Putter grips…How do you hold your putter and why?

[Voyager EMH]

My bad putts are the ones that miss. I usually have more good than bad in a round.

 

[fenwayrich]

Reverse overlap, holding the putter as lightly as I can without losing control. Pistol grip, I can't stand the cricket bat handle fat ones. No sightline on the putter head (I have a 40 year old Anser). Feel is more important than mechanics.

 

[IanM]

I put a bag over my head and use "The Force!"

 

[Jigger]

I’m a poor putter…



Most pros break putting down to 3 things AFAIK:

1) green reading
2) starting ball on desired line
3) distance control

Yet I feel I’m not bad at the first, in fact quite good. It’s my stroke mechanics that are v poor — affecting distance control and start line

I’ve to date only used a conventional putting grip — now willing to experiment with in particular, left hand low….

Pros / cons of both and other grips appreciated

I believe a lot of people go wrong with this and just don’t spend enough time practicing. Can I ask what you think is bad about your present style?

 

[IanM]

He'd save 6 putts a round if he stopped telling himself he can't putt!

 

[Jacko_G]

Left hand low for about 25-30 years now. Just feels more natural, levels the shoulders and the bottom line is I feel more comfortable using that method.

 

[evemccc]

I believe a lot of people go wrong with this and just don’t spend enough time practicing. Can I ask what you think is bad about your present style?

Totally inconsistent stroke and inconsistent strike on the putter - I probably hit it out of the middle more with my 7 iron than I do with my putter without exaggeration

Jerky, too wristy on the takeaway and I have to ‘save’ it — not in the least bit smooth

 

[chico]

I think just about anyone who was ever good at golf started with a conventional grip. Then in the quest to have 1 or 2 less putts a round change it.
The result is loads of strange grips putter lengths, thickness of grips, methods(aim point). I'm a dinosaur on this, just hit the blooming thing.

 

[need_my_wedge]

Same as I grip all clubs, but no wrist hinge. I’m not a great putter, but I’m not bad.

Was always taught putting is about distance control, which is what I focus on as a priority in pre round practice. No good reading a line if you can’t get to the hole.

They did a putting piece on the Sky coverage last night as Morikawa has made changes and improved massively. They were saying distance is key too.

Personally, I think the grip can help the grip too…. I went back to an old putter recently, put a new grip on it and am putting better than I have been for a few years. Put a new Lamkin Sink Fit Straight grip on, it’s been a revelation.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Same as I grip all clubs, but no wrist hinge. I’m not a great putter, but I’m not bad.

Was always taught putting is about distance control, which is what I focus on as a priority in pre round practice. No good reading a line if you can’t get to the hole.

They did a putting piece on the Sky coverage last night as Morikawa has made changes and improved massively. They were saying distance is key too.

Personally, I think the grip can help the grip too…. I went back to an old putter recently, put a new grip on it and am putting better than I have been for a few years. Put a new Lamkin Sink Fit Straight grip on, it’s been a revelation.

I only spend a short time on putting green before going out, to ‘dial-in’ my distance feel. I will hit maybe half doz very long putts, then a handful of mid-length 12-15ftrs. I may hit a couple of 6ftrs but trust my putting for that length and in…and don’t want to be missing any before i go out ?

 

[Jigger]

Totally inconsistent stroke and inconsistent strike on the putter - I probably hit it out of the middle more with my 7 iron than I do with my putter without exaggeration

Jerky, too wristy on the takeaway and I have to ‘save’ it — not in the least bit smooth

I went through a similar issue where I was hitting the heal of my scotty right where the logo was, which killed the pace on the ball. I tried a few grips that started slightly better but ended up far worse as my brain got confused,

I did come across a tip based on Jack Nicklaus that worked very well for me with a conventional grip. Whilst if I’m honest I’m quite relaxed on the ball now, I would say drilling this technique got me past my issues. I’d now say strike in the main strength of my putting now.

tip: imagine you are standing up, praying with you palms flat at sternum height and you elbows out slightly. Turn that upside down and keep the shape as you move the club. You should feel a lot more rocking in the shoulders now. The only other thing is to make sure your eyes are other the ball. Simply plumb line your putter from eyes to ball.

drill: get a puttout cup and practice that from 2-10ft daily on 10min spells, coming up with different challenges like have to hit the centre on each distance etc. Don’t use any alignment aids at this stage as it is all about getting confidence in the techniqu.

