Abstract: A golf putter is optimized by providing a cylindrical ball-striking face with a radius of curvature of between about 2 and about 6 inches. The ball-striking face of the preferred putter is arcuate in cross-section and has a radius of curvature of essentially 4 inches about a horizontal axis lying in a plane parallel to and spaced essentially 0.84 inches from the sole of the putter. This shape for the putting face ensures that a ball will be stroked with a desirable over-spin. The putter also retains much of a conventional flat-faced putter's immunity to small variations that a golfer may make about an ideal stroking position.