Golf tip of the week: Your putter may need some adjusting | News, Sports, Jobs

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All serious golfers should have their putter evaluated by a master club fitter on a putter roll board, as shown above. It’s the same as bore sighting a rifle.

Most golfers are concerned about the proper loft, lie on their irons and driver, and overlook their putters.

The standard putter loft bought off the rack at a box store, or pro shop is four degrees. The problem is everyone sets up the ball differently, which alters the factory’s loft and lie. Your putter may have four degrees of loft but your stance and putting stroke may increase or decrease the loft and lie. The putter should have approximately four degrees of loft at impact.

The loft and lie on a putter can be bent to fit your stance and putting stroke. Buying a putter off the rack is only the first step. Eighty percent of the time, golfers purchase an expensive putter and find out later it doesn’t work as advertised.

In most cases, the putter does not fit them correctly. If the putter has too much loft, the ball will skip; if it has slightly too much loft the ball will dribble, and a negative loft will cause the ball to bounce. If the putter loft fits the golfer’s stance, gri, and stroke, the hop will skip the first three inches and roll smoothly after that, gripping the putting surface much like a tire grips the road. An improper lie will cause the ball to roll left or right of the intended target line.

A master club fitter can check your golf ball roll pattern on a device and adjust your putter accordingly. A putter roll board will show how much your ball will skid, jump or roll. The putter is then adjusted until the ball rolls correctly.

The lie can be checked with a floor mirror set-up guide. If the toe of the putter is up, the ball will roll left of the target, and if the toe is down, the ball will roll right of the target.

Rick Musselman, a golf author and professional, owns Musselman’s Golf in Williamsport.