Is My Putter Too Heavy – How To Find The Optimal Weight

Golf.com’s Ryan Noll explains that a heavier putter is the ideal solution for golfers struggling to achieve a smooth putting stroke.

And, while many golfers find that a heavier putter reduces their wrist action, we often don’t think about the negative effect this has on our stroke.

Contrary to all the articles praising heavier putters, we are asking, is my putter too heavy. The aim of the post is to guide you in finding the optimal weight for your flat stick.

Intro To Putter Weight And Your Personal Experience

For the first decade of my golfing journey, I played with an off-center Spalding blade putter.

Although I learned how to use it over time. I struggled with consistency in terms of judging the speed of the putt. I then tested out a heavier mallet head putter with a thicker grip, and the weight of my stroke helped reduce my putts per round.

Describe Putter Weight

The team at True Spec Golf note that three core components combine to form your total putter weight.

These factors include the head, grip, and counterweight of your putter.

A standard putter head weight is 300 grams. Anything exceeding this weight is deemed to be a heavy putter. If you decide to add a thicker grip to your putter, it may make the head feel lighter.

Conversely, a standard grip can lead to a heavier feeling head.

The final component is counterweight. It features more weight at the top end of the grip than a standard design.

And tends to be longer. According to Super Stroke’s Dean Dingman, this setup relocates the balance point of the putter up the shaft.

How Does It Affect Performance?

Wrist Movement

The heavier your putter is, the more it is designed to reduce wrist movement on your stroke.

For many golfers, lighter putters induce excessive wrist movement leading to you starting your putts offline.

Stroke

The movement of your wrist has a direct impact on the timing and quality of your stroke.

Noll says that many average golfers that play with a lighter putter stab at the ball instead of stroke the putts. That leads to a putt starting offline, falling short of the cup, or flying yards past it.

Speed

Perfecting the speed of putt can be the difference between carding the odd birdie and three-putting.

Heavier putters seem to be easier for the average player to consistently judge the speed. Whereas a lighter putter can cause you to smash the ball rather than stroke it in fear of leaving it short.

MOI

The heavier your putter head is, the more MOI the club will produce.

MOI helps to provide forgiveness across the face, delivering consistent roll even on off-center strokes.

Confidence

After combining all the above performance factors, we are left with your mental state.

The more consistent you are with a flat stick in your hand, the higher your confidence.

When you are putting inconsistently, you will struggle to build up confidence. As a result, you may leave a lot of strokes on the green.

What Weight Is Considered A Heavy Putter?

True Spec suggests that the standard weight of a putter is 350 grams.

Scotty Cameron explains that any putter with 10 grams additional head weight is considered heavy construction.

How do I know what swing weight my putter is?

If you are a nerd and are up for the challenge of calculating some formulas.

Then you can determine the swing weight of your putter. However, the most effective solution is to go in for a putter fitting and get an expert to give you the exact details.

Heavy Vs Light Putter

Whether you decide on a heavy or light putter depends on your personal preference.

If you struggle to achieve a straight back and through strike with a light putter, a heavier construction may give you the confidence to deliver a smoother stroke.

A heavy putter further increases the club’s MOI, resulting in a more consistent roll even off of a mishit.

More weight increases the putter’s ability to resist the face twisting on your backswing and at impact. As a result, you are more likely to start your ball on the correct line.

If you have played with a light putter for most of your life, your stroke may lead to the ball running past the hole and leaving you with a tester for your next putt.

How Do You Know If Your Putter Is Too Heavy

Although a heavier putter may improve your MOI and help with the consistency of your stroke, it can also reduce the power of your stroke and cause you to leave them short of the hole.

It is especially relevant on longer putts or slower greens where a soft touch will not assist your cause.

What Happens If Your Putter Is Too Light?

If your putter is too light for your setup, it can lead to you excessive wrist movement on your backswing that prompts a closed or open face at impact.

As a result, your ball will probably not start off on the desired line and won’t stand a chance of going in.

On top of the wrist movement of light putters, it reduces the ability of some players to stroke the ball in one fluid motion. This leads to a jerk action causing some of us to stab at the ball.

Putting with this action delivers inconsistent distance control. Making it more challenging to start the ball off on the desired line.

Should I add weight to my putter & How?

If you struggle with wrist movement during your stroke and find that your face is open at impact, you may want to add more weight to the club.

There are a couple of ways to go about adding weight to your putter, including fitted clubhead weight and lead tape.

Those of you who are technically challenged like me might prefer to visit a club-fitter. Firstly, it will help you identify whether you need extra weight. And secondly, a fitter can add weight to your putter.

Are Heavier Putters More Forgiving?

If we follow the advice of Golf Monthly’s Dan Parker, it becomes clear that heavier putters offer the most forgiveness.

Parker suggests that mallet heads are specifically more forgiving than the traditional blade design, thanks to the extra mass in the clubhead.

