Putterhead wobbles on the takeaway

[Zeph]

No further explanation needed I guess. I've tried keeping the wrists from moving, swing with the shoulders etc., but it still does this wobbly move on the backswing. I start thinking about the wobbling midway and often the speed suffer.

Any safe bets on what cause this?

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Zeph

No further explanation needed I guess. I've tried keeping the wrists from moving, swing with the shoulders etc., but it still does this wobbly move on the backswing. I start thinking about the wobbling midway and often the speed suffer.

Any safe bets on what cause this?

Maybe you got the wrong putter. Try an Odyssey next time.

Seriously though, I putt one handed to try out a putter. If it wobbles one handed, it's not for me.

IF I had to make a "safe bet" I'd say the stock grip was too small. Put a big old fattie on that thing.

[motteler621]

has anyone seen luke donalds grip for putting? They were talking about it last week during a tournament. Im a great putter and dont really need to change anything but when I tried this grip it felt really good. Look it up but your index finger on right hand goes way down on the grip and slightly curves around it.

[zeg]

No further explanation needed I guess. I've tried keeping the wrists from moving, swing with the shoulders etc., but it still does this wobbly move on the backswing. I start thinking about the wobbling midway and often the speed suffer.

I have the same problem rather often. Usually if I can just ignore it, I get on the line and get a good putt, but sometimes, like you, I think about it and the putt goes awry. For me, it's usually a big push or pull... I don't have a fix, but I have noticed if I make a confident backswing, it tends not to happen. I think, for me, it's the result of being a little tentative and trying to take too slow a backswing. Not certain of this, but I certainly don't get the wobble on every putt.

[squaddie]

Originally Posted by Zeph

No further explanation needed I guess. I've tried keeping the wrists from moving, swing with the shoulders etc., but it still does this wobbly move on the backswing. I start thinking about the wobbling midway and often the speed suffer.

Any safe bets on what cause this?

I had to put a larger grip on my Scotty, since the stock grip was too small for my hands, and I couldn't feel the club that well.

Here's a little drill you can try to move the putter more smoothly.   Get into address without a ball, then take the putter back and then forth over the putting surface, and keep it swinging with your shoulders like a pendulum.  As it swings back and forth feel the weight of the putter, and once it feels a little heavy let it swing back the other way.

Once you got the rocking motion going the putter should move without wobbling, and you should feel the weight of the putter driving your shoulder and arm movement.

That's the feeling you should try for when moving the putter back and through, applying enough grip pressure and force to let the putter go back smoothly.

During the drill ensure you keep your eyes focused where the ball would be, and your arms are helping to guide the putter on the target line.

[jamo]

I tried the bigger grip thing and it didn't really fix this for me. However much the big grip quieted my hands, the counterweighting of the huge grip undid. Maybe I should try a Heavy Putter.

[Mr. Desmond]

Hold the grip tightly in the fingers while relaxing the rest of the hands and arms. If the fingers are too relaxed, you get wobble.

[imtomtomim]

Stop thinking about it!  Just flick the putter back, and then flick it through.  Make the motion simple, you're just hitting the ball with the club.  One of my favorite things I read from Stockton, a putt is like writing your signature.  If you slow down and try to recreate it perfectly, it will go awry.  Just make the motion

[Zeph]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Hold the grip tightly in the fingers while relaxing the rest of the hands and arms. If the fingers are too relaxed, you get wobble.

I never understood this tip. The muscles in the hands can't tighten without some muscles in the arms not tightening. I don't flex my biceps, triceps or anything, so I don't think that is the problem. I've tried a light grip and a tighter grip, but it seems like the arms are causing it. The shoulders rock, but the arms sort of dangle this way and that way, while the wrists and hands are quiet. I've tried attaching the upper arms to my torso, but that starts feeling tight again, and I don't see tour pros doing it.

