Last week we talked about fitting the specs of a putter. I assuming you have re-merchandised your golf shop, and putters are now front and center. Everyone who walks in says “Wow, what’s new?” You can say “PUTTERS!!” Nice…

So, before we get to the specs of a putter, we need to understand head styles and what is better for one player vs. another. As a convenient lead in, Scottie Sheffler switched from a blade style putter to a mallet style putter heading into last week. Any guesses what happened? His strokes gained putting skyrocketed. Imagine that… Is it because the new putter is better for him? Or is it because he THINKS it’s better for him? My money is on the latter. He is thinking I can make everything with this thing. And, you know what? He did!! Putting is so mental. Yes, there is an art and a technique to putting, but if a player has confidence with a putter, he will putt like it. Part of selling a putter is selling the confidence that goes along with it. I once read of a story of a great player in the 40’s or 50’s who got a new putter and took it out and won the US Open with it in the first week it was in the bag. Afterwards, he gushed about how great it was, yet the very next week he had his old putter back in the bag. When asked why he changed back, he said he was “saving it for the British Open” Was he afraid he was going to damage the putter, or damage his confidence by not seeing the ball go in every time? He put it back in the back at the Open and won that too… He tricked himself into winning. If you say “Here, take this one down to the practice green and let me know how you like it.”, you’re not selling any of that. He’ll miss as many as he does with his own putter and not buy anything. Step one is BE THERE, tell him how great he’s doing, and fill him with confidence.

There are essentially two types of putter heads – blades and mallets. Blades are the traditional Anser style heads that everyone likes the looks of. Mallets are the bigger headed putters. Mallets typically have longer alignment aids, higher MOI, and more forgiveness. If a player needs help with center contact or aiming the putter head, mallets are the way to go. Blades will typically give better feel at the expense of everything else.

A lot of putter head style selections boils down to personal preference, but as a pro, instructor, or professional fitter, these players are relying on your judgement. Offer your input when asked. Ask questions like “Do you like the longer alignment line?” “Does the balance of this one feel any better?” “I like your setup a little taller. Does that help you feel more comfortable?” Virtually, ANYTHING you ask is a good question and it helps you BOTH decide on the right putter. 

Things to look for… A player who struggles with distance control can’t find the center of the face. Get him a high MOI Mallet. A player who struggles with aim over the ball may be left or right eye dominant and a different amount of offset my be beneficial. A ball position change can also help this. Go through a players pre shot routine with him. He could be missing putts because he doesn’t have one or because he has an ineffective one.

One of the biggest things I have people ask of me is “what about toe hang?” What even is it? Toe hang is a measurement (in degrees) of how a putter head is balanced. Typically, when a putter head is placed on a finger and is balanced the face of the putter will point towards the sky (also known as face balanced), the toe points to the ground (90* toe hang), or somewhere in between. The old rule of thumb is that straight back/ straight thru putting strokes used a face balanced putter, while arc putting strokes used some degree of toe hang. Truth be told, every putting stroke will arc to some extent is the stroke is long enough or straight to straight if the stroke is short enough, so this is not as good of an indicator as we once thought. Think of it this way. Toe hang adds weight to the toe of the putter – this can do one of two things for a player – either help the face close (as he releases his hands), or leave the face open (if he doesn’t release his hands). You’re not going to know what he needs until you see him putt. Nope. There is no magic formula. You have to leave the shop and go watch him putt. THEN you can make a recommendation.

Try this. Find a straight 10 foot putt. Tour players will make less than 50% of these. So your odds of seeing some misses are good. You are looking to be able to improve on his bad ones. Nothing you want to do to the good ones. Watch the player hit 5 putts with his putter. Chances are good that he will miss the majority on one side of the hole or the other. Typically it’s almost all. Don’t tell him what you are looking at until you’re done. If he makes one, and misses 4 on the left, that’s a pattern. You can now help him. Two short and three right? That’s a pattern. What if he misses 2 on the right and 2 on the left and leaves one dead on line, but short – this is also a pattern. Hold this thought…

Here’s another “try this”… Go to the practice green with your putter and find a flat 5 foot putt. Hit a putt with the face 30* open or 30* closed. Watch where the ball goes. WAAAY off line, right? Now try the same putt with a square face, but a putting stroke that is 30* right or 30* left (wipe across it one way or the other). The putt almost stays on line, right? The moral of the story is that with a putter, FACE angle is WAAAAAAY more important than putter head path. Lousy stokes with a square face will make way more putts than great strokes with poor face control. When you fit a putter, you have to assume that (if the stroke is good) the FACE is causing the ball to miss that way. If he missed left – it’s because the face is closed at impact. You need to find him a putter that is harder for him to close the face at impact. It could be with MORE or LESS toe hang, but the same amount will cause him to do the same thing. 

Back to our 4 misses to the left or 3 to the right. This putter is either (1) releasing too much (or too little) for this player OR (2) he’s hitting it there. Release is how the face works it’s way back to square through the impact area. Start by looking at his alignment at address. If that’s OK, you need to change the weighting in the putter. If the stroke looks like it’s on line, but the ball is going right, the face is open at impact. If it’s got toe hang, try to add more or less and see what happens. As you change this head, you’ll either see more to the left or less to the left. Keep changing the toe hang until he hits them online. 

What about the 2 and 2 with one short? This player either (1) has no control over the putter head or stroke, or (2), can’t hit the center of the face and needs something more forgiving. In either case, try the highest MOI mallet you can find. 

Toe hang will change the direction the face points at impact. Changing this for a player will make a difference. When you do this, pump him full of compliments. A confident putter with a new putter is a GREAT combination. 

Finally, back to Scottie Sheffler. Scottie was struggling. He needed a change. He is an elite putter, but he wasn’t making putts. The stroke was good. He got the same amount of toe hang in the new mallet as he had in his blade. Same length, lie and grip too. He “decluttered the attic” (so to speak), and let the putter do it’s thing while Scottie does his thing. For now, he thinks this is the answer. Sooner or later he’ll miss a few, the confidence will wane, and he’ll think  remember when i was number one in the world and i used my blade putter to win all those tournaments. I must’ve been crazy to switch.  The blade will be back in his bag sooner or later (when the confidence runs out on this new mallet), but until then, look for him to make a lot of putts. Ricky or Wyndham Clarke with the Jailbird Versa. Lucas Glover. Same thing… Confidence makes putts. Sometimes a new wand adds all the confidence we need.

I hope this helps!! Happy fitting, happy retaining, and happy selling.