For many amateurs putting is an often overlooked aspect of the game, with many preferring to spend hundreds of dollars on a new driver or set of irons that promise to improve the distance that you hit the ball and your accuracy.

But the simple truth is perfectly summed up by the old adage you drive for show and putt for dough. Putting is the business end of the game and is the area that you should look to focus on when it comes to your practice sessions.

However it is not your practice regime that I want to mention in this article, I want to explain the importance of choosing the right putter for your game and your personal preferences.

Putters come in all shapes and sizes and choosing the right one for you can be difficult.

You have to be open minded and be willing to try a wide variety of putters at both ends of the price spectrum and everything in between.

If you are a traditionalist and like the blade style shape, make sure that you try some of the mallet shaped putters, which may make a huge difference to the way that you putt.

The reason that putters now come in a myriad of head shapes is to aid you with alignment and keeping the putter face square to your target.

You should also consider how the putter is balanced as this will also affect the way that you putt, a face balanced putter will help keep the clubface squarer through impact, in other words a face balanced putter will have less tendency to twist upon impact. Faced balanced putters are more suited to golfers who have a straight back, straight through motion or those that regularly miss putts to the left of the hole.  For those that have a somewhat “arced” swing, a toe balanced putter will tend to open and close more throughout the stroke “working” with the arc type swing.

You will also find putters that are in between the spectrum, but favour the “toe balanced”, so it is worth taking the time to notice which swing type you have and buy a putter that best suits your stroke.

Shaft position will also have an effect, with many golfers favouring a heel shafted putter to a centre shafted putter, although having recently changed to a face balanced centre shafted, I would recommend you trying a centre shafted putter, as for me it provides better feedback and a more solid contact. It is extremely important to ensure that you choose the right shaft length for you, I believe that the majority of golfers are using a putter shaft that is too long for them and this results in poor posture, poor technique and more often than not is the reason for poor putter position as well.

Finally the material used for the face should be considered, many putters are made from a metal “block” which is then moulded into shape, and some will have a pattern or grooves in the face of the putter which will generate a different feel. Many putters will have a “polymer” or “non-metal” insert which produce a softer feel than the metal faced putters, but for many the downside is the lack of “sound” from a soft insert putter.

Choosing a putter must be a considered purchase and trying putters over the course of a few days can really improve your feel for them.

Once you have chosen your favourite putter you need to head to the putting green to start training your stroke. But I will leave that for another day.