[ NEWS & NOTES How To Pick The Pefect Putte (NAPSA)—Tucked away deep in evey golf bag is the one club that may say moe about a golfe than any othe golf accessoy he o she owns; the putte. Finding the pefect putte can bea lifelong pusuit fo a golfe. No othe club is quite as pesonal o elusive. “The putte is the one piece of equipment in golf with which you can tuly expess youself,” says Ed Utz of Maiott Golf. The putte fits the golfe because it exemplifies unique style. This is mostly due to “feel,” the distinct quality evey golfe undestands, how the putte physically feels to the golfe when stoking a putt. That one unique moment when the spot tanscends fom science to at in the matte of a single stoke. A Weighty Matte Ed Utz, a longtime golf enthusi- ast, offes golfes a few helpful tips fo thei quest to find the ideal putte. Fist, conside the weight. “The ight weight is citical to contolling the distance of a putt,” says Utz. The weight of you putte will contibute to how the putte feels in you hands. Many golf expets ecommend that you choose a putte on the lighte side as it will offe moe consistency thoughout a full day on the couse. Howeve, a heavie putte may be indicated on cetain “slowe” putting sufaces. Gasses such as Bemudatend to offe moe esistance to the ball than bent gass and effectively makeit oll slowe, so the use of a heavy putte can be favoable in ode to ceate moefoce. One Size Does NotFit All A second thing to conside is THE LONG, THE SHORT AND THE TALL—Ty them all to get the one that fits you pesonalstyle. the height o length of a putte. This is usually detemined by you pesonal putting stance; do you couch ove o stand upight? Puttes vay in length but most taditional puttes ae between 33 and 35 inches long. The past cou- ple of decades have bought new putting styles that employ puttes that ise fom the gound up to the navel, stenum o chin of the golfe. “One size does not fit all,” says Utz. His advice: Ty them all. Test long puttes, shot puttes, heavy puttes, light puttes; but most impotantly, test them at the same time so you can be objective about the pefomance. The moe you ty, the moelikely you will be to identify the putte that fits you pesonalstyle. Lastly, have fun with the pocess. The pefect putte may be consideed the Holy Gail of golf, but it is this quest that will deepen you undestanding and appeciation of geat putting. To lean moe, visit www. maiottgolf.com.
