Are Putter Fittings Worthwhile?

My putting has been so awful lately that I'm meeting with a local club fitter to have my brand new putter "fitted" to me. It got me to wonder whether I'm doing the right thing, or just wasting money. I've had two putter fittings before which I'll share below. But, I'd love input from any of you--either your opinion, or actual experiences with putter fittings yourself.

My first fitting was part of a full bag fitting I had back in 2012/13. It entailed first taking some measurements to determine proper lenth, and then actually putting a ball while being video taped. The ball quartered alternately with black and white to help with visibility, and the strike and roll were video taped. He then showed me the video and we looked at how the ball came off the putter and the length it took for the ball to stop skipping and begin to roll nicely. There is a minimum distance that is desired; of course, the shortest distance to the perfect roll the better. He then adjusted the lie/loft and we retested until we got the best result. That whole process did, in fact, give me a good bit of renewed confidence in my putting.

My second fitting was during a THP Event with SeeMore putters. There, we didn't use video, but detailed measurements were taken, and an experience eye (fitter) watched me stroke the ball for awhile. He then took the putter, cut it down a tad in length, adjusted the lie/loft, and minutes later returned my SeeMore to me.

I guess my conclusions from those fittings were that a fitting can do wonders for helping your confidence, but, I have no real idea if it makes a huge difference in actual putting.

What are your thoughts and experiences?

i've been fit twice, once on a s.a.m. and once by the eye of a fitter along with some static measurements.

my takeaway is that it doesn't matter. it's just about being confident and making a good stroke. plenty of guys with sbst game putters with toe hang, and vice versa.

i don't think any fitting is going to make a bad putter like me all of a sudden a good putter.


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I believe it can, Ken, but only way to really know for sure is to keep various putting stats from prior to the fitting and then post-fitting. And I'll be honest, I didn't do that, other than putts per round. Yes, that improved, but what part of my putting did the fitting help? All of it? Alignment? Path? Quality of roll? Confidence? Without the stats, I can't pinpoint it exactly.

I think so. I was fit in 2012 and I think the fitting led to one of my best putting years ever. Some people can hit a blade better or a mallet better, but one of the biggest things in my mind is the length. Too long or too short is not good.

The putter fitting is the most overlooked thing IMO. When I went through mine it instantly clicked what I was doing wrong, it helped determine how much arc I had in my stroke and subsequently what head shape works the best for me.

The most interesting part is that I was fit with 1* of loft vs the 3* that's standard. Prior to my fitting I had a forward press to help get the ball rolling quicker, and at 1* that was no longer necessary. I immediately saw the difference and has made me a better putter

I have gone through a putter fitting but was more of a journey than a one day type of fitting. I worked with an instructor that taught me about putting and how my choices about source of motion, posture, and even putter design would impact my stroke. We developed a model for my putting stroke and identified the type of putter that would work for me. I obtained a putter that met the desired specs and then did some testing on a SAM Puttlab. In my experience it was one of the best things I did for my game. I now understand putting and how a putters design really impacts the stroke.

I have been through both SAM and static. The computer based was cool and saw a different loft would suit me better. Have since changed my stroke so probably not the same anymore. Easier to see how soon the ball gets rolling by changing a few things for sure. Don't know if I'll spend the money to have it done again.

Smallville said:

I think so. I was fit in 2012 and I think the fitting led to one of my best putting years ever. Some people can hit a blade better or a mallet better, but one of the biggest things in my mind is the length. Too long or too short is not good.

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Part of my decision to get fitted again was that the new putter I bought from CPO was an inch longer than my normal (fitted) length. I was going to have it cut down and put a SNSR grip on it anyway, so I figured why not get a fitting while I'm at it. HaHa.

I'll let you know on Friday after my fitting at Club Champion. This will be a focus of my full bag fitting for sure.

Absolutely. Getting the right type of putter, and getting the lie length and everything right gives you a better chance of getting you address and impact position the same consistently. Consistency is the name of the game in putting. Getting a repeating putter swing will help your game the same as a repeating iron swing will.

Ken - Putter fittings are really important - for a number of reasons, many are mentioned above.

I wrongly assumed that I needed a longer putter because I am tall. Turns out not to be the case. I am also 1* flat, which I would never have picked up on my own.

Is my putting better? overall, probably not, but I sure am confident around the greens, and I have had sub 30 putt rounds, so there's that....

I went through one with Ken from Flannigan Bilt Putters and since then have putted better than I ever have. It was the best $100 I have ever spent. This was just under 2 years ago and my makes inside 5 feet increased so much and therefore made my confidence so much better that I have shaved an average of 3 putts off per round.

With his computer and camera he was able to bend the putter so that without changing my stroke I hit the ball on the sweet spot and change the spin to get the ball to roll better.

He was also able to help the other guys that went with me to determine the correct type of putter for them based off their stroke.

I say it is a must. Very over looked part of golf.