Choosing the Right Putter
When you think of “practicing golf”, what’s the first thing to come to your mind? If you’re like most people, you envision being out on the driving range, practicing your long distance shot, dreaming of being able to get to the green in a single stroke off the tee. That’s all well and good, but what most people fail to realize is that the ability to drive is only a small percentage of the entire game of golf. If all you do is practice driving, then what are you going to do once you actually get to the green? How will you sink the ball into the cup?
It has to be said: putting is easily the most important element of a golf game. Players who can perform a long distance drive are a dime a dozen. Those who can reliably sink the ball with a single put once they get there are the ones who really stand out from the competition and win tournaments. If you look at the history of professional golf, most of the greatest players were always excellent putters, even if they didn’t excel at driving as much as some of their contemporaries.
What this all comes down to is that, if you hope to succeed as a golfer, you need to ensure that you have an excellent putting game. Of course, a great putting game starts with having a great putter. As much care as you put into selecting your woods and your irons, your putters need perhaps twice as much.
The first thing to understand about putters is the material that they’re made of. Whereas most woods and irons today are made of steel, graphite, or some form of carbon material, putters can vary dramatically and be made of steel, copper, or even bronze. “Feel” is by far the most important thing to have when it comes to putting, and so it’s hard to prescribe any one material as being the absolute best when it comes to improving your putting. Much like choosing the right ball, you’re simply going to have to try out the different materials to see which one suits your style of play the best, and then go from there.
The second thing to consider is what type of head the putter has. Generally speaking, there are two types – blade and mallet head. Blade head seems to be slightly more common than mallet head, but by and large they are equally used among professional golfers to stellar results. A blade head putter has a head that is long and slender, much like a hockey stick, which allows for a great degree of coverage and enables you to approach the putt from a variety of angles for the maximum possible comfort. A mallet head putter on the other hand, being larger and rounder, packs more power into a tinier swing, and is mostly used by those golfers who possess a good degree of precision in their swing and want to be able to control the exact distance that the ball will travel on any given putt.