[Fred Brattain]

I'm hoping some of you more knowledgeable folks can explain what the different style putters are all about. There's the center-shafted one, the Ping Anser one, the mallets, those other really big ones. Someone once told me that the way the putter is shafted has to do with a person's stroke, but I can't remember what he said about which one suits what.

It goes back to what I said a while ago about what fits your eye. The advantage of a center shafted putter is that it will do better on off center hits than a heel shafted putter. That's simple physics. But what matters is what looks good to you when you are over the ball, what gives you the best feel for distance and what looks lined up when it really is lined up. Those three things are why there are so many putters out there. Remember NOBODY makes every short putt they look at. If the putter looks lined up when it is (see previous post about how to check this), then it is a good design for you. If it then provides you with a good feel for distance, it is a good putter for you, and if it looks good when you are standing over the ball, then it has fit all three criteria in order of importance. If everyone else on the planet thinks it is the stupidest ugliest thing they have ever seen, but it works for you, then keep it. Putting is 10% lining up right, 10% hitting the putt the right distance and 80% BELIEVING that the first two are going to happen.

Obi WunPutt