Does anyone putt with their "wrists" still?

[MR4PUTT]

I've heard a million times because the greens are better, you shouldn't putt like the guys did back in the day. I played once with a guy who did and he made everything. What are some advantages and disadvantages of it?

[Davewn]

LOL, you mean a wristy "pop" stroke. I still see some older guys that putt that way. Also seems to work for Snedeker! The way I read your OP, I thought you meant the opposite. I think that for most courses, it wouldn't make a bit of difference. Now if you're talking super-fast greens like on Tour or some upper echelon courses, it might lead to some inconsistency in distance control because you're using your small muscles in your hands instead of rocking with the shoulders.

[Cwebb]

I would say a possible advantage, is gaining some touch feel...more like shooting a basketball.

 

Likely disadvantages would be harder to match path and face angle....and less consistency with impact point on the face

[BIG STU]

It is how ever one learned to putt and feels comfortable doing. I learned in the day back on Tifton 328 greens which is a form of Bremuda and is thick and often slow. One did have to pop the ball to get it rolling on top of the grass. When I learned to play on bent I had to change my stroke some. I am basically a combination of both. Really I do not think on mechanics that much I just think get the ball in the hole

[MR4PUTT]

As my name suggests, putting is not my strong suit. I tried out my old hogan putter I just got and spent a little time on the greens. It felt very comfortable to do a little "pop" stroke and rolled in some decent ones. I struggled with the shorter ones though. Keeping it on line with a tiny pop was difficult

[oldschoolrocker]

pop versus no pop.

 

Pop always gives me more distance with respect to my perception of output ( how hard I think I hit a putt.)

Not a bad thing when putting like Alice every green, but overall distance and line are far more consistent when I think "rock the baby" and let my shoulders do the work.

[Davewn]

As my name suggests, putting is not my strong suit. I tried out my old hogan putter I just got and spent a little time on the greens. It felt very comfortable to do a little "pop" stroke and rolled in some decent ones. I struggled with the shorter ones though. Keeping it on line with a tiny pop was difficult

 

I feel your pain- putting is often my downfall!! I four jacked the first green for a sporty triple last time out- ugh. Thankfully it didn't pollute the rest of the round.

 

Less wristy on the short ones makes sense to me if you like the feel of popping your longer putts. It's all about finding something that works for you and gives you a little confidence on the greens. Hopefully you're onto something and you'll see some putts start to drop!

[MR4PUTT]

As my name suggests, putting is not my strong suit. I tried out my old hogan putter I just got and spent a little time on the greens. It felt very comfortable to do a little "pop" stroke and rolled in some decent ones. I struggled with the shorter ones though. Keeping it on line with a tiny pop was difficult

 

I feel your pain- putting is often my downfall!! I four jacked the first green for a sporty triple last time out- ugh. Thankfully it didn't pollute the rest of the round.

 

Less wristy on the short ones makes sense to me if you like the feel of popping your longer putts. It's all about finding something that works for you and gives you a little confidence on the greens. Hopefully you're onto something and you'll see some putts start to drop!

 

That would be a nice change of pace for me! Funny thing is, the only time my putting is "on" is when the rest of my game looks like I've never picked up a club before. I can 1 putt doubles ADL haha

[jslane57]

If I start to struggle on the greens I go practice the pop. As in total wrist stroke till I get the feel with distance, then back to a normal stroke that may be somewhere in the middle, but closer to quiet wrists. The ole rock solid wrists is a sure way for me to loose all feel for distance...

[TimV]

Perhaps I'm a little different in that I actually use both a pendulum and a wrist putt depending on what I'm faced with.

I will almost always use the wrist if I'm on or just off that first cut off the green. I use it on longer uphill putts on the green.

I use the pendulum stroke for all longer downhill putts on the green and just about everything inside six feet.

Putting is all about feel. Go with what feels right for you and don't feel locked into just one technique unless that one always feels right!

[Sean2]

I do, though on very short putts I might use just the pendulum.

 

I find I have much better distance control engaging my wrists.

[Swingingk]

For me it's more about the putters head weight than the speed of the greens. If the head weight is down like in an old Bulls-eye I have to get wristy and pop it for the best control. A smooth locked-wrist stroke just doesn't have the feel for distance. The opposite is true (for me) with a more modern head weight: the head weighs too much to control well wih my wrists and I have to use a shoulder turn move to keep it in control.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

On longer putts, my wrists break a little bit naturally.

