Fix My Putting: Putter Fittings - Part 1 of 2

Putter fitting isn’t hard.

It’s very hard.

Why do you think I have a job? (Strike through)

What I meant to say there is that there are a lot more moving parts and things happening than we care to acknowledge. Do you know why?

Tell Me Why

To better understand this, let’s consider something more relatable like a driver fitting. When you come to a driver fitting, you have a given swing pattern that produces a given ball flight. The fitter can change head styles, lofts, face angle, shafts, and more. A couple cranks of a wrench, slap a new shaft in there, and our fancy launch monitor shows us less spin, more distance, and that new ball flight we've dreamt of for years. All with the same(ish) swing!

Only putting presents a problem.

There is no ball flight (relatively speaking).

Changing putters might not solve the problems.

So no matter what putter is being used, that 3* out to in path with a 2* open face isn’t going to launch particularly straight. Can we introduce a putter to help manage those numbers and influence those tendencies? Sure. But I’m sorry, no putter is going to fix that problem.

Now What? Introduce the mechanics and why putter fitting is hard. Without the framework and structure in place, there is a very small percentage chance that switching putters gets the job done. Meet my friend Don Thames. He came by for a lesson and, like everyone, wanted to know if the putter was helping or hurting. Check out his story and keep an eye out for the results of what we actually did to the putter tomorrow.