Parker further states that these mallet heads putters are designed to offer an enhanced sweet spot to ensure consistent speed and roll off the face. Even when you do not strike it in the middle.

Should You Get A Putter Fitting

If you are a regular reader of our posts, you will know that I am a fan of getting fitted for clubs, and it is no different for putters.

Visiting a professional fitter eliminates the guesswork on your part.

An experienced fitter will identify the ideal putter for you from head shape to weight. And hosel design. A session with a fitter is likely to yield far more fruitful results than figuring it out on your own.

Best Heavy Putter 2021

Odyssey Stroke Lab Verso Putter

Odyssey continues its status as one of the world’s best putter manufacturers by creating the Stroke Lab Verso.

The putter features an innovative distribution setup that reduces the weight of the shaft and repositions it at either end of the putter for more stability through the stroke. The grip and the sole is packed with additional weight to help you square the putter face up at impact.

Furthermore, the Lab Verso contains a stiff shaft and less torque to bring more control to the heavier putter head. The additional weight in the head increases the MOI of the putter to provide optimal forgiveness across the face, even on off-center hits.

While you can acquire the Stroke Lab Verso with a pistol grip, I suggest opting for an oversized grip if you demand more weight from your putter.

Besides the putter’s weight, this Odyssey is fitted with a three-line alignment feature to help you improve the read of your line. Finally, the face is packed with micro hinges designed to deliver optimal topspin and true roll for superior distance control.

In conclusion, the Odyssey Stroke Lab Verso putter is well suited to the needs of players looking for reduced wrist movement and a superior roll. Mid to higher handicappers stand to benefit the most from it.

Pros and Cons

Pros
  • Promotes a consistent stroke
  • Forgiving
  • Enhanced alignment feature
  • Delivers optimal topspin and roll
  • Available in three lengths
Cons
  • The micro hinges embedded in the face detract from its appearance
  • Some players have reported that the coating on the clubhead scratches easily.

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Best Midweight Putter 2021

Cleveland Golf TFi 2135 Satin

Our best midweight putter for 2021 is the Cleveland Golf TFi 2135.

Equipped with true feel technology, it enhances your hold on the club for a smooth stroke.

The milled copper infused-aluminum face combines with a layer of soft polymers to deliver optimal topspin for a consistent role and exceptional distance control.

Cleveland’s design team fitted this model with a blade head, which reduces its weight, compared to a heavier mallet head. Plus, the blade construction is ideal for traditionalists looking for a standard putter.

Finally, the TFi 2135 putter features a single line positioned in the center of the face. The line is an excellent guide to help you aim correctly to start your ball off on the right line.

Pros and Cons

Pros
  • Promotes optimal roll
  • Exceptional alignment feature
  • Standard weighted putter
  • The putter’s milled face delivers outstanding topspin
  • Affordable
Cons
  • It is not the most attractive putter ever released by Cleveland
  • It can cause you to rotate your wrists during your backswing and at impact
  • Not suited to players with a straight back and through stroke

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Best Light Putter 2021

King Vintage Sport-45 Putter

Bryson DeChambeau has made a name for himself based on his ability to smash a driver consistently over 300 yards.

So, it comes as a surprise to see him consulting putter designs.

The King Vintage Sport-45, another classic blade design, is our top pick for the best light putter of 2021.

The putter is available in two hosel options plumber and slant neck. The plumber hosel is specifically designed for players who putt with an arc stroke to promote a square face at impact. While the short slant neck is best suited to those with a straight back and through stroke.

Furthermore, the King Vintage Sport-45 putter contains aluminum face inserts that combine with descending loft technology to provide an exceptional feel and promote straighter putts for more accurate results.

The ultimate feature of this putter is the adjustable weight system to increase or decrease the mass of the club.

You can increase the weight by ten grams or reduce it by twenty. If these adjustments don’t do it for you. There is the option to purchase 10g, 15g,, or 25g weights separately.

Pros and Cons

Pros
  • Promotes more accurate strokes
  • Superior feel
  • Delivers consistent roll
  • Equipped with a Cobra Connect Smart Grip to help you better analyze your game
  • Stable putter head at impact
Cons
  • It is not an attractive putter
  • You need to purchase additional weights if you intend to increase your weight by more than 10g and reducing more than 20g.
  • Basic alignment feature

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Conclusion On Is My Putter Too Heavy?

Throughout this post, we have noticed that golf brands and teaching professionals often promote more putter weight.

But very few touch on the negative impact a heavy putter may have on your game.

While a heavier putter works well to improve your stroke, it can cause you to ram your ball way past the hole on slower greens.

Effectively, the answer to the question is my putter is too heavy is true if you are consistently leaving longer putts short. Resulting from a lack of power in the stroke due to the additional weight.

If you feel that your putter is too heavy, I recommend taking the King Vintage Sport-45 putter for a test.