Cutting down your putter

[emc]

How many of you guys have experimented with a shorter putter length? I'm thinking of getting my putter cut down about 3 inches to a 32", it just feels better in my hands. If you have done, what were the pros and cons? Thanks guys

[zaphod]

Swing weight and total weight is an issue for me. I grip down on my 35" putter so my lower hand is just off the grip. Because of this I've tried cutting down a putter to put lower hand back on grip. WAS NOT THE SAME. Distance control and feel became an issue. Maybe this would work if the shorten putter was weighted to feel like the original.

[Jules150]

I goy my putter cut down and i dont think there are any particular pros or cons to it. If you like it, do it. if you dont dont. Its all about preference.

Just make sure you keep the swingwieght the same

[RickinMA]

I'd try a 1/2" at a time first - just blow the grip on with an air compressor

[ezra76]

Just my experience. I cut my KC2 down to 34.25 and just never putted as well as when it was at 35". I'd like to hear from someone who knows if the effective lie angle changes? It was never the same once I cut it down.

[figjam]

I think cutting the shaft down on any club will present swing weight issues. I generally stand bent ovr and keep the arms fairly straight so I grip down towards the bottom of the grip, but it feels better doing that than when I've hit putters with cut down grips.

[danscustomgolfshop]

You talk of the effective lie changing. This only happens if the player held the putter at the end of the grip. Shortening it will not affect the lie if this guy grips down (assuming he always had the head sitting parallel to the ground).
I know what you guys are talking about feel though.
Personally - I would shorten it - but in stages.

Originally Posted by ezra76

Just my experience. I cut my KC2 down to 34.25 and just never putted as well as when it was at 35". I'd like to hear from someone who knows if the effective lie angle changes? It was never the same once I cut it down.

[dave.]

I've cut down loads and everyone was wrecked for feel,the heads all felt way to light,you realy need to get it done when you buy then you can spec the heavier heads,or you can use the Nippon Pro putetr shaft as I have

[wirehair]

One inch is about 6 swingweight points.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Here is a link to my experience in doing so.
Lead Tape on Putter advice
While the swing weight changes, unlike with regular clubs I think you get a better feel with the putter by concentrating on overall weight and counterbalance. When I added the weight back to the head, it seemed to actual make it feel worse and harder to control. When I counterbalanced it to the top of the shaft and under grip, I seemed to get the feel back. In the sense of swing weight, when I am putting I don't want to feel the weight of the head with the putter, but I do want to feel the overall weight of the club to remain stable with the stroke. For me, when I can better feel the head of the putter it only leads to trying to guide the head. That is not what I want, I want a smooth stroke. Tape to the head takes away from that feel for me.

For me, cutting of 1 3/4" from the shaft did not make me loose the feel of the putter head, although in time I did lose a feel for the weight of the club. It was a good 2-3 years from the time I cut it down before I even tried to work with the weight. While the putter felt O.K. in that time, it just never felt the same. Adding weight to the shaft seemed to be the only way to get that feel back for me.

edit 1 - I should add that the putter in question was damaged about 10 months later and was replaced. So I can't comment on how it held up in time. But it worked out well over the course of that time. Enough so that I had forgotten about the changes till it was damaged. Although it was much easier to simply find a 33" putter with the feel I liked when the time came to buy a new one.

[SCGolfer]

I am going through the same thing currently. I bought a SC Studio design #5, putted really well with it for 6-9 months and decided to cut it down and regrip, well I went to 34" and still putted pretty well and liked the feel. So I went on to 33", at that point as has been stated I completely lost the feel and weight of the head. Distance control really became an issue. I think some people don't notice, my dad cut down a two-ball to 33" and still putts well with it, but I have gone back to a 35" blade that I just choke down on. I have in the last week picked up a cheap antique blade that was refinished I am considering tinkering with to see if I can shorten it and keep it balanced.


Jason

[clemsonhacker]

and now im putting great with scgolfers SC#5...a thing of beauty