# Shortening a putter



## spongebob59 (Apr 29, 2016)

Currently play with a putter at 33'' but after practising yesterday I think I could even get to 32''.

I've an old putter that I could take down to this length but wondering what I would need to do to balance this back up.

Assume I'd need to add more weight up at the grip end ?

Guess there's no hard and fast calculation for this, just a matter of what eventually 'feels' right.

Thoughts ?


----------



## Smiffy (Apr 29, 2016)

I had my Yes Tracey cut down by a couple of inches 3 or 4 years ago, didn't bother to get it balanced.
It feels perfect for me.


----------



## delc (Apr 29, 2016)

spongebob59 said:



			Currently play with a putter at 33'' but after practising yesterday I think I could even get to 32''.

I've an old putter that I could take down to this length but wondering what I would need to do to balance this back up.

Assume I'd need to add more weight up at the grip end ?

.

Guess there's no hard and fast calculation for this, just a matter of what eventually 'feels' right.

Thoughts ?
		
Click to expand...

I normally shorten my putters, as most standard ones are a bit too long for me because I have relatively short legs and longish arms. I reckon that one's floor to wrist measurement is about the right total length.  Cutting an inch or so off the butt end of the shaft won't make an awful lot of difference to the total weight of the putter, but will make a significant difference to the swing weight, so you may need to add weight to the head. Suggest you try it as it is after being cut down. If you think it feels too light, start adding lead tape to the head until it feels OK. You can also try counterbalancing with a heavy grip or weights in the butt end if you wish, but unless you are a bit yippy it probably won't help.

P.S. Another way or effectively making a putter shorter is to fit a longer than standard grip and grip down a bit more. Super Stroke make a 13 inch long grip called 'The Claw' which I have fitted to one of my putters,


----------



## Three (Apr 29, 2016)

spongebob59 said:



			Currently play with a putter at 33'' but after practising yesterday I think I could even get to 32''.

I've an old putter that I could take down to this length but wondering what I would need to do to balance this back up.

Assume I'd need to add more weight up at the grip end ?

Guess there's no hard and fast calculation for this, just a matter of what eventually 'feels' right.

Thoughts ?
		
Click to expand...

You will need to do zero. 
If you cut the inch off, hold the cut off bit in your hand and feel how extremely light it is, then factor in all the variables with putting, then realise how irrelevant that tiny tiny bit of weight is. 
I'm 6ft 2 using a 33 inch putter, if 32 or less suits you, ignore conventional wisdom and go for it.


----------



## delc (Apr 29, 2016)

Three said:



			You will need to do zero. 
If you cut the inch off, hold the cut off bit in your hand and feel how extremely light it is, then factor in all the variables with putting, then realise how irrelevant that tiny tiny bit of weight is. 
I'm 6ft 2 using a 33 inch putter, if 32 or less suits you, ignore conventional wisdom and go for it.
		
Click to expand...

As you say, cutting an inch or two off the shaft will make almost no difference to the total weight of the putter, but it will significantly reduce its swing weight, probably by about 4 points per inch. This will make the club feel much lighter to swing, which may cause problems. One of my friends has cut his two-ball putter down to about 25" and had to tape some lead sheeting to the head to make it swing properly!


----------



## Hosel Fade (Apr 29, 2016)

To keep swingweight constant you would need to add weight to the head. If you have a look at some spec sheets from manufacturers you will notice that the shorter the putter the more headweight it will have.


----------



## bobmac (Apr 29, 2016)

delc said:



			As you say, cutting an inch or two off the shaft will make almost no difference to the total weight of the putter, but it will significantly reduce its swing weight, probably by about 4 points per inch. This will make the club feel much lighter to swing, which may cause problems. One of my friends has cut his two-ball putter down to about 25" and had to tape some lead sheeting to the head to make it swing properly!
		
Click to expand...

I think there's a big difference between cutting an inch off and your friend cutting off 8 inches. 

