How to Measure Putter Length

Using a putter that’s the correct length will make a vast difference to your game. The strange thing is we are often guilty of overlooking the putter and merely go with what we feel to be correct.

But that’s wrong.

You see, putters come in a range of lengths from 32 to 52 inches. The stock putter you will find in most stores or your club shop will sit around 34 to 36 inches. However, don’t believe any club in that range will do.

Instead, we want to take you through the process of correctly measuring your putter length. But first, how will it improve your game?

The Advantages of Using the Correct Length of Putter

Let’s get one thing straight from the outset, the correct length of putter will reduce the number of strokes you take in a round. It does this thanks to a number of reasons.

First, it means your stroke will become far more consistent. This then leads into greater accuracy and judgment of your shot. 

Another key is the way in which it helps with the setting up of your putt. Your stance is strong and balanced. That means your stroke is also balanced with more control over the entire motion.

Knowing If Your Putter is the Correct Length

But what about your current putter? How do you know if this is already the correct length? Well, aside from measuring it, you do have a few important points to check out.

Checking Your Stance

Your stance tells you a lot about the length of your clubs. The perfect stance means you do not struggle to be right over the ball. To check, stand over the ball with your putter and drop a second ball from the level of your eyes. The two balls should hit one another. 

If you need to bend to do this, or if your grip comes off the bottom, the club is the wrong length. Nothing should appear uncomfortable or forced.

Your Stroke

You also need to think about your stroke. People tend to produce different lengths of movement specific to themselves. Some will move the putter around more than others.

All of this has an impact on how your putter plays during a round. Any problem with the length will make any potential issues a lot worse. The outcome? Your traditional stroke is changing without you even noticing or feeling it. 

However, your scorecard will know the difference as those extra shots on the green add up over the round.

Your Height

Your height also has an impact, but here’s a point that may surprise people.

While most putters in a golf shop will be around the 34 to 36 inch mark, that’s longer than the average putter found on tour. There, the average is 33.5”, and that makes a difference.

For women’s putters, shops sell them at pretty much a standard 33”. However, the average on tour is 31” to 32”, so most would need them cut down to make the perfect length.

This translates into most people using a putter that’s too long for them as they think everything correlates to their physical height. Don’t allow yourself to fall into the trap of presuming tall height means long putter.

This information is all beneficial for your game, so how do you measure the length?

What You Need

You need a couple of things in order to make life easier. In an ideal world, you will have a straight edge ruler. Don’t bother with a tape measure as that’s too weak and can be inaccurate thanks to the way we take the measurement.

Also, only ever try to measure this length on a flat, solid surface. An uneven surface will, once again, provide that inaccurate measurement.

That’s all you need. But watch out. Measuring your putter length is not the same as measuring for the driver. This is due to the location of the shaft as it goes into the club head. With the putter, it will either be at the heel of the club, or in the center of the club head, and that makes a huge difference.

Taking the Measurement

With this, you have several steps to work through in order to get an accurate measurement.

Step 1

The first step is to take your existing putter and make sure the center of the putter is sitting flat on the ground, this is why you need an even surface.

Now, some of you may prefer to use your putter with the toe of it slightly raised, but that’s not important at this point. To take an accurate measurement, that center must be flat or it will throw everything else out, leading to you owning the wrong length of putter.

Step 2

The next step is to get your measuring ruler, and place one end next to the center of the club on the ground. Once again, accuracy is key here, so take your time to make sure the measuring device is in line with the center of the putter.

Step 3

Now, you must keep your measuring device close to the shaft of the putter at all times. Move the grip of the putter and check it’s correctly lined up with the measuring device. 

Once again, it must be in line as this increases the accuracy of the measurement. It’s amazing how quickly the measurement is ultimately thrown out of line by rushing through a step or believing that simply having the measuring device and club relatively close to one another will do.

Step 4

The final step is to look at the number at the top of the measuring device. That number will tell you the length of your putter, and that’s what you need to watch out for when buying a club. 

That’s all you need to do. It doesn’t take long, but the difference it makes to your game will astound you. 

Conclusion

Correctly measuring your putter length is just as important as getting the correct length of driver or irons. The wrong length will lead to more putts as your alignment is out of sync with the shot that then occurs.

As you can appreciate, measuring is easy to do. Never skip this step, and prepare yourself for either changing your putter or having it tailored to fit your needs perfectly. Trust us when we say your game will benefit as a direct result.