It is indeed the most used golf club in professional tournaments. You’ll see that it’s always the golfer who putts like a boss, he/she is the one who also wins. But choosing a putter to suit your putting stroke feels like a burden. But that’s mostly because we use the wrong approach. The right one should be just deciding between toe hang or face-balanced putter.
Let’s just keep aside the different kinds of putter technology. And instead, only focus on the basics. Because if you don’t get this right, you’re never going to get a putter to advance your game or style of play.
Contents
Toe Hang or Face-Balanced Putter – The 2 Types of Putters Explained
Face-Balanced Putter
This type of putter has its face that is positioned upwards when balancing the shaft. So what does that mean? That the CG of the golf club is right below the shaft axis.
A face-balanced putter opens less, by default, on your backswing. At the same time, it closes less on your follow-through. And that’s why these Odyssey face-balanced putters create such a straight putting stroke.
Toe Hang Putter
In this case, the toe of the putter points toward the ground when balancing the shaft. So the CG isn’t right below the axis of the shaft.
These putters are highly susceptible to opening and closing through your stroke. That makes them more suitable for those that produce a putting stroke with an arc.
Toe Hang or Face-balanced putter – How to Determine Which to Use?
It’s only common for golfers to give importance to the clubhead shape when buying a putter. And that actually makes a lot of sense because looks aren’t everything. You have to also consider factors such as the length of the shaft, alignment aid of the putter, grip size, and so on. The golf shaft is actually very important, so make sure you get the proper one for your needs.
Likewise, a crucial point to take into account is the decision between choosing a face-balanced or toe hang putter. You may understand what each design has to offer. But you might not understand which one is the most fitting for your style of putting.
Toe Hang Putters – Who Are They For?
These encourage more face rotation and arc. So they’re the best for players who generate putting strokes with greater face rotation. Or those that want to boost the level of face rotation.
Also, did you know that a toe hang putter, more often than not, closes the face during impact if you tend to leave it open? In that case, if you’re a golfer who misses putts toward the right, then you can do a lot better with toe hang.
Face-balanced putters – Who Are They For?
The face-balanced structure consists of a clubface that’s pointing up. And this type works best for golfers who create minimal face rotation. Or wish to minimize the level of face rotation in the stroke.
So if you miss to the left, then you can rely on face-balanced putters. As they compel the clubface to remain more open or squared during impact.
Understanding Your Putting Stroke
It’s only your putting stroke that decides which type of putter works in your favor. Whether it’s face balanced or toe hang.
With putting strokes, there’s the straight-back, straight-through approach. And then there’s the arc method. The latter is, when through the stroke, the clubface slightly opens going back. Then closes a bit when going through as well.
Keeping that in mind, a difficult time spent on the greens oftentimes means choosing a putter that’s doesn’t bode well with your putting approach.
The straight-back, straight-through style of putting demands a square head putter. And then based on the face rotation through this stroke, you can determine the level of toe hang. With excessive rotation during your forward swing, you benefit more with greater toe hang. Because this creates drag for slowing down rotation.
[YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O_fF94DDFU&ab_channel=GolfDigestMiddleEast]
Conclusion
So it’s necessary for you to choose a putter that matches your putting stroke. Most part of the golfing population belongs to one category. And this is the slight-arc camp, the third category. It involves a moderate closing angle (3.5 – 7 degrees) on forward strokes. These golfers benefit a great deal from the mid-hang putter design (green shaft).
Face-balanced putters are made for the straight-back, straight-through technique. And these are blue shafted. Then there are red-shafted extreme toe hang putters for players whose putts consist of more prominent arcs.
Author Bio
Carolyn Heller is the golfing force behind Golf Depends, a blog that’s gaining momentum among beginner golfers. She talks about the most fundamental stuff that is often neglected simply because it is such a basic part of golf. Her idea, both on and off the course, is that there’s no drastic approach to improving your skills and game. Rather the magic lies in transforming the little details. Also, her top recommendations are sure to help you get there quicker!
