Is a Putter Fitting Worth it? It Removes a Variable or Three

When we consider the topic of whether a golf club fitting is worth the cost our thoughts typically turn immediately to drivers and irons first.

Considering if a putter fitting is worth it remains an afterthought.

But since putts make up roughly 40% of shots for golfers of all skill levels this seems counterintuitive .

Why the hesitation?

Many aren’t convinced of their value, and the benefits of a quality putter fitting often aren’t as well understood as those for other clubs.

After all, the putting stroke seems like such a simple motion compared to a full swing.

It’s a short, straightforward movement – so it’s understandable why many golfers question whether a putter fitting is really worth the investment.

But we would argue putter fittings are worth the money if you want to improve your putting or at least get confirmation that your current putter set up isn’t hindering your technique.

For approximately $100 (£75) and one hour of your time, you get valuable insights into your stroke mechanics as well as receive equipment optimization, identifying your ideal putter specifications for weight, length, loft, lie angle, and design.

Skeptics however often cite examples of great putters like Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker, who have used virtually the same Scotty Cameron and Odyssey putters since 1999 and 2006 respectively, well before putter fittings became standard.

And a putter fitting won’t teach you to read greens, pick the right spot to hit your putts too or hit the ball for you.

But what it will do is give you a great analysis of both your putting stroke and current putter against some key metrics.

And if you’re considering investing $200-$500 (£155-£400) in a premium putter, doesn’t it make sense to ensure it actually fits your natural stroke?

Rather than selecting one based solely on a few practice green putts, a good putter fitting provides data-driven confidence in your choice—potentially saving countless strokes (and frustrations!) in the years ahead!

Golfing Focused Takeaways For Time Pressed Golfers

• Putter fittings cost between $0-$150 (£0-£150) with the average being around $100 (£75) for a comprehensive session with an experienced fitter using specialized technology
• Five key elements are analyzed: length, lie angle, loft, weight, and design – each directly impacts your consistency on the greens
• Quality putter fittings double as a putting lesson, providing stroke analysis alongside equipment recommendations
• DIY fitting has limitations – while you can assess basics like length and general feel, specialized tools are needed to properly analyze critical factors like lie angle and loft

Putter Fitting Benefits are Clear and Numerous

What’s the goal of putting?

Obviously, to hole as many putts as possible. But achieving this requires mastering two fundamental elements:

1. Putting the ball in a ‘straight line’ with the ball rolling ‘end over end’
2. Putting the ball the correct distance.

Developing a stroke that accomplishes these two things consistently makes you a good putter.

Yet regular golfers know this is far easier said than done, especially under pressure.

Amateur golfers are also poor at accurately assessing their putting abilities that are evidenced by the stats.

Many players therefore quickly blame external factors — their putter, the greens, the greenkeeper! — rather than examining their technique.

They also typically rely on flawed metrics like total putts per round, which to be fair has taken hold for good reason.

It’s the easiest putting stat to measure!

But counting your number of putts per round is not a great measure because it fails to account for putt distance or greens hit in regulation.

Old habits die hard, but using putts per round instead of strokes gained putting is like driving a horse and buggy when a car is parked out front.

Professor Mark Broadie, PGA Tour ‘Strokes Gained’ stats guru and author of ‘Every Shot Counts’ (Amazon link)

Still not convinced?

Consider this example:

• Player A hits 18 greens with all approach shots stopping within 10 feet, finishing with 30 putts and six birdies.
• Player B also hits 18 greens but never gets closer than 30 feet, taking 36 putts with no birdies.
• Is Player A really the superior putter that the raw numbers suggest?

And this is where putter fitting provides crucial value.

Like proper statistical analysis, a good putter fitting cuts through misconceptions and provides clear measures and data to help you figure out what’s going on with your stroke.

