Putter Technology

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• Main Menu
• Putter Design Evolution
• Moment of Inertia and Center of Gravity
• Sole Design and Lie Angle
• Putter Balance and Weight
• Putter Grip
• Putter Shape and Face Treatment
• Putter Shaft Location and Offset
• Putter Styles
• Rules Governing Putters
• Impact: Ball Launch
• Face Angle at Impact
• Face Loft and Horizontal Head Path
• Forward Press Effect On Impact
• ASSESSMENT

Putter Shaft Location and Offset

Since a putter shaft is not designed to generate as much speed as possible with the least amount of work, the putter shaft should be stiff and of average weight. There are stiff graphite shafts designed for wedges that are good for putters. They can be used to eliminate the shine of steel and also allow for the contrasting color ( i.e., white on black) for special graphics.

Shafts are attached to various parts of the head but mainly to the heel or center and are either straight or have an off-set. The heel-shafted club normally has a bend in the shaft to more closely align the main portion of the shaft axis with the c.g.

One popular configuration is a heel-shafted blade-type putters with an off-set (goose-neck). This is popular because the off-set moves the shaft axis ahead of the face and away from the c.g. closer to face-balancing which will tend to better align the face at impact to be at right angles to the putter head’s path.

The off-set also positions the shaft slightly (from a ½ to 1 full shaft diameter) ahead of the face. This will allow the shaft to be vertical at address and the ball position to be slightly farther back than with a center - shafted putter with no off-set. The change in ball position at address could be considered one of the most important factors as to why someone would choose an offset putter. The off-set design also provides a slightly better view of the face behind the shaft.Two other reasons a person may consider an offset putter includes a person's preference due to visual perception and psychological factors. However, it should be noted that these two factors are generally not important enough to have an effect on putting.