Improve Your Putting Consistency With Counter Weighting

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When most golfers think about custom Clubfitting, they think only of the full swing clubs – the driver, fairway woods, hybrids, irons and wedges. Few golfers are ever fit for their putter. Yet within this all important club exists the chance to achieve the greatest level of improvement on the golfer’s actual SCORE.

One of the most dramatic putting improvement tools within custom fitting has proven to be the use of a heavy weight inserted into the grip end of the putter shaft. This is a putter fitting technique called ‘COUNTER WEIGHTING.”

How does putter counter weighting work and what golfers will benefit?

Golfers who putt well have a high level of fine motor control skill. That means they have the neuro-muscular ability to move and control objects with their hands at slower speeds in a consistent, repeating and very precise manner. For those of us who do not have fine motor control, by putting a substantial amount of weight in the grip end of the putter shaft, the much heavier weight brought about by the presence of the counter weight is felt directly in our hands and the hands and arms are better able to move in a more consistent, repeating manner. 

Golfers who have proven to improve their putting with a counter weight all have one or more of the following putting habits:

  • Tendency to both pull and push putts off line
  • A higher than average incidence of off center hit putts
  • Inconsistency with distance control – some putts short and some putts long
  • The path of the putter back and through the ball can be jerky, not very smooth and rhythmic

The most commonly used putter counterweights are the 60g, 80g and 100g weights, with the 80g and 100g counterweights being the most commonly used by most golfers for the putter. There is no question the chance of improved putting performance with a heavy counter weight in the putter is very high.

From speaking with clubmakers who offer this fitting service to their golfers and from our own work with golfers, we estimate the putting improvement rate for counter weights to be in the area of 75%, or three out of every four golfers that putts with a conventional putter and putting stroke.

If you’re interested in hitting putts more consistently and making more putts, go to the FIND A CLUBFITTER locator tool on the home page of wishongolf.com. Or better yet, click on this direct link to find a clubfitter near you who can install a counter weight in your putter – https://wishongolf.com/find-a-clubfitter/

Tom