Putter length

Take up your normal putting stance/posture. Let your arms hang freely then bring your hands together. That is a rough guide where the grip should be..... unless of course you put with your elbows sticking out.
In all my years as a pro, I have NEVER been asked to lengthen a putter.
 
29in for me. I find more stability in my putting stroke with my arms lower. Found myself griping further and further down my grip so had it cut down. That was about 3 years ago and never looked back since.


I'm 5'7" btw
 
Take up your normal putting stance/posture. Let your arms hang freely then bring your hands together. That is a rough guide where the grip should be..... unless of course you put with your elbows sticking out.
In all my years as a pro, I have NEVER been asked to lengthen a putter.
Do you add weight to the head to maintain the correct swing weight when cutting down putters, as even taking an inch off seems to make a huge difference to it?
 
I'm 5 ft 5" and I use a 32" no7 versa fitted with a super stroke mid grip. I grip it right down the grip so maybe there's a chance that I could go shorter still. I'd love to go to one of the putter labs to be proper fitted for a putter.
My mate got fitted for his in the golf centre in Glasgow .
 
you have answered your question right here.

Forget formulas and averages, putting is as unique as handwriting, get a putter and length that is comfortable and start holing putts.

Avg height of males is 5'9" average putter is 35" which is way too long for joe average

I am 5 9 and use a 33" putter , its a custom made scotty , only putter i have ever had fitted , works well
 
A HUGE difference? I dont agree
Swing weight is the moment arm of the putter's centre of mass (the point at which you can balance the putter on your finger) around a point 14" below the butt end of the grip. As this is quite a short distance, typically about 11", cutting one inch off the butt end will make a significant difference. Cutting an inch from one of my putters reduced its swing weight from D2 to C0. Whether this matters or not is another matter. I usually add lead tape to my shortened putters to bring the swing weight back up. :)
 
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Swing weight is the moment arm of the putter's centre of mass (the point at which you can balance the putter on your finger) around a point 14" below the butt end of the grip. As this is quite a short distance, typically about 11", cutting one inch off the butt end will make a significant difference. Cutting an inch from one of my putters reduced its swing weight from D2 to C0. Whether this matters or not is another matter. I usually add lead tape to my shortened putters to bring the swing weight back up. :)

Sorry Del, but I don't putt with the club balanced across my finger. I hold the club in my hands and, being honest, haven't felt a distinct change in the perceived swing weight of the club.

I'm not doubting the swing weight has changed, making any adjustment like that will cause it to change. What I am saying is that I haven't noticed a, your words, "Huge" difference is how the putter feels.
 
29in for me. I find more stability in my putting stroke with my arms lower. Found myself griping further and further down my grip so had it cut down. That was about 3 years ago and never looked back since.

We sound quite similar. I went down to 29" but then crept back up to just under 31". I found the shorter length really comfortable for short putts but it didn't feel right when I needed lots of pace.
 
We sound quite similar. I went down to 29" but then crept back up to just under 31". I found the shorter length really comfortable for short putts but it didn't feel right when I needed lots of pace.
Due to a lack of swing weight perhaps? See my earlier post.
 
You can't have a lack of swingweight as swingweight is a balance measurement i.e. it can be different but not less or more.

Stolen from elsewhere

"As for the technical definition of swingweight, here's how clubmaker Ralph Maltby describes it: "The measurement of a golf club's weight about a fulcrum point which is established at a specified distance from the grip end of the club."

Michael Lamanna, Director of Instruction at The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., puts Maltby's definition in easier-to-understand terms: "Swingweight is a balance measurement and is the degree to which the club balances toward the clubhead." If Club A has a balance point closer to the clubhead than Club B, then Club A will feel heavier in the swing.

So there are different ways of saying it, but it comes back to how the weight of the club feels during the swing
"

Swing weight can affect how a putter 'feels' but not how it performs.
 
Stolen from elsewhere

"As for the technical definition of swingweight, here's how clubmaker Ralph Maltby describes it: "The measurement of a golf club's weight about a fulcrum point which is established at a specified distance from the grip end of the club."

Michael Lamanna, Director of Instruction at The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., puts Maltby's definition in easier-to-understand terms: "Swingweight is a balance measurement and is the degree to which the club balances toward the clubhead." If Club A has a balance point closer to the clubhead than Club B, then Club A will feel heavier in the swing.

So there are different ways of saying it, but it comes back to how the weight of the club feels during the swing
"

Swing weight can affect how a putter 'feels' but not how it performs.

If you want to measure the swing weight of a club without buying a fancy and expensive swing weighting balance, the following link gives a pretty accurate method of doing it. You just need a reasonably accurate postal or food balance and a tape measure:

http://www.leaderboard.com/SWINGWT.HTM
 
I see that lots of people are mentioning their height when talking about what length putter to have.

Surely it doesn't matter what height you are, it is the wrist to floor measurement that counts?
 
If you want to measure the swing weight of a club without buying a fancy and expensive swing weighting balance, the following link gives a pretty accurate method of doing it. You just need a reasonably accurate postal or food balance and a tape measure:

http://www.leaderboard.com/SWINGWT.HTM

I think you're missing my point Del.

Swing weight, essentially, is how a putter feels as you swing it.

If you lop and inch of the butt end you effectively alter the swing weight (In this case the head will feel lighter through the swing), this I understand.

What I am saying is that through making the adjustment to the putter, yes you change the swing weight a point or two, but it's whether the person swinging the putter can feel the difference.

With the putting stroke motion being so small, I would say any difference in feel is minimal at best.
 
I think you're missing my point Del.

Swing weight, essentially, is how a putter feels as you swing it.

If you lop and inch of the butt end you effectively alter the swing weight (In this case the head will feel lighter through the swing), this I understand.

What I am saying is that through making the adjustment to the putter, yes you change the swing weight a point or two, but it's whether the person swinging the putter can feel the difference.

With the putting stroke motion being so small, I would say any difference in feel is minimal at best.
You can probably get used to a markedly different swing weight from standard with practice. I cut down an old Ping Anser putter from 35 to 31" as one of my earlier experiments and it now feels impossibly light, actually about A0. :mmm:
 
You can probably get used to a markedly different swing weight from standard with practice. I cut down an old Ping Anser putter from 35 to 31" as one of my earlier experiments and it now feels impossibly light, actually about A0. :mmm:

That's extreme!

A reduction 1/2" of putter shaft equals, roughly, 3 swing weight points (6 points/inch). By cutting down the above as you did that will have dropped 24 points :O

In the context of lopping an inch off, I doubt anyone would notice.

Take a standard putter of 35-inches with a head weight of 330 grams and a D4 swingweight.

Now cut an inch off to reduce the putter to 34 inches and refit the same grip.

An inch of shaft is approximately 3.2 grams.

This 3.2 gram weight loss in the shortened shaft is minimal and you can probably ignore it.

Using the above conversion the effect of cutting an inch off the grip end reduces the swing weight by six swing weight points from D4 to C8.
 
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