# How Our Pros Choose a Putter By Fayrway Pros ยท Published 27 August 2026 **The short version** Our pros choose a putter by fitting head shape to your stroke, length to your posture, and face feel to how you strike, so the club almost aims itself. - Match a blade to an arced stroke and a face-balanced mallet to a straighter one. - Set length from your posture and eyes over the ball, not from a standard number. - Pick head weight and face feel by rolling putts on a real green, then check grip and lie. Our pros choose a putter by matching the head shape to your stroke, the length to your posture, and the face to how you strike the ball. Get those three right and the putter almost aims itself. Everything else, colour, alignment lines, insert marketing, comes a distant second to a fit that suits how you actually stand and swing. A putter is the club you use more than any other, so it is worth a bit more thought than grabbing whatever looks good in the rack. Below is the exact order our pros work through when they fit one, so you can shortcut the guesswork and spend money on the things that change scores rather than the things that just look tidy at address. ### Does your stroke suit a blade or a mallet? Start with your stroke, because it points you straight at the head shape. A putting stroke that swings on a noticeable arc, opening on the way back and closing through the ball, suits a blade or a mid-mallet with toe hang. A stroke that stays much straighter, more of a straight-back-straight-through motion, suits a face-balanced mallet that resists twisting. There is a simple in-store test. Balance the putter shaft across a finger. If the toe hangs down toward the floor, the putter has toe hang and rewards an arced stroke. If the face points up at the ceiling, it is face-balanced and suits a straighter stroke. Most golfers who miss putts to one side consistently are simply holding the wrong shape for their stroke. ### How do our pros get the length right? Length is the fit detail most golfers get wrong, and it quietly ruins aim. Too long and you stand too upright, the hands sit in your body and the face aims left of target for a right-hander. Too short and you hunch, crowd the ball and push putts right. The standard 34 inches suits a lot of players, but it is a starting point, not a rule. Our pros set you in your natural posture first, arms hanging so your eyes sit over or just inside the ball, then measure the length that reaches the ground with the sole flat. Follow these steps at home to check yours: 1. Take your normal putting posture with your arms relaxed and hanging. 2. Let a ball drop from the bridge of your nose and note where it lands. 3. It should land on the ball or just inside it toward your feet. 4. If it lands well inside your feet, the putter is likely too long for you. 5. Check the whole sole sits flat on the ground, not toe-up or heel-up. ### What about the head weight and the face? Head weight controls tempo, so match it to your greens and your nature. A heavier head suits slower, shaggier winter greens and a jab-prone stroke, because the weight keeps the stroke smooth and moving through the ball. A lighter head gives more feel on fast, keen greens where touch matters more than momentum. Neither is better in the abstract, it depends on where and when you play. The face splits into two camps. A milled metal face gives a firmer, clicky feel and tends to roll the ball a fraction faster, which some players read as more feedback. An insert face, often a softer polymer, feels muted and can help nervous hands stay quiet over short putts. Feel is personal, so roll a dozen putts with each on a real green before you decide, never on a shop carpet, which flatters everything. ### Why does alignment matter more than looks? The best putter is the one you can aim, and aim is more individual than most golfers realise. Some players aim beautifully with a single thin sightline, others need a broad two-ball or three-line system to square the face. If you routinely start putts off line despite a decent stroke, the alignment aid on your current putter probably fights your eye rather than helping it. Our pros will often have you aim three different putters at a target with your eyes closed, then open them to see which one you had squared to the hole. The winner is usually obvious, and it is rarely the one you expected. Trust that test over the marketing on the sole. ### How much should the grip and lie angle matter? More than you would think, and both are cheap to change. A thicker grip quietens wristy, handsy strokes and helps the bigger muscles run the show, which steadies short putts under pressure. A thinner grip leaves more feel for players with a smooth, arm-and-shoulder motion. There is no prize for a standard grip if a fatter or thinner one holds up better when your hands get twitchy. Lie angle is the last piece. If the toe or heel sits off the ground at address, the face points off line before you have even moved. A quick check on a lie board, or simply watching whether the sole sits flat, tells you if a small bend would straighten your start line. It is a five-minute fix that solves a lot of frustrating misses. ### Where to look next Once you know your shape, length and face preference, the shopping gets simple. For a full run-through of the models our pros rate this season, see our guide to the [best putters for 2026](https://fayrway.co.uk/blogs/journal/best-putters-2026). If you are newer to the game and want forgiveness and easy alignment first, start with the [best putters for beginners](https://fayrway.co.uk/blogs/journal/best-putters-for-beginners-2026) instead. ### Frequently asked questions #### How do I know if I need a blade or a mallet putter? Balance the putter across a finger. If the toe hangs toward the floor, it suits an arced stroke, which usually means a blade or mid-mallet. If the face points at the ceiling, it is face-balanced and suits a straighter stroke, which points you toward a mallet. Match the shape to how your stroke naturally moves. #### What length putter should I use? Take your normal posture with arms hanging and check that your eyes sit over or just inside the ball, with the whole sole flat on the ground. Standard is 34 inches, but many golfers fit better at 33 or 35. Length that is wrong for your height quietly pushes your aim off line. #### Are milled faces or insert faces better? Neither is better, they just feel different. Milled metal faces feel firm and give clicky feedback, while soft insert faces feel muted and can steady nervous hands. Roll a dozen putts with each on a real green, not a shop carpet, and pick the feel that helps you control pace and start line best. #### Does putter head weight really make a difference? Yes. A heavier head keeps the stroke smooth on slow or shaggy greens and suits jabby strokes, while a lighter head gives more touch on fast, keen greens. Match the weight to the greens you play most and to whether your stroke tends to rush or drag through the ball. #### Can changing the grip improve my putting? Often, yes, and it is one of the cheapest upgrades going. A thicker grip quietens wristy, handsy strokes and steadies short putts under pressure by letting the bigger muscles lead. A thinner grip leaves more feel for smooth arm-and-shoulder strokes. Test both before assuming the standard grip is right for you. #### Do I really need a custom putter fitting? You do not need a full fitting to improve, but a short session pays for itself. A fitter checks length, lie, head shape and alignment against your actual stroke, which fixes misses you would otherwise blame on nerves. At the least, run the finger-balance and eye-over-ball tests at home before you buy anything. Choosing a putter well is really about matching the club to you rather than chasing the newest release. Sort your stroke shape, length and face feel first, run the simple aim and balance tests, and the shortlist writes itself. Do that and you will trust the club over the ball, which is where good putting actually starts. --- Canonical version: https://fayrway.co.uk/blogs/journal/how-our-pros-choose-a-putter Fayrway, golf gear curated by pros: https://fayrway.co.uk. Some links in this article are Amazon affiliate links; as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.