Putter Jargon Workshop: Lie Angle

Lie angle is perhaps the least understood aspect of putter fitting, which also includes length, loft and weight.

Indeed, most recreational golfers are happily unaware of the importance of lie angle. Ignorance may be bliss, but it can be a drag on performance.

Lie angle is the measurement of the angle between the shaft and the ground when the putter is resting flat on the green. This angle determines how the putter head will sit when you address the ball.

If a putter’s lie angle is too upright for your physique and setup, the putter heel will be grounded and the toe will be lifted. If the angle is too flat, the toe will be grounded and the heel will lifted. Next time you’re out on the practice green, look around and you will no doubt see at least one golfer whose putter toe is sticking up when they address the ball.

Either scenario—too upright or too flat—can wreak subtle havoc on your putting game, causing alignment issues as well as making it difficult to achieve consistently solid contact.

Don’t panic if you discover that the toe of your favorite putter sticks up when you comfortably address the ball. Most putters come with stock lie angles, but can be bent by a degree or two by an experienced clubfitter, who will have the necessary knowledge and tools to get the job done right. Consult the Professional Clubmakers’ Society to find a clubfitter near you.

Rife’s 2 Bar putters offer do-it-yourself fitting with their LieAline fitting system. With this system, a notch in the crown of the putter is designed to visually connect with a sightline on the flange when the lie angle fits your natural setup (see photo). And what if the notch and the line don’t connect? No problem—the putter is designed to allow you to adjust the lie angle with an included bending tool.

Don’t forget that lie angle is only part of the larger fitting equation, which includes the aforementioned length, loft and weight, all of which are dependent on proper setup mechanics.

In other words, your ideal lie angle doesn’t exist in a vacuum. But if you aim to raise your game, make sure you’re aware of this angle's importance to the overall goal of a perfect fit.

Putter Jargon Workshop: Milled Putters

When shopping for a putter, it’s hard to avoid the word “milled,” and you will notice that the term is most often associated with higher prices. So what, exactly, is milling—and why is it important to your putting game?

Most putters are produced by one of two processes: casting or milling. Milling is considered to be a superior method to casting.

Casting is the process of pouring molten metal into molds, after which the metal cools and the molds are removed. Milling, on the other hand, is a machining process that essentially cuts and sculpts the putter out of a block of metal (typically carbon steel or stainless steel) with remarkable precision and reliability. Most milled putters today are created by computer numerical control (CNC) milling, by which a computerized controller drives the milling process. Naturally, milling is more costly than casting, hence the heftier price tags on milled putters.

For a fully milled putter, you will want to look for the term “100 percent milled.” In some instances, just the putter face itself is milled to ensure optimal face flatness while maintaining a more competitive price point.

In an earlier interview with PutterZone.com, Never Compromise’s Adam Sheldon elaborated on the company’s Milled Series putters, which are 100-percent milled from Japanese carbon steel. According to Sheldon: “The milling process itself ensures outstanding part-to-part accuracy, repeatability and consistency. This really allows us to control head weight and other critical dimensions such as loft, lie, sole draft and face flatness—all the real important aspects of a putter.”

Milling can also be employed to create a technological effect, as with the new F.I.T. face milling process found in the new Mizuno Bettinardi Black Carbon series putters. As Mizuno’s Chuck Couch said in an earlier interview on PutterZone.com: “F.I.T. face technology dramatically reduces the surface area of where the ball makes contact with the face, offering the soft feel of a polymer insert, but in the solid and consistent package of a one-piece 100-percent milled carbon steel putter.”

None of this is to say that there’s something wrong with cast putters. There are, in fact, plenty of them on the PGA Tour. Whether you’re talking about cast or milled, quality control in the putter industry is magnificent these days.

That said, there’s a reason that both Odyssey and PING recently entered the premium milled market this year with, respectively, their Black (pictured here) and Redwood series putters—joining Never Compromise and Mizuno among the heavyweights offering 100-percent milled putters, not to mention a host of boutique putter designers such as T.P. Mills, 350 Milled and others.

The reason is that the market for such putters is growing as the average golfer becomes more sophisticated and discriminating when it comes to putting, seeking an extra edge in terms of feel and confidence on the greens.

Think of it as the difference between a Volkswagen and a Mercedes. Both are solid vehicles, and both will get you to the grocery store just fine. But if you want, and can afford, a little more "oomph" and luxury along the way, the choice becomes pretty clear.

P.S. Stay tuned here at PutterZone.com for an upcoming review of the Never Compromise Milled Series putter.

