Match the putter to your stroke, then stop shopping

Quick answer: Your stroke picks the putter. If it swings on a slight arc, buy a blade with some toe hang. If it goes straight back and straight through, buy a face-balanced mallet. Then buy it used, and put the savings toward range balls.

Find your stroke before you find a putter

Most weekend golfers walk into a shop, grab whatever looks good, and roll three balls on the carpet. The putter feels fine because the carpet is flat and nobody's watching. That's how people end up with a putter that fights them on every green for three years.

Test your stroke first.

Prop your phone on the ground behind the ball, aimed down the target line. Hit twenty putts from six feet with the putter you own. Then watch the head.

• If it swings inside on the backstroke, comes back square, and goes inside again on the follow-through, you've got an arc. This is the most common stroke by far.
• If it tracks along the line both ways, you've got a straight stroke. Few people really do this. If you think you're one of them, check the video, because it's usually an arc you can't feel.

A stroke that matches the putter doesn't need to be fixed. A stroke that fights the putter spends the round trying to steer the face back to square, and that's where the pushes and pulls come from.

The thirty-second toe hang test

Hold the putter flat in front of you, the shaft level with the ground, and balance it on one finger just below the grip end.

Watch where the face points.

• Face points straight up at the sky. That's face-balanced. The head doesn't want to rotate, which suits a straight stroke.
• Toe droops slightly. That's mild toe hang. It suits a slight arc, which covers most of us.
• Toe points nearly at the ground. That's strong toe hang. It suits a pronounced arc, and it's a bad match for everybody else.

Blades usually have more toe hang. Big mallets are usually closer to face-balanced, though plenty of exceptions exist, so don't trust the shape. Trust the balance test. It takes half a minute and it works on a putter in a used rack or on the one in your garage.

Blade or mallet

A mallet is more forgiving when you strike the ball off-center, because more of the weight sits at the back and edges of the head. That helps a 95 shooter who's still catching a few off the toe. It also settles a jumpy stroke.

A blade gives more feel, and some people find it easier to read distance with one. It punishes a sloppy strike.

If you're an arc player who likes the look of a mallet, don't rule it out. Some mallets are built with toe hang. Run the balance test and let the putter tell you.

The honest take: for most players under 90, forgiveness and the right balance matter more than the badge. A putter that matches the stroke and looks a little dull on the rack will beat a beautiful one that doesn't.

Check three more things

Length, lie and grip cost nothing to check.

Length. Stand over a ball with your eyes directly above it and your arms hanging naturally. Most standard putters run in the neighborhood of 33 to 35 inches. If you have to crouch or reach, the putter's the wrong length. Too long and you stand tall and lose control of the head. Too short and your back complains by the ninth hole.

Lie. Set up as you normally would. The sole should rest flat on the ground. If the heel is digging in or the toe is sticking up, the putter doesn't fit you, and the ball will start off line at impact. A shop can bend a lie angle for a small fee on many putters. Ask before you assume it's fixed.

Grip. A thicker grip quiets the wrists. If your hands are busy, a bigger grip may do more for you than a new head. It's one of the cheapest changes in golf.

Buying without overpaying

You don't need the newest model. Putters rarely change enough year to year to justify a premium, and last year's release gets marked down fast.

Check the used rack at a local golf shop first. Resale shops and online used listings are fine too, but you can't roll anything. Look for:

• A straight shaft. Lay it on a flat table and roll it. If it wobbles, it's bent. Walk away.
• A clean face. A few light marks are normal. Deep dings near the sweet spot aren't.
• A grip with life left in it. A worn grip is cheap to swap, but factor it in.

When a used putter passes the balance test, fits your length and sits flat, buy it. Set your ceiling before you walk in so a salesman can't set it for you.

And if the putter you already own passes all of it, keep it. The best putter upgrade is sometimes the one you never buy.

Then spend the savings on the green

A new putter won't fix a bad lag. Most weekend golfers lose strokes on three-putts, and three-putts come from speed, not from the putter. For a deeper look at the other habits that cost you strokes, read The Five Changes That Get You Under 100.

Two drills, ten minutes each:

The gate. Push two tees into the green just wider than your putter head, about a foot in front of the ball. Hit twenty putts through the gate without touching either tee. It trains a square face and a repeatable path, and it tells you fast whether the new putter suits your stroke.

The lag circle. Pick a hole thirty feet away. Hit ten putts and try to leave every one inside a three-foot circle around the cup. Don't worry about making them. This is how you stop three-putting.

Finish with ten from three feet. Make all ten before you leave. If you miss the eighth, start over. It's a little annoying, and that's the point.

One piece of etiquette while you practice: stay off other people's lines, and don't drop your bag on the green. You can read more about it in What Nobody Tells Beginners About Pace, Silence and Pitch Marks.

The ball matters too

A putter feels different with a firm ball than with a soft one. Once you've settled on a putter, don't change balls every other round. Consistency is half of feel. If you haven't picked one yet, The Golf Ball You Should Be Playing If You Shoot 95 will save you some sleeves.

Stand over your next three-footer with a putter that fits the way you move, and let it do the one job it was built for.