Putter Length Chart: What “34 Inches” Actually Means
The published standards, the rule that governs them, and the reason two putters marked the same length are not the same club.
The Rules of Golf define exactly how to measure a putter — but that definition is not what every maker uses. The Rules measure to the sole, along the shaft axis. Evnroll publish that they measure to the sweet spot. On a heel-shafted putter those are different points, so the same club gets two different numbers. Meanwhile “standard” is 34″ to The GolfWorks and 35″ to PING. Check the length below against what each publisher actually says.
Putter length looks like the simplest specification in golf. It is a number, in inches, printed on the shaft. It turns out to be the one club spec where even the measuring method is contested — and where the governing rule carves out an exception that applies to no other club in the bag.
The ToolPutter length checker
Enter a length and see what each publisher says about it: whether it is anyone's standard, whether it is stocked or custom-only, and what the Rules of Golf allow.
Enter a length to see what each publisher calls it.
Every figure below is read from the publisher's own page or spec sheet, linked in the tables that follow, and checked August 2026. Where publishers disagree the checker shows the disagreement rather than picking a winner.
The ConflictThe industry does not agree where the tape starts
The Rules of Equipment, published jointly by The R&A and the USGA, define putter length precisely. Section 2.1c reads:
For putters, the measurement of length is taken from the top of the grip along the axis of the shaft or a straight line extension of it to the sole of the club. The R&A, Rules of Equipment, Part 2, 2.1c
The head-end reference point is therefore wherever the shaft axis, extended in a straight line, meets the sole. On a plumber's-neck or heel-shafted putter that point sits near the heel.
Evnroll publish something different on their own FAQ:
How does Evnroll measure club length? We use a tape measure from the bottom of the sweet spot to the top of the grip. Evnroll, published FAQ
The sweet spot is in the middle of the face. On any putter where the shaft does not enter through the centre — which is most blades — those two reference points are inches apart along the sole, and the tape lands in a different place. The same physical putter measures differently depending on which method the maker used.
The practical consequence is narrow but real: a 34″ putter from one maker and a 34″ putter from another may not set up the same way in your hands, and neither maker has done anything wrong. If you are replacing a putter you like, the number alone will not reproduce it — measure the old one yourself, the same way, and take that figure with you.
The StandardsNobody agrees on standard either
The GolfWorks, a clubmaking components supplier, publishes a gendered standard. PING publishes a different number for its blade putter. Hireko, another components supplier, rejects the idea of a gendered putter standard altogether.
| Publisher | What they call standard | Also published |
|---|---|---|
| The GolfWorks men's | 34.00″ | Belly 41.00″ · Long 48.00″ |
| The GolfWorks women's | 33.00″ | Belly 38.00″ · Long 46.00″ |
| PING PLD Milled Anser 2D | 35″ | Stated on the product page as “Standard Length” |
| Hireko components | no gendered standard | Names 35″, 34″ and 33″ as the common stock lengths; armlock 39–42″ |
| Odyssey Ai-ONE #1 CH | 33″, 34″, 35″ | Lie and loft held constant at 70.0° and 3° across all three |
| Cleveland HB SOFT 2 | 34″, 35″ stock | Custom 32″–38″ in ½″ increments |
Sources, each read August 2026: The GolfWorks spec sheet · PING PLD Milled Anser 2D · Hireko standard length chart · Odyssey Ai-ONE · Cleveland HB SOFT 2.
An inch is not a trivial gap on a club you hold still. The GolfWorks call 34″ the men's standard; PING print “Standard Length 35″” on a blade putter's own spec table. Both are correct about their own products. Neither is a fact about putters.
The ExceptionThe only club in the bag with no maximum length
The same rule that defines the measurement also sets the limits, and putters get a carve-out that applies to nothing else:
The overall length of the club must be at least 18 inches (0.457 m) and, except for putters, must not exceed 48 inches (1.219 m). The R&A, Rules of Equipment, Part 2, 2.1c
Every driver, wood, hybrid and iron you can legally play is capped at 48 inches. Putters have no upper limit at all. That is why PING can publish a 47″ long putter and why L.A.B. Golf publish build options running to 50″ — lengths that would be illegal on any other club in the bag.
