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For years I used a standard length 35" putter. I always gripped down on it. About 2 years ago I got fitted for a putter at 33.5" and have used that length since then. BTW, just cutting down the length on a longer putter will change the weight and could also throw of the balance. For instance a standard 33" Scotty Cameron putter will have 20g weights in it but a 35" will have 15g weights. The extra weighting is done to compensate the length that have been cut off and in doing so it changes the weight and balance.

A standard 34 inch putter length works well for me. Also, I wouldn't worry about messing any balance points within the 2-3 inch range you are talking about.

However, if any of you are thinking about turning your standard putter to a belly or long putter--don't do it! You need a significantly higher mass putter head for everything to work properly.

Dude, yes. And yes.

I got so tired of gripping way down on my Scotty Cameron a few years ago that I had an inch cut off. Then another inch. Then another inch. And then 2 or 2 1/2 inches. Each time I'd putt with it for 3-6 months and like it but think, "I can take some more off the top." So I did.

I ended up with about a 29 to 30-inch putter with an oversized Winn grip on it that was so short I HAD to get into my Nicklaus crouch to putt with it ... which is exactly what I was going for. Except once I got it there, I didn't like it.

So I had them shove a 36" shaft in it, started putting out of a very tall, closed instead of an open stance and haven't looked back. No crouch, no open stance, no short putter.

But that's where I ended up. If I hadn't had that last 2 to 2 1/2 inches cut off when I was putting out of an open stance in a crouch, I might *still* be putting out of an open stance in a crouch with about a 32-inch putter.

My point: Do what you got to do. If it works, that's all the validation you need.

A good friend of mine and a dang good golfer and putter grips down almost to the steel. It works. Why change?

That's me.
Crouched, eye straight over the ball with open stance.
Allows my arms to hang and swing easy with a back and forth stroke
instead of upright and a more of an arc stroke.

One day I'll get fit but till then I think I'm spot on.

It's a great setup and very comfortable. The reason I switched has to do with something very specific to me and not with the setup itself. In fact, it was hard for me to keep from falling back into my old open-stance crouch because it's so comfortable.

One note: There's nothing wrong with choking down on a putter shaft. That's not to say you shouldn't have it cut down to an exact fit (maybe even shorter than your 32); that might work great. But I've known a couple of guys who did that and found they didn't make as many putts as when they used a 35 and choked down on it.

Again, like I say ... whatever works.

Listen to this....i had to learn it the hard way with terrible results.

You can get away with it on faster greens but if you play on slower greens you may need to add weight to the head. If not then the swing weight may be too light and will give you trouble with your distance control on long putts.

Not only distance control, but on really long putts, even leaning the shaft forward, I've popped up quite a few times, like a mini chip that only goes 10 feet at most.

Steve, have you tracked your BEFORE and AFTER stats for these different length putters? If not, it's a good idea to do so.

Changing your putter length to suit your height can make a huge difference. I would also look at the Putter Lie Angle when you change your shaft length to make sure your putter is square at the bottom of your stroke.

Lie is huge.

I'm turning into isao aoki in my old age, hitting a lot of my shorter putts with the toe pointing skyward. I really need to get the lie adjusted if I'm going to keep putting with that shaft angle.

LOL! It's been a while since I've heard of Isao Aoki!

For years I putted with an old Ping A Blade putter at 34 inches. When I bought My Odyssey White Hot it was in a 35 inch length. For some reason the added one inch felt much more comfortable. I extended my A Blade to 35 and now use it as a backup.

I trimmed an old Ping putter from 36" down to 34" but I pulled the shaft and tip weighted it for balance.
Lie angle was fine because the 36" length was a bit up right now with 2" shorter, the lie angle is near perfect.

The funny thing is I'm putting better this year than ever before, and I promise you I'm making half my 3- and 4-footers with the toe about 45 degrees angled up. And I can't even tell you why other than it's working with my new no-forward-press stroke on short putts.