Learn how to Putt your way to more fun

There are many different types of putting approaches. We touched upon Gripping the Golf Club in a previous post. I have some news to share that you will hopefully view with the growth mindset. The grip for putting has even more ways to hold the putter. Yep, it’s true. We will touch on 3 of them in this post. There are a lot more than just 3 putting grips, which says a lot about how challenging getting the ball in the hole can be. I will share additional grips not covered here in a later post. Some things to consider as you begin to get more serious about improving with the flat stick. How long should your putter shaft be? What kind of putter head is the right one for you? We’ll take a look at 3 common putter heads used today, and explore the good and bad of each.

Many beginner golfers begin their putting journey using the same grip they use with their wedges, irons, and fairway woods, and driver. This is generally referred to as the conventional or traditional grip. As time goes on the urge to tinker with the putting grip comes and you may find yourself exploring options to increase your confidence and lower your score.

The great thing about putting is that you can practice at home, at work, or where ever you can position a coffee cup or drinking glass to putt the ball into on your home floor. A word of advice to consider. Putting surfaces change from course to course depending on the type of grass that is used. For example, climate, heat, and humidity will affect how the ball rolls on the green and what type of grass is best for growing. I will talk about the most common types of grass you’ll find such as Bermuda, Poana, and Bent Grass in a future post. It may be awhile before you are able to discern the differences as you grow beyond dummy to experienced golfer.

Learning how to judge the distance to a target is a key skill to learn when putting. How much force to apply on your putting stroke is all about touch and depth perception. How far should you take the putter back in your stroke is something you will learn with a lot of trial and error. Making the ball roll with little to no spin after making contact is one example. Does your putter need to have a 1 or 2 degrees of loft to roll the ball effectively for your putting stroke? Is your putter face open or closed at contact with the ball? Indeed, there are many factors in the development of how you use the Flat Stick to make pars and birdies.

Putting Challenges

A common issue with beginner golfers is de-accelerating your stroke right at the moment of impact with the putter face. The end result leaves beginners with a second putt with almost the same make percentage of their first putt. Learning to develop touch and finesse can be frustrating at first. Do you hit your putt with your follow up putt in mind, or do you send the ball directly into the cup to avoid a fast downhill break to the cup? These are all things that you will learn as you accumulate experience over time. The great thing is that you will get better with practice.

The other issue that occurs is putting the ball with too much force. You may find yourself not able to control the distance. You will understand what I am saying if your second putt is further away from the hole then where you started. Learning the speed of the greens is another thing. Greens are usually slower in the morning due to early morning watering by the greens keepers. As the day progresses the sun drys them out and the ball will roll faster without the moisture.

Most beginners tend to put more time on the range to dial in their swing. Beginners tend to skip spending time practicing their chip and pitch shots. Beginners also discount investing time to practice putting. An amazing golf statistic to consider is that putting is approximately 60% of every round you play. Consistent putting is the way to cut strokes off your game. A missed one foot putt makes you think hard after you hit a 300 yard drive down the middle of the fairway. Executing 4 good shots together to make par on a 400 yard hole can be done in many ways. Putting requires depth perception and touch to sink a putt. Whether your putt is 3 feet or 20 feet away from the cup, you will need to develop a reliable and consistent putting stroke. Learning the putting stroke along with reading greens and visualizing the path the ball will follow to the hole will make all the difference in your score.

In a future post, we will explore how to read the green. How much will the ball curve left or right based on the undulation of the green surface. What time of day is it? How hard or soft are the greens? Do you tap your putt because the green is running fast that day, or do you have to supply more force to your putt to lag the ball close to the hole? For now, let’s explore some of the basic things about Grip and Putter types to get you started. We will explore more details mentioned above I promise.

