Putting question

[tazrestling27]

Putting has always been the worst part of my game, I am now starting to practice it much more. However sometimes I feel on my take away that the club head is to lite and comes off the putting arch. If I switched to a mallet would this take away the problem or do you think it is all just in my head. I stand with my legs shoulder length apart put the ball in the middle of my stance and put my hands a little infront of the putter. I move my shoulders to swing with the putt not my arms or wrist. I stand with my eyes over the ball with relaxed arms. My grip is an interlock like any other golf swing, however I do grip it pretty hard. Should it be a soft grip? Just wanted some opinions on putting. What people perfer, ball placement, stance, grip ect.

thanks

[iacas]

You may want to switch to a putting-specific grip. Unlike the golf swing, the grip should be fairly light with the putter. That'll make it feel heavier as well, but also, you might want a heavier (head weight) putter, too. Lots of variables.

Putting has three fundamentals: green reading (irrelevant to this discussion), putting the ball on line, and getting good speed.

Fixing some of those static things will help with the latter two. But beyond having some basics the way you like them, there's a lot of room available for unique ways to do these things.

[boogielicious]

First, read Stan Utley's, The Art of Putting, if you have a chance.  It is a very good read.  Dave Stockton's method is also very similar to Utley's.

I grip the putter light enough to keep it from shifting in my hands and from causing my left wrist to break.  It should feel very relaxed but secure.  Your style is very similar to mine with the exception of the grip and ball position.  I put the putter face in the center of my stance with the ball just forward.  The ball is also about 1 inch left and further out of my right eye position, so if I dropped a plumb line from my right eye, the line would intercect the center line of the putter head right next the the hosel.

Because I putt left hand dominant, I use the reverse overlap grip with the left hand on the shaft first and the right pinky over left index finger.  This helps keep my left hand relaxed but firm on the grip.

I've really improved my putting with Utley's method.  My aim is excellent.  Green reading is what I am working on now.

[saevel25]

Doesn't Utley believe in pushing the clubhead through the ball, while stockton believes in pulling the putter through the ball? I cant remember.

I would work on making sure your knees, arms and shoulders are square to your start line. Doesn't matter what the feet do, as long as your body is line up square. Besides that, i agree with Iacas on this, there is so much variety of putting strokes out there, just find something thats confortable.

If you need a few drills, get two rubber bands, wrapp them around the club face just outside the center, and hit putts, if you mishit them they will go crazy left or right, you can decrease the zone as you go along till you get really good at hitting it in the center of the clubface.

Another good drill is to get some cheap balls, and mark them with a line around, and putt them and make sure the line goes over end. The best i saw was at agusta, when Rory sank that long putt, the line on his ball didn't move off his break at all, it died center cup with his line on the ball perfectly parrallel to the green, it was amazing.

If you think are still hitting it not square, get a book, line it up perpendicular to your target line, and hit the back end of the book. Make sure your hitting it flush with your putter head, this way you know your square. If you hit toe first your closing it down, if its heal first, your laying it open.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

First, read Stan Utley's, The Art of Putting, if you have a chance.  It is a very good read.  Dave Stockton's method is also very similar to Utley's.

I don't think they're similar at all.

Stockton is very much what David Edel calls a "linear" putter while Utley us the ultimate "radial" putter - much more of a time-based method that changes the backswing and through-swing length. Stockton's more of a "pop" stroke.