If you’re a good putter then you can skip reading this article - we don’t need to fix something that’s not broken. However, if you struggle with aiming your putter at your target, and you miss more short putts than you think you should, then you might want to look into your putter design. There are many factors that make up good putting. Let’s take a look at the most obvious thing – How well are you aiming your putter?
Some simple facts:
* It only takes 3° of variance to get the ball out of the hole on a 10ft putt
* Putters that are too long generally create a right aim
* Putters that are too short generally create a left aim
* Ball positions that are too far forward tend to create a left aim
* Positions that are too far back tend to create right aim
Have you ever wondered why we have so many shapes and looks to putters? They are different because each one of us views our target a little differently - there is a putter best suited for our individual aim perception. We need to make sure that our perception of where we are aiming matches the actual aim point. Choosing the right putter design can help us match our perception of aim with the reality.
For example:
If you consistently aim your putter to the right and you are using a mallet type putter (#2 image above) with no lines and no offset, you could be making your aiming worse. Conversely, if you are a left aimer and you are using a standard type putter (#1 image above) with lines and offset, you could also be making things worse. By changing the offset, adding or subtracting lines, and changing the shape of the head, we can start to change how you instinctively aim your putter. It’s not all about what looks and feels good when you give one a test drive. If you’re in the market for a new putter and/or need some help with your putting, let’s first make sure your putter design isn’t holding you back from improvement.