Loft, Lie, Length

[Fairman1]

Ping Zing Redwood

I just bought the new Ping Zing Redwood..it is really sweet looking.
It did feel great in the Pro Shop and on the range.
I had a plug extender put in to make it an overall lenght of 37" instead of the 35" standard. (I'm 6'4").
It doesn't feel exactly the same anymore....should I re-examine the loft and lie?

Stan Utley suggests that most people should have their putters bent to 69 degrees with 5 degrees of loft, to feel more comfortable and natural...but that is different from all the standard lofts and lies as they come from the factory...

Any thoughts???

[502 to Right]

By extending the club by 2 inches, you raised the swingweight 12 points. That's a lot. That alone may account for difference in feeling.

 

Do you really need a 37 inch putter? Although you are tall, a 37 inch putter is quite long. The key to length is not your height but the distance from your hands to the ground when you are in your stance. Usually longer legs are balanced out with longer arms.

 

While Stan Utley recommends that most people use a putter with 69 degrees of loft, I feel much more comfortable at 71 (which is pretty much the industry standard). I have his book, and I'm an inside-square-inside putter, but 71 feels right to me and I'm not changing. Whatever puts the ball in the hole the best is what's best in my book.

 

As for loft, I know he advocates around 5 degrees, but he's also a "forward press" putter. When you forward press a putter you are delofting the face--which is probably why he feels better with a more lofted putter. I don't forward press so I think 4 degrees is perfectly acceptable.

[Fairman1]

Thanks for your insights, I'll bring the putter into a clubmaker to get it fit right....

 

Thanks again...

[502 to Right]

Here's something you can try to see if the putter is the right length. With shoes similar in height to your golf shoes, set up over a ball as if you are about to putt. Then, without moving your head, drop something (could be a ball or penny or anything that is relatively small and uniform in size) from your left eye. If the object falls anywhere from right on top of the ball to where the heel of the putter is, you are in pretty good shape. I usually use a golf ball.

 

If it drops well inside the heel of the putter (between the heel and your feet) the putter is too long.

 

A professional fitting is best, although this will give you a ballpark estimate of what length is proper for you.

[electroleum]

Do keep in mind that the Redwood putters can only be bent to a max. of 2* upright and 2* flat.