These include:

• Length – is the length and grip of your putter the best for your height and arm length?
• Lie angle – does your putter’s lie angle help you to start the ball on your intended line or actually compromise solid contact?
• Loft – Putters need loft because believe it or not the golf ball settles down slightly into the grass when it stops on the green. Loft is therefore needed to propel the ball up and over the small depression it sits in to start it rolling. Too much and your putts will have backspin on them causing them to fall short. Too little and you’ll see the ball going into the green and bouncing in all different directions.
• Weight – The swing weight of your putter, as it is for all the clubs in your bag is critical. But every golfer is different and prefers different weights of putter head. With the wrong weight of putter you’ll struggle to have either a smooth backstroke or control your putting distances or both!
• Design – Looks do remain a personal choice but a putter fitting’s analysis of your stroke will help determine if you have the right head style for your putting stroke. Mallet putters generally suit straight back-and-through strokes, while blades often complement strokes with more arc. Alignment aids on certain putters can also help players line up better.

If you have never had a putter fitting before I guarantee you it will help you to learn lots about both your stroke and your putter.

Like whether you focus on the entire putter shape or just the top line based on either right or left eye dominance.

And because the process includes detailed stroke analysis, you’re essentially getting a putting lesson simultaneously.

“A good putter fitting process will be the combination of an evaluation of the best putter for you combined with a putting lesson.“

golf.com

Importantly, a good fitting doesn’t always end with a recommendation to buy a new putter.

Many times, fitters confirm your current putter is suitable and simply suggest minor technical adjustments or simple modifications like adding lead tape to improve your putting.

For the sake of around $100 or less on average for a good putter fitting it seems an odd thing to think it won’t give you some value if you’re either:

• struggling with your putting and trying to find out why, or
• planning to spend hundreds on a new off the rack putter that may be either a poor choice for your natural aim or stroke or both!

A putter fitting alone clearly won’t guarantee you’ll sink every 10-footer.

Holing putts requires not just having a consistently good stroke but also being able to read greens and pick the right spots to hit your putts too.

But it can at the least eliminate a variable or three to explain why you’re putting badly.

And that’s surely worth it for a club that’s responsible for 40% of your shots every round?!

Comment below to let us know your thoughts on putter fittings if you’ve had one yourself 👍

A Good Putter Fitting Process Will be Thorough

For a putter fitting to truly provide value, you need more than a salesperson handing you different putters for a quick trial and error session.

A proper putter fitting involves a comprehensive process in a fitting studio with a trained expert using specialist analytical tools and software.

Expect to spend at the very least 45 minutes, though sessions can last up to 90 minutes with certain fitters.

You should expect a putter fitting to involve a complete process taking place in a fitting studio with a trained putter fitting expert using specialist analytical tools and software. It should take at least 45 minutes but can last as long as 1 hour and a half at certain putter fitters.

The primary goal of any quality putter fitting is simple: improve your consistency on the greens.

And to achieve this putter fittings are targeting making your bad putts less bad rather than your good putts better.

If the putter’s length, loft, lie and overall weight balance are not matched to each golfer’s style of putting, there is little chance the putter will help lower your score.

Tom Wishon, specialist in club fitting research and development.

When golfers putt poorly, it’s typically because they aren’t striking the ball consistently on the same part of the putter face.

This not only makes putts set off on the wrong line but also makes it very difficult to get the ball rolling at the right speed.

A comprehensive putter fitting therefore aims to address its primary goal through a structured process that should look something like this:

1. Interview – The session begins with a discussion about your current putting performance. A good fitter will listen carefully to understand your challenges (distance control, direction, green reading), preferences, and what you believe causes missed putts. They’ll also establish your budget.

2. Static Measurements – The fitter may take relevant body measurements, particularly height and arm length, if they feel this will impact their recommendations.

3. Technology Assessment – The core of the fitting involves hitting putts with your current putter to establish baseline data, then testing alternatives if required – for example different putter shapes, offsets, neck-shaft hosels etc. The fitter will analyze impact patterns, stroke path, face angle at impact, and other metrics using specialised technology like SAM PuttLab, Quintic Ball Roll, or CAPTO systems (PING use their own ‘iPING’ assessment system to give a calculated ‘consistency score’). And as you work through this analysis “together” you will get a better understanding of why you are putting the ball as you are.

