As a shorter golfer, I’m pretty accustomed to having to order golf clubs that are the proper length for my height. However, many amateur players have no idea they are playing with a putter that is not the correct length.

When you use a putter that is not the proper length, you can have issues with alignment, consistency, and overall effectiveness of your putting stroke.

We are going to take a more in-depth look into how to choose the right putter length based on your height.

Why Putter Length Matters

Two main reasons putter length matters are alignment and setup. With the proper putter length, you can get your body into the right position. Once your eyes are over the golf ball, you can get your hands and arms into the proper position.

Having the hands and arms in place will then help golfers who are struggling with alignment. With your eyes over the ball, you can now see down the line and make your golf ball travel towards the target.

For golfers with a straight back and straight-through putting stroke, getting the eyes over the ball can help keep the stroke more consistent.

Breakdown of Correct Putter Length by Height

The easiest way for golfers to determine if they are playing with the right putter length is to consider their height. We will tell you that this is not the only way to decide on the length of a putter. Considerations like arm length and even your putting stance will also come into play.

When purchased off the shelf, putters will come in 33, 34, or 35 inch lengths. You will notice on our chart of the putter lengths by height that the lengths are a bit more broken down, with half inch sizes included.

This is because putters can also be custom fitted to meet the needs of any player. When custom fitting a putter, you must be sure that you are also taking into consideration the weighting of the club and how this change in length will impact the putter length.

Many golfers also ask about holding the putter further down on the grip and whether or not this will work for keeping their putter length a bit shorter. It can work to get your eyes over the ball, but it is not always as convenient and can make the stroke more restricted.

Take a look at this general guide that gives you the correct putter length in inches by the player height.

Other Factors That Might Affect The Putter Length You Choose

As we mentioned, finding the correct putter length is not just about your height; other factors come into play during a putter fitting. In addition, golfers need to consider that outside of technology and technological factors, they must also find a putter they like and play well with.

A few of the things that impact putter length are your arm length, posture, and your putter style.

Arm Length

Golfers with longer arms may need a shorter putter. If your hands fall too far below your waist while you are bent over to make a putt, you may need a club that is a little shorter. A 34 inch putter is the average putter length, but golfers with longer arms may want to consider going to something that is 33 inches.

With a long arm’s length, you will want to ensure that you have the room to make a pendulum-style stroke, and a shorter putter will likely help that happen. Golfers with longer arms need to be careful about a belly putter and ensure their grip is also the proper length to accommodate their arms.

Posture

The posture from one golfer to another changes considerably. One of the great things about putting is choosing a posture and a style that works for you. As long as you are consistent in your game, then there is no need to follow a textbook putting posture.

However, if you have a posture that keeps you a bit further or closer to the ball, your putter length needs to be adjusted. When a putter has a more upright design and the toe is raised, you may miss some putts to the left.

For golfers that feel too close to the ball because of their setup, it becomes hard to make a follow through, and directional control is an issue. These golfers often see putts that end up too far to the right.

The good news is that you can adjust your putter length so you don’t have to adjust your swing. This is the case with all golf equipment. These small tweaks make it much easier to keep your natural ability and then change the gear.

Putter Style

The putter style that you use could impact the length that you need. Some of these larger mallet-size putter heads are a bit larger, and a tall golfer or short golfer may feel as though they need to change their setup a bit to get close enough to the ball without the putter getting in the way.

Smaller profile blade putters don’t present as much of an issue, but this is undoubtedly a factor when you go for a putter fitting. Some of these height adjustments to accommodate the style of the putter will only be a quarter or half an inch, but they are still essential to consider.

Don’t choose a putter style based on your height. Instead, have the putter fitted to work for your game.

Putter Length FAQs

Without going for a putter fitting with a professional, finding the right putter length may take a bit more time and attention to detail. You will likely want to have a tape measure and your current putter.

Always compare what you are currently playing with to the putter you intend to use so that you can see what changes are essential.

What is The Standard Putter Length?

The standard putter length is 34 inches. However, most golf manufacturers offer a 34 and 35 inch models of the putters that they have in their lineup. The 33 inch can be a bit more difficult to find, but they do exist. Changing the length of the putter after you purchase it is possible, but it could need the help of a professional.

Are There Putters with Adjustable Lengths?

Ping made a series of putters that had adjustable lengths. Although this was a nice feature, once you know the length of the putter you need, you don’t need to adjust it all that often. Having an adjustable driver so that you can change the loft on your club is one thing, but putter length adjustability is not always necessary.

Can I Adjust My Own Putter Length?

