Heavy vs Light Putter

Having the right putter in your bag is about more than just how it feels in your hand. Instead, having either a light or heavy putter is going to prove to be animportant decision for you to make.

But then, you can only go ahead and decide which one is best when you are aware of the differences that these putters can offer.

So, let’s check out both options to make life easier for you.

Putter Weight is All About Feel

But let’s begin by putting one thing straight, there have been no clear studies that indicate the weight of the putter is going to make a difference in your game. Well, that’s if you are talking specifically about the weight.

The difficulty with that statement is that putting is all about personal preference. Rather than weight, being successful on the putting green is all about the feel of the putt, and how you perceive the putter to be acting in your hand.

At that moment in time, the actual weight is not important. It comes down to so many other things including the balance, how it swings, weight distribution in the putter, even the grip will play a major role.

In saying that, there is some evidence that certain weights of putter can help in certain circumstances.

In general, it’s believed a heavier putter will perform better when you are dealing with shorter putts while a lighter putter is better for those longer, cross-green shots.

But you clearly cannot have two different putters in your bag in a round, so which one do you go for?

A Heavy Putter

If we put the concept of feel to one side for now, and instead focus more on what the putter can offer.

With a heavier putter, it’s anticipated that there will be significantly less movement when it comes to the head of the club through the swing. However, this rigidity is going to provide you with less feel than you may like.

The reason why this is better for short putts is that you need to have a certain confidence in your stroke and know that the ball is going to react in the way you want it to. A heavy putter helps out with this due to that lack of movement.

A Light Putter

With a light putter, the complete opposite is going to be true. There is a lot more movement from the head of the putter through the swing and the moment of impact, but that’s not always a bad thing.

Instead, it does mean that a lighter putter will feel significantly more responsive, and you will have a tendency to be able to learn a lot more about the shot than you would expect.

But then, think about those short putts once more.

If the putter moves around and rotates quite a lot, then the chances of you sending the putt off the desired line with short putts will increase. Remember, short putts need to often be struck with a certain firmness in the putt, and the last thing you need is movement.

But Which Putters are Heavier?

With so many putters out there on the market, which ones are going to be heavier?

Well, that does come down to individual brands, but there are a few potential clues that you can check out in advance.

In general, a mallet style putter will come with more weight when compared to a blade style putter. This isn’t due to anything else other than the actual head of a mallet style is significantly larger than a blade putter.

When you naturally have something bigger in size, then it makes sense that it could also then weigh more.

But it doesn’t always come down to actual physical size.

It tends to be the case that a putter with a lighter, thinner grip ends up feeling heavier than if you had a thicker grip.

This can be due to it playing a trick on our mind and the way we perceive things. With a thinner grip, the head is going to feel larger and heavier simply because of how we are holding the club. However, add a thicker grip, and the same putter can feel so much lighter as a result.

Don’t Forget About Length

But here’s something else to consider. The length of your putter is going to have an impact on how light or heavy it’s going to be. It makes sense that the longer the putter, then the heavier it is since you have more material in your hand.

But How Heavy or Light Can it Be?

All this talk about a heavy or light putter will make little sense unless you know what we mean by a heavy or light putter.

For this, we need to mention the swing weight. This swing weight is measured from the fulcrum to the butt end of the putter. This is then graded from C0, which is the lightest, all the way to E9 as the heaviest.

A putter is going to have a swing weight attached to it. Anything that is classed as being D8 or above is then viewed as being a heavy putter. Anything below that is, therefore, a light putter. 

So this is less about actual physical weight, but more about how that weight is distributed with the putter head. Checking the swing weight is the only way in which you can determine which side of the scales your putter wall fall onto.

Our Conclusion

So in the debate between a heavy or a light putter, which one do we see as being the better option? 

Well, this is a tough one to answer. It’s hardly going to be the case that you always land yourself with only short putts. If that was the case, then this would be an easier call to make.

Basically, this all comes down to you having a putter that feels good to you in your hands. It’s going to involve you trying out a few different putters, and do play around with that swing weight to get a better understanding of things.

Getting the right weight of putter for your game will lead to a reduction in the number of shots you make around the green. Don’t rush it, or it will be one of the biggest mistakes you can make.a sand wedge, and a putter.