3 Types of Putting Grips

• Conventional Grip
• Cross Handed Grip
• The Claw

Conventional Grip

You should recognize the grip above since it looks just like the grip you’ve learned to use to swing your woods and irons. It’s also called the reverse overlap grip. It’s the most common technique you will see on TV by pros and amateurs. You’ll find it easy to use and will feel comfortable as you transition from long game to short game. You’ll notice that the thumb is positioned straight down the grip. You may find yourself modifying the position of your right hand by extending your index finger down the side of the grip.

As you begin to improve your consistency and confidence on the green, you will be tempted to try other approaches to grip the club. There are pros and cons to each type of grip. You may resist making changes to your putting grip. It will feel weird and might be unpredictable at first and that is to be expected. Making changes in the middle of a round can be frustrating. It’s best to try out a new putting grip on the practice green or at home until you can repeat making putts consistently.

A common drill on the practice green is to start 3 feet away from the cup. Use as many balls that make sense. Once you sink them all, move to 6 feet away from the cup, and repeat to 10 feet, and then 15 feet and so on. In a future post I will provide some drills and putting aids that will help improve your consistency and touch.

One of the challenges of the conventional grip is wrist release that can affect the putter club face. You may find yourself struggling to align putts and miss the hole to the right or left. For a right handed golfer missing the cup to the right is called a Push. Missing to the left of the cup is called a Pull.

Cross Handed Grip

The cross handed grip is simply done by positioning your hands in opposite positions on the grip. You can see how my right hand is at the top of the grip with my left hand low. So it makes sense that the cross handed grip is also known is the left hand low grip. I personally used the cross handed grip for a couple of years and found it helped me feel ball contact on the putter face better. Cross handed also helped me hit short straight putts. My wrists didn’t hinge and I made short straight putts with confidence.

The only drawback I experienced came with long putts. You’ll find you won’t be able to lag the ball close to the hole since your back swing is limited by your left hand. I even tried using the conventional grip for long putts, and cross handed for putts with 10 feet.

I recommend experimenting with both grips and see which one feels right. More importantly, tracking how many putting strokes per round will help you see which putting grip yields the results you are looking for. I usually focus on ensuring I make 2 putts per hole. 2 putts per hole is my goal. Your goal should match where you are learning the game. Beginners tend to let putting discourage their positive mindset until they learn how to manage their thoughts and expectations. More on the mental game later.

The Claw

The Claw has many different variations. I will talk about the first one which was first seen being used by Chris DeMarco in the late 90’s, but some credit goes to Mark O’Meara. To be honest, I only remember seeing Chris DeMarco using it on the PGA Tour. Mark O’Meara was one of the last PGA pros from the days of Persimmon drivers and came up through the golden years of golf in the 70s and 80s.

The concept of the claw focuses on a few key things. First, it changes what you normally focus on when putting with the conventional grip. Normally, using your hands to control the motion of the putter head along its path to make contact with the ball is primary. The Claw switches the focus to a sweeping motion. The Claw allows you to focus on the line of your putt and make your lower hand passive. Most who try it find it uncomfortable at first, but see a decrease in push or pull putts due to wrist movement.

I will break down how this happens in a future post. I will give you some drills you can practice to improve. Right now, let’s move on to what kind of putter to consider and why.

3 Types of Putter Heads

• The Blade
• The Mallet
• Peripheral Weighted

The Blade

The blade putter above is called the Ping Redwood Anser 303ss. I loved my first Ping blade so much I updated it in 2010 from my Ping Anser 2i Isopur, which I still have in my garage collecting dust. Some golfers collect putters and sell them as they become more valuable over time. There are a lot of different putter heads on the market to choose from. Many are still made from 303 stainless steel like the Redwood above.

First, picking the right putter for you in the beginning should be all about what feels right in your hands. Second, the shaft length should also match your arm length and height to produce comfort and confidence when you are standing over a putt. Third, the grip of the putter should be comfortable in your hands and provide you confidence when making short and long putts.