Putter Jargon Workshop: Black Oxide

Of the potentially mysterious terms you will encounter when searching for a high-end putter is “black oxide,” in reference to the finish found on certain putters, as well as some wedges.

Black oxide is essentially a controlled black rust that provides protection against uncontrolled rust, also know as red oxide. Black oxide can also double as a cosmetic enhancement, adding a sleek profile to a club, especially when buffed to a shiny or satin finish on the face and sole of a putter. Another advantage of black oxide is that it helps reduce glare amid sunny playing conditions.

Black oxide is found on industrial parts as well, improving lubricity while protecting against corrosion. Applying black oxide is also known as the process of “gun bluing,” in reference to its popular use on firearms.

In a golf context, why do you find the term associated mainly with high-end putters? Because most of the putters in your local retail outlet are made of stainless steel and/or are plated for a no-maintenance putting experience.

However, some premium putter makers like to offer flatsticks made of precision-milled carbon steel, which is preferred for its soft, supple feedback. T.P. Mills, 350 Milled and Scotty Cameron are among the names associated with pure carbon steel putters.

The rub is that carbon steel is very susceptible to rust, thus requiring a protective finish.

The advantage of black oxide as opposed to plating is that it adds virtually no “build up” on the surface of the steel. According to putter refinisher Black Oxide Service (click here for a photo and personal account of putter refinishing by Black Oxide Service), black oxide adds just five to 10 millionths of an inch to the dimension of a part. It also penetrates to an approximate depth of five to 10 millionths of an inch.

In that sense, it is more of a dye than a coating. Therefore, you get a protective finish while maintaining the pure feel of the parent material, specifically soft carbon steel. When you’re paying $250 or more for a chunk of metal, that can be an important consideration.

Carbon steel putters with black oxide finishes are far from bulletproof. Common foes of black oxide finishes are water and fertilizer, which can compromise the finish and initiate rusting. Therefore, users are encouraged to frequently dry their putters when playing in wet conditions, and to rub them down with a silicone cloth or mineral oil (a.k.a. baby oil) after each use.

An added chore? Perhaps. But well worth it to those who want the feel of carbon steel and the sleek look of black oxide.

Putter Jargon Workshop: Swingweight

The weight of your putter is one thing, but its swingweight is quite another. The actual weight of your putter head is fixed, but the swingweight is fluid, depending on the length of your putter—and it can make a big difference in your game.

Say you stab an apple with a four-foot spear and swing it around. Now, chop the spear in half and swing it around. Your sensation of control over the apple will change dramatically. In other words, the apple still weighs the same, but the swingweight of the spear has been altered.

According to Todd Sones, a Top 100 instructor and founder of Coutour Golf: “Swingweight is the most overlooked aspect of putter fitting, mainly because it is not visible. Swingweight has to do with feel. It is the feel of the putter head as it swings. Swingweight influences the distance the putter travels on the back-and-forth stroke. It influences tempo as well as the path the putter head swings.”

So why does that matter to you? Well, as PutterZone.com has noted, there is a shift toward shorter putters as the “standard” of 35 inches for men is questioned by many top instructors and even manufacturers. But if you simply want to shorten your putter by cutting the shaft down, or even just gripping down on your putter, beware the laws of swingweight.

As Sones says: “Ultimately, if you have shortened your putter or even grip down on your putter by one inch, you decrease it’s swingweight by six points or 12 grams of weight. Six swingweights is enough to drastically change the feel of your putter, your tempo and your stroke.”

Some manufacturers don’t account for swingweight changes, using the same head for a 34-inch putter as they do for a 35-inch putter. That doesn’t mean there is something verifiably wrong with one or the other, but it does mean that they will feel differently—an interesting prospect considering how important “feel” is to successful putting.

This is why Coutour Golf and some other manufacturers make the same heads in different weights (or offer personal adjustable weighting systems). As Sones said in an earlier interview with PutterZone.com: “When you make a custom putter, you not only need to make it a length that fits the player’s body, but you have to make it the gram weight that maintains the proper swing weight. That’s why at Coutour Golf we have 335, 350 and 365 gram heads, which are matched to different lengths.”

So when it comes to your own putter, you should (1) be aware of swingweight and how it can affect your game; (2) understand that shortening an existing putter or gripping down on a putter will change its swingweight; and (3) investigate a manufacturer’s approach to swingweight when you are in the market for a new putter.

P.S. This edition of the Putter Jargon Workshop is the first in what will be a series of PutterZone.com pieces that will seek to demystify putter terminology for the average golfer who seeks to raise his or her game.