I had several interesting things come up last week. Lets focus on something a little different – putters. Specifically, the lie of a putter. 

I love turning on the golf tournament on Sunday and the camera zooms in on a putter. The sole of the club is perfectly flat on the ground. Every time. Every player. And yet… If you look at many players on your golf course, the lie is not correct. Toe is up. Toe is down. Lie is not the easiest thing to correct after the fact, but it is if a new putter is ordered that way. We can adjust the lie on every putter we sell – yes, even a double bend shaft that goes directly into the head of the putter. For Odyssey, most models will go 2* up to 2* flat. 

Lie on a putter will have the same effect as lie on a full swing club. A putter that is too upright will start the ball to the left, and a putter that is too flat will start the ball to the right – just like an iron. This means that a putter that is too upright will start the ball to the left of the intended start line, despite where the aim line points.

Consider this… A putt that starts 1 degree to the left or the right of a 10 foot putt will miss the hole. 1 degree. That’s your margin for error on a 10 footer. It’s no wonder that Tour average on 10 foot putts is 40%. 40% for guys who practice all day, have perfect equipment, putt on perfect greens, have a caddy to help with the read, and a map of the green. And they are still at 40%. We watch on TV and they only show they guys who are making everything. Our perception is skewed, so keep in mind that even the best players in the world will miss more than half of their 10 footers in a round of golf. Imagine the percentage holed IF the lie angle was 2* too upright. The player would have to modify a good stroke to make even 40%. Making putts with a putter that was off like this would be dumb luck – perhaps a combination of a mis-read and a poor stroke? Yet, this is what most players at your club are dealing with. 

Try an experiment. Walk down to the practice green on Saturday morning and look at the way the players sole their putters on the ground. It’ll open your eyes. Most players we come across use a putter that is too upright for them (I can’t remember the last time I fit someone for a putter that was 2* UP). Many good players will tell me that if they “raise their hands during the set up, they make more putts”. Of course you will – you just made the lie of the putter correct by adapting your body to the club.

Fitting a player for the correct lie on a putter is simple – all you have to do is look at how the putter soles at address. Is the toe up, down or level? It’s not a dynamic fitting since the shaft does not bend during the stroke or at impact. No mention of stroke (arc or straight back/ straight through) – that’s more a function of the head.

So, how should we fit him? Simple. Have the player set up. Fit for length first. Have him set up in his comfortable position. If you’re an instructor and you want to make a tweak, do it here. Optimal length is based on the players arm length relative to his posture and how they hang (Ideally, straight below the shoulder joint). Once you have the correct length, you can look at the players grip. A correct grip (shaft in the palms, not in the fingers) will help to make the shaft an extension of the arms. Next, you can look at ball position relative to his eyes. Some teach ball right below the eye line, while the new way is to have the eyes inside the eye line by an inch or so. Use whatever you prefer as an instructor. All of these things will influence the lie of the putter. Once he’s set in a good position, look at the sole of the putter on the floor. Is the toe up? Heel up? I move the ball away so I can focus on the head. Just like with an iron – adapt the club to the player, not the other way around. 

So, how flat or upright. If you have a fancy machine, you can read the data. Otherwise, you have do go old school. I will typically use my finger. My fingers are thin. If I put my fingernail down and I can get the tip of my finger under the head (maybe 1/8″), I go 2* flat. Toe up, but less than that I go 1* flat. Same thing on the heel. News flash… I will have a new putter fitting system that will help you fit for all of this later this fall. 

Hope this helps. Until next time – happy fitting!!