Choosing the best putter Independent golf tips for the professional at Leisure December 2008

Choosing the best putter is a very personal decision.  There is an old golf saying that goes “marry your driver, date your putter”, and that advice is well-founded.

Choosing the right putter for you is critical since the putter is the most important club in your bag. More strokes are lost on the green than anywhere else, and the choice of putter can make the difference between bogie golf and a 36 handicap.

Tips for choosing the best putter

Brad Clayton, my golf instructor offers up these tips for choosing the best putter for you.

• Experiment - The only way to gauge which putter is best for you is to try them.  Make sure to go to a golf store that stocks a wide selection of putters (e.g. golf galaxy).

• Take your time - Plan to spend at least an hour testing and re-testing each putter.

• Ignore the price tags - Even the most expensive putters cost little more than a few round, so put aside the prices and resist the temptation to peek at the price tags.

During my testing for the best putter, I found a half dozen nice putters and repeated by testing, eliminating one putter with each test of five balls each at a ten foot target. In my tests for 2009, I came across these finalists in my putter choices:

• Heavy putter - The mid weight heavy putter had a great feel.

• Odyssey white hot - Great, soft feel, well balanced.

• Nike 2010 - This putter blew me away.  Esthetically, she is amazing, well crafted and a joy to hold.  But the real deciding factor was performance, and I consistently nailed more putts with the Nike than the others.

I chose the Nike 2010 for best putter, hands down

The putter is a very personal choice and almost anything goes.  The shaft can be short or very long, the face can be heavy or light, and the only restriction on a putter are artificial guidance goodies such as gyroscopes (which are a great training aid, but illegal in regular golf play).