Cutting off an inch will not make the club feel much lighter to swing, and will not cause problems
IMO


----------



## spongebob59 (Apr 29, 2016)

Thanks all, cutter at the ready &#128513;


----------



## pendodave (Apr 29, 2016)

I have an adjustable length Ping Ketsch. There's nothing in the blurb which mentions fiddling with weight when shortening/lengthening the shaft. Ping being quite thorough, you would have thought that they'd have written about it if it was likely to be an issue.


----------



## Three (Apr 29, 2016)

bobmac said:



			I think there's a big difference between cutting an inch off and your friend cutting off 8 inches. 

Cutting off an inch will not make the club feel much lighter to swing, and will not cause problems
IMO
		
Click to expand...

&#128515;&#128515;
Agree entirely. Reduction to 25inches is hardly a little trim 
&#128515;&#128515;


----------



## Three (Apr 29, 2016)

pendodave said:



			I have an adjustable length Ping Ketsch. There's nothing in the blurb which mentions fiddling with weight when shortening/lengthening the shaft. Ping being quite thorough, you would have thought that they'd have written about it if it was likely to be an issue.
		
Click to expand...

Well said.    Personally I think it's a case of "a little knowledge is dangerous". 
People are aware of swingweight, they therefore know that adjusting length can alter said swingweight. 
However in reality, it makes absolutely zero difference. 
As I said before, if people actually held the cut off piece of shaft in their hand they would realise that it weighs next to nothing.


----------



## delc (Apr 29, 2016)

Three said:



			&#128515;&#128515;
Agree entirely. Reduction to 25inches is hardly a little trim 
&#128515;&#128515;
		
Click to expand...

The guy who uses that putter is a 6ft+ ex rugby player! I once chopped down an old Ping Anser putter from 36 to 30" and found that I had reduced its swing weight from D1 to A0, almost off the bottom of the scale. It was then impossibly light and twitchy to use! One of my vast collection of putters is an adjustable length Ping. I think it has some degree of counterbalancing to minimise the effect of length changes, but even that feels a bit light at the short end of the range. Swing weighting is a measure of the moment arm about a point near the bottom of the grip to the centre of mass of the putter, which is typically a point on the shaft about 4" above the head (the point at which you can balance the club on your finger). Reducing the shaft length has a disproportionally large effect on the swing weight.


----------



## delc (Apr 29, 2016)

Three said:



			Well said.    Personally I think it's a case of "a little knowledge is dangerous". 
People are aware of swingweight, they therefore know that adjusting length can alter said swingweight. 
However in reality, it makes absolutely zero difference. 
As I said before, if people actually held the cut off piece of shaft in their hand they would realise that it weighs next to nothing.
		
Click to expand...

The issue is not loss of weight, which is pretty negligible, it's the shortening of the lever arm that causes the problems!


----------



## shewy (Apr 30, 2016)

I've never seen someone take a full swing with a putter tbh so swingweight is completely irrelevant with a putter


----------



## delc (Apr 30, 2016)

shewy said:



			I've never seen someone take a full swing with a putter tbh so swingweight is completely irrelevant with a putter
		
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter if you take a full swing or not, it's just a measure of how heavy the club feels to swing, whether it's a full swing with a driver, a short chip shot or a putt. There is an ideal range that has been developed over the years, say C5 - D6, and most people will find a club difficult to use if it is much outside that range. I have one counterbalanced cut down belly putter that is extremely heavy, which I find clumsy and difficult to use, and the cut down A0 Ping Anser putter that I described earlier in this thread which feels extremely light and twitchy.


----------



## shewy (Apr 30, 2016)

the clue is in the name swing, and feel is subjective


----------



## Three (Apr 30, 2016)

delc said:



			It doesn't matter if you take a full swing or not, it's just a measure of how heavy the club feels to swing,
		
Click to expand...

Yes exactly. 
And a putter cut down one inch will feel identical, bearing in mind how light the cut off piece of shaft is.


----------



## delc (Apr 30, 2016)

Three said:



			Yes exactly. 
And a putter cut down one inch will feel identical, bearing in mind how light the cut off piece of shaft is.
		
Click to expand...

