Putting Series/Part I: Fit the Golfer Before Fitting the Putter

Start With the Setup: Fit the Golfer

Before we start talking about putter length, lie angle, loft, toe hang, grip size, or head design, we need to look at something even more fundamental:

How does the golfer set up to the ball?

A putter fitting should not begin by handing someone a 34- or 35-inch putter and asking them to adjust their body until the club fits.

It should begin with the golfer. I want to see a comfortable, balanced putting posture in which the golfer can make a repeatable stroke without unnecessary tension or manipulation. Several things should be evaluated.

1. Establish a Comfortable Athletic Posture

The golfer should begin in a balanced position with the feet approximately shoulder-width apart or slightly narrower, depending on personal preference. There should be a slight flex in the knees, with the golfer bending forward primarily from the hips rather than excessively rounding the back. The objective is not to create one "perfect" putting posture that every golfer must copy.

The objective is to find a position that is:

• Comfortable

• Balanced

• Repeatable

• Free of unnecessary tension

• Compatible with the golfer's natural movement

Once we establish that posture, we can begin fitting the putter to the golfer rather than the golfer to the putter.

2. Let the Arms Hang Naturally

This is one of the most important checkpoints I use.

Once the golfer establishes posture, I want the arms to hang naturally from the shoulders.

We do not want the golfer excessively reaching toward the ball.

We also do not want the elbows jammed into the body because the putter is too long.

The hands should fall into a comfortable position where the golfer can hold the putter without creating unnecessary tension in the forearms, wrists, or shoulders.

This natural arm hang gives us valuable information about putter length and hand position.

If a golfer establishes a good posture and natural arm hang but has to significantly change both when I hand them the putter, that is an indication that the equipment may not fit the golfer.

3. Look at the Relationship Between the Forearms and Putter Shaft

Another useful checkpoint is the relationship between the golfer's forearms and the putter shaft.

From a down-the-line view, I want to see the putter shaft working in a compatible relationship with the forearms. You will sometimes hear this described as: "The putter shaft should match the forearms." That is a useful visual checkpoint.

When the shaft and forearms are working in a similar orientation, the golfer is often in a position where the hands, wrists, arms, and putter can work together without requiring excessive manipulation. If the shaft is dramatically different from the orientation of the forearms, I want to understand why.

• Is the putter too long?

• Is it too short?

• Is the lie angle incorrect?

• Are the hands excessively high or low?

• Is the golfer reaching for the ball

• Is the golfer standing too close or too far away?

• Or is this simply part of the golfer's natural setup and putting style?

This is why I view shaft-to-forearm alignment as a checkpoint rather than an absolute rule.

We are not trying to make every golfer look identical. We are trying to identify a setup that allows the golfer and putter to work together efficiently and repeatedly.

4. Check the Wrists and Hand Position

Next, look at the wrists. Ideally, I do not want to see excessive angles or tension created simply to accommodate the putter. If the golfer has to dramatically raise or lower the hands to make the putter sit properly, that may indicate a problem with length, lie angle, or both. This is an important fitting principle:

Do not manipulate the golfer's hands to make the putter fit. Adjust the putter so it complements the golfer's natural hand position.

The golfer's preferred putting grip will influence this relationship. A conventional reverse-overlap grip may look different from cross-handed, claw, pencil, or other putting grips. That is perfectly acceptable. The question is whether the golfer can establish that grip naturally and repeatedly without fighting the equipment.

5. Check Eye Position

Eye position is another important component of putting setup. You may have heard that your eyes must be directly over the golf ball. That is another guideline that should not automatically become an absolute rule. Many successful putters position their eyes slightly inside the ball and target line.

Scotty Cameron's putter-fitting guidance, for example, recommends establishing a balanced setup with the eyes slightly inside the target line when determining appropriate putter length. What matters is whether the golfer can consistently perceive the target line and aim the putter correctly from that position. This is something we can test.

A simple putting mirror can help evaluate eye position, shoulder alignment, and setup. More advanced fitting systems can measure where the golfer is actually aiming the putter compared with where the golfer believes it is aimed. That distinction is important.

Where you think you are aiming and where you are actually aiming are not always the same thing.

