Last Updated: September 28, 2023
Telescopic Long Putters
by Steve Divnick, Inventor of the Whole-In-One Telescopic Adjustable Golf Club
Long putters are also referred to as "Chest Putters" and "Broomstick Putters"
(If you are looking for our traditional length telescopic putters, click here.)
Chest putters have a lot of advantages. They putt straighter. They overcome the yips. They eliminate scuffing the ground. They lower scores.
With the top of the shaft pinned against your chest, the resulting pendulum motion is straight back and through resulting in more consistent scoring.
After many years of popularity, they became the focus of controversy and finally a USGA and R&A ruling that you can no longer anchor the shaft against your body. To be clear, that only applies to official governed tournaments. Most casual tournaments such as fund-raising events do not enforce the USGA and R&A Rules. And many golfers prefer the chest putter because it is easier on their back. So many golfers continue to use and anchor long chest putters and they are not bound by the official tournament Rules.
However, if you play by the Rules of Golf and want to use a chest putter, your top hand can no longer be anchored to your chest. Many golfers are adapting without anchoring their top hand as Bernard Langer has done so successfully on the Senior Tour.
The death of the long putter? Not so fast!
Golf industry experts predicted that long chest putters would cease to exist when the USGA stopped allowing anchoring the club. But they were wrong. To be sure, name-brand manufacturers have stopped making them. But we haven't. Not only because there are still a lot of golfers who want them, but because our telescopic shafts make them easy to travel with....something that was always a problem for one-piece chest putters.
Not long after the non-anchoring rule went into effect, the Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee acknowledge that the long putter wasn’t dead yet. He included stats that two players on the Champion’s Tour using long putters are numbers 1 and 2 in fewest putting strokes. But more than that, Bernhard Langer is putting better than anyone ever has…including Tiger Woods in his best year, Jordan Spieth in his best year, and Justin Thomas in his best year.
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Click here to watch the Golf Channel segment about Bernhard Langer and the long chest putter. This link will open in a separate browser window so you won't lose your place on this page. (Please let us know if the link doesn't open. They might archive the segment at some time...) |
Watch this short video of Mark McCarron giving a great long putter lesson using his non-anchoring method. He is one of the best putters on the planet, and he demonstrates the keys to great putting with a long unanchored putter.
In other words, we don’t have to give up our long putters. We just have to learn to putt without anchoring the top hand like Langer does. It still has the advantage of a smooth, steady stroke, no wrists, a heavy head, better alignment sight lines, and it overcomes shaky nerves that seem to increase with age.
The following video is a great explanation of the advantages of using long putters without anchoring them.
With the more upright lie angle of long putters (79 degrees vs 72 degrees for traditional putters), your eyes are more over the top of the putter. So it is very easy to see that the head is lined up with the putting line, and it stays aligned throughout the swing with less of an arc than traditional-length putters..
With all the popularity of long putters, the big-name manufacturers were never able to solve a big disadvantage: They are difficult to travel with because they don't fit into a travel golf bag. Our proprietary telescopic shafts solve that problem.
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Telescopic Technology to the Rescue With a telescopic shaft, there is no need to avoid a chest putter or to sacrifice the ideal length because you can't fit it into your travel bag. We have solved that problem with the same proprietary telescopic shaft technology we use for our other telescopic clubs. Our shafts are rock-solid when extended. In fact, on robot testing with our full-swing clubs, they perform the same as one-piece shafts. Even though putting is less stressful on the shaft, it is critical that there be absolutely no movement in the shaft in order to produce perfect straight putts. Our shafts meet that demand. We can make shafts up to 60 inches long. The most common length is 50 inches which collapses down to 30 inches for travel. We use the 500 gram Heavy Head with great sight lines and the ability to scoop the ball up off the grass. We modify it from the 72-degree lie angle used for the standard-length putter stance, to 79-degrees for long chest putters. All the name-brand and component manufacturers stopped making chest putter heads when the anchoring ban went into effect. But we have solved that issue.
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Hi Steve,
Steve, The new putter is quite amazing and well balanced. The alignment stripe on the back is huge for keeping the stroke down the line. This club has significantly improved my stroke. I’m getting birdies more often thanks to you. In fact, I birdied three holes with putts over 12 feet yesterday! I look forward to putting...can hardly wait to get on the green!!! John Sturm, Florida |
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Custom Shafts on Your Head
If you already have a chest putter and like how it feels but you can't travel with it, if it uses a straight shaft,* we can make a telescopic shaft for it. If you send us the head, the cost of making the telescopic shaft is the same as the normal cost of the chest putters because it will require a little more shop time since we can't use our standard cutting jigs. As described on our "Custom Club" page, if you want us to remove your head, there is a $15 cost assuming it is an epoxy-fitted shaft as are most clubs. If your head is a PING which uses a frozen ball-bearing to secure it to the head, there are additional charges and implications. Please ask us about that before you submit your order. If requested , we will sell the shaft and collapsing cap for you to install on your head, but it is not less expensive than a complete club. Please inquire here about self-install shaft options.
