Inconsistent Putter

[Dr. Slice]

I have a major problem with putting that seems like it would be easy to fix but i just cant seem to do it. I CAN NEVER TAKE THE PUTTER STRAIGHT BACK ON THE BACKSWING! I don't know if its my grip or if i just need to slow down but its making my putter very inconsistent.

I had a golf meet on Friday and i was putting possibly the best i ever have. At one point i made 20+ putt on 4 holes in a row. But i still wasn't taking the putt perfectly straight which was weird.

Yesterday was a different story, my putting was terrible, i missed a couple 3 footers for par and my lagging was bad also.

So my question is how i can cure this? Is it a different grip? because right now i use the regular grip with my right pointer going down the grip (righty)

Thanks

[Ernest Jones]

I would suggest you DON'T TAKE THE PUTTER STRAIGHT BACK in the back swing. A lot a great putters were arc putters and maybe if that is your natural tendency you should embrace it instead of fight. Every other swing you make is an arc, why not arc your putts? Just gotta be square at impact same as all your other clubs.

[saevel25]

All golf swings move in an arc, why should the putter not?

To me the most imporant thing about putting is not changing the hand position relative to the club head position. If your hands are ahead of the club head, keep them that same distance ahead. I like mine slightly ahead, that way it feels like my wrist are locked in place. Then its just making a stroke. This is were practice comes in. If your going to get good at putting, set down the grip you want, the posture, the ball postion, ect.. Then make sure you don't change it. Even if you start missing, just adjust your feeling for the putts, that is learn how to make the ball go in with that stroke. How can you make anything if your constantly tweaking the putter stroke.

[Pope33]

I agree with the others. If arc is what feels most comfortable, then go with arc.

I will say that the index finger down the shaft caused some major inconsistencies with my putting in the past. It may feel good, but it gets involved more than you think with your stroke. I have finally gone completely away from the finger down the shaft and become a much better putter because of it.

Give it a try. It may not feel natural at first, but stick with it for a while and I will guarantee results.

Good Luck

[Kieran123]

Get a belly putter

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by Kieran123

Get a belly putter

Them's fightin' words!

[Dr. Slice]

Sorry guys, when i said i don't take the putter straight back, i wasn't talking about hot having an arc. On my backswing, the putter doesn't go in a straight line, like it doesn't stay right in line with the ball.

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by Dr. Slice

Sorry guys, when i said i don't take the putter straight back, i wasn't talking about hot having an arc. On my backswing, the putter doesn't go in a straight line, like it doesn't stay right in line with the ball.

Then you don't have an arc. By arc I mean putter path is inside-square-inside just like with your driver (hopefully) and any other club you swing. Some people do putt straight back and straight thru but I've always figured if the natural swing is an arc around your body it should remain so with every club in your bag including the putter.

[Robato]

I have a similar putting stroke to yours, and I also use the right index down the shaft. I think that the problem is not the grip, but possibly your stance. Can you describe how you setup over the ball? This could make a big difference to your perspective and consistency, since you said you have good and bad days too. It might be a problem of just moving your head and eyes more to an above position, so that the arms hang more. You can check where your eyes are with a mirror on the floor, or by dropping a golf ball or something from your eye position and watch where it lands, without the mirror of course, hehe.

I dont personally mind if my putter is going exactly straight back or in an arc, but I perceive the head going back straight from my perspective (I believe Steve Stricker mentioned the same thing?), and when I can align my putter head well and pull it back with the putter head staying on-line from my eye position, my putting is usually lights-out good.

[boots1302]

Originally Posted by Pope33

I agree with the others. If arc is what feels most comfortable, then go with arc.

I will say that the index finger down the shaft caused some major inconsistencies with my putting in the past. It may feel good, but it gets involved more than you think with your stroke. I have finally gone completely away from the finger down the shaft and become a much better putter because of it.

Give it a try. It may not feel natural at first, but stick with it for a while and I will guarantee results.

Good Luck

I recently switched from finger down shaft to normal interlocking grip, and it has also done wonders for my putting game. It has made me much more consistant with my distances and with hitting the sweet spot every putt.

[Dr. Slice]

For my posture, i keep my legs pretty straight with a little knee flex and i was looking today in the mirror and from what i could tell my eyes were over the ball.

Today at golf practice i worked on standing more upright so my arms would be a little straighter and i went a lot slower on my backswing and it was definitely straighter. I used the same grip as i used to. I tried the reverse grip with my left hand lower and that felt really weird, i dont know if i should keep practicing the reverse grip and try to get used to it or just stay with the grip im using.

[Robato]

I'm not a putting expert, but I think the most important aspect of the putting motion is having a flat left wrist. If you can't maintain that, then a grip change could fix it. In your case, you might just need a small adjustment. My putting motion in the backswing seems really straight when I get my left wrist feeling flat, and my body is in the right position to make it happen. Good luck.