How you putt

[GB003]

We all have our own putting styles, grips, practice drills, etc. What grip do you use, what's your style, go-to drill, etc? Explain why your grip/style/drill is effective.

I go cross-handed and slight forward press. I try to emulate parts of Spieth's putting since he's one of the best putters in the world and putts cross-handed also. The main thing is keeping a good rhythm and maintaining a "triangle" by using more chest/shoulders than hands/arms.

I like cross-handed because it feels more consistent. Forward press gives a bit of a tempo and helps with feel.

My go-to drills are: putting with a wedge, which helps me roll the ball more purely; and using a putting mirror whenever my stroke/alignment gets too crooked and needs a quick straightening.

One more thing: my putter is 37 or 38 inches (I forgot) and I find that having a longer putter makes me feel more relaxed since I don't have to hunch over or hang my arms low.

I say all of this sounding like a putting guru but in reality I average like 32 putts a round hahaha.

[kenstl]

I will say that I am a very experienced tinkerer of the putting stoke! For 20 years I used a 8802 style blade putter with an open stance and I was pretty darn good with it. I would get comments that putts were "automatic". My stroke was more of a piston stroke or punch vs a smooth putting stroke Then all hell broke loose and I could not make any short putts. I used it for another year or two and finally had to make a change. I would miss 2' at times! Pulls, pushes, short, you name it. Then over the next 2-3 years I went through every change imaginable, grip, stance, putter length, blade, mallet, L2 face on, gp putter and two ball ( both face on), Hammy, hahah, I would of tried a hockey stick if it would work. Ther is nothing worse than shooting 86 and having 38 putts, knowing you missed 5 from inside 4'. Through this time period I had some good rounds mixed in, but I had some awful ones as well, and I mean awful. I think the low point was 41!

 

My main goal was to get a confident stroke back on 2' - 5' putts, that was consistent round to round. I mean, if you can't make a 3' left edge putt with consistency, it is very hard to have any confidence on the green.

 

I think I am back! I have had a number of solid rounds lately included a match play round in which I sunk a number of 3'- 7' putts under pressure. I went back to the basics, working on alignment, stance, and a pendulum stroke, and adopted the Seemore putter (a FGP). A lot of practice was included in this as well, but I have always put practice time in with all of the methods. I finally have confidence back with the short stick. I also went to. A 37" length and I feel like that has helped my stroke relax as well. Can't wait for warm weather to get some more rounds in. I play to a 10 hc.

[Manz60]

putter fitting is about comfort. If you find a 38" long putter provides a more comfortable setup and posture at address than that's fine but realize your eyes still need to be over the ball which probably means your lie angle will need an adjustment. Also, the more upright you stand the more your shoulders will rotate about your spine,making the putters swing plane flatter than desired (ie more inside and away from the aim line, and harder to return to square into impact).

 

It can all still work for you but others would have to practice longer and harder to succeed.

 

M60

[TexasCarlos]

I switched from open stance to square feet square shoulders over the winter, accuracy has been about 40 percent better, more so on long putts

 

Drill I've been at all winter

Tour String (or just a 12 foot string attached to to rods) really helps you

1. Line you shoulders to the target

2. Make sure your over the ball

3. Tempo makes you stroke harder so see the ball roll on line

4. Visually helps you see break better and it's translates to course action in a positive way

[RainShadow]

I recently changed from a conventional reverse overlap grip to left hand low. Helps me keep my shoulders square and the back of my left hand moving along my intended line.

After quick impromptu fitting with a local fitter, I switched from flow neck (which appeal to my eye) to plumbers neck ( what I used growing up) and started making more putts.

I also discovered I need my putters to be a little upright in lie angle off the usual stock 71* which, once changed, eliminated alot of my short misses to the right.

[2putttom]

I practice putting a lot. Then I'll put that to work on the course.

[dave willie]

I tried a couple tips from a Dave Stockton interview that really worked for me: don't think about your stroke and don't take any practice strokes before you putt.

 

Thinking about your stroke during the round is counter-productive. You should be thinking about line and speed. Wondering whether you are closing the blade or going SBST is something that you should consider on the practice green. Just trust your natural stroke during actual play.

 

Practice strokes before putting might relieve tension, but they also distract your focus. It may not work for everyone, but a surprising number of pros don't make practice swings. Try it sometime, you might be surprised (plus it speeds up play).

[Other Barry]

I recently went to a 3.0 super stroke grip, can't believe how much that has helped. I use the same grip as I do for all my clubs (comfort thing). I take 3 practice strokes to get the feel of the speed I want. On puts longer than 20 feet, I just look at the cup the whole time. I do the same for puts under 2 feet. These little things have all but eliminated three puts for me. Putting used to be my achilles heel, now it's a strength.

[gmr10d]

I tried a couple tips from a Dave Stockton interview that really worked for me: don't think about your stroke and don't take any practice strokes before you putt.

 

Thinking about your stroke during the round is counter-productive. You should be thinking about line and speed. Wondering whether you are closing the blade or going SBST is something that you should consider on the practice green. Just trust your natural stroke during actual play.

 

Practice strokes before putting might relieve tension, but they also distract your focus. It may not work for everyone, but a surprising number of pros don't make practice swings. Try it sometime, you might be surprised (plus it speeds up play).

 

I like the idea behind this thinking. Have you read "Putting Out Of Your Mind"?

 

Personally, I'll only take one practice stroke. I look at the hole, and make a stroke, the only purpose being to gauge the speed of the putt. But I agree with you, thinking about technique is probably counter productive for most people.

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

^^^^ so is it just a coincidence when you roll it beautifully from the beginning of the round to the end you're not feeling very mechanical that day? IMO no. great putting rounds boil down to see it, sink it. period. the hardest damn part is allowing your body and melon to consistently get to that point.

