The Merits Of Kack Handed Putting

[AlchemyGolf]

We all know that those inside 10ft putts are crucial to building a score at any level.Whether there for bidies for the lower handicappers or pars for the higher,holing more of these putts can make a big difference.

I am a big believer in going Kack Handed (left hand below right)for these putts.

If im struggling with my putting I very rarely change my putter.
Trying kack handed also depends on whether I feel im hitting good putts and there just not dropping in which case I know im doing the right things and they will start dropping eventuallly.

If Im hitting bad putts then I usually go Kack handed for a while.I always seem to get instant results with this method and this phase can last anything from a month to a whole season.
Putting is such a feel and confidence thing that if either method is not working then I change it to try and get some instant confidence from doing it a different way.

Does anyone else do this?
If your not holing many putts from 10ft then give it a try!!

 

[TonyN]

I don't but when I started playing golf I played cack handed for about 6 months. Some of the guys on here will remember me making the change, it was them that advised it.

One of the first things the pro said to me was, you may find it easier carry on putting cack-handed, alot of tour players do it.

I didn't though, it was hard enough picking up a club with my hands the right way so I didnt want any distractions.

 

[AlchemyGolf]

Wow hitting shots Kack Handed.
How did you not break your wrists?

Is definitely a good way for keep your putter on line,it is very difficult to judge pace on very long putts though.

When I do try it for a while I only use it from inside 25ft.

 

[John_Findlay]

I went cack-handed about 18 months ago and it's now completely natural to me.

I had heard that it might not provide so much touch for the long putts but I disagree. It's much more stable and I think it let's me hit the sweetspot on the putter more often, which is what long putting is all about. Often overlooked by many.

 

[TonyN]

I had always picked a club up that way when i was a kid, I think it came from looking at my old man front on and copying him (mirror Image)

I actually was pretty good with my wedges that way, best thing I ever did was change around.

 

[Atticus_Finch]

I also played cack-handed for a long time when I started and my putting grip is a legacy of that.

Quote from an article I read recently.....

"Furyk has a cross-handed putting grip that was suggested to him by Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. Jim's dad, Mike was talking with Palmer and Player and both said that if they were starting over again they would start putting cross-handed because it was a more solid stroke in their minds so thats what Mike passed on to his son."

 

[AlchemyGolf]

John
When I played at Southport on a links course the greens were fast and you just had to stroke it on a line,used kack handed from everywhere there.

But at the parkland im at now the greens are a lot slower and on the very long putts its a struggle to get the ball to the hole kack handed.

Like I said in my ist post im a big believer in kack handed putting.

 

[John_Findlay]

Interesting comment from Atticus there. I saw an online study carried out by an American Uni about this.

They tested a group of people who had never golfed before with 3 putting grips and the cack-handers holed about 20% more than the others.

Not exactly decisive...but interesting. Or not?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

To be honest I struggle mentally when I've been forced to try cack handed to get me through a tough time. I never feel I'll make anything because I'm using a different grip, almost like admitting I'm a bad putter. Now I just concentrate on the mechanics and the set up and work my way thorugh it. The spider putter works a treat though

 

[Herbie]

I have some slightly differing opinions where putting is concernedand merrits either way,the number of golfers even in the upper echelons of the game who will try everything they can to improve their putting including seeing mental coaches. Yet the general concensus Ive noticed regarding change of putter is that you should work with what you have.

I dont agree with this entirely, in the same way people change clubs by choice or under advice in order to find something that works best for them, why does this not apply to putters.

The putter is the most important club to me and the most personal, it took me about 20 putters to find the one that really suits me ( now Ive had it for 20 yrs)and Im always on the look out just in case there is something better.

The weight of a putter may not be right for an individuals best performance with it, so too the shaft length and angle, I would like to know why many think perseverance rather than trials is the way to go on with putters when someone feels their putter isnt doing them any favours?

going cack handed is an example of trying a different way of putting,that may not need to be done if you have the right putter in the first place, at least there seem no arguments either way to suggest one change will produce answers over another ie.club change.

 

[viscount17]

I automatically gripped a putter cack-handed first time I picked one up, but I find it impossible with any other club.

It just seems natural that way - of course you then start theorising to prove that everyone should putt that way. I think it keeps the left arm straighter and reduces the tendency to swing. Of course I could be wrong . . .

 

[mattdeeks]

I'm one for Cack handed putting inside 10 feet, find it easy to keep the putter on line. Outside 10 feet I'll go for the orthodox putting grip to try and get it as close as possible.

 

[RGuk]

Does anyone else do this?
If you're not holing many putts from 10ft then give it a try!!

Alchemy....I thought I was weird doing this. (feel better now!)

Today, I hit all the long ones with a regular overlap grip....that's 3 grips I use dependent on distance.

 

[TonyN]

Has anyone ever tried putting left handed? (or right handed if your a leftie)

I went to a pitch and putt last year and the putters they gave us were double sided, I putted left handed all the way round and putted really well, strange!

 

[AlchemyGolf]

I never feel I'll make anything because I'm using a different grip, almost like admitting I'm a bad putter.

Your not admitting anything,your seeing if something will work even better.

Thats like saying im not going to change my blades for cavity back irons because its like admitting im a bad iron player and your game suffering in the process.
when you hit the cavitys better you go and buy them, RIGHT!!

I dont know about the other kack handers above but

I consider myself a good putter,I dont think its possible to get a low handicap without being handy with the flat stick.

When I change to kack handed its to try something that may work even better.

If I see someone using Kack handed,belly putter or any other method I certainly dont think there is a bad putter whatever grip I am using.

Ive been bladed off the course by many a long stick merchant.

 

[brendy]

Alchemy, you are spot on, whatever works for you. Billy Mayfair uses Titleist AP1 irons, they are meant for mid to high handicappers, now obviously they will be fitted to him and maybe have different shafts but the fact remains that he isnt a blade junky and his game is working with them.
Im a lefty, always have always will be but when it comes to golf, my right handed swing is far stronger than my left (though can hit a driver a couple of hundred yards and can use my irons left handed to get out of trouble pretty adequately) When it comes to putting though, I tried left handed and kack handed and just cant make it work as well as a normal right handed strike.
Dont get me startwed on the fella in my fourball that has a chipper though!

 

[theeaglehunter]

I'm going to the practice ground today so I will give this a try on the putting green. I have tried it before on random shots during the round and not noticed anything special but with a bit of an extended trial today I will report my findings / verdict on whether or not it works for me.