4. Recommendation – After thorough testing, the fitter will discuss their recommendations. The goal isn’t necessarily to sell you a new putter – they might suggest a minor adjustment to your existing putter or technique. Good fitters understand that even perfect technical measurements may not overcome a player’s dislike of a specific putter, and will find a balance between data and your preferences to achieve the aim of helping you get as much consistency in your putting as possible.

To maximize your fitting experience, it is also important that you be an active participant.

The process is a dialogue, not just a formula that spits out the “perfect” putter.

Be prepared that it can be a mentally tiring process with a lot of new data and information to take in all at once.

And ask questions if you don’t understand the terminology. A good fitter will break it down in a way you can follow.

To help also here is a summary table of the five main elements a putter fitting session will cover through the process:

PUTTER COMPONENT	PUTTING IMPACT	DECISION FACTORS
Design	– Direction control – Distance control	– Personal feel and choice. – Stroke type. Mallets work best for straight strokes while blade putters suit arcing ones. – High / low ‘moment of inertia’ (MOI) faces. High MOI putters are more forgiving. – Different head shapes impact on alignment.
Weight	– Direction control – Distance control	– Personal feel of the relationship between the putter head and length. – Too heavy or too light and distance control becomes increasingly difficult.
Lie angle	– Direction control	– Poor lie angles not being parallel to the ground lead to the ball not going in the direction the head is pointing. – PING standard is 20º for example.
Loft	– Distance control	– Amount of ‘dynamic loft’ at impact needs to be 3 to 4.5 degrees and is affected by stroke. – Affected by combination stroke type, putter loft and shaft lean number.
Length	– Direction control – Distance control	– Putter length dependent on putting stroke type and player height and arm length.

Remember though that even the most thorough fitting won’t solve all putting problems.

You’re still the one holding the putter.

And as every golfer knows we all make lots of mistakes on the greens where the pressure seems to be felt more keenly than in other areas of the game.

If you’re in the market for a new putter however for whatever reason a good putter fitter can help guide you through the marketing maze of ‘revolutionary’ designs or magical inserts that ‘guarantee’ to improve putting roll.

“Putter design hasn’t changed much over the years. The PING Anser was launched 50 odd years ago … and every brand has a PING Anser. The torque balanced (putter design) principle is a very different and fascinating one .. and has added another dimension in there … but it isn’t right for everybody. They’re very good for holing out because you get a little bit less rotation from the face .. but on longer putts you can lose feel for the face so it has pros and cons. But the principles of putter design have not changed over the years.”

Simon Cooper, Master club fitter at Precision Golf

The difference between a $100 and $250 putter can be negligible for many players, particularly as putting technology has advanced alongside other clubs for the past couple of decades.

They’ll guide you honestly, and sometimes simply confirm your current putter is entirely suitable with or without minor adjustments or whether technique changes will benefit you most.

As Golf.com aptly states, “A good putter fitting process will be the combination of an evaluation of the best putter for you combined with a putting lesson.”

How Much does a Putter Fitting Cost?

To judge whether a putter fitting is ‘worth it’ you obviously have to consider the costs involved.

A putter fitting typically costs between from $0 to $150 in the USA, or £0 to £150 in the UK.

Price variations generally reflect the quality of technology used during the analysis and the experience level of the fitting specialist.

However, the advertised price often doesn’t tell the complete story.

Many golf club fitters offer cost-saving options that make fittings more accessible including:

• Bundle packages combining putter fittings with wedge or iron fittings at reduced rates
• Purchase credits where the fitting fee is applied toward a new putter if you decide to buy
• Seasonal sales at various points throughout the year
• Manufacturer fitting days where major brands offer complimentary fittings to promote their products

Before scheduling a putter fitting session therefore, always confirm the total price and any conditions attached.

For a quality putter fitting conducted by an experienced professional with proper technology however, expect to pay around $100 (£75) or the equivalent in your currency.

Whether this price, with the potential additional cost of a new putter ($100-400+) on top, is worth it considering the benefits outlined of course varies by individual.

