CHAMPIONSHIPS
INSTRUCTION
INSTRUCTION
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Links Lessons
By George Connor, PGA
A
n often overlooked aspect to the putter you are
using is the weight of the putter. Most people
unfortunately select a putter solely because it
looks good to them, it is popular or their favorite player
uses it. In a custom fitting we look at the length, lie,
head shape, loft and weight of the putter. Putter heads
nowadays range from 300 grams (very light) to 400
grams. Having the proper weighted putter is a function
of the greens you play and your individual stroke. The
proper weight will allow you to vastly improve your
speed control. Putters with expert speed control will
rarely three-putt greens. They are also the golfers that
seem to make more than their share of long putts.
Wouldn’t that be a great world to live in! Which end of
the scale you would perform best at will rely on a few factors.
Don’t be afraid to read this again. On fast greens, you will do better with a heavy putter and on slow
greens a lighter putter will help you. When I tell a student the above, they are normally surprised and
even think I had it backwards. The thinking is that a heavy putter will make fast greens harder because
the added mass will make it hard to hit the putt “softly” on slick outing surfaces. Likewise, the thinking
on fast greens is that a light putter will make it easy to ease the ball down the fast slopes. Wrong!
The speed at which the ball comes off the putter is a function of hitting the ball on the sweet spot and
the speed of the putter at impact. (yes, mass does play a role in the math formula but Velocity will be
the greater variable from one putting stroke to the next). While the range of putter weights may be
100 grams, most putters fall in the 340 to 370 range. While a 30 gram difference seems small, even a
novice player would be able to feel that there is a noticeable difference between these two putters all
else being different.
12 | CSGA Links // July, 2017
www.csgalinks.org