Long Putters
Putters are considered indispensable tools in golf as more than fifty percent of your game generally entails putting. While standard putters are still common among beginners and enthusiasts who have just discovered the sport, there has been a growing number of golfers who prefer custom-made golf clubs; hence the popularity of long putters. As the name implies, these putters have relatively longer shafts compared to their conventional cousins. The use remains the same: these golf clubs are still suitable for efficiently nudging the ball into the cup. But certain features were modified to suit the needs of its user.
Length rationale
The length of a traditional putter is generally at thirty-five inches. It is safe to assume that long putters have equally longer shafts. This feature reduces what is popularly known as “degrees of freedom” when a player putts. Simply put, a longer shaft restricts the movement of joints by making it a bit difficult for the hand to bend and twist at will. The flexibility of movement is hindered because more freedom can also result in inconsistent putts.
Belly putter
A belly putter is one of the many common types of long putters that is designed to be “anchored” against the player’s stomach when he putts. Following the same principle of minimizing hand and arm movement, this type of golf club is about eight inches longer than typical long-shaft putters. With this golf club, the player has a decreased feel of the stroke which can potentially diminish the user’s control over the power placed on the putter.
The use of long putters in professional golf tournaments is still a topic of longstanding debate up to this day. Some pro golfers such as John O’Hara have managed to improve their game with the use of belly putters but there are also those such as Tiger Woods who condemn the golf club as conferring an unfair advantage over other opponents.
Using the long putter
It goes without saying that using long putters, for many golfers, will take some getting used to. The player can potentially have a difficult time trying to control the power placed on the putter because of the restricted movement. It will take practice to get the feel of using long-shaft putters but according to most experts, the key to this golf club is its fixed center around which the player is supposed to stroke the putterhead back and through the ball – a movement pretty much akin to a pendulum.
See Also: STX Long Putters
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