Putter Technology

• Have Questions? Email Us
• 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

Face Loft and Horizontal Head Path

Face Loft:

As mentioned earlier, the loft of a putter may not be more than 10 degrees – otherwise it is not considered to be a putter and different design specifications apply. But most good putters have a loft of about 4 degrees and as little as 2 degrees. Bobby Jones’ putter (Calamity Jane) had 8 degrees of loft, which was necessary for the slow greens he had to putt on.

A faster green will not require as much loft as a slow green, but for most competition green speeds of 11 to 13 feet on the Stimpmeter, a 4-degree loft works well, especially if there has been some significant traffic at the end of the day or competition.

Horizontal Head Path:

The head path during impact in the vertical plane will influence the direction of the putt but not by as much as the loft. In a previous discussion, we talked about the head path across the line of putt and indicated that the face angle influenced the direction of the putt from three to four times more than the head path across the ball.

Similarly the loft angle of the putter at impact will influence the direction of the ball launch angle by three of four times more than the upward or downward direction of the head at impact.