Putting specialist Jordan Massey works with golfers of all levels to improve their putting and hole more putts. The PGA Professional explains why all of us should have a putter fitting to give ourselves the best chance to score better, get our handicaps down and enjoy our golf as much as possible.
What are the biggest mistakes that we make as amateur golfers?
Wrong length and lie. You could have someone who is 6”4 and he’s bought a 34-inch putter off the shelf. It’s difficult for the manufacturers to have tons of different standard options because it’s obviously difficult to manage that but I do see a lot of people just go and buy a putter after hitting a few putts and thinking that it feels nice.
But actually they don’t really know if it’s actually right for them. I think everyone’s more aware of it with the rest of the bag. If you’re going to go and spend the best part of £500-600 on a driver now you will get fitted for it, the same for a set of irons. But that might not be the same for your putter.
Often you will have a honeymoon period for a few weeks and then all the same things start happening again. And you end up thinking that you should have had a proper look at everything first.
Golfers are becoming more and more aware of it but I had someone recently who’s had lessons with me for a year and he turned up with a different putter that he’d bought out of the blue. The data that you would be able to get from a SAM PuttLab or Capto is so beneficial and we can guarantee that the roll of the ball is good. That’s a massively under appreciated aspect of it – the launch of the ball and how that affects speed. So if you really make sure that the ball is launching correctly, that’s going to give you more predictability in terms of roll and then speed control as well.
Should you have a putting lesson or a putting fitting first?
If it was me I’d normally want to have a look at their technique first. Just for the simple reason that if someone came in and you fitted them for a putter and then their technique changed, the putter that they’ve been fitted for might not be ideal. I will always say to someone that it they’re looking at a new putter at the start of a set of lessons, can the putter help us work in the direction that we want to go in with the technique?
What is the current trend in people’s awareness and knowledge about a putter fitting?
With the hype around the L.A.B putters a lot of people are just going and buying a L.A.B and thinking that that’s going to fix all their problems without really making an informed decision. I get asked every day, is this brand any good? And I always say to people, every brand’s good but it’s finding what’s right for that individual. Anything’s right in the right hands.
You might have a putter that’s a really good fit for them in terms of head shape and the alignment might be great but then they’ve got the wrong length and lie and then their set-up is affected as a result of it.
There are a lot of generalisations that have been made over the years with toe hang will do this, face balance will do that, and there are some correlations in that across the board, but really everyone reacts differently to a putter. So it’s finding what works best for that individual. Different shapes, for example, different lines on putters can have a massive impact on how someone aims.
If someone’s never been for a putter fitting, how long will it take and what would the lesson look like?
It will take between an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the person. But the first thing I’d do is ask the person some questions – what their tendencies are that they notice on the course? Whether they tend to push or pull a putt? Is their pace control an issue? Do they feel comfortable with the putter in their hands? Do they like the look and feel of their putter?
These days there are so many different insert options and some people prefer a softer feel while others prefer something firmer.
We also need to to get an idea of what that person’s looking for and are comfortable looking at because I can’t answer the question of what that player likes to look down at which is an important factor.
You’ve got to like the look and the feel of a putter. If you don’t like the way it looks behind the ball, you’re never really going to get on with it, in my opinion.
What length of putts would you get them to hit?
Our SAM PuttLab is set up at just over 11 feet. So we’ll have a look at that on some straight putts, how they aim the putter and what their tendencies are. We’ll get some video alongside that as well as that can sometimes highlight certain parts of their putting and you can obviously make that more obvious to them on camera.
We also have a ZEN Greenstage so we can have a look at the different breaking putts and does the putter perform in the same way?
And can they control the pace as well? Because if there’s a pace or if there’s a launch issue, you might then look to adjust the loft of a putter. But that also could be just a technical change in the player’s technique as well. So, you’ve got to find the right balance with that.
You’re trying to give the golfer more confidence and to be more comfortable stood over the ball so that they are able to start the ball on their intended line.
Why does weight of a putter matter?
If you give someone a putter where the weight doesn’t suit them, that can then impact the way they control their speed. It can all sound more complicated than it actually is, but once you’ve had a chat with the player, got an idea of what they’re feeling and what they want to improve and what they want to get out of it, then you can start to look at finding a sort of route towards that and hopefully find a putter that helps them get there.
If 100 golfers came in who had never been fitted before, how many would have the right putter in their bags?
Not many of them but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a new putter. Sometimes we might need to change the length and the lie angle of it or change the grip on the putter, for example. So it’s not always a case of needing something brand new that’s totally different.
How bad are we at following what’s happening with the Tour pros?
We all jump on the bandwagon. As juniors we all wanted a Scotty Cameron Newport because of Tiger. We all wanted a blade because it looked nice and it was expensive. I know now for myself that at the time it worked to a certain extent but I now use a mallet which probably would have suited me more back then too.
With all the different options that are out there now, it’s definitely worthwhile to get a detailed answer to the question and find out exactly what the right way forward is for you. And that might sometimes be a case of going the putter’s not too far off and if we can make some adjustments to the technique, then that putter’s going to work better for you.
But what we don’t want is the player trying to fit into the putter rather than the putter fitting the player.
How is your time split as a specialist putting coach?
It can vary massively. Someone can come in for a lesson that ends up being a fitting. I had a guy come in a few weeks ago who I used to teach 10 years ago. He came for a putting lesson but his putter was way too short for him and his posture was massively affected by it. And I had to say to him in the first lesson that he would be far better off with a longer putter.
The lesson ended up using a demo putter, the Odyssey Cruiser Jailbird, which was at 38 inches. Now he could get into a position where he could set up properly without him trying to fit into the putter.
What putter do you use?
I use an Odyssey Lucky 777, which is quite rare. I was actually given it and it was in great nock and it’s been in my bag for a year and a half now. I absolutely love it. I’ve got loads of putters at home but, if you look at all the best putters like Brad Faxon and Tiger, you don’t see them make changes that often to the putter. They’ll generally find something and stick with it because they know it works for them.
They might update it, once it gets worn out, or they might get a newer version of it but it will generally be in the same specs.
About Jordan Massey
Jordan began his training at Wilmslow GC before moving to Doha GC in 2021 where he spent seven years. He then worked at the Mere Golf Academy before beckoning one of the founders of Torque Golf, an indoor performance centre in Altrincham. At Torque they offer a ZEN Greenstage, SAM PuttStudio, PuttView, Foresight GC Hawk, Swing Catalyst video analysis and 3D force plates help golfers improve their games.
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