Many golfers adjust their own golf clubs by cutting them down and regripping them. There are also extensions you can add to the end of a putter to make it a bit longer. These inserts are not hard to install and can be an excellent solution for a tall golfer.

Are Putter Fittings Worth It?

Putter fittings are becoming increasingly popular. These fittings help golfers to understand more about their putting stroke and why it’s vital to get the correct putter length. Putter fittings will show you how often you hit the center of the putter head and what needs to be done to have it happen more often.

Does Putter Length Impact Weight?

The length of the putter can impact the weight of the putter, and it’s one of the most important considerations that golfers must make when they decide to change their putter length. You should always have a lie loft machine and a scale anytime you are changing your golf clubs. Check the putter weight to ensure you don’t struggle with distance control.

Is a Custom Putter Necessary?

For golfers that are taller or shorter than average, a custom putter length may be necessary. Custom putters will ensure that there are no issues with the putter face being square at impact. In addition, a custom putter will also give you the best chance on those short putts that can so quickly change your score in a round of golf.

Brittany Olizarowicz

Britt O has been playing golf since the age of 7. Almost 30 years later, she still loves the game, has played competitively on every level, and spent a good portion of her life as a Class A PGA Professional. Britt currently resides in Savannah, GA, with her husband and two young children. Current Handicap: 1

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The distance you hit your 9 iron will depend greatly on your clubhead speed and the quality of the contact you have with the ball. As your golf game changes, you will notice that distances are also impacted.

Beginner

Beginner golfers are the most inconsistent, and therefore distance is not something you can calculate quite as easily. Some beginners have very high clubhead speeds, while others are slow.

However, most beginners can get about 115 yards of distance from their 9 iron. You may start slow with this club and notice only about 100 yards, which is entirely acceptable.

Once you start making contact with the center of the clubface, you can expect to reach 115 yards more consistently from each of your swings with a 9 iron.

High Handicap

Higher handicap golfers have some of the same issues that beginners have. They may hit a 9 iron shot that travels 120 yards and then another that travels 110. Most average swing speed high handicappers will try to get the 9 iron to fly between 115 and 120 yards.

The key for golfers in this handicap range is to ensure that they are getting more consistent distance and slightly higher clubhead speed.

Mid Handicap

Mid-handicap players will consider the 9 iron to be a 125-yard club. Some mid-handicappers start to develop a lot of clubhead speed, and you could end up seeing a 130-yard shot from this group.

However, the mid handicappers will still want to ensure they are getting a higher trajectory, plenty of spin, and control with the total distance of the 9 iron.

Mid-handicappers often start to pay more attention to things like carry distance and total distance. Although your total distance for your 9 iron may be 125 yards, the carry distance may only be 120 yards. Keep that in mind when going over a hazard.

Low Handicap

Low handicap players often get about 130-140 yards of distance from the 9 iron. Most lower handicap golfers have more consistency in their swing, and they can get the ball to make contact with the center of the clubface quite often.

Low handicap players with higher speeds can see distances up to 150 yards with their 9 iron.

It’s important to remember that lower handicappers playing with power lofted clubs will see more distance than lower handicappers playing with blade style golf irons. The golf club you are playing with certainly comes into play when determining total distances.

Here’s a summary of what we covered above:

PGA Players

PGA Players have tremendously high clubhead speeds. Although it’s not a requirement to be a professional, it’s nearly impossible to compete on the PGA Tour unless you have high clubhead speed.

The PGA Tour Players will hit a 9 iron anywhere from 150 to 190 yards. A golfer like Bryson DeChambeau can get up to 190 yards of distance with his 9 iron because of his incredibly high clubhead speeds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YevOs-c5nlE

At some point, I think PGA Tour players are more concerned with their accuracy than their total distance. If you think about it, when your 9 iron can travel nearly 200 yards, what will be your 100-yard club?

The point is only a certain amount of distance is beneficial. At some point, it makes sense just to have control and spin and a distance you can trust.

Tips for Hitting Your 9 Iron Further

If you feel like you’re not currently maxing out on distance with your 9 iron, there are a few ways that you may be able to increase it.

Recently, I had trouble with distance and determined that it was actually the golf ball I was using that was causing the problems for me. So let’s start there…

Check Your Golf Ball

Some golf balls are distance golf balls, and others are built for spin and control. If your swing speed is not entirely high and you are using a four or five-piece golf ball, you may not be maximizing your distance potential.

I encourage you to have a good idea of your swing speed and the compression of the golf ball you are playing with. For slower swing speed golfers, the lower compression golf ball is a better fit.