Telescopic shafts must be straight. But many modern putters have curved shafts to create offset alignment. We have an option for those that is not telescopic, but is a two-piece shaft with a threaded coupling. Click here to read more about that option.
Grips
We install deluxe Tackimac 2-Piece Grips on our chest putters. Tackimac grips have a great feel, and they "tack up" when washed. Note that the two sections are separated more than in this picture. We place the middle of the lower grip 19 inches (48cm) from the end unless you specify a different location in the Comment Box during checkout. For your reference, the top grip is 5 1/4" long (132.3cm) and the bottom section is 10 1/4" long (25cm).
Head Covers
We offer quick-attach Velcro-closure head cover as an option for $15. It not only protects your putter head, because of the length of the long putter, the head cover will also protect your other clubs.
Face-On Side-Saddle Putting
"Face-On" or "Side-Saddle" putting just makes sense. It has some interesting advantages. If you haven't tried it, it is worth some experimentation. You will be surprised how well you putt right off the bat. But with some practice, you will be draining putts from everywhere! Our putter is perfectly designed for it.
- When you line up a putt, you usually bend over and look at the line from behind the ball using both eyes. But a traditional putting stance has your eyes sideways. With the Face-On stance, both eyes are still facing the target line.
- The stroke is straight back and through...no arc. So contacting the ball anywhere along the stroke is more accurate.
- The club hangs straight down promoting a true pendulum motion that is straight throughout the entire stroke.
- It is USGA-conforming as long as you don't anchor the top.
Most of us have stood behind a friend who is putting and noticed that he or she isn't lined up with the target. They think they are, but they are looking down on their club, then looking at the target...all from the side. They have learned to compensate for misalignment by striking the ball at an angle. But that isn't consistent. The best solution is perfect alignment and a straight back-and-through stroke. Side-Saddle putting makes that possible.
Most golfers using a conventional putter look down at their putter and ball, then look at the target, then look back down, then look at their target, then back down. This up and down looking becomes a ritual, but what does it accomplish? With side-saddle putting, you line your putter up while standing BEHIND it where you can see EXACTLY where it is aimed. Then you step in beside it and never have to look at your target again. All of your focus can be on the ball and a smooth straight-back-and-straight-forward stroke.
Consider this: If you were rolling a golf ball toward the hole by hand, you wouldn't stand sideways as with a conventional putter stance. You would face the target, flex your knees and waist a little, and toss the ball underhanded straight away from you. That is how you would get the most accurate distance and line, and that is the essence of the Face-On putting method. This video is very effective at describing the benefits of this putting method. (This video was made before the non-anchoring rule, but it is very easy to not anchor the top hand with the side saddle method.)
Not convinced yet? If you were tossing a ball into a bucket 10 or 20 feet away from you, or if you were throwing a corn-hole bag, or bowling, or shooting a free throw, how would you stand? It sure wouldn't be sideways. Golf is a game of tradition, and a side-stance is the traditional way to putt. But if you want to shake things up, give Face-On Side Saddle putting a try. It makes sense.
Can it be done with a conventional short putter? Yes, but it is much easier with a long putter because it will "hang" more straight down. A true pendulum swing doesn't require you to do anything but pull it back and push it forward. A long putter hanging down will automatically hold the line as you take it back and through. That said, some side-saddle putters have the shaft at a little bit of an angle, but even with that, it is very easy to go straight back and straight forward.
When it is "hanging" straight down, a wide putter head (heel to toe) doesn't work very well because the toe is way down and the heel is way up. The ideal side-saddle putter head is relatively short from heel to toe, and has more depth front to back with one or two bold lines for easy alignment. And it is much heavier than a conventional-stance putter. Our 500 gram head is PERFECT for face-on side-saddle putting. The bold white alignment stripe down the middle of the back of the head makes it very easy to "see down the line" from behind. When you have the putt lined up, just make the putting stroke along that same line and the ball will go right where you are aiming.
You may not sink all the 10 to 50 foot putts, but it is deadly accurate from 3 to 5 feet. So you will not hesitate to hit longer putts all the way to the hole. You will not be afraid of come-backers. And some of those longer putts will have a chance to fall.
There are many videos promoting this style of putting. If you go to YouTube and search "side saddle putting" and "face on putting" you will be able to see how it has made a lot of average putters into great putters.
Try it! And let me know what you think.
Steve
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Guarantee As with all our clubs, we guarantee your satisfaction or your money back. FOR LIFE! Our telescopic shafts will NEVER wear out or become loose. |
Phone: 1-937-476-1298 (Eastern USA, 9 am to 9 pm)
Price
The normal MSRP is $299 with a telescopic shaft and black Tacki-Mac grip. If ordered before the end of September, your cost is just $249.
