Happy New Year Geoff! When setting up to a putt, I place the sweet spot of the putter behind the ball, with a lie angle that matches the usual angle of my forearms and with putterface aiming at the one dimple that defines the line through the ball. At this point I firm up my left hand grip and try to keep the putterface aim at that one dimple as I complete my setup. I would prefer to place the putter where it should be & cradle it in my left hand while completing my setup without the putterhead moving at all. However with my current putter, if I just cradle it in my left hand, the face immediately wobbles into a closed alignment. Can a clubfitter alter my putter in some way to cure this problem or do I have a putter with a poor design? Thanks.

Dear Dixon Golfer,

It would help a lot if the sole of the putter design is such that once soled, the putter has no instability or tendency to wander out of orientation. If it stands as aimed, the putter can be supported simply with a finger blocking the underside of the handle from falling in toward the golfer. This allows the golfer to aim the putter with the left / lead hand, poise the putter as aimed while shifting into a parallel stance, and support the handle while wlaking the naturally hanging hands and arms into the handle as poised.

Unfortunately, some putter designs have soles that are unstable, like an upturned bowl wobbling on the surface. Some designers do this to let different golfers use the putter with different setups, to expand the "market" of potential golfers for whom the putter is suitable given their unique and varied setups. This is a cheap way to "fit" the putter, and usually results in toe-up setups or heel-up setups. It also mistakenly encourages a poor setup when the surface tilts towards or away from the golfer as on a sidehill lie with ball above or below the golfer's feet. The sole-loft relationship in these putters is thereby queered by the design in an attempt to make the putter seem useable in a wide variety of postures and circumstances. It ain't.

Cheers!

Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
PuttingZone.com
Golf's most advanced and comprehensive putting instruction.