How do you putt?

[Sandy]

I have a rather unique putting stroke. I set up a little open and then bring it inside to outside, almost like pushing every putt.

I played with a guy last week who did something very similar - at address it looked like he was setting up for a very gentle chip-shot, right down to the ball being back in his stance. Looked quite strange, but worked really well for him...

 

[demon]

I have used the same putting stroke for 22+ years and its a straight back straight through. I never practice new putting strokes and usually ignore all putting strokes either on TV or in magazines. I rarely practice putting and most of the little practice i do is before my round and that is just to get the feel of the greens.

 

[fore142]

my putter isnt designed to be straight back and straight through, but thats still how i putt and it works for me.

 

[jc@bg]

Straight back, straight though

I developed a method this winter that has two stroke keys: roll the left wrist straight under as the putter goes back, then hold that wrist angle (keep the left wrist from breaking) as the putter goes through the ball. I've long been a pretty good but streaky putter. Other than mis-reads, the vast majority of my misses have come when the ball didn't start on the intended line. I've tried billions of different putting setups and grips, but year in year out, I've typically putted with predominantly a rotating shoulder, arc motion. When my timing was good, I made a lot. Other days, I missed a bunch. And if I took the putter back crooked, I was cook-ed: I couldn't return to square if I got off-arc from the get-go. Now, I'm pretty much on the line throughout the backstroke and forward stroke; if I get off-line a little going back, I don't panic, 'cause I know that I have a good chance of making the putt if I just push it through as best I can from that backswing position.

Big, big keys are a different grip I've developed, to aid in turning the left wrist under, not letting the left wrist "break down" through the ball, and keeping the putter low to the ground in the follow-through. Speed and direction are both better if the putter stays low--at least for me. -- JC

 

[JasonMacIsaac]

I had a good putting day today, what I worked on in the winter to squaring up all my body parts and tilting my shoulders. Leave the left hand on the putter with my two ball lined up then tilt the shoulders untill my right hand fits on the putter. It feels like the putter face is pointing way left but thats actually square.