We see it in golf lessons all the time—a golfer with a unique putting style. Many golfers have unique putting styles because putting is the most personal of all golf activities. Yet these players still putt well. Take the PGA’s Zach Johnson. His putting style is different. Instead of using a traditional set up, he sets up with his left wrist cupped and the shaft leaning away from the target. Different? Yes. Odd? Yes. But he’s still a good putter.
Zach is a good putter because his stroke suits today’s greens. Previously, greens were slower, so you had to use more hand action when putting. But today’s greens are “slicker” and faster. To putt well on them, you need a more flowing stroke, with less hand action. If you use the wrong putting style, you may be adding strokes to your scores and boosting your golf handicap. Below we provide golf tips on how to change your putting style to better fit today’s greens.
Grip The Putter Along Your Lifeline
One putting adage says to place the putting grip along the lifeline of your left palm (right palm for left-handers). This approach has some disadvantages. In addition to affecting your aim, placing the putting grip along the lifeline (1) robs you of feel and (2) encourages your left forearm to rotate under your right. Placing the putter along your lifeline also prevents you from moving the putter on an arc—two keys to sinking more putts on today’s greens.
We teach students in our golf instruction sessions to grip the putter more in their fingers, anchoring it at the base of their left hand (right for left-handers). This grip provides more leverage and better control. Your fingers are where you have the most feel, so you want to place as much of the putter’s shaft in them as possible. Plus, your wrists are less likely to breakdown if you hold the grip more in your fingers.
Set Your Eyes Over The Ball
A second putting adage says to set your eyes directly over the ball. This is a bit misleading on today’s greens. If you set up with your eyes directly over the ball, you’ll trap your hands beneath you and you’ll have to use your wrists to complete your stroke. This causes the putter to move outside the target line on the backstroke. To compensate, you have to manipulate the putter coming back to get it back on line, which you want to avoid when putting.
We tell students in our golf lessons to set their eyes slightly inside the ball. This does three things: It frees your hands to swing and rotate easily, eliminates the need to get your hands more involved, and provides an undistorted view of the putting line. To achieve this set up stand up straight, then drop your hands loosely to your sides. Now grip the putter so the sole is flat on the ground. If you bend over first then drop your hands into position as many golfers do, you’ll trap your arms.
Putt Straight Back and Through
A third myth says to take the putter straight back and through. Again, this is somewhat misleading. Since we stand at the side of the ball and the shaft is at an angle to the ground, taking the putter straight back and through throws off the putting stroke on longer putts. A straight-back and straight-through stroke also requires more coordination and practice to perfect.
We teach students in our golf instruction sessions to use a putting stroke with a slight arc to it, except for really short putts. This stroke is better suited to today’s faster greens. It’s also more consistent with a putter’s design. Swinging on a slight arc keeps the putter’s face square to the target line. It also keeps the ball on target without forcing you to twist the clubface square at impact.
Your putting style is highly personal. So if you’re not putting well, you may want to check your putting style. You may be using a style more suited to yesterday’s greens. If so, incorporate some of the golf tips suggested above in your putting. If you’re looking to chop strokes off your golf handicap, improving your putting is a great place to start.