My current putter is an Odyssey Works No7 cut down from 34 to 33" and fitted with a Super Stroke Slim 3.0 grip. I had to add several strips of Lead tape to make it 'feel' right and swing properly. I am only trying to give useful advice and I object to being slagged off by you!


----------



## Gisle Solhaug (Apr 30, 2016)

Hi Guys,
I see you are talking about Putters and Swingweight.  These two words do not belong in the same sentence.  Swingweight is an approximation to matching a set of clubs by MOI.  This approximation only works if all the shafts and grips are identical.  Putting is a pendulum motion.  MOI is not relevant to a pendulum motion.  The only properties that are relevant are the overall weight and centre of gravity of the putter.  You may, for example, experiment by holding various sizes of weights in your hand while doing a putting stroke.  You should find the size of weight for which the putter will move in harmony with your arms even when your grip is loose.  When you have found the right weight you can install the right size of backweight.  You may also experiment with adding weight to the putter head or anywhere along the shaft.Good Luck!


----------



## Gisle Solhaug (Apr 30, 2016)

What is the swingweight of your belly putter?  Just to prove the point that Swingweight  has nothing to do with putters.


----------



## Three (May 1, 2016)

delc said:



			My current putter is an Odyssey Works No7 cut down from 34 to 33" and fitted with a Super Stroke Slim 3.0 grip. I had to add several strips of Lead tape to make it 'feel' right and swing properly. I am only trying to give useful advice and I object to being slagged off by you!
		
Click to expand...

Slagged off?  Could you quote where I've "slagged you off"? 

I too am offering what I consider useful advice.  I happen to believe that your advice is not useful and is plain misinformation, that's my prerogative.    You also have the right to believe I'm wrong. 

It's called a difference of opinion, which we are all entitled to.    And on the subject of opinion, it's my opinion that your statement about me "slagging you off"  is moronic.


----------



## delc (May 3, 2016)

This expert thinks that many golfers play with putters that are too long for them:

http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/lengthlie.html

I have been shortening my putters for years. The important points are:
1) The total length of the putter should be about the same as your floor to wrist measurement.
2) The sole of the putter should sit squarely on the ground. Get the lie adjusted if necessary.
3) The swing weight should be at least D0. Add lead tape, or lead pellets in the head  or shaft.

P.S. DIY method for swing weighting:

www.leaderboard.com/swingwt.htm


----------



## duncan mackie (May 3, 2016)

delc said:



			This expert thinks that many golfers play with putters that are too long for them:

http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/lengthlie.html

I have been shortening my putters for years. The important points are:
1) The total length of the putter should be about the same as your floor to wrist measurement.
2) The sole of the putter should sit squarely on the ground. Get the lie adjusted if necessary.
3) The swing weight should be at least D0. Add lead tape, or lead pellets in the head  or shaft.

P.S. DIY method for swing weighting:

www.leaderboard.com/swingwt.htm

Click to expand...

Here's the problem - with most putting grips, and putter grips, the player is able to choose where on the grip he grips. 

As soon as he doesn't grip at the top of the grip the notional swing weight of the club isn't relevant to what he feels - in the case of your guy chopping 8 inches off its gripping the thing 8 inches further down that matters not any changes that result from chopping 8 inches off.

Most people will be more comfortable using a putter that feels similar in 'weight' to their other clubs - but there are top players out there who take things a long way from that norm (either very light or heavy headed) because that's what works for them.

There are also far far more important elements to the weighting of a putter head than swing weight. Where you add this lead tape will have huge consequences relative to how much.


----------



## delc (May 3, 2016)

Hi Duncan. How are you? The guy with the very short putter actually has some lead sheeting wrapped around the neck secured with gaffer tape. Agree that you can get used to very light or very heavy putters, but this is something else to possibly mess up your game. The other idea is, rather than shortening the putter, just fit a longer grip, then you can grip it wherever you feel comfortable.


----------



## delc (May 16, 2016)

For the record, if you buy a Scotty Cameron putter, the shorter it is, the heavier the screw-in head weights that are supplied with it.  So they obviously believe that correct swing weighting is important.


----------

