After running short game schools for the last four years and working with and watching members of the PGA and LPGA Tours, I realized that there was a big difference between what happened on the greens with tour players and what happened on the greens with amateurs. The difference is that tour players play with putters that fit them, allowing them to set up to their putts properly. The set-up position is crucial in high performance putting because with the proper set-up, a player can create a natural stroke that is fundamentally sound and repeatable. In our short game schools, 80-85% of the students were not able to set up properly to their putts because they didn’t have a putter custom fit to their set-up.

My goal became to find a way to help the average player putt like a tour player by fitting them to the correct length putter and teaching them the set-up which allows them to create a tour quality putting stroke.

Putting is one part of the game where the average player has the opportunity to play like a tour player. Putting doesn’t require strength, flexibility or even a high level of coordination. To be a great putter, you have to line the putt up properly and allow your arms and shoulders to swing the putter back and forth in a smooth repeatable motion. Putting should be the easiest part of the game. A goal we set for our students is to average under 33 putts per round. If your putting average is 33 per round, you’re losing 3 shots off your score.

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Typically, putting is the fastest way to improve a player’s average score The set-up is the key to great putting. I’ve identified the common denominators great putters share by using 3 lines.

The first is to line your eyes up over the inside edge of the ball. This is the best vantage point to properly line up the face of the putter squarely to your intended target line. It is also the best vantage point to track the putt, imagining it going into the hole before you ever hit the putt.

The next important line is from your shoulders down your arms, to your hands with your arms hanging freely. When your shoulders are square, your arms will naturally swing straight back and through, allowing the putter to move on the correct path. This gives a player a fundamentally sound, repeatable motion that is natural and not manipulated.

The third line is from your hips down to your heels, with your weight on the balls of your feet. When your weight is on the balls of your feet, you are dynamically balanced so that when your putter is in motion, you are able to remain still–a trait all great putters share.

By setting up properly, the player will create a natural putting stroke, while players who set-up incorrectly, will always have to manipulate the putter during their stroke. Players with natural strokes have clear minds, allowing them to focus on what great putters think about–the speed, the line and the hole.

The length of the putter is an integral part of the player’s set-up. If the length of the putter is incorrect for the player, the player will not be able to set up correctly and will be forced into a manipulated stroke.

The Tri-Measure Fitting System uses the Pythagorean theorem to measure for the correct length putter while the player is in the proper set-up position.

Just as important as length, a putter has to be balanced in swing weight to give the player the best opportunity to have a repeatable tempo and smooth putting stroke. Cutting down or gripping down on a putter destroys the balance of the putter. The Tri-Measure Putters are available in three different gram weights so that once the proper length is determined, the putter is made with the correct weight resulting in a balanced putter.

Ultimately, once a player goes through a Tri-Measure Fitting, they walk away with a clear understanding of how they should set up to their putts, what length putter fits into the correct set-up and a putter that is perfectly balanced. My hope for this system is that in the future, the greater majority of players won’t settle for putters off the shelf. Tour players don’t–they know that the one club in their bag that has more value to their score than any other club is their putter.