Also, like TimV, if I'm off the green a bit, I use a wristy blow. I hit down on it a little to pop the ball up, and get pretty good results with it (isn't this a true Texas wedge shot?)

Like Swingingk, I find that the heavy heads common with modern putters don't lend themselves well to a wristy stroke. I miss right with them.

 

Incidentally, on the Japanese Golf Network, I was watching Isao Aoki play a course he has just redesigned in Okinawa. Now there's an idiosyncratic putting stroke! Ball some distance from the feet, head somewhere over the middle of the shaft, not the ball, toe pointing up to the sky at 45 degrees, and lots of wrist in the swing.

He gets pretty good results with it, though!

[MR4PUTT]

On longer putts, my wrists break a little bit naturally.

Also, like TimV, if I'm off the green a bit, I use a wristy blow. I hit down on it a little to pop the ball up, and get pretty good results with it (isn't this a true Texas wedge shot?)

Like Swingingk, I find that the heavy heads common with modern putters don't lend themselves well to a wristy stroke. I miss right with them.

 

Incidentally, on the Japanese Golf Network, I was watching Isao Aoki play a course he has just redesigned in Okinawa. Now there's an idiosyncratic putting stroke! Ball some distance from the feet, head somewhere over the middle of the shaft, not the ball, toe pointing up to the sky at 45 degrees, and lots of wrist in the swing.

He gets pretty good results with it, though!

 

I'm going to have to check that out!

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

On longer putts, my wrists break a little bit naturally.

Also, like TimV, if I'm off the green a bit, I use a wristy blow. I hit down on it a little to pop the ball up, and get pretty good results with it (isn't this a true Texas wedge shot?)

Like Swingingk, I find that the heavy heads common with modern putters don't lend themselves well to a wristy stroke. I miss right with them.

 

Incidentally, on the Japanese Golf Network, I was watching Isao Aoki play a course he has just redesigned in Okinawa. Now there's an idiosyncratic putting stroke! Ball some distance from the feet, head somewhere over the middle of the shaft, not the ball, toe pointing up to the sky at 45 degrees, and lots of wrist in the swing.

He gets pretty good results with it, though!

 

I'm going to have to check that out!

 

I'm not sure you'll be able to find it in the US.

Here's a couple of Aoki videos from Youtube. The first doesn't show his putting, but check out Jack Renner's barefoot caddy at 34 seconds in.

[media=]

[/media]

This video from 1980 when he was runner up in the US Open to one J. Nicklaus shows his putting a little.

[media=]

[/media]

[MR4PUTT]

On longer putts, my wrists break a little bit naturally.

Also, like TimV, if I'm off the green a bit, I use a wristy blow. I hit down on it a little to pop the ball up, and get pretty good results with it (isn't this a true Texas wedge shot?)

Like Swingingk, I find that the heavy heads common with modern putters don't lend themselves well to a wristy stroke. I miss right with them.

 

Incidentally, on the Japanese Golf Network, I was watching Isao Aoki play a course he has just redesigned in Okinawa. Now there's an idiosyncratic putting stroke! Ball some distance from the feet, head somewhere over the middle of the shaft, not the ball, toe pointing up to the sky at 45 degrees, and lots of wrist in the swing.

He gets pretty good results with it, though!

 

I'm going to have to check that out!

 

I'm not sure you'll be able to find it in the US.

Here's a couple of Aoki videos from Youtube. The first doesn't show his putting, but check out Jack Renner's barefoot caddy at 34 seconds in.

[media=]

[/media]

This video from 1980 when he was runner up in the US Open to one J. Nicklaus shows his putting a little.

[media=]

[/media]

 

This is awesome. I was clearly born in the wrong generation.

[Porker]

It's a bit of a trade off, I play cross grip so my left hand is low, great on short medium but miss a bit of wrist action on longer putts

[TheInfidel]

The better the quality of the surface, and indeed the quicker the surface the less wrist involvement you'll need. Or at least that's what I've found.

 

I've typically been a streaky putter but my best putting performances have been on excellent surfaces where the pace was very consistent and there wasn't a need to thump the ball at the hole.

 

To a certain extent (excluding the money on the line) 3 footers can be easier on the top quality courses the pros play because the surface is so good and the roll is so true.