Edit: One thing I have thought about is grounding the putter. I've always kept the clubhead on the ground before starting my swing, but I think that can cause this putter problem. The arms are relaxed and the grip is firm with the clubhead sitting on the ground. But when I start the takeaway, the weight of the club has to be supported by the arms and shoulders, which creates a transition that can be hard to get flowing right. Perhaps not hovering the club 2mm over the ground, but letting the arms support some weight of the club before the swing.

This can also cause some wrist movement right away since the wrists are moving back at the same time as they are taking the weight of the putter. The wrists can be locked well at address, but when the weight of the club is brought into the equation, I might need firmer wrists to support it.

[nevets88]

I don't have any reasons why, but I had problems with a wobble at the start of the putt. I found that light pressure on the grip and more importantly, equal tension throughout the triangle and thinking about starting the putt with the right part of the triangle as one unit, helped me. I'm very handsy, from playing alot of tennis when I was a kid and trying to generate alot of topspin. Obviously floppy wrists in golf is no good and the tennis mindset carried over, which was no good.

[johnclayton1982]

This is my first post with advice, and I'm not good at golf.  Nevertheless, I had this problem.  I solved it by concentrating on making the first thing that moves on my takeback swing my left shoulder.  Not left wrist, arm, everything, but shoulder muscle only.  Feel it start in your shoulder.  It keeps everything else quiet and the putter head still - your shoulder muscle can take the club back, but it cant make it move.  This tip really worked well for me.

EDIT: not so much shoulder as the muscle way up the underside of your arm.  Almost at your shoulder, and it almost feels when in the putting stance like it is inside your shoulder.  I think it is the tricep.  It can make the head go back, but it cannot physically influence the putter.  Just make it start your takeback and it really helps.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by Zeph

I never understood this tip. The muscles in the hands can't tighten without some muscles in the arms not tightening. I don't flex my biceps, triceps or anything, so I don't think that is the problem. I've tried a light grip and a tighter grip, but it seems like the arms are causing it. The shoulders rock, but the arms sort of dangle this way and that way, while the wrists and hands are quiet. I've tried attaching the upper arms to my torso, but that starts feeling tight again, and I don't see tour pros doing it.

Edit: One thing I have thought about is grounding the putter. I've always kept the clubhead on the ground before starting my swing, but I think that can cause this putter problem. The arms are relaxed and the grip is firm with the clubhead sitting on the ground. But when I start the takeaway, the weight of the club has to be supported by the arms and shoulders, which creates a transition that can be hard to get flowing right. Perhaps not hovering the club 2mm over the ground, but letting the arms support some weight of the club before the swing.

This can also cause some wrist movement right away since the wrists are moving back at the same time as they are taking the weight of the putter. The wrists can be locked well at address, but when the weight of the club is brought into the equation, I might need firmer wrists to support it.

I go to Pat O'Brien for putting -- he has his students gripping the club in the fingers - firmly.

I lift the putter slightly off the ground just before starting the stroke -- in that way, I don't have anything interrupting the flow of the stroke.

If I don't somehow have a connection between the upper arms and the body ... something goes wrong. I go for a wide arc ... but it's got to be connected somehow with the body or contact is off the sweet spot.

[Zeph]

I think I've found the problem here, and some ways to fix it.

1. Hover the putter behind the ball
2. Lift the club slightly off the ground. Enough to take the weight into your hands, but not so much as to lose contact with the ground
3. Use the bounce technique explained below

I'm thinking 2 or 3, perhaps a bit of both. I don't like the idea of hovering the putter all the time, I like to have some feeling for the ground. I occasionally chunk a putt, which is probably related to the same issue. The hands lower a bit when the club sits on the ground, so when I make my stroke, I'll have to raise the arms or something to keep the club from touching the ground.

To stabilize your stroke and make sure your putterhead returns to impact in a vertical orientation for a solid roll, set the length of your putting system from pivot to turf by tapping the putterhead lightly at address and keep the pivot stable in your stroke

You've seen Greg Norman gently tapping his putterhead up and down behind the ball just before he pulls the trigger. He says it relaxes him and makes the takeaway smoother. That may well be useful, if you have trouble with a smooth takeaway move. Here's an independent reason for doing this: it tells your body exactly where the ground is! Yes, you can see the ground, but tapping it with the putter communicates to your body more and better perceptions about your setup, so that when you make your stroke, the putterhead glides into impact just above the surface, skimming the tops of the short-mown grass blades. Tap the putter to sharpen up your stroke.

