Without a doubt the most important part of golf, taking up nearly half of your strokes, is your putting. What type of putter or how much you spend on it is not important, it only matters how it helps you get the ball in the hole.
If you are very new to golf it is prudent to get a reasonably priced putter at first, as you will not have a great sense of what features you want in a putter. Things like “feel”, the sound of the putter and the alignment aid on the club may all be a bit more advanced than you can think about now.
Classic blade putters do not have any heel-toe weighting and so make them very unforgiving for all but the best golfers.
Heel-toe blades have been around for a long time and are still on of the favourite designs among professionals, offering some forgiveness and good feel.
Mallets are typically quite large compared to blade putters, with the club extending back far from the face of the club. This is done to promote a better roll on the ball as well as allowing perimeter weighting and a more forgiving club on off-centre hits.
Different putter head shapes tend to suit different putting strokes. If you are unsure of your putting stroke don’t worry about this. Classic blades and heel-toe blades are more suited to putting strokes that take an inside to inside stroke (creating a shallow arc around you).
After the putter head shape, you can decide what type of insert (if any) that you prefer. Many people prefer a soft insert in the face of the club which makes the ball move more slowly on impact. Hard inserts are also available, but this is ostensibly a matter of taste rather than anything else.
As putters are so personal, they come in many different options regarding the shaft length, the shaft offset and the hosel type and length as well as the shaft location.
As everyone is a different size and has different preferences, these can change how you view the ball.
Putter loft is not always advertised with clubs, as it is not a big consideration for most golfers. Generally putter loft is between 1 and 6 degrees. Higher lofts are useful on greens with slightly longer grass, but a loft of around 4 degrees is fairly standard.
As putting conditions can change from one day to the next (as well as your preferences), some putter models have been designed which allow you to change the weight of the putter before the round in accordance with the weather.
In order to promote a better roll on the ball, different manufacturers recommend different means to achieve this. Some say you should use grooved models like TaylorMade’s putters with AGSI technology or the Yes! range of C-groove putters.
While many companies endeavour to improve the quality of the putter, it is less common to see putters that can improve your putting stroke. If you suffer from the “yips” or are thinking of stopping playing golf due to your poor putting, try out a putter like those by Heavy Putter.
"Feel" is a murky area in golf with a lot of claims with very little substance behind them. It can be hard to tell which technologies really work and which ones don’t, but in the end "feel" is such a personal thing in putting that you will surely be able to find a putter that “feels” good to you.
