Last week we talked about the lie of a putter. This week, let’s chat about selecting a head style. I’ll dive a little deeper into why we design certain heads and how to fit them.

10 years ago, all the best players in the world used blade style putters. Over the next 5 years, there was a trend that saw these same players migrate to oversized mallet style putters (to the tune of 8 out of the top 10). Many of these players have stayed with the mallet. Here’s some news for you. They don’t use mallets because they are more forgiving. Mallets have a longer aim line, so they are easier to aim. Remember last week we said that a putter face that is 1* off will miss the hole on a 10 foot put. Alignment is critical to putting, obviously. We conducted a study as we were getting ready to launch Triple Track and we found that players were able to aim a TT ball 88% better than a plain white ball when using a mallet style putter with a long aim line on it. I’m not great at statistics, but that is a BIG number. 

So, if it’s that important and that much better, why are players going back to their blade style putters. Simple. The technology that is in an oversized mallet that makes it forgiving also makes it harder to release the putter head through impact. Spelled out, a putter head will have some amount of MOI (Moment of Inertia). The higher the MOI, the more stable the putter will be, and the less the putter head will rotate. Meaning, if you hit the ball on the heel or toe, the face won’t open or close (as much) like a lower MOI Putter will. Tour Players, by and large, do not miss the center of the putter face at impact, so having a putter that doesn’t rotate on off center hits is not a benefit to him. That same MOI that benefits stability also hinders a players ability to release the putter head through impact. You see, MOI, for as good as it is, isn’t very smart. It doesn’t say we like this kind of rotation, but not this kind. Tour players who grew up playing blade style putters with good arc-style putting strokes were finding that they couldn’t release the putter head. Was it worth it for a Tour player to have a longer aim line vs. a putter that was harder to release? Maybe, maybe not. Some went back to more traditional blade style putters and were willing to deal with the shorter alignment aid in order to keep the stroke that got them to where they are. Your average amateur player, on the other hand, will benefit for technology. As the Technology evolves and advances, it is even more advantageous for the recreational player. 

That became the challenge for Putter designers. Can you make a putter that is High MOI, has a long alignment line, AND is easy to release? 3 or 4 years ago, you started to see “slant neck” mallets from Odyssey and others. This gave the putter some toe hang (more on this in a moment), was easier to release, but not quite as stable. Good, but not great. Insert the Eleven model this spring. This has the long top for a long alignment aid, weight very far forward so it’s easy to release, but weight is wide so it still has very high MOI. Essentially, this is a mallet putter that putts like a blade. Conversely, how about the player who says I want the high MOI, but I don’t want to look at the gigantic head on a mallet? We have the Tri Hot 5K for that player. This is a Blade style putter that has all the MOI of a mallet, but it is in the body of a blade – essentially a blade that putts like a mallet. Out current lineup has the best of both worlds.

You’ll find players who are putting with putters from the last century at your club. I know they love the old ones, but saving a few strokes is what it’s all about.  No reason you can’t head to the practice green on Saturday morning with ALL of your putters and put this one or that one into a members hands. You WILL sell putters this way!! When we go to a practice green and set up, we fan all the putters out around a couple staff bags. Mallets, blades, Mini mallets, arm lock, broomstick. It’s amazing to me that most players immediately gravitate towards bigger mallets (ten and eleven) with longer aim lines. I ask why they chose that one to try. Most players say they’ve always wanted to try one like this. Interesting that these have been around for as long as they have , yet people still haven’t tried one. It would be like coming to a fitting event and wanting to try a cavity back iron because “I’ve seen these and always wondered what they were like”, or the metal headed wood because “I’ve gotta get some technology and get out of these wooden ones”. Haha. 

So I mentioned “toe hang” earlier. What is it? How does it work? Who is it for? Toe hang is measured in degrees (0* to 90*). If you take a putter and balance it on your finger, you’ll see the face of the putter is perfectly horizontal (0*), perfectly vertical (90*), or (most likely) somewhere in between. Basically speaking, the more toe hang a putter has, the easier it is the “release” or rotate the putter head through the putting stroke. In the old, old days (60+ years ago), greens were shaggy and everyone used a very wristy putting stroke. Face balanced putters didn’t exist. They weren’t needed. As greens improved, so did putting strokes. About 30 years ago, we started to see face-balanced putters for this very reason. Remember the original Two Ball? In those days, we used to say if a player was straight back-straight through, he needed a face balanced putter, while an arc style putter needed some toe hang. While there is some truth to this, it’s not the cardinal rule as it once was. 

When we start fitting a player, we find a flat 10 foot putt on the putting green. Longer is OK, shorter is not. You want him to “hit” the putt. Have him walk you through HIS process. How does he aim it, read greens, set up to the putt? How does he stroke it? How is his posture, ball position, stroke? Is his current putter helping him or hurting him?? Your goal is not to see how many he can make, but to see WHERE he misses. Start with his putter. Have him hit 5 putts. See where they miss. Did he miss all 5 on the left? Or on the right? Did he miss some on both sides? Misses predominately on the left means that he probably has too much toe hang (remember, toe hang promotes toe release, so this extra weight in the toe is causing the face to close). Did he miss right? This could be one of two things and this is trial and error… Perhaps he has too much toe hang and he can’t get the putter head back to square at impact, OR he needs more to help him rotate. Did he miss both ways? This indicates poor contact, and he probably needs something with a little higher MOI to keep the putter head more stable. Same is true if he misses long and short. Lie can have something to do with those misses as we discussed last week, so be sure to address that before you wrap up the fitting (we fit length and lie together). Does he have a wristy storke? Perhaps an oversized grip will help him? That also should be addressed before you wrap up your fitting. 

When you tinker with toe hang, I would balance his putter on your finger and see how much the toe hangs. Start with something similar in a new putter. Then move in bigger increments – more or less depending on how he misses. You’ll be surprised how you see trends right away. Most players don’t even realize how they miss putts on the same side all the time. If you can get him from missing 5 in a row on the right to 5 in a row on the left by changing putters, finding something in the middle is simple!!

If you’re curious about Toe hang and the actual degrees, head to the Callaway Flip Book App in the App store. Each model will give the toe hang spec in there. It’s super handy.

As you start this process, keep in mind that 98% of players have never been fit for a putter. Most players have either been given a putter or picked one out they like the looks of, or are playing one that came with the set. The chances that this is right for them is somewhere between zero and none. Just because a player likes the look of a putter doesn’t make it right for him. This 15 minutes that you spend with a player will be revolutionary for him.

Not sure about taking this right to a member fitting event? Take a couple of Assistant Pro’s out to the practice green and walk through the process with them. You’ll be surprised with what you see. Next, grab a bag room kid or the chef at the club. You WILL see improvement for everyone. We sell 100% of the putters we fit players for. 

Last thing to keep in mind. Putting is 90% mental. Lots of stokes can get the ball into the hole. A confident putter will hole more than his share. When you go through this fitting process, give him as much confidence as you can. “This putter will make a huge Difference for you, Doc.” “This makes your stoke so much better!!” “Holy Cow, you look like a new player.” Keep the confidence coming even after they have the new putter. 

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