After you have taken hold of the putter, you will probably see that the putter sole is resting, perhaps even pressed, into the ground. This presents a danger of a jerky takeaway, a loss of focus, and a stubbed downstroke.

There are four ways to remedy this. First, your can inhale. This will raise your torso (and head) ever so slightly, and you can let the putter get pulled up as your torso lifts your arms and hands a bit. Again, watch the elbows. If they cave inward, your putter will stay down. A second way is to lift a little of the bend out of your knees. A third way is to straighten up the back a bit, raising the pivot of the putt in your neck area, along with the shoulder sockets. Finally, the fourth way is to BOUNCE the putterhead lightly on the ground and CATCH IT in your hands on the up-bounce. Personally, I like to combine the inhaling and the bouncing-putter catch.

What Good Is It?

When you tap the putter and bounce it lightly, it has several beneficial effects. First, you get a definite knowledge of the position of your arms and hands in the setup. This makes your "triangle" a more definite system that you can control better.

Second, you get a knowledge of the location of the bottom of the stroke both as an absolute spot and as a distance from your stroke pivot point in your neck. This helps your arms find their way away and back to impact with better precision and also makes you conscious of not altering the location of your stroke pivot during the putt. Keeping stock of your pivot will practically eliminate unwanted head movement.

Third, you get a little help in knowing the weight of your putter, especially the putterhead. This helps on distance control.

Finally, when you know where the bottom of your stroke system is in relation to the ground, and you plan on avoiding any lengthening of the system during the stroke, you are freed from any concern of stubbing the putt. This makes you more positive on the through-stroke and also has the effect of cutting down on those odd occasions when out of fear you raise the putterhead too much and top the putt! Ugh

Source: http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/bounce.html

[zeg]

Interesting find, and that idea (keeping some weight in your hands instead of resting on the ground) is something that had crossed my mind before.  I played with it a little bit and it didn't immediately help, but the idea of a little bounce is intriguing.  Maybe I'll give it a try.

Just don't do this on a windy day!  ;-)

[nevets88]

When I think of someone tapping the putter, it's not Norman, but Lee Janzen. I copied it for awhile, it's like the waggle before a full swing. I'm guessing if Janzen and Norman do it, there are other pros out there who do it too.

[B-Con]

I've had the shakes/wobbles for short to medium putts here and there. I've found myself wishing my putter were a little heavier and little more toe-weighted, which I think would fit my arc putting stroke a little better. I took stick of lead tape that supposedly adds two swing weights, cut it in about 1/3 to 1/4, and stuck it on the top middle toe of my putter. I played with it that way for the first time yesterday and it felt a lot better on the putts between 2 and 8 feet. My lag putting was consistently a little short over the day because the weight change messed with my distance gauging a little, but my putter has never felt so natural in my hands before. And the shakes completely disappeared. I think it fits my stroke better know and more easily glides backward on the initial pull-back. I see you have a heel-toe putter like me, but I don't know how heavy it is or what putting style you use. Just my $.02.

[motteler621]

Originally Posted by imtomtomim

Stop thinking about it!  Just flick the putter back, and then flick it through.  Make the motion simple, you're just hitting the ball with the club.  One of my favorite things I read from Stockton, a putt is like writing your signature.  If you slow down and try to recreate it perfectly, it will go awry.  Just make the motion

best advice in this thread here.

[Zeph]

Originally Posted by imtomtomim

Stop thinking about it!  Just flick the putter back, and then flick it through.  Make the motion simple, you're just hitting the ball with the club.  One of my favorite things I read from Stockton, a putt is like writing your signature.  If you slow down and try to recreate it perfectly, it will go awry.  Just make the motion

Easy to say if you already got a good motion. You could say the same about the full swing; "Just hit the ball". But it's not that easy.