I’m short so I’ve always used a short putter.
Still, I see a huge disconnect between custom fitting and putting. Golfers who would never buy a driver or set of irons without comparing specifications will grab a putter off the shelf and assume they can make it work.
Often, that is exactly what happens. You adjust your posture, move your hands or grip down until the putter feels usable. The problem is that making something work does not mean it is good for your game.
If you grabbed your putter off the shelf and put it directly into play, here is a simple way to see whether it is the right length.
How to tell if your putter is too long
Step 1: Set up without the putter
Address a ball as though you are preparing to putt but leave the putter on the ground. Find a comfortable posture rather than recreating the position your current putter forces you into.
Step 2: Let your arms hang
Let your arms hang beneath your shoulders and bring your hands together as though you were gripping the putter. Your elbows should feel relaxed.
Step 3: Bring the putter into your hands
Without standing taller, reaching or changing your posture, have someone place the putter into your hands.
The grip should meet your hands naturally.
Step 4: Look for warning signs
Check for these issues when you put your putter in your hands:
- You have to stand more upright.
- Your elbows crowd your body.
- You grip well down on a conventional grip.
- Your eyes move far inside the ball-to-target line.
- The putter does not sit flat without manipulating your hands.
Repeat the test a few times. Make sure you stand up and get back into posture each time. If your hands consistently settle well below the end of a standard grip or your posture changes every time you pick up the club, your putter may be too long.
What happens when your putter is too long?
Putter length affects posture, eye position, arm hang and the path the putter wants to travel on.
Excessive length can prevent the arms from hanging naturally, move the eyes too far inside the ball and create more face rotation than necessary. In addition, a putter that is too long can make the setup too upright.
Perfect eye position varies slightly among experts; most of the time it lands about one to two inches inside the target line.
You may still make putts with a putter that is too long. Golfers are good at compensating. However, gripping down, crowding the elbows or manipulating the putter adds another variable you have to repeat.
What about Ryan Fox’s 40-inch putter?
Ryan Fox won the 2026 Open Championship with a 40-inch PING Anser 2D. That sounds like proof that putter length does not matter but Fox’s putter is far from a standard build.
It has a KBS C-Taper 130 8-iron shaft, 6.5 degrees of loft and a 17-inch SuperStroke grip. The extra loft helps account for his significant forward press and the entire setup is built around the way he delivers the putter.
That is the point. A putter is not too long simply because it measures 35, 38 or 40 inches. It is too long when the length does not match your posture, hand position or putting method.
Don’t just cut your putter down
If the test above suggests your putter is too long, don’t immediately cut an inch or two from the shaft.
Shortening a putter changes more than its playing length. It can make the head feel lighter, alter the overall balance and affect how easily you control the stroke. Counterbalanced putters are especially sensitive because the head, shaft and grip weights are designed to work together.
Length and lie angle should also be checked at the same time. A shorter putter may allow you to stand closer and lower your hands but the original lie angle may no longer let the head sit correctly on the ground.
The goal is not simply to make your putter shorter. It is to build a putter that fits your posture instead of forcing your posture to fit the putter.
Bottom line? Get fitted for every club including your putter.
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