To Improve Putting, do I get a Putter Fitting or Consistent Stroke?

I'm looking to improve my putting. Right now I use a 36" White Hot (mallet putter) that I bought at Golf Galaxy about 10 years ago, after trying a few out there for a half hour. I struggle with distance control on putts over 20 feet and struggle with intended direction in the 1-5 ft range, which seems to be the area where good players make putts consistently.

Late in the season this year I started choking down on it and seemed to get more consistent. It feels too heavy on short putts, but that could be my imagination. I've considered buying a blade putter, but no science behind that beyond wanting to try something different.

The question is, should I do a putter fitting or should I work on drills to get a consistent putting stroke? I've read several threads on here and seems to be conflicting advice. Some say there's no point in a fitting until you have a consistent stroke, but others talk about how the fitting will match the putter to the player's stroke.

I guess to clarify my question, which should come first? Getting fit then learning to putt or learning to putt then getting fit? The former makes more sense to me, but curious how others have done it.

To knock off a stroke or two, you are going to need both a consistent putting stroke, and a putter club fitting. If you can find the right person, that person should be able help with both the consistent stroke, and putter fitting. The bigger problem is finding that person, who can do both.

As for distance control, it's my belief that once fitted, it is still going to be up to golfer You, yourself need to learn how much of a stroke it will take to send the ball a given distance. Also, even after a proper fitting and a consistent stroke, the golfer still needs to read the green correctly.

I had a putter fitting some years ago. All the guy did was turn the grip a little on the shaft. My grip was good, my set up was good, and my distance control was already pretty good. By adjusting the grip, that allowed me to hit much straighter putts, because it made the relationship between my hands, and the putter face more accurate.  My drill since that time has been to roll the ball over a dime/penny that I have placed 2' (or less) in front of the ball. Some times, if the surface is flat/level enough, I will place the coin farther away. At home, on my carpet, I have hit the coin at 6' when I was putting really well.  If I am rolling the ball over the coin, then I am set up correctly, while also stroking the ball correctly.

One other thing I might add. If possible, always make your final decision on a putter while playing on real grass. Those indoor, synthetic putting greens are not that reliable.

Last winter, I decided to devote more time to putting.  Bought a 7 foot golf hole/mat thingy from eBay.

Hooked up my iPhone to the putter using the cradle.  Worked on path and open/closed stats and just getting a nicely repeatable stroke going on.

Made lots of putts (probably 50-100 per day, 3-4 days per week) - made games for myself - like not being able to stop until at least 20 6 footers had been made.

Got to a really reliable stroke that helped me take 3-4 strokes off my putting game.

Now I find the putter doesn't really matter - I have a good few and can make repeated putts with each and every one of them.

So I learned, in my case, it really is the archer, not the bow which is responsible.

And now when I miss it is more about misreading the putt, rather than the pure execution.

This is totally an amateur's opinion, but I don;t see why you wouldn't get fit first. If you're prepared to drop a couple hundred on a new putter that it properly fit for you, it would seem that step 1 is get the right tools, and step 2 is to use them properly. I can;t see why doing it in that order would ever do you wrong, so if you're prepared to do both as @iacas said, that's my 2 cents. BTW, I've never been fit for a putter and I putt like a friggin champ by just working on my stroke/green reading! I'm sure a fitting would help, but I'm of the opinion that Brad Faxon could putt with a warped wiffle ball bat better than a hack with the best fit putter in the world.

Thanks mate ill give him a try, giving away at least 5 shots per round ATM on the green... So frustrating !!

Yes to both.