Click here or on the credit card image below to place your secure order.
Phone: 1-937-476-1298 (Eastern USA, 9 am to 9 pm)
Standard length options are 46 inches to 51 inches (117cm to 129.5cm) which are the most popular lengths.
*There is an additional $20 cost for chest putter lengths from 52 to 54 inches, and $40 for 55 and 56 inches (139.7 and 142 cms) if you are the center for an NBA team! The 55 and 56 inch options require an additional shaft section, and a thin epoxied joint is visible between the 2-piece grips. This is a minor cosmetic issue, barely noticeable even if you are looking for it.
All measurements include the head. So the final club length is measured from the floor in the address position, to the end of the grip.
When collapsed, a telescopic 50 inch chest putter is about 36 inches long (91.4 cm) which easily fits into a travel golf bag when collapsed. Even the longest 56 inch option collapses to 41 inches which still fits in any travel golf bag. See the Two-Piece Threaded Coupling Shaft Option below.
Two-Piece Threaded Coupling Shaft Option
If you want to be able to put your chest putter into a roller bag along with your other telescopic clubs, the standard telescopic option won't work because it only collapses down to about 36 inches (91.4 cm). We can machine a custom threaded coupling that you can unscrewed and separate into 2 pieces, the longest of which is a little shorter than a telescopic shaft. For instance, a 50-inch chest putter can be separated into two sections that are 25.5 inches (64.77 cm) measured to the bottom of the head, but a little longer than that when measured to the toe of the head. Click here to read more about that option.
What is the ideal length for your chest putter? How do you measure for a chest putter? The following section provides more details about how you can determine the ideal length.
Hand Positions and Ideal Length for a Chest Putter
As you can see from the pictures below, there are quite a few different ways to hold a chest putter. It becomes a matter of comfort and preference. Adam Scott, one of the top players in the PGA has a very high top hand position and leans over quite a bit. Others have a more upright stance and their top hand is in the middle of their chest.
Your preference of top-hand position will be related to the length of the club. The longer the club, the higher the top hand position.
Having said that, the key element is that the top hand is anchored against the chest, so the hand position and related length is not as critical as you might think. At the very least, a couple inches up or down doesn't seem to make that much difference for most players. In large part, comfort depends on how you get started.
If you don't already have experience and comfort with a given length and upper hand position, I suggest a position where your forearm is somewhat parallel to the ground. It is more relaxed with less tension which is beneficial to a good putting stroke.
See the length section below for more about how to decide on your preferred length.
The lower hand grip is completely one of personal preference. I like the grip shown in the first picture. It is more relaxed for me. But I have friends who putt using the other two methods which work great for them. Once you get your putter, you can experiment with each of the grip styles to find your most comfortable.
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Top Arm High
Pen, Paintbrush, or Claw Grip Style |
Top Arm Parallel
Open Hand or Standard Grip Style |
Top Arm Parallel
Split Finger Grip Style |
Length: How do you measure for a chest putter?
Most chest putters are 46" to 52" (116.8 cm to 132 cm) . Chest putter lengths can vary quite a bit, and still be comfortable. Simply stated, a longer or shorter shaft will change the position of your top hand and forearm. But the top of the shaft will still be held against your body. In reality, an inch or two either way will work fine. So there is no need to worry too much about finding an "ideal" chest putter length.
I recommend the following method to measure the length that is right for you. A chest-putter stance is a little more upright than a conventional stance, so stand just a little bent over so your eyes are somewhat over a ball or just inside it (toward the side closest to your feet). With your left hand (presuming you are right-handed) next to or pressed against your chest and your left forearm comfortably level, have someone measure to the top of your left hand while holding your stance and add 1/2" to that number so a little bit of the grip extends above your hand. (For your reference, I am 6'2", and my chest putter is 48" long.)
If you think you will be more comfortable with a higher or lower hand position, you can measure the desired length the same way, to the top of your left hand in the position that you desire while in a putting stance.
Experiment/Practice Suggestion
If you want to experiment a little, you can tie or tape a broom handle or other similar pole to your conventional putter so that the end of the pole is at the desired length. A bungee cord tightly spiraled around the shaft and pole works great. This will allow you to experiment with your stance and hand position to determine a comfortable length by adjusting the stick up or down. Keep in mind that the head of your conventional putter is significantly lighter than the actual chest putter. So when you get your actual chest putter, you will notice that the heavier head has a fantastic feel. Also, the lie angle of a conventional putter is flatter than a chest putter, so while you are practicing with this extended stick method, you will notice that the toe is down and the heel is up. Of course, your chest putter head will be flat to the ground.
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