Choosing Putter Style and Length

by Bob Andrew

There are practically an unlimited variety of putters available, but I’ll talk here about three basic styles of putter that correspond generally to length. They are the conventional, belly and long putter. The preferable method of determining which putter is best for you, is to try them, because comfort and ease of use is demonstrable. Generally each style has its own particular benefit, so I’ll review those now.

Conventional Putter
Tour and teaching pros almost unanimously promote the conventional putter as the default first choice. If you can make this putter work well for you, then you need never even test the others.

To find your natural putting posture, assume your putting stance and lean forward so that your eyes are directly over the line of the putt. Let your arms hang comfortably straight down, then bring your palms together. That is your basic putting stance, and you can see that a conventional putter fits perfectly here. When this posture feels natural to the player, this allows for the most consistent precision to be obtained.

The only reason that some players (even a few pros) use the other style of putter is when a part of the body (most often the hands or arms) will not stay relaxed and under control. Often referred to as the ‘yips’ the arms become too stiff and jerky and/or the there is too much (inconsistent) wrist. If you find this to be the case with you and your putts are widely inconsistent, then it might be worth trying a belly or long putter.

The Belly Putter
The belly putter has more length allowing the end of the shaft to rest against the belly, which allows the club to feel anchored in place, leaving the hand and arm action less variance in the stroke, and more stability.

The stance is basically the same, as is the line of sight. While this can allow for more consistency for some golfers, the drawback is generally less ‘feel’ for the club (feel is transferred to the abdomen), especially on long putts.

The Long Putter
The long putter allows an upright stance with a broomstick stroke (sometimes called a broomstick putter), without any wrist action at all. This is especially helpful for golfers who are plagued with a weak or aching back.

This changes both the posture and the line-of-sight, and most believe that there is less ‘feel’ with the club. So this one will take more practice time to make it a part of your game. Most still stand with the feet and shoulders lined up towards the hole, but some use this with the shoulders, feet and head facing the hole and the stroke can be from the side pushing the ball towards the hole.

Bottom line: If the conventional putter is not working well for you, you may be able to yourself if you give these other putter styles a tryout.

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