Alright, let’s talk about putters. I decided to really dig into the heel-shafted kind recently. My putting felt… well, stuck. Like I was fighting the putter head the whole way through the stroke.
Getting Started with Heel Shafting
So, I went out and grabbed a classic-looking heel-shafted putter. You know the type, where the shaft connects right down near the heel of the blade. First time I picked it up, it felt different, obviously. More like the head wanted to swing open and shut on its own, if that makes sense. It felt lighter in the toe area, like it had a mind of its own compared to some of the face-balanced mallets I’d messed with before.
Took it to the practice green. My first few strokes were kinda wobbly. I really noticed the face opening on the way back and closing through impact. It wasn’t subtle, at least not to me. I’d been using putters before that felt more stable, more straight-back-straight-through, you know? This heel-shafted one definitely encouraged more of an arc.
Working Through the Stroke
I spent a good hour just rolling short putts, trying to get the feel. Here’s what I found:
- Feeling the Rotation: I had to consciously let the putter head rotate. If I tried to force it straight back and through like my old putter, it felt awful, like I was fighting its design. I had to relax my hands and wrists a bit more.
- Finding the Arc: It naturally wanted to swing on a slight arc. Inside on the way back, square at impact, and back inside on the follow-through. Trying to keep it perfectly square to the line the whole time just didn’t work for me with this putter.
- Aiming Issues: This particular model had a bit of offset. I noticed right away I was pulling putts slightly left. I read somewhere that offset can make you aim left, but I think for me, combined with the face rotation, I was just closing the face a fraction too early because I wasn’t used to it. Had to consciously work on starting the ball on my intended line.
Getting Used to It
It wasn’t an overnight thing. There were days I went back to my old putter because I got frustrated missing short ones I felt I should make. But I stuck with the heel-shafted one for a few solid weeks of practice. I focused less on forcing a stroke and more on just letting the putter swing how it seemed to want to swing.
Slowly, it started to click. The feeling of the face rotating became more natural. I felt like I could control the speed better on longer putts once I trusted the release through the ball. Short putts still required concentration, especially ensuring I didn’t pull them left due to over-rotation or that initial aiming tendency.
Final Thoughts… For Now
So, where am I now? I’m still using the heel-shafted putter most of the time. It feels more fluid for my stroke, which I now realize definitely has some arc to it. I think if you have a stroke that naturally wants to arc, or if you feel like you’re fighting your putter to keep it square, trying a heel-shafted model might be worth your time. It just might free things up. It wasn’t magic, took work, but the feel is quite different and, for me right now, it seems to be helping. Still gotta watch that alignment though!