“If you are playing on slower, grainier [green] surfaces you might need a little bit more loft as the ball is sitting in a little bit more of a deeper depression. On faster surfaces like bent grass that doesn’t have a lot of grain in it you could maybe take a little bit of loft off because it’s just going to be a faster surface and that ball is not sitting in the depression as much.”

Ping HQ putter fitting specialist

Golf is already an expensive sport, and a putter fitting could prove to be a costly exercise.

For casual or occasional players, this expense may be difficult to justify.

However, for regular golfers struggling with their putting, the long-term benefits can far outweigh the initial cost.

Just make sure to take a bit of time choosing the right club fitter and be clear on your budget up front!

Can You Fit Yourself for a Putter?

Skeptical golfers, or those who don’t have a good putter fitting facility near them, wonder if they can bypass professional putter fittings and handle the process themselves.

You can assess some fundamental elements like putter length and head design on your own.

However, putter factors such as lie angle, loft, and swing weight require specialised tools and software that certified fitters use to analyze and optimize your putting stroke.

Of the five main elements evaluated during a professional fitting (length, design, loft, lie angle, and swing weight), putter length is one that you can potentially look to analyse yourself.

And for a basic self-assessment, these are the general averages based on player heights that you can compare yourself to:

• 6ft 4 inches tall golfers – 36 inch average putter length
• 6ft 2 inches – 35 inches
• 6ft – 34 inches
• 5ft 9 inches – 33 inches
• 5ft 6 inches – 32 inches
• 5ft 3 inches – 31 inches

For a more precise DIY measurement, Golf Digest Top 50 instructor Todd Sones recommends measuring both your height (without shoes) and the distance from your knuckles to the ground.

You can also easily experiment with different putter head designs on the practice green.

Test various mallets and blades ranging from face-balanced to extreme toe-hang models to determine which feels best and complements your natural stroke.

This testing can also reveal which alignment features help you aim most consistently.

While these are ways to try and fit yourself for a putter just be aware a DIY approach will not give you the detailed insight and analysis you’ll receive from a professional fitting with specialised technology.

Before investing in a putter fitting though, honestly assess whether you have an actual putting problem or simply enjoy trying different putters.

If your current putting statistics are solid, there seems little reason to go for a putter fitting.

Consider your learning style as well — if you prefer feel and intuition over data-driven analysis when it comes to most ‘feel’ aspect of the game, you might not connect with the putter fitting process.

Not everyone needs or wants to analyze multiple technical data points for every putt.

But if you’re struggling with your putting and can’t identify why, or you’re simply curious whether a fitting might help you hole an extra putt or two per round, the process will likely be informative and potentially transformative.

Too many amateur golfers accept off-the-rack equipment without understanding how properly fitted clubs can improve their performance.

And while a quality putter fitting won’t single-handedly solve all your putting challenges, it will eliminate some variables and should help you build your confidence on the greens.

Before You Go ..

If you’re wondering whether you should get a putter lesson instead of a putter fitting check out our next article where we run through my own experience and see what our survey of over 100 golfers revealed when we asked the question ….

Are Putting Lessons Worth It?

Other great articles related to this topic:

• Best Places to Get Fitted for Golf Clubs – A Complete Guide
• Golf Club Fitting Worth: Costs And Lessons From 8 Different Fittings
• What Is the Best Practice Putting Mat? An Owner of 7 Reviews
• Behind Every Stroke: The Most Popular Putter On Champions Tour
• Rolling To Victory: The Most Used Putter On The LPGA Tour
• What Percentage of Putts Do Pros Make? TV Does Not Tell the Story
• Should High Handicappers Get Fitted Clubs? The Benefits Apply to All
• Should a Beginner Get Golfer Fitted for Clubs? Focus On Enjoyment
• Should I Get Fitted for Golf Clubs Before Lessons? Get Both Together
• How Often Should You Get Fitted for Clubs? Use the 3 Tests
• How Long Should a Club Fitting Take? Take Your Time!