Putters: Center vs. Heel Shafted

[Youngun5]

my search is almost done. i've demoed and i've demoed, the Rife 2-Bar is the one for me, but i can't seem to do better with one shaft style over the other and just cannot decide what to go for.

through my quest i've been told that the center shafted is better for the straight back straight through stroke, in which i'd say my stroke falls under. however when putting with the center shafted i do no better than the heel shafted offset model, i have no way of explaining this, it just doesn't do better as one would think.

my knowledge when it comes to putters is limited seeing as how its the least often changed club in my bag and thus least often read about.

can anyone help me out? what am i looking for here to help me in my decision, any tips, drills, opinions etc would be immensely appreciated.

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by Youngun5

through my quest i've been told that the center shafted is better for the straight back straight through stroke, in which i'd say my stroke falls under. however when putting with the center shafted i do no better than the heel shafted offset model, i have no way of explaining this, it just doesn't do better as one would think.

That is correct advice. Face balanced putters (which most center shafted putters are) are best for a straight back and through style stroke. Putters with a lot of toe hang are for a open-sqaure-closed stroke. Putters with medium toe hang are for a less dramatic open-square-closed stroke.

Of course, those are just guidelines. Depending on your stroke, a putter not designed for your style may fit you better that one that is. Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to try a bunch of them.

ualtim