of the putter matches up with the arc of your stroke. In simple terms if you need a different neck style depending on if you have a large arcing stroke or a straight stroke as this will allow the face to square up to the target.

Ping have three clear categories to help define this. Each putter comes with a sticker letting you know if it is best suited for someone with a straight stroke or one with a slight to strong arc. The straight arc putters are what is typically referred to as a face balanced putter whilst the slight and strong arc models have differing levels of toe hang. This toe weighting helps the face open and close more to match up with the larger arc of the putting stroke.

Not sure what stroke type you have? The Ping 2.0 Putting App let’s you know after just 5 putts. It works on a iPhone or iPad and quickly analyses your stroke to find the best hosel type for your game. It can also tell you the right lie angle for your putter and analyse different elements of your stroke for you to go away and practice.

I got fitted for slight arc options. You may think these would all look the same but there is actually a huge amount of of Ping putters in this category. The putters shown in the image below are just a small selection of the slight arc options available. I really like the fact there is a huge array of putter heads available with blades and mallet style putters in each category.

It’s easy to find a style that suits you indoors on a short flat putt but I would always recommend trying to hit some long lag putts outside too. Most amateur golfers will find a mallet putter will offer much more forgiveness on off centre strikes making pace control much easier.

Once you’ve picked the right head shape there are a few other things to look at. Firstly are you using the right length shaft?

Having the right length putter helps you get a good set-up and get your eye line in the correct position. If your putter is too short you eyes will get outside the line and if it is too long they will be too much inside the line of the putt. This will make seeing straight difficult and ultimately lead to pushed and pulled putts.

The easiest way to check this is to try different putter lengths with a fitter, or to use a putting mirror, and check if your eyes are over the ball.

Finally you need to pick the right grip. This is probably the area of putters that has expanded the most in recent years. Oversized grips have grown in popularity as lots of people feel they are more stable and stops the stroke getting too handsy.

Others prefer a smaller grip for better feel, this one really does come down to personal preference but the Ping PP58 has certainly racked up lots of wins on tour over the years.

So there you have it, choosing the right putter doesn’t have to be complicated! Focus on head shape, hosel and shaft length to help you find the perfect putter for your game.

All clothing and footwear in this video is provided by FootJoy.

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