 

when the feel in our body is off the melon starts THINKING, looks for fixes, gets critical, fidgety, tension creeps in, and the stroke becomes like a gummed up garage door opening and closing.

 

but, I've seen so many different strokes I'm convinced there's no "right" way to get it done. IMO the 2 most important factors in any great putting rounds I've personally experienced, or had the pleasure of watching, are face angle at impact and solid strikes. angle starts the ball on the intended line all day, and roll and speed is pure when the ball is coming mostly out of the center face.

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

oh and to actually anwer the question, How you putt? I too have switched to a SS 2.0 XL grip on a 36.75" mallet putter. Ping Ketsch to be exact. this putter has been better more than I'am consistent. I prefer the weight of the forearms as the power of the strokes. and just practice time and IMO we ALL should get our strokes on video. I guarantee the vast majority of people on this forum have never seen themselves putt. a brush up video example I usually take from time to time below....

[gmr10d]

^^^^ so is it just a coincidence when you roll it beautifully from the beginning of the round to the end you're not feeling very mechanical that day? IMO no. great putting rounds boil down to see it, sink it. period. the hardest damn part is allowing your body and melon to consistently get to that point.

 

when the feel in our body is off the melon starts THINKING, looks for fixes, gets critical, fidgety, tension creeps in, and the stroke becomes like a gummed up garage door opening and closing.

 

but, I've seen so many different strokes I'm convinced there's no "right" way to get it done. IMO the 2 most important factors in any great putting rounds I've personally experienced, or had the pleasure of watching, are face angle at impact and solid strikes. angle starts the ball on the intended line all day, and roll and speed is pure when the ball is coming mostly out of the center face.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm the king of getting too mechanical with my swing in general! Sometimes It just helps me to tone it down for a bit, especially during the middle of the round. But I can't disagree, face angle and such is extremely important.

[Damenace613]

Left hand low with no practice strokes once I line up to the putt. I visually line it up behind the ball, setup, and then take the stroke.

[jpdx]

I go with what's comfortable. in fact I'm not sure it's one of the actual "grips" that is described. But it's comfortable to me. Main thing is that I keep the putter shaft in the palms to keep it from rotating. no left-hand low, no claw, no nothing. I do do a forward press to trigger the back swing and to deloft the face at impact and get the ball to roll as opposed to skidding and jumping off the face. it also helps me with tempo.

 

I don't practice on the putting green as often as I should. however I line up a straight putt about 5'-8' away. stick two tees into the green just the width of the putter face, creating a "gate" and place a ball in the middle. I want to make sure the putter face is square to my line. if I hit either tee, I know my stroke was too inside or outside. also if the ball doesn't roll straight I know face angle was not square as I heard direction the ball rolls is 70% related to face angle....I don't know where or who I heard that, but it makes sense to me.

 

It's all feel for distance. a few practice strokes to visually feel the distance step up and sink the putt.

[harolease]

I don't even like the term putt or putter

Call my gamer a flatstick and what do is roll the ball. Putting sounds like you need to hit the ball Rolling makes for good stroke

[dz84]

I tinker way too much with my putting. I started with a mallet putter when i started learning the game about 12 years ago. I ended up with the taylormade daddy long legs putter for the longest time, and was great on distance control, but over time i just missed too many short putts with it, the way it aligned didn't sit well with me,

 

I ended up switching 2 years ago to a nike method blade putter, the 01-07 i think, or something like that. Had to get used to distance control on long putts again, but it aligned much better for me, and I started making a lot more short putts.

 

I ended up winning a free Scotty Cameron Newport Select 2.5 putter about 4 months ago at a work golf trip, and have been trying to game that for awhile now. At first it was an easy switch. it was very similar to the nike putter I had, but I noticed it felt more consistent on off-center hits, but lately I haven't been able to putt with this damn thing. I just feel like my stroke is all over the place. I've tried adjusting my stance, ball position, I still can't seem to get any consistency. I feel like my take-away just isn't as smooth with this thing, and maybe i need to go back to a mallet putter, or a semi-mallet.

 

I'm sure it's all in my head now though. I am still doing good on long putts and can 2 putt pretty consistently, but now I have no confidence over the 7-10 foot birdie or par putts, and definitely feel nervous over any 4-5 foot putts as well. I feel like it's a crap shoot on whether or not it's gonna drop.

[WidespreadPanic]

This might sound like a strange drill, but it helps with me making square contact with the ball. I shove a tee into the butt of my driver and lay the driver down on the putting green. I take a stroke with my putter and hit the tee. It gives you instant feedback if you make solid and square contact. I do it 4-5 time and then putt 3 balls. I do this over and over. It honestly does help.

[just plain bill]

I tried a couple tips from a Dave Stockton interview that really worked for me: don't think about your stroke and don't take any practice strokes before you putt.

 

Thinking about your stroke during the round is counter-productive. You should be thinking about line and speed. Wondering whether you are closing the blade or going SBST is something that you should consider on the practice green. Just trust your natural stroke during actual play.

 

Practice strokes before putting might relieve tension, but they also distract your focus. It may not work for everyone, but a surprising number of pros don't make practice swings. Try it sometime, you might be surprised (plus it speeds up play).

agree! i putt better when i dont take a practice stroke...i think it prevents me from thinking about the putt and letting tension get in...i have a very open stance, and send the putter head down my line in an exaggerated motion...except on 3 footers or less...then i sort of pop it...self taught mess...

[dlam]

Tried face on and it's really different. My eyes are looking at the line rather than sideways and its feels like Im seeing a SBST stroke with a straight line

Whereas sideways it's more naturally to see a arc and slightly curved roll to the hole for me.

[just plain bill]

and i use the interlock on the putter, but baseball grip on everything else...crazy...