Putter fitting has evolved into a specialized discipline, with golfers spending significant money to find the perfect match. But the two most common fitting problems don't require an expensive session with a specialist — you can diagnose and fix them yourself.
The shaft can be aligned with the forearms in many ways; they're not all good!
The root of most putter fitting issues comes down to shaft length. Roughly 80% of the golfers we work with are using putters that are too long, which creates two setup problems that silently undermine their stroke.
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The good news? You can identify this issue on your own — and correct it by cutting the putter shaft down to the right length.
We emphasize getting the shaft aligned with the forearms, but alignment alone doesn't guarantee a good position.
You could align the shaft with your forearms while bent dramatically at the waist with your elbows flared out, or while standing bolt upright. Just because the alignment is technically there doesn't mean your setup is actually functional.
Start With Good Posture
Elbow aligned with the center of the shoulder
Proper putting posture starts with your weight centered over your ankles. From there, hinge forward from the hips — your backside extends slightly behind you, and your shoulders sit back and down, connected to your core exactly as they would in the full swing.
The first step in any putter fitting should be establishing this posture, then checking that the center of your shoulder lines up directly above your elbow.
When you hinge forward and let your arms hang naturally, this shoulder-over-elbow alignment allows you to engage your core as you rock your shoulders back and through the stroke.
This putter is too long
With your arms hanging, take your putting grip and check how much of the butt end of the club extends above the heels of your hands.
In the photo at right, Chuck Quinton is holding a 34" putter.
Chuck is fairly average height (5'9"), and 34" or 35" is the most common putter length available off the rack. But as the photo shows clearly, this putter is too long for his properly established setup.
There's a strong chance you'll discover the same thing. When you settle into correct posture — good spine tilt, elbows hanging directly beneath your shoulders to allow room for a clean swing — your stock putter may be noticeably too long.
Many golfers set up with the elbows out away from the body
Everyone's build is different, of course. Shorter arms or a longer-legged, shorter-torso physique may mean you don't have this issue. But your ideal putter length is determined by your individual anatomy, and 80-90% of the time, golfers arrive with putters that are too long, setting up with their elbows flared wide — exactly like the photo at right.
When the elbows splay out, you completely disconnect from your core. Instead of a simple shoulder rock, you now have multiple joints competing to move independently, introducing inconsistency into every stroke.
Golfers in this position often argue that their forearms still line up with the shaft. But they're missing the critical point entirely.
Try It and See
The goal is to get every joint connected in neutral alignment so you can simply rock your shoulders back and through without your wrists taking over or your arms wandering out of position.
With elbows out, shoulders elevate & move freely
Stand up and test this yourself.
Settle into neutral alignment, then deliberately push your elbows outward. You'll feel your shoulders elevate, as shown in the photos at left. With elbows flared, your shoulders gain unwanted freedom of movement.
In the putting stroke, you want everything as simple and repeatable as possible.
Pushing your elbows out during setup activates those joints and gets them moving — and worse, it forces excessive wrist bend into your grip position.
You might set up this way intentionally if you wanted a deliberately wristy stroke like Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer used in their era, because the position allows maximum wrist freedom. But for today's faster greens and modern putting technique, we don't recommend it.
Modern greens are significantly faster, so you don't need to pop the ball. What you need is a smoother, more controlled stroke — and that means neutralizing all these peripheral joints.
In the next photo, Chuck chokes down on the grip to achieve proper posture even with the longer club. Notice that his wrists maintain very little bend — he's deliberately preventing those joints from breaking down during the stroke.
Wrists don't bend much
In a poorly executed stroke, the hands are always the first element to fail.
That's precisely what the yips are — getting handsy with the stroke because you don't trust the process. If you can genuinely take your hands out of the equation, the yips disappear.
You can still jab or stab at the ball with your shoulders, but that's a different issue — simply not trusting your read and poking at the ball, not the neurological misfire that characterizes the yips.