After at least a month of just putting you can advance that further by getting a decent ball marker that allows you to line up well and enables you to see the ball role online. I prefer the one in the pic from eBay as you can see the ball moving forward but the cross lines allow you to line up the putter face. Don’t start with this as you just want to begin with technique and forget about a visual line. The whole point of using markings is to forget about the mechanics you’ve drilled in and build confidence while concentrating on the line. I now tend to do a handful of putts on alignment at the end of my distance drill when practicing indoors.

the aim of all of this is to keep it everything simple And build confidence in it with lots of practice.

 

[Captain_Black.]

One thing I have done recently which has really helped my putting is I line up the putt, I let go of the grip & then re-grip it, but lightly.
It stops me gripping too hard & being too tense.
I then just try to make a nice smooth swing through the ball.

 

[HeftyHacker]

I just use a baseball grip and consider myself a pretty decent putter inside 25 feet or so with my fair share of long putts dropping.

I did use the claw for a bit and, whilst I found it was great for line, I struggled to get the weight right. I also got a shorter putter and the claw makes he feel too hunched over now.

For me the biggest thing was stopping lining up the ball on anything other than shorter putts (under 5ft) with subtle breaks. I've found this makes me concentrate on the weight more which, for most amateurs is the more important factor to avoiding 3 putts in my opinion.

Pick a line, find a mark 6ft or so in front of me on that line and then just focus on weight.

 

[Hobbit]

Same grip for everything. And I consider myself a very decent putter. The fault that does creep in occasionally is I’m not directly over the ball.

 

[Mandofred]

I use a number of different hand positions. The usual is 10 finger with the R index down shaft, left hand firm, right hand soft....I putt pretty well most of the time. When I'm not comfortable, that's when I try something else. If I'm not comfortable on the practice green I know I'm in trouble......quite often switching to another grip does the job. I've tried the regular claw grip.....not comfortable so it didn't work. I then tried my version of the claw which I sometimes use when I'm having a lot of trouble with hitting on line. I hold left hand as normal and then put the grip between my index and middle finger on the right hand and palm flat against the grip which takes any twitch out of the swing for me. I've never seen anybody else hold it like this. I also don't like to use this on thin grips, slightly larger to large grips work for me...but if it works what the heck.

 

[evemccc]

I went through a similar issue where I was hitting the heal of my scotty right where the logo was, which killed the pace on the ball. I tried a few grips that started slightly better but ended up far worse as my brain got confused,

I did come across a tip based on Jack Nicklaus that worked very well for me with a conventional grip. Whilst if I’m honest I’m quite relaxed on the ball now, I would say drilling this technique got me past my issues. I’d now say strike in the main strength of my putting now.

tip: imagine you are standing up, praying with you palms flat at sternum height and you elbows out slightly. Turn that upside down and keep the shape as you move the club. You should feel a lot more rocking in the shoulders now. The only other thing is to make sure your eyes are other the ball. Simply plumb line your putter from eyes to ball.

drill: get a puttout cup and practice that from 2-10ft daily on 10min spells, coming up with different challenges like have to hit the centre on each distance etc. Don’t use any alignment aids at this stage as it is all about getting confidence in the techniqu.

After at least a month of just putting you can advance that further by getting a decent ball marker that allows you to line up well and enables you to see the ball role online. I prefer the one in the pic from eBay as you can see the ball moving forward but the cross lines allow you to line up the putter face. Don’t start with this as you just want to begin with technique and forget about a visual line. The whole point of using markings is to forget about the mechanics you’ve drilled in and build confidence while concentrating on the line. I now tend to do a handful of putts on alignment at the end of my distance drill when practicing indoors.

the aim of all of this is to keep it everything simple And build confidence in it with lots of practice.

Thanks for the tips…Perfect for winter practice at home!

 

[williamalex1]

I'm right handed but have always putted left hand below.
I'm a excellent putter as said by Dustin Hofman in the Rain man

 

[evemccc]

He'd save 6 putts a round if he stopped telling himself he can't putt!

Putted very well (for me) in the monthly medal….only one 3 putt which was a stupid lack of concentration

All 6-fts or so were holed - ‘success and confidence begets success and confidence’ and I felt good walking off the 18th

Still played above my handicap tho ?

My current grip has a stay of execution…

 

[IanM]

Hypnotherapy tapes might be the thing.



Mayo did once set up a session with a putting coach. He was good, forget his name though

 

[Jigger]

Thanks for the tips…Perfect for winter practice at home!

Good luck with it mate! Putting is 80% mental and I’ve been a believer for some time that most issues can be drilled out if people put the right practice in. Also some great stats quoted in the book 4 foundations of golf.