There has been a growing trend toward putters that are shorter in length. As a matter of fact, a number of manufacturers now offer 34" putters as the new men's standard (compared to the 35" modern standard of the past). Ladies putter lengths have also been reduced to 33" standard length, down from 34". The cause of this trend has been the more modern putting style of letting the arms and hands swing back and forth naturally and more directly under the shoulder pivot.

2. Proper Lie

Lie angle is a major factor in controlling the initial direction the ball will travel after impact. If the toe of the putter is sticking up in the air, the ball will be pulled slightly to the left. Conversely, if the toe of the putter is down and the heel is up in the air, the ball will most likely be pushed slightly to the right. Also, an incorrect lie angle will cause a slightly less solid hit because the ball is being impacted at more of a glancing blow, which also adds some degree of sidespin.

3. Proper Loft

Most players are not aware that the ball, when resting on the surface of the green, actually settles down in a depression caused by its own weight. Another unknown fact is that the ball will skid approximately 14-20% of the total putt distance, regardless of how hard it is hit. Conversely, the ball in a pure roll state covers 80-86% of the total putting distance.

The purpose of putter loft is to provide a consistent amount of skid and roll every time on any length of putt . This helps dramatically in controlling the distance a putt is hit. Here's how it works:

When you strike a putt, the ball first needs to be lifted up and out of its depression so that it can skid on top of the grass and not through it. When the putt is not lifted slightly or if it is lifted too high, it will bounce. You will usually not see this bounce but it will make your skid and roll through different length putts inconsistent. This in turn makes it very difficult for you to consistently achieve the proper putt distance. Most players will start the ball rolling consistently with a putter launch angle of 4°. Simply because your putter has 4° loft does not mean you impact the ball with 4° of loft. Special equipment can determine your putter's actual loft and whether or not your hands are ahead of the putter head at impact (de-lofting the putter), square to the putter head at impact (utilizing the actual loft on your putter) or if your hands are behind the putter head at impact (increasing the putters loft).

Many heads on putters today are simply too light. The swing-weight scale is used simply as a way to determine if a putter head is too heavy, too light or in the acceptable range. The proper swingweight range for a putter is between C-4 and D-6. Ideally, C-6 to D-4 would be best.