Sidesaddle Putting Method

[sam_5_0]

Anyone tried it?

When I was a kid I used to caddie at our local club and one of the best players putted sidesaddle. He rarely missed anything. Anyone ever tried this? I saw an ad for a sidesaddle putter and I am thnkng about experimenting.

[funkyfedora]

Ive done this when i was at the practice green wen i was just messing around.. it didnt work for me... you could break the sam snead rule and putt croquet style...

[truck13]

my buddy has been doing it for a couple of years. we call it the "shock and awe"...he is deadly with it! he says he has the feel of throwing a softball underhand or bowling, it's too weird feeling for me but it works for him. inside 8 feet he is almost automatic!

[jonkarn]

As a fairly new golfer, my goal is 2 putting. However I would like to start making some of the 7 to 10 footers I keep missing. An interesting thing is happening however; when I miss a putt and quickly step up and tap in a 2 footer without setting up, I feel so much more comfortable. I usually do the quick one foot forward putt with both eyes looking at the hole with my body partially turned towards the hole swinging almost in front of my body if that makes any sense. I would even step up and hit 3-4 footers like his sometimes if I am pissed about missing a longer putt before it or am in a rush to let someone else putt. But they always go in and it feel so much more natural than setting up with feet parallel to putting line and looking down at the ball, then the cup, then the ball, etc.... I keep inching my ball forward in my regular stance as a result to allow for both my eyes to get a view as I am left eye dominant as well. However it still never feels as comfortable as facing my target more fully when I casually swing the putter. Im not sure if this is what sidesaddle putting is, but I feel like changing to a more open stance. Unsure if I am describing this well enough for you guys to visualize it, but what do you guys think of this method, and does anyone else have this problem?

[bermuda]

As a fairly new golfer, my goal is 2 putting. However I would like to start making some of the 7 to 10 footers I keep missing. An interesting thing is happening however; when I miss a putt and quickly step up and tap in a 2 footer without setting up, I feel so much more comfortable. I usually do the quick one foot forward putt with both eyes looking at the hole with my body partially turned towards the hole swinging almost in front of my body if that makes any sense. I would even step up and hit 3-4 footers like his sometimes if I am pissed about missing a longer putt before it or am in a rush to let someone else putt. But they always go in and it feel so much more natural than setting up with feet parallel to putting line and looking down at the ball, then the cup, then the ball, etc.... I keep inching my ball forward in my regular stance as a result to allow for both my eyes to get a view as I am left eye dominant as well. However it still never feels as comfortable as facing my target more fully when I casually swing the putter. Im not sure if this is what sidesaddle putting is, but I feel like changing to a more open stance. Unsure if I am describing this well enough for you guys to visualize it, but what do you guys think of this method, and does anyone else have this problem?

 

What you're talking about would be more quarter-saddle than side-saddle.

 

I've noticed the same things, that the quick tap-ins seem to go in more regularly than the ones you line up. I thought about what the differences were in my putting game and decided to straighten my arms and move my hands down the putter grip and stand a little straighter to mimic my tap-in address, rather than being bent over with bent elbows and worrying about how my feet are lined up. It has helped some. I make more putts inside 10 feet and have tended to get the 30-40 footers closer to tap-in range as far as speed is concerned. That had been a problem before, leaving a 30-footer 8 feet short or 6 feet by.

 

I also think that when you step up to tap in a putt, you do it more instinctively and don't have time to get discombobulated about the line or speed, so that probably helps.

 

I've also been trying to remember what John Daly said about not leaving five-footers short: What are you worried about, the six-incher coming back?

 

By the way, I'm a right-hander who's left-eye dominant, too.

[1R0NH31D3]

Anyone one the exact wording for putter stance/style for USGA? I once had a mini argument about this when I tapped in a putt side saddle style and a fellow golfer told me it would have been an illegal putt, I referred to the Snead ruling and said I thought this was a bit different, I meant to look it up but I just have a USGA rules in laymen terms and it doesn't go into too much detail with putting set up and stance so I dropped the issue, also we were not playing for money or in a tournament or recording our handicaps so it really was no big deal.

 

Long story short is side saddle putting considered legal putting style in tournament play or according to the USGA?

