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All good putters will roll the ball well. Once struck the ball seems to roll quickly and smoothly end over end without any hop, skip or jump at the start. This promotes good distance control and helps to keep the ball on line. The key contributary factors are dynamic loft and stroke dynamics at impact, which can be studied with SAM Puttlab.

In the above example the static measured loft of the putter is 3 degrees. At impact the shaft is tilted slightly forwards delofting the putter by 1.1 degrees. The dynamic loft at impact is therefore 3 – 1.1 = 1.9 degrees.

The rise angle measures the putter head’s vertical direction at impact. In this case the putter is travelling in a slightly upward direction with an upward rise angle of 2.3 degrees. According to Christian Marquardt, the designer of SAM Puttlab, most of the Tour pros who putt well have an upward rise angle. It is easier to achieve this with the ball positioned slightly forward of centre at address.

A good roll is achieved by optimising the launch angle and by minimising the amount of backspin at impact. In this case the predicted launch angle of 1.8 degrees is very close to the optimum figure of 2 degrees for a relatively fast green (11 on the stimpmeter).  A slower green of around 9 on the stimpmeter would require a launch angle of around 3 degrees. If necessary the dynamic loft can be adjusted by changing the static loft of the putter.

In order to avoid backspin the rise angle needs to be greater than the dynamic loft at impact. In this case the rise angle is 0.4 degrees greater than the dynamic loft so a slight amount of topspin will be added to the ball at impact which together with the optimum launch angle will achieve a good roll.

We have always found it hard to recommend the ideal putter loft for a player but by incorporating a SAM Puttlab session in our extreme putter fitting sessions, we are now in a much better position to do so.

Watch out for Part 3 coming soon.

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The SAM Puttlab analyser gives us great insight into the putting strokes of the world’s most successful players. AGT is now incorporating a SAM session into our extreme putter fitting service. It has become clear to us that there are some key factors which contribute to a successful putting stroke. This is the first in a series of posts highlighting these key factors.

Face angle – the key to hitting the putt on line

Face angle is 4 times more important than swing path in determining the direction of the ball leaving the putter head. In other words your swingpath at impact can be a couple of degrees in to out or out to in but as long as your putter face is square to the target the ball will leave the clubface on line.

SAM Putlab allows us to measure face angle throughout the putting stroke but focuses on the key area of the stroke, namely 10 cms either side of impact. Rotation of the putter face within this 20 cm distance should be minimal. In the above example the putter face is 0.3 deg. open at impact and rotates a total of 4.8 deg. in the 10 cm either side of impact. In this case the face angle at impact is very good but ideally the total rotation 10 cm either side of impact should be under 3 deg. By minimising clubface rotation it has more chance of being square to the target at impact, and squaring the clubface at impact is key to hitting the putt on line.

Watch out for Part 2 coming soon.

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If you have been watching the tour players on TV you will have noticed the increasing number using belly putters.  This has raised various questions from customers interested in converting their current putter to a belly putter. We thought it might be of value to answer some of these questions on our news blog.

Question: What is the benefit of a belly putter over a convensional putter?

Answer: Anchoring the butt of the putter in your stomach creates additional stability during the putting stroke, encouraging a rocking motion with the shoulders whilst restricting wrist movement.  This should help the player whose putter wanders offline during their stroke, or where the putting stroke is a bit wristy or twitchy, or where there is excessive rotation of the clubhead.   Players who favour a belly putter claim it helps to smooth out their putting stroke and keeps the face of the club square to the target for a longer period though impact.

Question: Can I just extend my current putter shaft and replace the grip to try it out as a belly putter?

Answer: No we don’t recommend shaft extensions of more than 2 inches, which is not enough, and a standard grip on the end of a belly putter would be too short.

Question: So what needs to be done to convert my standard putter to a belly putter?

The putter head needs to be adjustable for lie angle as a belly putter is usually around 4-6 deg. more upright than a standard putter.   The shaft will need to be replaced with a longer shaft designed for belly putters.  A 21 inch putter grip is also required.

Question: Can I convert my putter back to a standard putter if I don’t like using it at belly length?

Answer: Yes we would just re-install the original shaft and grip then reset the original lie angle.

Question: How do I know what length of belly putter I require?

Answer: Fitting a belly putter for length and lie is absolutely essential if you are to achieve your optimum address position for a proper stroke.  We can fit you for length and lie using our adjustable fitting putter.

Question: How much does it cost to convert a standard putter to a belly putter?

Answer: AGT’s all inclusive price for a putter conversion including shaft, grip and custom fitting session is £45

Question: How do I know that the belly putter is improving my putting stroke?

Answer: We can check out your putting stroke on SAM Puttlab to see if you might benefit from using a belly putter.  Then after converting your putter we can use SAM to demonstrate any improvement in your putting stroke using the belly putter.

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