“How Long should your
Putter Be?”
Rob travelled from Auckland for our PuttingZone lesson……not only that he bought quite an assortment of putter’s including a Ping Broom style putter. We discussed aspects of putter design including grip size and most importantly the “length of the putter.”
In most cases we recommend a length of 28-32 inches for the length of your putter. Now most people who buy over the counter golf products purchase standard length 34-35. Why?….. because that is what the manufacturer’s produce…..and everyone then conforms to this length as being NORMAL.
See we need the putter to conform to our body and our technique NOT us confrom to IT. So it may not necessarily be your putting technique at fault but more about the length of your putter that could be causing your problems……like wearing a size 8 shoe when in fact you are a size 6.
Okay let’s look at Rob’s first Putting Video
As you can see Rob has a good putting action. He maintain’s a good position through the stroke with no movement of his head……which is critical. He also incorporates a slight forward press which allows him to start his putting motion in a smooth manner. The forward press is also widely used for the full golf swing.
However Rob will have to watch a cocking action of the hands which changes the angle of the putter head. The forward press should feel like a slight pushing action of the shoulder’s not so much the hands. Our putting action is controlled by the shoulders……so any attempt to use the hands or the wrist’s can lead to inconsistency.
Okay lets look at Rob’s next video…….
One thing you may not notice is Rob’s arms are “straighter” due mainly to the fact of a shorter putter and of course because he was told to!!!
One area where I actually got it wrong was when from behind I said his head and neck was flat…..it wasn’t until I reviewed this video I noticed my mistake. You will see Rob get close to the flat neck and head position and then his head and neck move up slightly.
The flat neck and head position is a very important position as it allows you to look down the line in a more exact manner.
Key area’s for Rob to practice
1. Finishing his back stroke
2. Left shoulder up the wall
