A putter type golf club head having a frontal ball striking face that engages and grips a golf ball during the execution of a putting stroke to direct the golf ball in a straight line toward the intended target. The face includes a plurality of ball striking land areas and a plurality of adjacent and complimentary recessed channels that form an opening toward and on either side of the midpoint of the hitting area of the face. The ball contact areas are smaller than the adjacent recessed channels at the midpoint of the hitting area of the face. Gripping edges at the interface of the land areas and the recessed channels redirect the golf ball toward the intended target when the ball is miss hit away from the midpoint of the face.