Your putter needs… loft?

A lot of golfers, particularly new golfers, don’t understand that their putter has loft. It’s easy to see loft on wedges, irons, and woods, but harder to see it on the putter. It’s thought that because the putter is moving relatively flat in relation to the putting surface loft isn’t a required trait. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth and there are several considerations to take into account when figuring out what the best loft is for your putter. Your stance, the putter’s length, the shape of the putter, and the hosel type that you choose all have weight in determining the proper amount of loft you should be using for your specific putting stroke. With some help from our friends at Edel Golf and their new Array Putter line, built up with some BGT Stability putter shafts, we’re going to break it down.

First, what actually is putter loft and how is it measured? Well putter loft as a variable is a static measurement taken when the putter is put in a loft and lie machine with the sole of the putter flat. What you may not know is that the loft of the putter is not actually measured on the face of the putter but rather on the shaft of the putter. Since the loft on the face compared to the sole of the club can’t actually be adjusted, a builder needs to bend the hosel of the golf club to adjust for loft and lie. So loft of the putter is actually the relationship between the angle of the golf shaft and the face of the putter, rather than the relationship between the face of the putter and the sole of the club.

The biggest variable that most golfers fail to see is the fact that when on the putting surface your golf ball actually sits in a very small depression. This means that if you are to hit the golf ball with a zero degree launch angle, it will actually hit a very small bump on its way out of that depression and stop the ball from rolling true. However, if you add loft to that force, you’re able to get the ball to jump out of the depression and begin its forward roll much sooner, and much straighter. Playing enough loft to get the ball out of that depression and rolling without playing too much loft to the point where it’s taking the ball too long to get rolling is the key.

Something else to consider when thinking about the proper loft for your putter is the conditions that you are playing most consistently. If you’re somebody who plays on slower greens, you’re going to want to play a little bit more loft on your putter so that you can get the ball launching a little bit faster off the face to help produce speed. If you’re playing on faster greens more consistently, you’ll likely want to get a putter with less loft so that you can get the ball rolling faster because the startline and forward roll are going to play a bigger part in the success of your putt than on slower greens. Players on major tours will even adjust the loft of their putters from one tournament to the next depending on what style grass the greens are and what speed they are rolling at.

One last thing to consider when looking at your putter loft is understanding how your putting technique can influence your need for more or less loft. Somebody who forward presses for example or uses an anchored method like Wristlock, Armlock, or Midlock are going to want to add more loft to their putters, since those techniques have a tendency to lean the shaft more forward and push the face of the putter down. These techniques also typically have a lower attack angle, which means they aren’t hitting up on the putt. Conversely, a player who plays a shorter putter and really let’s the putter head take care of most of the work has a higher attack angle and, because the putter is naturally coming up through the putting stroke, they don't have to worry about compensating for good launch with the loft of their putter.

Thanks to our friends at Edel Golf for sending us their new line of Array Putters and Breakthrough Golf Technology for providing the Stability putter shafts you see used to help demonstrate. Click either logo above for more information on the equipment used or to purchase your own!