The priority is to neutralize the wrist and elbow joints as much as possible. Excessive bend in these joints invites them to move independently, and independent joint movement is the enemy of putting consistency.
Then everybody ends up either gripping the end with their elbows bent, or standing up too straight where they don't get a good tilt with the elbows under the shoulders so they can't rock their shoulders properly.
The Second Problem: Lie Angle
The second most common problem is that the putter sits back with the toe way up off the ground.
Bad lie angle affects aim
Now Check Your Own Putter
There's a secondary fitting problem that shaft length creates: lie angle. Your putter does carry loft — typically around 4° — and when the lie angle shifts because of an improper shaft length, the face no longer aims where you think it does.
If the putter sits back on its heel, the loft will cause the face to point slightly left of your intended target. If it sits up on the toe, it will drift slightly right.
Putting demands precision measured in hundredths or even thousandths of an inch.
With a putter that's too long, you naturally rock it back onto the heel to compensate. You may aim the body correctly, but the face is actually pointing left — making it physically impossible to start the ball precisely on your line.
After a few strokes sending the ball left, you instinctively begin holding the face open to compensate. Now you're layering compensations on top of compensations — all because the shaft is the wrong length.
Get into alignment, then hinge forward (left, center). Don't round the shoulders (right)
That's exactly why lie angle is one of the first variables a quality putter fitter examines.
Even with imperfect setup, bending the club to correct the lie angle can at least get the ball starting on line. But why accept that compromise?
If you establish proper setup first and use the correct shaft length, you eliminate the need for those downstream adjustments entirely — putting yourself ahead of most golfers who've never thought twice about their putter fitting.
Check Your Shoulders
Center your weight down through your ankles. Keep your shoulders back and down. Get your shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and ankles into vertical alignment, then hinge slightly from the hips and let your arms hang naturally.
Rounded shoulders = longer arms (above); get a proper grip (below)
Don't let your shoulders round forward — rounding reintroduces arm movement you've just worked to eliminate.
Keep your shoulders pulled back and down, with your arms connected to your core rather than swinging freely.
Rounding your shoulders also effectively lengthens your arms. If your putter is already too long, rounded shoulders compound the problem further.
When Chuck rounds his shoulders in the photo at left, the full logo on the grip becomes visible. When he pulls his shoulders up and back, his arms retract as well.
This connected position lets him simply rock his shoulders instead of having his arms moving independently. Getting set up correctly is the foundation of everything that follows.
Most golfers will discover they need to trim their putter shaft by an inch or so.
You can choke down temporarily if you're not ready to cut the shaft, but the most effective solution is to establish your ideal posture — shoulders back, arms hanging neutrally — then trim the shaft to match that position precisely.
The improvement will be immediate and dramatic. If you've battled wristy strokes or disconnected elbows, you'll find far greater consistency once your arms hang with just a slight, neutral bend. For the same kind of detailed diagnostic on your full golf swing, try a free AI swing analysis that identifies exactly where your mechanics break down. To practice with real-time coaching, check out a free AI golf lesson.
Fortunately, it's Easy to Fix
Evaluate the length of your putter. Determine how much grip extends above your hands when you're in proper posture, then either visit a club fitter or handle it yourself.
A hacksaw to the end of the shaft, a fresh grip, and your putting will improve immediately.
The vast majority of golfers will putt significantly better with a shorter putter than what they currently own. A simple shaft trim delivers a custom fit that makes a measurable difference in your putting accuracy and consistency.
Checkpoints for Practice
- The two most common putter fitting problems are shaft length and lie angle
- Establish proper putting position first — hinged forward from hips, arms hanging down, shoulders back and connected
- Take your grip and check whether the butt of the club protrudes above the heels of your hands
- Most golfers need putters 1" to 1.5" shorter — cut it down yourself or visit a fitter
- Check your lie angle — if the toe is elevated, the face loft will send the ball left of target
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Watch part 2 now to see how you're moving your body in the opposite direction of the pros!