[BIG STU]

As my name suggests, putting is not my strong suit. I tried out my old hogan putter I just got and spent a little time on the greens. It felt very comfortable to do a little "pop" stroke and rolled in some decent ones. I struggled with the shorter ones though. Keeping it on line with a tiny pop was difficult

The key word in your whole post was COMFORTABLE--- How ever you wish to do it--- I bet with you feeling comfortable with the pop on the longer ones you can practice the shorter ones and learn to control them. Remember the two "C" words comfort and confidence--- Stay at it do it your way

[BIG STU]

Perhaps I'm a little different in that I actually use both a pendulum and a wrist putt depending on what I'm faced with.

I will almost always use the wrist if I'm on or just off that first cut off the green. I use it on longer uphill putts on the green.

I use the pendulum stroke for all longer downhill putts on the green and just about everything inside six feet.

Putting is all about feel. Go with what feels right for you and don't feel locked into just one technique unless that one always feels right!

I basically do the exact same thing you do. If off the green on the fringe or second cut I have a little pop stroke and can hop the ball a little to get it above the thicker grass. When I do that shot I do not forward press and keep my hands behind the ball. My standard putter loft is 6* so I can do it like that. I do forward press so much that probably at impact I am at 3* with my normal stroke.

LOL The guys around here call that Stu's little Ho Hopper

[Ol_Pardner]

I lean more towards a pendulum action, with a progressive wrist cocking and stroke as the distance exceeds 20 feet--it's intuitive, a few practice swings until eyes and hands say that feels right. I played a lot of golf at the University of Alabama Golf Course as a kid and as a student (1972), and one of their teaching devices was a 2" x 4" x 4' for putting. You placed your ball about midway down the board, 4" side standing up. The idea was to develop a feel for your stroke moving in a pendulum action, minimizing movements to the inside-outside-inside (arc), as we know from the video age, nobody moves the putter perfectly square to square, just many do it less than others. Boards were painted dark green, to go with golfing motif and as preservative on the damp greens. (I herewith share with you my primary accomplishment as a UofA undergraduate: I made my one and only A at that stellar institution in--Golf 101: Beginning Golf. Had better luck at a few other schools.)

Like Big Stu, I remember how bumpy the old greens could be, both as a player and a crew member as a kid (low man, so when we over-seeded greens, I was the one tasked with dragging the steel chain mail mat back and forth across the greens to break up the plugs and spread the sand). Like everything in golf as in life, mowers have improved technologically and otherwise. I've got an old hickory shafted putter from back in the day and the loft on that club makes it look a chipper!

Back to putting: Putting is a personal thing, when learning you either get a lesson from someone or you learn by watching and emulating experienced players. I took the latter approach and tried a lot of different swings, stances, putters, etc. My late best friend and golfing mentor was a fan of Tony Lema and Arnold Palmer, particularly Palmer's early knock-kneed stance and swift rap stroke. Tried it, didn't work for me. Also tried the reverse overlapping and double reverse overlapping putting grips, didn't work. The best putting tip I ever read, was in one of Doug Ford's instruction books, something to the effect that Golf is a complicated game, there's no use making it more so, with some unusual or unnatural putting grip, so use the same grip that you use for the other 13 clubs. I think this practice also helps in terms of arriving at a more natural putting stroke, because you have fewer adjustments and swing thoughts to deal with.

Granted, for those of you who are comfortable with what you are doing and your scores validate your approach, there's no reason to change, but for those who are still learning the game or aren't scoring well, or get the yips on a regular basis--it's time to SIMPLIFY.

[HoganApexBlades]

I lean more towards a pendulum action, with a progressive wrist cocking and stroke as the distance exceeds 20 feet--it's intuitive, a few practice swings until eyes and hands say that feels right. I played a lot of golf at the University of Alabama Golf Course as a kid and as a student (1972), and one of their teaching devices was a 2" x 4" x 4' for putting. You placed your ball about midway down the board, 4" side standing up. The idea was to develop a feel for your stroke moving in a pendulum action, minimizing movements to the inside-outside-inside (arc), as we know from the video age, nobody moves the putter perfectly square to square, just many do it less than others. Boards were painted dark green, to go with golfing motif and as preservative on the damp greens. (I herewith share with you my primary accomplishment as a UofA undergraduate: I made my one and only A at that stellar institution in--Golf 101: Beginning Golf. Had better luck at a few other schools.)