Ensure Full Rotation

The 9 iron is a shorter club than your long irons or driver. Sometimes when golfers have this shorter club in their bag, they rotate a little less and struggle to get that full turn in their swing.

I like to think about my left shoulder turning underneath my chin. If my left shoulder makes it to that position, the club will be in the right place at the top. This full rotation gets your club to parallel and allows for a bit more extension and speed.

Work on Accuracy

Speed is often the ultimate factor in increasing distance in your golf shots. Speed is essential, but so is the accuracy of the strike.

In fact, if you have a ton of speed and you apply it to the clubhead and miss the sweet spot, don’t expect impressive results.

The closer you strike the ball to the center of the clubface, the easier it is to get the distance. It’s as simple as that.

Clubhead sweet spots have gotten bigger, but the golfer still has to do quite a bit of the work.

Practice Smart Strength and Conditioning

Golfers that spend some time in the gym almost always have higher clubhead speeds than those that don’t. When you work out and spend time increasing your speeds, you will see more distance from your 9 iron.

I highly recommend sticking with golf-specific exercises. If you take things too far with muscle building, it can result in a lack of mobility. Speaking with a trainer and letting them know you want to gain distance in your game is also a smart idea.

Proper Ball Position

I like to play the ball in the middle of my stance. When I do that with the 9 iron, I seem to have the best chance for solid turf interaction, a good divot, and improved total distance.

When the ball is too far forward, the shots are thinner and don’t have as much total distance. Hitting the ball from too far back in the stance can cause issues with the clubface angle.

Hit Down and Through

We need the 9 iron to go up high when we hit shots, but to get this ball flight. It is essential to hit down and through the golf ball. For golfers that are still trying to lift the ball up in the air, long distance becomes an issue.

If you need some help learning how to hit down and through and compress a ball, simply lean a little on your left side and take some half swing shots. This should give you the feeling of compressing the ball to get a higher and longer final result.

Hitting down and through the ball is a challenging concept at first, but all great players will need to learn it.

Brittany Olizarowicz

Britt O has been playing golf since the age of 7. Almost 30 years later, she still loves the game, has played competitively on every level, and spent a good portion of her life as a Class A PGA Professional. Britt currently resides in Savannah, GA, with her husband and two young children. Current Handicap: 1

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Talk to any golf coach, and they will tell you that the root of your issue stems from your grip, posture, and ball position. In this post, I take you through the intricacies of the different types of grip and explain why you should employ the duplicate driver grip vs an iron grip.

I intend to help you better understand the different grips and strengths and how they impact your swing path, club plane, power, and accuracy. After reading this article, you’ll notice that consistency is gold and that leaving your grip unchanged ensures a smooth transition between woods and irons.

I suggest bookmarking our guide to proper golf grips to improve your control, accuracy, and power during your golf swing.

Quick Overview of The Different Types of Grips

Before I dive into the best grip for driver and iron shots, let me introduce you to the predominant setups and strengths. Besides explaining how to operate each hold, I will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each setup.

Grip Setups

Overlap grip

The overlap or Vardon grip is the grip that I see most players employing as coaches promote it. It offers a controlled hold of the golf club. Let me explain how you would prepare for a shot with this grip if you are right-handed.

Steps:

1. Grab the base of the grip with your left hand, and leave your index finger off the grip as if you were pointing a firearm.
2. Wrap your left index finger around the grip
3. Place your right hand underneath the left
4. Rest your right pinky finger on your left index knuckle

Interlocking

An interlocking grip is the least common setup among amateurs, but Jack Nicklaus always used it, and clearly, it works. This setup is said to work best for golfers with smaller hands, who struggle to gain a solid handle on the club using Vardon’s approach.

Steps:

1. Grab the base of the grip with your left hand, and use the firearm approach I suggested with the overlap.
2. Wrap your left index finger around the club’s grip
3. Guide the pinky finger on your lower hand through the webbing between your left index and middle fingers.

Baseball

The baseball or ten-finger grip allows for comfortable hand placement when you are just starting out. Or, in my case, 28 years later. It is a grip that most coaches dismiss because the incorrect pressure can prompt your hands to operate independently and send the clubface off the path during swings.

Steps:

1. Grab the base of the grip with your left hand, and ensure that all five fingers touch the rubber.
2. Grip the lower portion of the handle with your right hand
3. Ensure your knuckles on both hands align with one another

Grip Strength

Neutral

The golden standard of strength and a golf coach’s best friend is the neutral grip, designed to help golfers deliver improved accuracy. When your hands are positioned neutrally, you’ll notice that the V-shape created from the webbing between your thumb and index finger align on both hands.

