How to Choose a Putter: Complete Guide

Putting accounts for roughly 40% of strokes in a typical round, yet most golfers spend far less time selecting putters than drivers or irons. Choosing the right putter—one matching your stroke mechanics, visual preferences, and physical characteristics—can dramatically improve your scoring without changing your technique.

Table of Contents

Understanding Putter Types

Blade Putters

The classic putter design features a thin, traditionally shaped head resembling a blade. These putters offer minimal perimeter weighting, placing most mass directly behind the contact point. Blade putters provide exceptional feel and feedback, allowing skilled players to control distance precisely through touch.

Best for: Players with consistent, repeatable strokes who value feel over forgiveness. Many tour professionals prefer blades despite modern high-MOI alternatives because the feedback helps them calibrate distance control on varying green speeds.

Mallet Putters

Mallet putters feature larger, often geometric heads with mass distributed farther from the face. Common shapes include half-moon, square-back, and fully rounded designs. The increased size allows for creative alignment aids and expanded sweet spots.

Best for: Golfers seeking maximum forgiveness and prominent visual alignment cues. The larger footprint inspires confidence at address while the perimeter weighting reduces twisting on off-center hits.

Peripheral Weighted Putters

These putters concentrate weight around the perimeter while hollowing out the center, creating a high moment of inertia (MOI) without excessive overall weight. Both blade and mallet styles can incorporate peripheral weighting.

Best for: Players wanting forgiveness without sacrificing the traditional blade aesthetic. Peripheral weighted blades offer a middle ground between pure blades and full mallets.

High MOI Putters

Extreme mallet designs push MOI to maximum levels through exaggerated perimeter weighting and sometimes multi-material construction. These putters resist twisting dramatically, maintaining ball speed consistency even on significant mishits.

Best for: Golfers with inconsistent contact patterns who need maximum forgiveness. High-handicap players and those with shaky strokes benefit most from extreme MOI designs.

Factors to Consider When Choosing the Right Putter

Putter Length

Standard putter length measures 34-35 inches, but optimal length depends on your height, posture, and stroke style. Incorrect length forces compensations that undermine consistency.

Fitting Guideline: Your arms should hang naturally from shoulders with minimal reaching or cramping. The putter should rest flat without tilting toe-up or heel-up. Players under 5'7" often benefit from 33-inch putters, while those over 6'2" may need 36+ inches.

Putter Head Shape

Visual preference matters enormously in putting. If you don't like how a putter looks at an address, you won't putt confidently regardless of technical specifications.

Alignment consideration: Straight-back-straight-through (SBST) strokes pair well with face-balanced mallets featuring prominent alignment lines. Arc strokes benefit from toe-hang blades that naturally rotate through impact.

Putter Weight

Putter weight typically ranges from 330-380 grams, with heavier options for specific preferences. Weight affects tempo, stability, and distance control.

Lighter Putters (330-350g): Better for faster greens requiring delicate touch. Easier to accelerate through impact for players with slower tempos.

Heavier Putters (360-380g): Provide more stability in wind and on grainy greens. Help players with quick, jabby strokes develop a smoother tempo. The added mass resists deceleration, promoting consistent follow-through.

Face Insert & Material

Putter faces use various materials and inserts affecting feel, sound, and roll characteristics.

Milled Steel: Traditional choice offering firm feel and responsive feedback. Produces a distinctive click at impact favored by feel players.

Insert Technology: Soft polymer, aluminum, or multi-material inserts promote forward roll and softer feel. Many modern inserts feature grooves or patterns designed to reduce skid and improve roll quality.

Lie Angle & Loft

Standard lie: Most putters feature 70-degree lie angles. Upright postures may need 71-72 degrees, while bent-over stances work better with 68-69 degrees.

Loft Considerations: Most putters feature 3-4 degrees of loft to lift the ball from its resting depression and promote forward roll. Upward strokes need less loft (2-3 degrees), while downward strokes require more (4-5 degrees).

Grip Style & Grip Size

Standard Sizes: Most putters ship with grips around 1.0-1.2 inches in diameter. These work well for average hand sizes with traditional grip styles.