Blade Advantages

• Provides more touch on fast greens

• Better control for precise putting

• Consistent impact and sound for feedback

• Many different manufacturers and putters to choose from

Blade Disadvantages

• Smaller overall sweet spot on the putter face

• Lining up with short line on putter can be a challenge

• Works better for golfers who open putter face on back swing and create an arc in their putting stroke.

The Mallet

Mallet Advantages

The Mallet putter above is a Taylor Made Daddy Long Legs that belongs to my good friend Jim Tucker. It looks interesting and feels more stable, but don’t be fooled or intimidated by it’s look.

• Consistency and Forgiveness – Not as much twisting the putter face at impact.

• High MOI – You will hear all the buzz words and jargon about how Mallet putters have a high “Moment of Inertia” (MOI), which allows you to control the speed of the ball.

• Shorter Back Stroke – Don’t have to take the putter head far back in your putting stroke. Minimizes the push or pull putting stroke.

Mallet Disadvantages

Keeping confusion from melting your brain is that the ball will go further on the putting surface with a shorter back stroke. That’s all you really need to know for now. I promise I will cover more technical detail in a future post. Right now, we’re keeping things simple until you are able to notice the difference technology will make in your putting.

Peripheral Weighted

You will notice that the Peripheral Weighted putter shown above looks just like The Blade. There is one key difference. The two 40 gram blue circles in the picture below are easily swappable weights that are screwed in. You will need a special tool to remove both weights. The tool usually comes with the weights and you can find them for less then $20 on Amazon.

Peripheral Advantages

• Adjustable weights – Weights at the toe and heal increased the sweet spot on the face of the putter.

• More Stability – The weights provide more stability you will notice.

• Shorter Back Stroke – The higher MOI allowed me to shorten my putting stroke and eliminate pull or push putts

You will notice that the heavier the putter creates stability that you can feel. You may also notice that the sound the ball makes at contact provides audible feedback. As you get more skilled at putting you will learn to hear a good putt. The sound of the putter making contact on the sweet spot is a great feeling too!

Peripheral Disadvantages

• Cost – Peripheral putters generally are more expensive.

• Technical – You will have to experiment with what weights work to make adjustments. I will take you time and should be considered only when your scores for 18 holes are lowering your handicap index to a single digit.

I know a lot of good golfers who go through many different putters in their golf journey. I also know golfers who stick with one putter and only make a change if they are forced to. Whatever path you take make sure you focus on what will help you improve. Do your research and ask for help. You will start to notice who really understands the putting, and who is just a equipment nerd.

“Putting” in all together

Your first putter will be a big part of your success at golf. Most likely you will be confused at the beginning and that is ok. As I mentioned above, picking the right putter length is important as you improve and can observe by tracking your putting stats, what is working and what is not. The rule of thumb is pick a shaft based on how tall you are.

Height	Putter Shaft Length
5.0′	32 inches
5 ‘ to 5’2″	32.5 inches
5′ 4″ to 5′ 6″	33 inches
5′ 6″ to 5′ 8″	33.5 inches
5′ 8″ to 6′	34 inches
6’0 to 6’2′	34.5 inches
6’2 to 6’4″	35 inches
6’4″ and Above	36 inches

Second, picking the putter head will be unimportant at first. Once you start exploring your options your journey may be short and decisive and lock you in for life. Or, you may experience with the many different types available to you. There are so many other options out there, and you may find the exploration a fun experience figuring out what works for you. My advice is always is pick the option that is fun and meaningful to you.

Lastly, your putting grip may or may not change as you learn the game. You can take the advice Arnold Palmers dad Deacon Palmer gave him. “Put your hands here and here. Now look at that and remember it. Don’t ever change”. Or, you can experiment with the large array of putting grips that exist out there. Whether you pick the three common grips I shared above, or try the Prayer Grip, Arm Lock Grip, Arm Lock Grip with Claw, or the Broomstick remember to have fun and enjoy yourself.