Putterhead Mass/Weight - Distance Control

[cwdlaw223]

How does the mass/weight of the putterhead influence distance control?

I used the heavy putter and found that it was great for putts less than 10 feet, however, putts greater than that length it became hard to control the distance. I know there was weight in the shaft, however, the putterhead was also heavy/had a lot of mass. Sort of like putting with a sledgehammer.

[cloran]

If my putter head is lighter than I like (under 350g) then I have problems with the back stroke getting out of sync and the path wavers.

If my putter head is too heavy (over 370g) then I have distance control problems. I'm delivering too much mass to the ball at impact for my feel to register. I feel a certain stroke for the given distance, but the increased mass hits the ball harder and I will tend to miss putts long.

I'm comfortable if the putter head is approx 360g. It feels good in my hands and that's what I practice with the most. I'm sure if you used a Heavy putter a lot you'd get used to it, but the heavy head will deliver more mass to the ball at impact. That's where the distance issues can come from.

[cwdlaw223]

Thanks. I hate a light putterhead. I suspect that 400 grams might be my limit.

[Richie3Jack]

I don't like light putters either. when I did a putter fitting, it was done in order to reduce the amount of skid on my putts. One of the things that worked for me was a heavier putter heads. When I had a lighter putter head or reduced the swingweight of the putter, the skid would increase. Make the putter head heavier or increase the swingweight, my putts started having less skid.






3JACK

[jonnygrouville]

Always a trade off, in my experience. Heavy putters, really short putters, fat grips and so on might work really well on shorter putts, but you need something that you can use on longer pace putts as well. Might be okay for the pros who just have to ticket fifty footers, but we need putters we can use on winter greens.