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.

Hi Bob, could you lengthen my putter please?

Just trickin'! Just did your test and gripped the short end of the grip (its a 33" putter). I'm 5' 8" and putting is one of the weakest parts of my game so perhaps I should look at this!
 
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.

Most standard putters have a swing weight in the D2 - D4 range, presumably because research by the OEMs has shown that this is the optimum figure for most players. However 34" and 35" putters are only really suitable for players over 6' tall. My view is that the correct length is about the player's floor to wrist measurement, or even a little bit less, so perhaps they should sell correctly swing weighted putters in a greater range of lengths and lie options. How often do you see a player using a putter where either the toe or heel is well off the ground! Maybe more custom fitting for putters is the answer? :)
 
Most standard putters have a swing weight in the D2 - D4 range, presumably because research by the OEMs has shown that this is the optimum figure for most players. However 34" and 35" putters are only really suitable for players over 6' tall. My view is that the correct length is about the player's floor to wrist measurement, or even a little bit less, so perhaps they should sell correctly swing weighted putters in a greater range of lengths and lie options. How often do you see a player using a putter where either the toe or heel is well off the ground! Maybe more custom fitting for putters is the answer? :)

I'm 6ft and have a wrist to floor of 34".

I hovered between a (Fitted) 33" and 34" putter for the last few years before settling on 34".

For me, putting is about results. If a putter feels too heavy/light but the ball drops more often than not, I'll learn to like it :D
 
I'm 6ft and have a wrist to floor of 34".

I hovered between a (Fitted) 33" and 34" putter for the last few years before settling on 34".

For me, putting is about results. If a putter feels too heavy/light but the ball drops more often than not, I'll learn to like it :D
''
I think that part of the problem is that putter manufacturers generally sell 'standard' spec putters that are supposed to be suitable for standard sized people. Relative to my height (5' 10"), I have rather short legs and a long back and arms. My floor to wrist measurement is 33" so that is about the maximum length of putter I can really cope with, but most stock men's putters are 34" or 35" long, and women's ones are 33" long. I developed a bad case of the yips about 12 years ago, and I rather suspect this was caused by playing with a 35" long putter for many years. My eyes would have been well inside the line of the putt and I had to use a somewhat 'gating' putting stroke. I have therefore come to believe that custom fitting probably is important for putters, especially as 40 to 50% of your shots are played with this club. Suggest that you read the following link (again if you've read it before):

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

:fore:
 
At the end of the day, putting perhaps more than any other part of the swing is unique and has a number of ways all of which can and do work. If you have a desire to putt with a shorter putter than standard would dictate for your height then as long as the ball goes in regularly I say stick with it
 
Depends really how fined tuned your putter feel is.
Depends on whether the putting posture & stance being used should be kept because it's the best you could have to get blade square to line with the right speed to putt well, ..... so the only thing that should be being changed is the putter length.....? When probably it might be more beneficial to look at the posture.

For every inch you cut off the length you'll lose approximately 4 grams, so yes it will change the overall weight & swing weight, but back to just how dialed in your feel is to be able to tell.

The thing it changes that possibly might cause more issues with the stroke, if any at all, is it will change the balance point of the putter.
Cutting length off moves the balance point further down the shaft, which in turn makes the head 'feel' lighter, obviously the head weight hasn't really changed at all.

Most folks won't notice a missing 4 grams as total weight, small percentage might notice the balance, so feel has changed in how the putter head releases through the stroke.
 
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Depends really how fined tuned your putter feel is.
Depends on whether the putting posture & stance being used should be kept because it's the best you could have to get blade square to line with the right speed to putt well, ..... so the only thing that should be being changed is the putter length.....? When probably it might be more beneficial to look at the posture.

For every inch you cut off the length you'll lose approximately 4 grams, so yes it will change the overall weight & swing weight, but back to just how dialed in your feel is to be able to tell.

The thing it changes that possibly might cause more issues with the stroke, if any at all, is it will change the balance point of the putter.
Cutting length off moves the balance point further down the shaft, which in turn makes the head 'feel' lighter, obviously the head weight hasn't really changed at all.

