I read an interesting thing a few weeks ago about putter fitting. Specifically, about fitting for length on a putter. Before I reveal, do you know where the “standard” 35″ putter length came from? Wait for it… The depth on a standard golf bag is 35 inches. It has been forever, so a putter should be the length that makes it to the bottom of your golf bag, right?? That is the honest truth – Standard putter length has very little to do with the correct length for a player.

So I saw this blurb about fitting for length on a putter, and this was so simple, I thought it can’t be true. If it is, it’s too good to be true. We always fit by eye – posture looks good, that looks like the right amount of hip tilt, eyes are over the ball, arms hang about right, what length are you currently using… This is a good length for you. 

This guy didn’t do any of that. He used the same “yardstick” (club fitting ruler) that we use as a starting point for fitting length for a set of irons. Use the same wrist-to-floor measurement that you use for irons, except that number is your putter length. Really?? I had to try it for myself. 34″. My putter is 34″. Weird. I have tried this a few dozen times over the last few weeks, and it’s almost always perfect. 

As with anything else, use this is a starting point. It might get you closer than you think. At the very least, to the player you’re fitting, it looks more scientific than eyeballing it. Haha. Give it a try. Let me know what you find.

Happy fitting.