The Power Fade Golf Blog

Perhaps one of the most commonly-referenced (but still misunderstood) aspects of a putter is the “L,L,L”–also known as the loft, length and lie. Multiple theories abound for what these numbers should be. Although many theories exist, one always must keep in mind that there is no single right answer when it comes to putters. Ultimately, the thing that works best for you is what should be used. However, the theories surrounding putters should point someone with little or no knowledge in the right direction, and should provide a person with the greatest chance of success in a given set of circumstances.

The common varieties of putter lengths (for standard putting) are 33 inches to 35 inches, but there is a catch. Not everyone measures putter length the same way. Some measure the length to the ground while others measure to the sweet spot; some measure to the end of the grip cap, others to the end of the shaft. Moreover, even though these lengths are common, there is no hard and fast rule about someone using a set length putter. Robert Garrigus on the PGA Tour used to use a 26-inch putter. Angel Cabrera won the masters with a 39-inch putter. Neither of these players is abnormally tall or short, but they used what they felt gave them the best chance of making putts.

Why are these numbers important? A putter that is the “wrong” length will put your hands in an uncomfortable position and will increase the chance that you try to correct your discomfort with wrist movement. Common advice in any putting stroke is that wrist movement causes inconsistencies when putting. Most putting theory states that the putting stroke is, essentially, a very simple action. The putting stroke can be accomplished without a great deal of hinging. It is so simple–and low energy–that a simple rotation of the shoulders can propel the ball the required distance. As such, common teaching holds that a player should seek to putt using the “big muscles”–such as the back and shoulders–rather than “little muscles”–like those in the wrists and hands–because it is easier to consistently rotate about a spine than to consistently twitch a pair of wrists. As such, a putter length that is comfortable is a key part of the analysis. A comfortable putter length can help a player remove any corrections that might be needed from a player twitching wrists. If a putter is too short, the player’s hands will be far away from his body; if a putter is too long, the player’s hands will feel cramped up against his body.

However, what is “comfortable” is in the eye of the beholder. Most instruction on putting says that the player should have his eyes directly over the ball or just inside the line of the ball (illustrated by the green dotted line below). It is also best if the forearms make a straight line with the putter shaft when viewed from the back (illustrated by the red solid line below). How this fits you depends entirely on our personal dimensions (arm length, height) as well as how you approach the ball (standing taller, more crouched over, etc).

Moreover, the lie angle plays a big part in how a player sets up to the ball. As LG pointed out in his post about getting fit for iron lie angles (here: https://thepowerfade.com/2012/07/10/review-lie-fitting-with-brian-razzari/), an improper lie angle can cause misses to one side or another depending on whether the lie is too upright or too flat. Although the “standard” lie angle is around 70-71 degrees, players are all over the board on lie angle, and I have personally heard everything from 64 to 76 degrees. In no event may a lie angle be more upright than 80 degrees, however, according to USGA rules. Much like length, the lie angle you choose depends entirely on how you approach the ball.

Finally, the loft of a putter can be a tricky topic in some circumstances. Scotty Cameron designs all of his putters with 4 degrees of loft, and this has become the standard loft largely because he is the most successful putter seller of all time. However, the loft depends entirely on the player, and “standard” is not standard. Scotty Cameron states that 4 degrees of loft is needed because of the weight of the ball. When the ball is at rest, he states, it forms a depression on the green, and 4 degrees of loft is needed to lift the ball out of the depression at impact so that the depression does not affect the roll.

While this may have been true 20-30 years ago, it is probably not too true today. Modern greens are typically much firmer and faster than those of the early 90s (when Cameron started his own putter-making business). Modern greenskeeping has done wonders for even the muni golf player. In reality, the ball on modern greens typically will not sit down into a deep depression. As such, putters as low as 2 degrees stock (such as Piretti putters) are now surfacing and gaining great market share for the “great roll” they put on the ball (we’ll touch on this in a later chapter).

However, like length and lie, the loft of a putter is something that is unique to each player. Many pro golfers “forward press” their putts, meaning their hands are in front of the ball when they start (and finish) their strokes (see photo below of Phil Mickelson’s forward press). Forward pressing serves to “de-loft” the putter face, meaning that these players must account for the loft that they are losing by changing the static loft of their putters. (For those that may not know, “static loft” is the loft of the putter as measured. This is to be contrasted with “dynamic loft,” which is the loft of the putter when used. A player who forward presses will have a “dynamic loft” that is less than the static loft because he is effectively de-lofting the putter face). On the other side, a player like Zach Johnson (see image below) actually needs negative loft on his putter because he reverse-presses the shaft at address and impact. As such, his dynamic loft is higher than his static loft.

The main point here is that there is no one way to set up your L,L,L. You need a static loft that matches your stroke (whether you reverse or forward press), a length that makes you comfortable, and a lie that matches your setup. The best way to ensure you get all of these facets right is to get fit for a putter. Science And Motion (aka “SAM”) putter fitting is probably the most expansive putter fitting, but there are many other ways to be fit. Edel fitting has been described as a fairly comprehensive way to measure your alignment before the putt. PING makes a putter app that can be used on any iPhone or Android phone. And many local pros are competent to fit putters even without scientific instruments or fancy calculations.

In the end, it’s all about finding something that works best for you, and, even if you don’t go to a pro for a fitting, a trial and error with various different lofts, lengths, and lies can do wonders for your putting stroke. I encourage you to take some time to examine your stroke and figure out what equipment setup would help you the most.