Weak

A weak or closed grip occurs when the back of your right hand is visible at the address. Essentially it removes most of your left hand from the line of sight. Now, a weak grip is not to be confused with the level of tension in your hands. You should always have a lighter grip pressure.

You’ll see that a weak grip means that your right-hand covers your left hand. In other words, you rotate your right hand clockwise from the neutral position.

When you leave your right hand closed, you reduce the wrist hinge making it impossible to turn your hands over through impact. You’ll find it causes you to clubface open at impact and slice or push your golf ball into trouble.

An open clubface, coupled with an outside-in swing path, causes you to cut across the ball at impact and send your ball flying right of the target.

Cutting across the golf ball with an open clubface will cause your ball to travel right of the target. In addition, you may struggle to square your face up and leave it closed, prompting a nasty hook.

Strong

You create a strong grip by rotating your right hand anti-clockwise from the neutral position until your palm faces away from you. This is also described by coaches as an open grip because the palm of your hand is open, and faces your chest.

Many golfers feel that this grip helps them boost power for optimal clubhead and ball speed. However, it is a common reason amateur golfers slice their golf balls all over the course.

A strong grip is not all bad and clearly works for Dustin Johnson, but it caused me to play with a fade for most of my junior years. Instead of fixing it, I compensated by aiming further to the right and allowing the ball to fade back toward my target.

Should You Use a Different Grip Between Your Driver and Irons?

No, you best not use different golf club grips for your driver and irons to ensure consistency and a smooth transition between your stronger and mid-loft golf clubs. When you employ a different iron grip to a driver grip, it may lead to varying swing paths and ball flight, making it a challenge to produce consistency.

The only golf clubs where I would permit a change in your grip setup is with a putter. Feel, feedback, and bullseye accuracy is the order of the day. You achieve this by restricting wrist movement on putts.

Besides the conventional left-hand high and right-hand low, the claw, saw, left-hand low, and wrist-lock grip is used on the dancefloor.

Which Grip is Best for a Driver?

A neutral setup is the best golf grip for a driver, as it sets you up to produce a controlled swing path and straighter golf shots. It is irrelevant whether you use an interlocking, overlapping, or baseball grip as long as your strength is neutral.

You may feel like your neutral approach costs you clubhead speed, coefficient of restitution, and ball velocity. In this case, I recommend that you try a stronger grip. Remember, although it may help your swing speed, it can cause you to leave your clubface open at impact and slice or push your shots.

Now, for those experienced players who have found success using alternative methods, you are proof that there is no one size fits all approach. This article is to help beginners get ahead and limit the number of bad habits the rest of us have picked up over the years.

Which Grip is Best for Irons?

Like your driver, I advise using a neutral grip for irons to encourage direct ball flight and lower the risk of producing a hook or slice. If you set up for a draw, you may consider tightening your grip by rotating it anti-clockwise slightly to help you close the clubface faster.

Conversely, when you wish to play a fade with your irons, you can weaken your grip by moving it clockwise to slightly conceal your left hand. Remember, this is a game of inches, and rotating it too much can lead to a savage slice.

Which Grip is The Best For Putting?

As a traditionalist, I support utilizing the conventional reverse overlap setup, which requires the opposite placement to a full-swing Vardon grip. With this grip, your left index finger sits on the knuckle of your lower right hand, switching roles. You’ll find that this setup restricts wrist movement for straighter putts.

Another option is the low left-hand approach or right-hand low for lefties. Instead of your setup for full shots, you place your left hand at the bottom of the grip while the right hand anchors at the base. You’ll find that this grip promotes less tension and wrist action to keep your putter face square at contact.

Finally, golfers also use the saw or claw variants, which Mark O’Meara popularized in the nineties. You literally hold the putter as if you were holding a saw or have a claw, which restricts moving your wrists to keep your club online during your stroke.

Which Grip is Best to Hit a Draw?

Our guide has highlighted that a stronger grip is your best bet to hit a draw because it helps you close the clubface faster at impact.

However, be careful not to over-strengthen your grip because this can rapidly turn your draw into a snap hook and lead you down the path of trouble. In addition, ensure that you are aiming to the right of your target to compensate for the proposed right curve.

Which Grip is Best to Hit a Fade?

Contrary to a draw, a fade requires a slightly weaker grip setup, which will help you propel the club on an out-to-in swing path. You’ll notice that this leads to your clubface slicing across the ball while remaining open to the line and sending your ball on a left-to-right trajectory.

Finally, ensure that you are set up left of your proposed target to prepare for the fade, or you will end up right of the mark.

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years. Current Handicap: 8

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