Oversized Grips: Larger diameters (1.5+ inches) reduce wrist action and promote shoulder-driven strokes. Popular among players fighting the yips or excessive hand manipulation. According to research from the United States Golf Association, oversized putter grips can reduce wrist rotation by up to 30% compared to standard sizes.

Alignment Features

Visual alignment features range from simple top lines to complex multi-line systems and geometric patterns. The right alignment aid depends on your visual preferences and setup tendencies.

Simple Lines: Single top lines suit players who align naturally and prefer minimal visual distractions. Clean aesthetics appeal to traditionalists.

Multiple Lines: Dual or triple lines provide additional feedback confirming square alignment. Helpful for players who struggle with aim.

Weight and Balance Characteristics

Beyond overall weight, balance significantly affects putter performance. Face-balanced putters suit straight-back-straight-through strokes, while toe-hang models match arcing strokes.

Face-Balanced Test: Rest the putter shaft horizontally on your finger. If the face points skyward, it's face-balanced. If the toe drops toward the ground, it has toe-hang.

Matching to Stroke: SBST strokes need face-balanced putters that resist rotation. Arc strokes require toe-hang putters that naturally open and close through the stroke. Mismatching creates inconsistent face angles at impact.

Grip Selection and Sizing

Beyond standard considerations, putter grip selection involves material, texture, and profile choices affecting comfort and performance. The correct grip complements your stroke rather than fighting it.

Material Options: Rubber grips offer a traditional feel with good tack. Polyurethane provides a softer, more cushioned sensation. Cord grips deliver maximum traction for sweaty conditions.

The single most overlooked factor in how to choose a golf putter is grip pressure mapping—understanding where each hand applies pressure during your stroke. Most golfers grip putters uniformly, but elite players use differentiated pressure: the lead hand (left for right-handers) stabilizes while the trail hand provides feel and pace control. Choose putter grip styles that support this differentiation. Tapered grips naturally create pressure differences, while uniform-diameter grips require conscious pressure management.

Putter Face Technology

Modern putter faces incorporate advanced technologies designed to improve roll quality and consistency.

Groove Patterns: Many inserts feature precisely milled grooves that grab the ball, reducing skid and promoting immediate forward roll. This technology proves especially valuable on slower or grainy greens where standard faces struggle to create consistent roll.

Multi-Material Constructions: Premium putters often combine steel faces with polymer backing or aluminum inserts. These combinations optimize sound, feel, and roll characteristics by leveraging each material's properties.

Adjustable Weighting: Some high-end putters feature movable weights allowing you to customize feel and forgiveness. This adjustability helps fine-tune performance for specific green conditions or personal preferences.

Putter Fitting Process

Professional putter fitting evaluates multiple factors simultaneously, ensuring all specifications work harmoniously rather than addressing them in isolation. Advanced fitting uses technology measuring impact location consistency, face angle at impact, and roll quality. This objective data reveals whether your current putter matches your stroke or fights against it.

Putter Maintenance and Care

Proper maintenance preserves putter performance and extends lifespan significantly.

Cleaning and Storage Tips:

• Wipe the putter face after every round removing dirt, grass, and moisture
• Deep clean monthly using warm water and mild soap, drying thoroughly
• Inspect grooves or insert patterns for debris buildup affecting performance
• Store putters in climate-controlled environments avoiding extreme temperatures
• Use headcovers consistently protecting faces from scratches and dings during transport

When to Replace Your Putter: Unlike other clubs, putters rarely need replacement for performance reasons if properly maintained. Consider replacement when:

• The face shows significant wear, grooves are filled, or inserts are damaged
• You've made substantial stroke changes requiring different head design or balance
• Grip replacement no longer restores adequate feel (indicating internal degradation)
• Technology advances offer meaningful improvements matching your specific needs

Conclusion

Learning how to choose a putter involves balancing technical specifications with personal preferences and visual confidence. The perfect putter matches your stroke mechanics, suits your physical characteristics, inspires confidence at address, and feels right in your hands. Visit Stick Grips to explore our complete selection of putter grip options. Our expert guidance helps you navigate choices and select equipment that genuinely improves your performance on the greens.