Exploration of Center of Gravity, Moment of Inertia, and Launch Direction for Putters with Ball Speed Normalizing Face Properties

The forgiveness of golf putters is traditionally achieved through weight distribution. Putters are often designed with large footprints, which help to increase the moment of inertia (MOI), but consequently move the center of gravity (CG) farther behind the face. The use of higher MOI putters will result in less ball speed loss on impacts away from the sweet spot (i.e., more forgiveness). It has been shown that certain face properties, such as milling patterns, grooves, or soft inserts, can be leveraged to have a similar effect. This paper explores the relationships between impact location, MOI, CG depth, discretionary mass placement, and launch direction for these putters. A novel design strategy is proposed. Minimizing CG depth for putters with ball speed normalizing face properties, even at the expense of MOI, can result in more consistent launch direction and distance control for the average player.