[jonkarn]

It seems right to adjust your approach to what may seem more comfortable for the individual. Unlike the longer full wedge/iron/wood swing, with larger mechanical arcs and more room for error, the putting stroke is more simple, optimally using less arc and less body movement, if at all. It lends to more variations in the technique, with many different styles seemingly effective. Every time I play with someone I have never played with before, I see a new style. Sometimes drastically so. The ball still goes in. I have a friend who is a beginning golfer, but also very stubborn. He insists on saying that he doesn't need to read books, or study the golf swing, that all he needs to be is "comfortable". I disagree with this when it comes to the full golf swing, as there are certain basic rules you need to follow with the swing that are crucial to solid strong contact and has nothing to do with being comfortable. You have to learn them. It is different than picking up a baseball bat and just swinging at a ball which is a more natural thing(think caveman). You could step up there and hit the ball easily with a level club face just by slowly swinging or forcing the face into the ball, but it wont go very far. But this is much different than the putting stroke, where it IS more guided and slower and more precise with less distance needed. I think there is less of a "proper" technique with these strokes and it is all about just getting the ball to go in the direction you want at the distance the hole is. When you play pool you don't hit the ball looking sideways, you line up both of your eyes forward. Putting is similar to pool except that the site line is from overhead instead of down the line. It should be more about comfortably seeing the hole and the break and then working on distance rather than perfect sideways posture. You just have to be able to consistantly reproduce your stroke. I still putt with the traditional method, as this is my first year playing golf and I am not ready to start changing my style yet, but I find myself starting to slowly adjust. My hands are starting to move further down the grip already for a more controlled stroke. But the more I see easier more comfortable ways to putt, I may start to change more. I need more comfort. Just my opinion.

[307golf]

Side saddle putting is legal though straddling the line of the put is not legal. Both feet have to be to the side of the line of the putt.

[jonkarn]

You can slightly face the line as long as you are off to the side. SO I guess my bowling form idea is out of the question? :swoon2:

[funkyfedora]

http://www.thewayputters.com/straightforward.html

[bumgolfr]

I've also been trying to remember what John Daly said about not leaving five-footers short: What are you worried about, the six-incher coming back?

Something about 95% of them don't go in the hole

[Sooner1]

go read the book Sacred Journey......

[RookieBlue7]

Here's another one: [url="http://www.sidekickputter.com/"]http://www.sidekickputter.com/[/url]

[MadMike4]

I used a Hammy (hockey style) putting method for almost 3 years. I like the concept of having the lower hand control the speed/distance, and the two eyes seeing the line.

Look up Hammy ..... or hockey style putting. It is a very legitimate and legal way to putt. I've gone back to "conventional" for now, but I still have my hockey style putter and I'm sure I'll use it again sometime. I think it benefits less experienced golfers as it is a more natural, intuitive way to putt.

[ttm27]

I bought a Hammy a few weeks ago b/c it was only $45 on eBay. I like the concept a lot, but did not like the putter head on the Hammy. I practiced with it several times and played two rounds with it, and I found it hard to gauge distance control. Some putts felt like they flew off the club face, then others wouldn't, even though I felt like I had it in the same spot. I also felt that such a "game improvement" (for lack of a better term) putter should have a mallet head with a better alignment aid.
But the open stance appeals to me a lot, as when I am square I can't seem to aim correctly. If I had a nickel for every straight putt I have run over the right edge, I'd be retired. So the last few rounds I have continued using the open/side saddle stance but with a Never Compromise NCX-Ray mallet. It's 35" instead of the 33" I use when I am aligning square to he target. It doesn't have the triple bend shaft, but it's a double bend, or so I think. I sunk 3 birdie putts today with it so that's a good start. The alignment aid on the NCX-Ray full mallet is fantastic.

[Guest]

i've tried it the side saddle method and continue to try it. it's not as easy as might first appear or as the 'hype' might have you believe.

you still have to keep the putter square going back and through and because the putter is quite long you have to be careful not to twist the putter as you follow through. thus, you can still miss your putts left and right of the hole because the putter will twist if you're not careful. also, you still have to read the green well to make the putt, even on short ones.

basically i find it can work but you will have to practice at it, i don't believe you will cure all your putting issues with this method. the only way to find out if it works for you, is to try it.

one last comment / warning, if you plan on trying this method, i would recommend either making your own putter, or buying from a company that has a good return policy (puttmagic does not have a good return policy - you cannot return sidesaddle putters to them - you will be stuck with it if you buy from them).

you can order golf components from a few places such as componentsplus.com/, hireko.com, golfsmith.com. there are other places too, but these are ones i've used in the past and continue to use.