Like Big Stu, I remember how bumpy the old greens could be, both as a player and a crew member as a kid (low man, so when we over-seeded greens, I was the one tasked with dragging the steel chain mail mat back and forth across the greens to break up the plugs and spread the sand). Like everything in golf as in life, mowers have improved technologically and otherwise. I've got an old hickory shafted putter from back in the day and the loft on that club makes it look a chipper!

Back to putting: Putting is a personal thing, when learning you either get a lesson from someone or you learn by watching and emulating experienced players. I took the latter approach and tried a lot of different swings, stances, putters, etc. My late best friend and golfing mentor was a fan of Tony Lema and Arnold Palmer, particularly Palmer's early knock-kneed stance and swift rap stroke. Tried it, didn't work for me. Also tried the reverse overlapping and double reverse overlapping putting grips, didn't work. The best putting tip I ever read, was in one of Doug Ford's instruction books, something to the effect that Golf is a complicated game, there's no use making it more so, with some unusual or unnatural putting grip, so use the same grip that you use for the other 13 clubs. I think this practice also helps in terms of arriving at a more natural putting stroke, because you have fewer adjustments and swing thoughts to deal with.

Granted, for those of you who are comfortable with what you are doing and your scores validate your approach, there's no reason to change, but for those who are still learning the game or aren't scoring well, or get the yips on a regular basis--it's time to SIMPLIFY.

 

Great piece of writing!

[MR4PUTT]

I lean more towards a pendulum action, with a progressive wrist cocking and stroke as the distance exceeds 20 feet--it's intuitive, a few practice swings until eyes and hands say that feels right. I played a lot of golf at the University of Alabama Golf Course as a kid and as a student (1972), and one of their teaching devices was a 2" x 4" x 4' for putting. You placed your ball about midway down the board, 4" side standing up. The idea was to develop a feel for your stroke moving in a pendulum action, minimizing movements to the inside-outside-inside (arc), as we know from the video age, nobody moves the putter perfectly square to square, just many do it less than others. Boards were painted dark green, to go with golfing motif and as preservative on the damp greens. (I herewith share with you my primary accomplishment as a UofA undergraduate: I made my one and only A at that stellar institution in--Golf 101: Beginning Golf. Had better luck at a few other schools.)

Like Big Stu, I remember how bumpy the old greens could be, both as a player and a crew member as a kid (low man, so when we over-seeded greens, I was the one tasked with dragging the steel chain mail mat back and forth across the greens to break up the plugs and spread the sand). Like everything in golf as in life, mowers have improved technologically and otherwise. I've got an old hickory shafted putter from back in the day and the loft on that club makes it look a chipper!

Back to putting: Putting is a personal thing, when learning you either get a lesson from someone or you learn by watching and emulating experienced players. I took the latter approach and tried a lot of different swings, stances, putters, etc. My late best friend and golfing mentor was a fan of Tony Lema and Arnold Palmer, particularly Palmer's early knock-kneed stance and swift rap stroke. Tried it, didn't work for me. Also tried the reverse overlapping and double reverse overlapping putting grips, didn't work. The best putting tip I ever read, was in one of Doug Ford's instruction books, something to the effect that Golf is a complicated game, there's no use making it more so, with some unusual or unnatural putting grip, so use the same grip that you use for the other 13 clubs. I think this practice also helps in terms of arriving at a more natural putting stroke, because you have fewer adjustments and swing thoughts to deal with.

Granted, for those of you who are comfortable with what you are doing and your scores validate your approach, there's no reason to change, but for those who are still learning the game or aren't scoring well, or get the yips on a regular basis--it's time to SIMPLIFY.

 

Good stuff here! Quick note on the aerifying . My grandfather made us hand push the sand all the way to the center and then push it back to the edges to ensure "complete" coverage. Refused to use the chain mat. He finally caved and it made our lives so much easier.

[maverick]

Isao Aoki was the #1 putter on the Senior Tour using his wrists and doing about everything they teach you not to do. I wrist putted when I was young and could putt very well with that style. Sometimes I think they are on the wrong track with the modern way of putting. BTW, Jack Nicholas said he never putted as good as Arnold Palmer.