Most folks won't notice a missing 4 grams as total weight, small percentage might notice the balance, so feel has changed in how the putter head releases through the stroke.
Shortening the shafr will marginally move the balance point (centre of mass) closer to the putter head, but this effect is totally overwhelmed by the reduction in the moment arm. A shortened putter will always feel lighter unless you add weight to the head. :)
 
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Here's another informative article on Putter Swingweight - that also includes references/links to (those) others.

http://www.better-golf-by-putting-better.com/putter-swingweight.html

I changed to a slightly fatter, and heavier, grip that changed my 'spare' putter - that had been cut down to 33", and maybe adjusted, by the creator - from too head-heavy to just right. I have no idea, nor care what the swing weight was/is - it just feels better!

I don't believe I'm sensitive to swing-weight changes - my irons were 2 different ones and I couldn't really tell, though liked the heavier (D7/8) one so got them all set to that.

As that article states though, Putter is a one-off, so doesn't need to match anything except personal feel!
 
Here's another informative article on Putter Swingweight - that also includes references/links to (those) others.

http://www.better-golf-by-putting-better.com/putter-swingweight.html

I changed to a slightly fatter, and heavier, grip that changed my 'spare' putter - that had been cut down to 33", and maybe adjusted, by the creator - from too head-heavy to just right. I have no idea, nor care what the swing weight was/is - it just feels better!

I don't believe I'm sensitive to swing-weight changes - my irons were 2 different ones and I couldn't really tell, though liked the heavier (D7/8) one so got them all set to that.

As that article states though, Putter is a one-off, so doesn't need to match anything except personal feel!

My current 33" shortened putter fitted with an oversized grip has a swing weight of C0, and another one I cut down from 35" to 31" ended up at A0, which feels impossibly light and difficult to swing smoothly. A good tip from the video is to use self adhesive lead car wheel balance weights of the type used on alloy wheels to bring up the swing weight to the desired range of C8 to D6, so I intend to try that. Much neater than lots of lead tape. :)
 
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I measured the swing weights of my cut down putters today. Results as follows:

Yes Victoria putter cut down from 34 to 33", fitted with 100g Super Stroke 'Claw' grip = C0

Ping Anser X cut down from 34 to 33", fitted with Super Stroke Fatso 5.0 grip = C1

Ping B60 cut down from 34 to 33", fitted with standard Ping Grip, some lead tape on head = C8.5

Ping Anser 3 cut down from 35 to 31", fitted with standard Ping Grip = A0

Ping Shea adjustable length putter, set to 32" = B8

So cutting down a putter and fitting an oversize grip will definitely and significantly reduce it's swing weight. The low swing weight of the standard Ping Shea is a bit worrying, although it's OK to putt with. It's the heaviest of the clubs, weighing 592 grams.

I played with yet another golfer who gripped his standard length putter right down on the metal shaft today, even though it had been fitted with a midsize grip. Does this effectively reduce its swing weight?

Swing weight is effectively the moment arm measured about a point 14" below the top of the grip, which is well below the bottom of a standard sized grip and where most golfers actually grip the club (with the exception of the gent above). Anybody know why this arbitrary point was chosen? What matters most? Swing weight, total weight, or head weight?
 
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Swing weight is effectively the moment arm measured about a point 14" below the top of the grip, which is well below the bottom of a standard sized grip and where most golfers actually grip the club (with the exception of the gent above). Anybody know why this arbitrary point was chosen? What matters most? Swing weight, total weight, or head weight?

The word 'effectively' is superfluous! It IS the moment arm (your description) measured at 14" below top of grip!

What matters most is how many putts you hole

This is the ONLY thing that matters!
 
I have no idea what the swingweight of my putter is. Do I need to worry?

Main concern for me is that I hold a putter at a length that seems natural. The longer it is, the more shaft there is above my hands which catches in my shirt/jumper/jacket. A short shaft please.
 
I have no idea what the swingweight of my putter is. Do I need to worry?

Main concern for me is that I hold a putter at a length that seems natural. The longer it is, the more shaft there is above my hands which catches in my shirt/jumper/jacket. A short shaft please.
Apparently, for many years 35" was the standard length for putters, mainly because it would fit into a golf bag without disappearing down into it! I think modern bags are a little bit shorter than they used to be. Nevertheless I still have a problem with my head cover being pushed off as I put my shortened putter into my golf bag! :angry:
 
I've recently added 10 grams of lead tape to the head of one of my shortened putters and it feels much better and more stable. I have started to hole some quite long putts with it, so I guess swing weight is important! :)
 
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