Side-saddle putting

[MadGolfer76]

illegal or no?

Hello all. Side-saddle putting...is it illegal or not? I am not talking about standing astride the line from in back of the ball but rather standing to the left of the ball facing parallel to the line. Hopefully that makes sense (think Sam Snead).

I never do this in competition, only occasionally while playing with friends to piss them off because I'm deadly with it inside six feet. Would hate to give it up but the rules are the rules.

I know the USGA barred the first form of this stroke that Sam Snead briefly used, but I am not sure as to whether they banned the second form. Any insight to this ruling is much appreciated. Thanks!

[Tupperwolf]

AFAIK it's legal... There are long putters specifically designed to be used while standing facing the hole and making the stroke with the ball off the side of your right foot.

[Newby]

Perfectly legal. 16-1e contains the relevant words.

[i][b]Standing Astride or on Line of Putt[/b][/i][i]The player must not make a [/i][url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14253#Stroke"][i]stroke[/i][/url][i] on the [/i][url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14253#PuttingGreen"][i]putting green[/i][/url][i] from a [/i][url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14253#Stance"][i]stance[/i][/url][i] astride, or with either foot touching, the [/i][url="http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=14253#LineofPutt"][i]line of putt[/i][/url][i] or an extension of that line behind the ball.[/i]

[OpusX20]

[quote name='mjtoal' post='1972809' date='Sep 26 2009, 07:10 AM']Legal, but you had better putt well or you will really look like a prat.[/quote]

Not sure what a "prat" is, but based on the context I think I agree with mjtoal.

[phil75070]

Side saddle is legal and there is an exception to standing astride the line of the putt that Newby failed to include:

[i][b]"Exception: There is no penalty if the stance is inadvertently taken on or astride the line of putt (or an extension of that line behind the ball) or is taken to avoid standing on another player's line of putt or prospective line of putt."[/b][/i]

I haven't exactly gone side saddle, but I have seen a huge improvement in my putting recently by using an extremely open stance but with my shoulders relatively square to the line, and with the ball well back in the stance. I get a much better feel for both the line and the speed this way.

[Newby]

phil

It wasn't a failure. It wasn't relevant to the question.
The OP said [i]I am not talking about standing astride the line from in back of the ball but rather standing to the left of the ball facing parallel to the line[/i]

[Tupperwolf]

Just for the record, I have only seen one guy do this. His putter was about 5.5 feet long and he held the butt end of the grip with his left hand against his right shoulder. He used his right hand to swing the club while standing alongside the ball and facing the hole.

The guy couldn't putt worth SH**! He probably couldn't putt in the first place and was going to this style out of desperation, but he sure needed more practice.

[MadGolfer76]

Thanks everyone. I find that when I putt "side-saddle" I rarely miss from within five feet, so if it is a legal stroke I don't see why I shouldn't use it. I am a very good putter overall and don't use this stroke very often. Till now I have never used it in competition (that may change though) but have used it on shorter putts with substantial break to great effect while playing with friends.

Yes, it looks dumb on misses although I may only miss one out of 12-13 putts this way. This is usually spread out over a few rounds since I don't use it often.

Does this stroke encourage a square to square putting stroke? That is what I believe my putting stroke is doing while using this method.

[Newby]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7waWW27VoA&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7waWW27VoA...feature=related[/url]

[Tupperwolf]

If using a putter like the one in the vid, it will be more square to square because the shaft is almost straight up, allowing it to be like a pendulum.

[Mike_C]

[quote name='QWKDTSN' post='1973329' date='Sep 26 2009, 03:46 PM']Just for the record, I have only seen one guy do this. His putter was about 5.5 feet long and he held the butt end of the grip with his left hand against his right shoulder. He used his right hand to swing the club while standing alongside the ball and facing the hole.

The guy couldn't putt worth SH**! He probably couldn't putt in the first place and was going to this style out of desperation, but he sure needed more practice.[/quote]


That's funny, the best putter I ever played against was a side saddle guy. Tee to green if you saw him, you would think he would have trouble breaking 90. Older guy, 55-60 years old, sort of short and pudgy, maybe hit it 240-250 off the tee at best. But on the greens, inside 20 feet, I have never seen better. He had a home made side saddle putter with a funny bend in it, he was unbelievable. He played to about a 5 or 6 handicap with his mix game. I beat him in a match play tournament, when finally he missed a 15 footer on the first extra hole.....

Playing a guy like that in match play is tough, no matter how bad he hit his first two shots, you figured if he got the third on the green, he was making par......

[bumgolfr]

I'm a sidesaddle convert. but i try to get them close because if they go in, I need someone to get the ball out of the cup because i don't bend over very well, or i use a ball grabber. Actually, sidesaddle is a lot easier on my back. I have troble with longer putts, as i can't seem to hit it more than 30 feet, so i carry a second putter (normal) for the long ones. After all, what's wrong with using 2 putters when 35-40% of my shots are on the putting surface.

[profsmitty]

[url="http://www.linksofutopia.com/cms/images/stories/pdf/face_on_putting.pdf"]http://www.linksofutopia.com/cms/images/st..._on_putting.pdf[/url]

[grabthepin]

[quote name='Mike_C' post='1973437' date='Sep 26 2009, 04:07 PM']He had a home made side saddle putter with a funny bend in it, he was unbelievable. He played to about a 5 or 6 handicap with his mix game.[/quote]

Was the putter conforming? Bends only allowed in the bottom 5 inches.

[cAsE sEnSiTiVe]

[quote name='phil75070' post='1972915' date='Sep 26 2009, 06:18 AM']I haven't exactly gone side saddle, but I have seen a huge improvement in my putting recently by using an extremely open stance but with my shoulders relatively square to the line, and with the ball well back in the stance. I get a much better feel for both the line and the speed this way.[/quote]


You're not alone Phil. I putt the same way, and have for years. It gives me a better feel for the line, speed, distance, everything.

[mozgolf]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=prat For those that dont know what it means, not a dig at the OP

[MadGolfer76]

[quote name='mozgolf' date='18 January 2010 - 06:09 AM' timestamp='1263816560' post='2188522']
[url="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=prat"]http://www.urbandict...e.php?term=prat[/url] For those that dont know what it means, not a dig at the OP
[/quote]

Although, I [i]have[/i] been referred to as a "self-aggrandizing, pompous f***" by various friends, family, students, employers and small children.

[PuttMaster67]

like anything 'new' you have to give it a go to see if will actually work for you. you might instantly feel a 'bond' others might 'fight' their instincts because they have invested so much time and effort in their current method. personally i tried just all kind of methods available, long, short, belly, hockey, sidesaddle, different grips etc. once you've gone through them all you might then feel more settled on your final choice and go with it. .............

[golfnhack]

I tried side saddle for a while. Within 20' it was great, but anything over that it was very difficult to get good distance control.

[PuttMaster67]

did you use an ergonomically designed putter?

i tried one from resso but the head did not lay flat, this bothered me. the ones that work best are those known as 'reverse shafted'. the head sits perfectly flat behind the ball, and the shaft leans in toward the center of the body. the balance of the putter is along the target line.

these guys are selling them for about as low a cost as they come www.sidesaddleputters.com.

you can also get them for a reasonable price on ebay.

of course you can pay upwards of a couple hundred dollars if you want to, there are plenty of guys selling them for that much too

[tembolo1284]

i'm desperate...i'm gonna give this a whirl.

Any advice?