In prepping for the first chapter in this series, it became apparent to me that some of the terminology I use might not be fully known by all of our readership. As such, I’m hopeful that I can provide in this post a simple explanation of what I’m talking about when I refer to specific aspects of a putter. This post isn’t meant to be an in-depth review of any one area–each area will be discussed in more depth later. This post is meant to be an overview that will allow our readers to understand what the terms “toe hang,” “swingweight,” “lie angle,” or other various aspects actually mean. Of course, if anything is unclear or there are things I forget, please do mention in the comments so we can make sure they get added to the post.

1. Loft: the angle the putter face makes with respect to the ground when the shaft is straight (not pressed forward or leaning back).

2. Lie: the angle the shaft makes with respect to the ground. LG explained lie angle with respect to irons in his post about getting fit, here: https://thepowerfade.com/2012/07/10/review-lie-fitting-with-brian-razzari/. Putter lie is exactly the same.

3. Length: the length of the putter shaft as measured from the end of the grip to the ground. Note, the actual length of the shaft is likely less than this, as most putters do not have the shaft extend all the way into the head and down to the ground.

4. Hosel: in any club, the hosel is the joint at which the shaft meets the head. In putters, this is often called a “neck.”

5. Head weight: usually expressed in grams, it is the weight of the putter head without the shaft. A typical head weight ranges from 320 or so grams to 360 or so grams.

6. Swingweight: swingweight is the measure of how heavy the club head is with respect to the other components of the club. It gives the player an idea of how the club is balanced irrespective of how much it weighs in total. Swingweight is measured on a strange scale with a letter followed by a number such that “C-9” is followed by “D-0.” Typically, neutral swingweight is about D-0 for most clubs. Swingweight depends greatly on club length and head weight.

7. Toe hang: toe hang is a quantification of how the face of the putter is aligned when the putter is allowed to sit horizontally and unrestrained. Typically, this is determined by laying the putter on a flat surface (such as table) such that the shaft and grip of the club are on the table but the head hangs off the side. This allows the putter to rotate freely while the shaft lays flat and horizontally. Where the face points is then referred to based on its relation to a clock. “Face Balanced” is the putter pointing at 3:00. “Full toe hang” is the putter pointing at 6:00. “1/4 toe hang” is the putter pointing at about 4:30. All measures inbetween are typically referred to based on where they point on the clock. An illustration is included below:

8. Milling: most “high end” putters nowadays are made of a one-piece milled construction. Milling is essentially a process where a machine cuts metal from a block until it is the shape of the putter. This process results in a much more consistent end-product than typical forged (smashing a hot blank of metal until it’s the desired shape) or cast (pouring molten metal into a mold and allowing it to cool in the desired shape) constructions of previous generations. Milling may be coarse or fine, and in some putters, the mill marks may be very obvious, whereas it may be unnoticeable in others.

9. Grooves: some putters are made with patterns on the face that resemble grooves on an iron. The theory behind these is to provide “better roll.” Whether this is actually the case will be discussed in a post about grooves.

10. Alignment Aid: a line or dot (or anything else) on the putter head designed to aid the player in lining up his putter with the ball to some degree.

11. Offset: the progression of the face with respect to the shaft. Typically, “neutral” is considered 1/2 shaft offset. If the face of the putter is aligned with the center of the shaft, that is considered a neutral position. If the face is further to the right (for a right handed golfer), the putter is offset. If the face is further to the left, the putter has “negative offset.” In common vernacular, this is referred to as “face progression.” An illustration of offset is below:

12. Moment of Inertia: Often referred to as “MOI,” moment of inertia is a club head’s resistance to twisting based on its shape. This will be discussed in greater detail later, but there are certain head styles that are far better at avoiding twisting on off-center hits than others.

13. Green Speed: typically referred to as a number between 7 and 15, green speed is a measure of how many feet a ball rolls when coming off a Stimpmeter. A Stimpmeter is nothing more than a yard stick with a notch in it. A course superintendent will measure his green speed by laying the Stimpmeter flat on the ground, putting a ball into the notch, and then lifting one end of the Stimpmeter until the ball comes out of the notch. It rolls down the meter stick and then continues until friction stops it. The length that that ball rolls quantifies how fast the greens run that day. “10” is a good representation of an average course for public play. “13” would be unusually fast and extremely difficult for most golfers. “7” would feel very shaggy and slow to most golfers.

14. Head Style: There are generally two types of head styles: mallet and blade. There are, of course, degrees to each, but a mallet is generally a head that has substantial matter behind the point of contact (much like looking at a driver/fairway wood). A blade is a putter that has a single line of metal behind the point of contact (much like looking at an iron). As stated, there are variants, but these are the general styles.

15. “Anser”: The original design by Karsten Solheim, founder of PING Golf, that first introduced perimeter weighting to the golf industry.

16. “Pistol”: Also known as a “paddle,” it’s the style of grip most used by players today, where the front side of the grip is flat in line with the line of putt and the back of the grip is tapered to give the hands some feel of the direction of the face. The much less popular style of grip is simply “round.”

This post is an introduction to a new series we’ll be offering here on the PF in the coming months: Understanding Putters. Putting is perhaps the most important aspect of the game of golf. It’s where at least 1/3 of your strokes will be played, and it can account for a tremendous success or a horrible failure.

Unfortunately, many classics of golf literature give too scant attention to putting in general. Even the ones that discuss putting fail to discuss how the equipment one might select affects one’s putting performance. Many average golfers are unaware that there are even different types of putting strokes for which different equipment is suggested.

This program will not attempt to teach a putting stroke. Neither LG nor I am qualified to do that. However, we will discuss various theories behind putters, the purpose of different equipment specs, and how the theory integrates with the equipment. Hopefully, with more knowledge, the golfer reading these posts can select the putter that gives him or her the best chance to succeed.