The 18-inch minimum, by contrast, applies to putters like everything else. It is not a number anyone bumps into.
Worth noting what the exemption does not permit. Anchoring the club against the body has been against the Rules of Golf since 2016, and that restriction is about how you use the club, not how long it is. A long putter is perfectly legal; anchoring it is not.
The ConsequenceLength changes more than reach
Cleveland publish something most makers leave unsaid — that changing the length changes what they have to do to the head. On the HB SOFT 2 spec page, in a footnote to the length options:
Putters shafts 35″ and over include a 20g counterbalance weight. Cleveland Golf, HB SOFT 2 specifications
A longer shaft moves the balance point, and Cleveland add weight at the grip end to bring the feel back. Odyssey take the other approach on the Ai-ONE, holding lie at 70.0° and loft at 3° across all three stock lengths and letting the balance fall where it falls.
The lesson for anyone thinking of cutting a putter down at home is the same one that applies to club length generally: shortening the shaft changes the swingweight, and a club that felt right at 35″ will feel head-light at 33″ unless something is added back. Cleveland's own custom programme moves in half-inch increments for that reason.
The last wordMeasure the putter you own
There is no authority you can appeal to for the right putter length, because the only authority that speaks on the subject — the Rules of Equipment — defines how to measure and how long is legal, and says nothing whatever about what suits you. The number that matters is the one that lets you set your eyes over the ball with your arms hanging comfortably, and that is a fitting question, not a chart question.
What a chart can honestly do is tell you what the number means when you read it on a box. On that, the answer is: less than you would think. Standard is 34″ or 35″ depending on who printed it, the measurement may have started at the sole or at the sweet spot, and the club is exempt from the length limit that binds everything else you carry.
FAQCommon questions
What is the standard putter length?
It depends who you ask, and the gap is a full inch. The GolfWorks publish a men's standard of 34.00″ and a women's standard of 33.00″. PING print “Standard Length 35″” on the spec table for their PLD Milled Anser 2D blade. Hireko, another components supplier, decline to give a gendered standard at all and instead name 35″, 34″ and 33″ as the lengths putters are commonly stocked in. All three are describing real products accurately; there is simply no single standard to describe.
How is putter length measured?
The Rules of Equipment define it as measured “from the top of the grip along the axis of the shaft or a straight line extension of it to the sole of the club”. On a heel-shafted putter the shaft axis, extended, meets the sole near the heel, and that is the reference point. Not every maker follows it — Evnroll publish that they measure “from the bottom of the sweet spot to the top of the grip”, which is a different point on the head. If you are measuring your own putter to replace it, use the Rules method and note that you did.
Is there a maximum putter length?
No. The Rules of Equipment set a maximum of 48 inches for clubs and then explicitly exempt putters: the club “must be at least 18 inches… and, except for putters, must not exceed 48 inches”. Putters are the only club in the bag with no upper limit, which is why PING publish a 47″ long putter and L.A.B. Golf publish build options up to 50″. The 18-inch minimum does still apply.
Are long putters still legal?
Yes. Long putters are legal at any length; what changed in 2016 was a restriction on anchoring — you may not hold the club against your body, or hold a forearm against your body to create an anchor point. That is a rule about how the club is used rather than how long it is, so a broomstick or armlock putter is perfectly conforming provided the stroke is not anchored. Hireko list armlock putters at 39–42″.
Should I cut my putter down myself?
It is possible, but understand what changes. Shortening the shaft removes weight from the grip end and makes the head feel lighter, sometimes markedly. Manufacturers compensate deliberately: Cleveland publish that HB SOFT 2 putters of 35″ and over include a 20g counterbalance weight, precisely to manage this. If you shorten a putter without adjusting head or grip weight, the club that comes back will not feel like the one you liked. A fitter can do both together.
What putter length should I use?
No published chart can answer this, and any that claims to is guessing. Putter length is set by your posture over the ball — how much you bend from the hips, where your eyes sit relative to the target line, and where your hands hang. Two golfers of identical height with different setups need different putters. The useful test is done standing over a ball, not read off a table: at the right length your eyes are over or just inside the ball and your arms hang without reaching or crowding.