Whether with a fitter or by yourself, getting the right putter is more science than art

A few years ago, Tom Morton, director of the Player Performance Studio at Haggin Oaks Golf Super Shop in Sacramento, Calif., told Golf Digest that at best one in four golfers are using a putter that's well suited to them. “Maybe. And that's mostly by luck," he said.

One of the reasons for that low percentage is that golfers often choose a putter based on what feels comfortable, what they see tour players using on TV or simply what they grab off the rack in the pro shop after three-jacking the last hole to lose the $5 Nassau.

None of those is the right approach. There are tools available to make the process easy, and golfers would experience less grief on the greens if they approached choosing a putter more as a science and less as an art. And although we always suggest that you get properly fit, we understand most of you won’t. So here are some tips for finding a putter that's right for you.

As with drivers, there are variables in putters that are worth your attention. Loft, length and lie angle are chief among them. When it comes to loft, players with a strong forward press typically need more putterface loft to prevent driving the ball into the ground. Conversely, players who strike their putts with a more neutral shaft angle—little or no forward press—require less loft.

Finding the right length is critical, and there are hints here, too. If your putter is too short, your eyes are likely to be positioned outside the target line. If it’s too long, the opposite can be true. It’s generally accepted that the correct length positions your eyes an inch or two inside the target line. Achieve the proper length, and the proper lie angle likely follows—but not always.

Putting guru Dave Pelz is a big proponent of making sure players have the correct lie angle on their putters. Pelz often has said that many golfers make the mistake of setting up too far from the ball with the main culprit being they have a putter with too flat a lie angle. In fact, he says, it is four times more likely to find a player with a lie angle that is too flat than too upright.

“A lie angle that is too flat will cause a player to reach for the ball, and their hands will move out from under their shoulders,” Pelz told Golf World in 2010. “That leaves the putter swinging around their body instead of along the proper path. It also places the eyes inside the target line, which can result in the player aiming right of the target.” Left unsaid was that a too-upright putter can set the eyes outside the line, causing the player to aim left of the target.

Fitting for stroke type (strong arc, slight arc or straight back and through) also is important. Ping has conducted intense research in this area, finding that players with more of a swinging gate or open-to-closed type of stroke putt better with a putter that has toe hang (most heel-shafted blades). A face-balanced putter (usually mallets or center-shafted blades) works best for players with more of a straight-back, straight-through stroke, but these are only guidelines.

Also, if feel is a big factor to you—and it is for most golfers—bring a ball that you typically play with when trying out different putters rather than using whatever balls happen to be available.

Alignment and head shape also merit some consideration. “A lot of people don’t understand why putters are shaped the way they are or why the alignment lines are in certain positions,” says Pat Snyder, a certified clubfitter for Golf Galaxy. “It influences aim biases, and they are main parts of the putter because [aim] directly influences the stroke.”

If you take a more scientific approach to your putter, odds are your flatstick will be a good match for you—a comforting thought when standing over that six-footer for the win.