6. Check Ball Position

Ball position should also be evaluated during the fitting. For many golfers, the ball will be positioned somewhere near the center of the stance or slightly forward of center. Again, I am less interested in forcing every golfer into an identical position than I am in understanding what the ball position does to impact.

Ball position can influence:

• Face angle

• Dynamic loft

• Launch

• Stroke path at impact

• Where the golfer contacts the ball in the stroke arc

Move the ball too far back and the golfer may contact it earlier in the stroke with different loft and face conditions.

Move it too far forward and the golfer may contact the ball later in the arc. This becomes particularly important when we begin evaluating putter loft and roll.

7. Look at How the Putter Sits on the Ground

Once the golfer establishes a natural posture, arm hang, hand position, and ball position, place the putter behind the ball.

• Now look at the sole.

• Does the putter sit naturally?

• Or is the toe noticeably in the air?

• Is the heel noticeably elevated?

• Does the golfer have to raise or lower the hands to make the putter sit properly?

This is where lie angle enters the fitting. The golfer should not have to change a comfortable setup simply because the putter's lie angle does not match that setup. Length and lie angle are closely related. If we shorten or lengthen the putter, we may change posture and hand position. That may change how the putter sits.

Which is exactly why I do not believe putter specifications should be fit independently.

Setup, length, and lie angle need to be evaluated together.

8. Check the Shoulders and Target Line

I also want to look at the golfer's shoulder alignment. The shoulders do not necessarily have to be mathematically perfect, but significant misalignment can influence how the golfer moves the putter. I am particularly interested in whether the golfer's setup creates unnecessary compensations. For example, if the equipment causes the golfer to reach excessively, the shoulders may begin opening or closing simply to accommodate the putter.

Again, we come back to the same principle:

The equipment should complement the golfer's setup, not create the setup.

9. Check Grip Pressure

Finally, pay attention to tension. A golfer can have beautiful posture, excellent eye position, and perfectly fitted equipment and still struggle if the putter is being squeezed to death.

I generally want enough pressure to maintain control of the putter without creating unnecessary tension in the hands and forearms. The golfer should feel secure without feeling rigid.

Grip size can play an important role here. A grip that is too small, too large, or simply uncomfortable may change how the golfer holds the club and how much tension is created. That is why grip selection belongs in a proper putter fitting rather than being treated as an afterthought.

A Simple Setup Checklist

Before evaluating the putter itself, I want to see:

• Posture: Comfortable and balanced

• Arms: Hanging naturally from the shoulders

• Hands: In a comfortable position without excessive manipulation

• Forearms and shaft: Working in a compatible orientation

• Wrists: Relatively neutral and free of unnecessary tension

• Eyes: In a position that allows the golfer to perceive and aim the target line consistently

• Ball position: Appropriate for the golfer's stroke and impact conditions

• Putter sole: Sitting appropriately relative to the ground

• Shoulders: Positioned so the golfer can make a repeatable stroke

• Grip pressure: Secure but relaxed

Once those pieces are established, then we can begin making intelligent equipment decisions.

Now we can ask:

• Should the putter be 33 inches, 34 inches, or 35 inches?

• Does the lie angle need to change?

• Does the golfer need more or less loft?

• Does the grip need to be larger?

• Does a blade or mallet provide better alignment?

• Does the golfer perform better with more or less toe hang?

Those decisions become much easier when we have established a functional setup first.

Fit the Putter to the Setup, Not the Setup to the Putter

This may be the most important concept in the entire fitting process. Imagine that I hand a golfer a 35-inch putter and immediately say:

• "Stand taller."

• "Move farther from the ball."

• "Raise your hands."

• "Move your eyes."

• "Change your arm position."

At that point, are we fitting the putter to the golfer? Or are we fitting the golfer to the putter?

A proper fitting should work in the opposite direction.

Establish a comfortable, repeatable setup. Observe the golfer's natural posture, arm hang, hand position, eye position, and relationship to the ball. Then determine the specifications that allow the putter to complement that setup.

That is why putter fitting begins before the golfer ever hits a putt.

First, fit the golfer's setup. Then fit the putter.