SBST wrist question

[rtv123]

I have arc putted my entire life, while occasionally sbst. I have been trying to putt an effort into permanently switching to sbst.

I have noticed wrist pain after each practice session. Is this something that goes away over time usually?

I ordered a wrist strengthener to work with.

[MattM97]

Don't fight your natural tendencies, if you're an arc putter putt with an arc. The fact that you have wrist pain putting means you're forcing your body to do something it doesn't and if you're in pain from putting don't continue. Do what your body naturally wants to do and you'll be a better player.

 

If you do well you're putting yourself at risk for an overuse injury and those are never fun.

[harolease]

Im an arc putter with left wrist arc ( or I like to call downcocking)

SBST is not as natural , as there is too much wrist flicking,

however if I position the ball way forward  can make a reasonable SBST stoke  without much wrist manipulation

only problem is that I sometimes I  SBSP ( straight back and straight pull)  so I used a line on the ball to keep my stroke straight

For longer strokes I still prefer to arc

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by harolease

[OldCuss]

SBST, left-arm down with elbow out, right arm to the body, inside of left foot about six inches from ball and about six inches below the ball line, initiate movement with left shoulder. Weight mostly on left side. Right arm to body keeps me from open, left shoulder, elbow, and left foot keep me square. Left hand index finger on the shaft provides a bit of control. Right hand for steadiness. Don't worry so much about arc on putts outside ten feet given SBST mostly for those closer to the hole. Center shafted putter helps with alignment, too. If tempo gets too fast, I tend to pull. Wrist comfortable but not very tight.

 

Trial and error to this, but I am putting better. And it exercises the few brain cells that remain.

 

Old Cuss

[Shilgy]

Difficult to imagine putting sbst when the putter is at an incline. The arc is natural not manipulated.

[North Butte]

That phrase Straight Back, Straight Through (which I first encountered 20+ years ago in the Dave Pelz Putting Bible) means so many things to so many people it's kind of a Humpty Dumpty word.

 

If by SBST you mean you consciously manipulate the club so that the alignment line on the putter always points directly down the target line, then it's easy to see how you could be overusing something in your wrist. It requires gradually closing the face to the path of the putter on the backward stroke then gradually opening it again on the forward stroke (assuming your stroke path is anything like most people's). Especially if you do that while cantilevering the putter out away from you rather than letting it hang straight down from your hands then you're putting a repeated load on your wrists. 

 

Another meaning of "SBST" is what some people call "square to the path". That's the type of stroke where the hands do absolutely no closing or opening of the putter relative to the path at any point during the stroke. An alignment line on the top of the putter will appear swing "open" then "closed" to the target line during that kind of stroke but that's because the putter has to travel on a curved path (unless again you manipulate the path to try to slide the putter backward and forward along a ruler-straight line). 

 

The best way to go easy on your wrists is to let the putter hang straight down from your hands (pulling down on your hands rather than you having to hold the weight of the putter head up and away from you) and simply rock your shoulders to create the stroke. Neutral, dead hands, no active wrist motion at all.

[Hook'n'Loop]

I think your born a certain way and you get a putter that fits.