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Hover Putting

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Johneli

Johneli

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Never been a GREAT putter, but I can hold my own. While I was on the practice putting green the other day I began hovering the putter head about 1/2" above the ground in back of the ball. I never grounded the club. Would line it up like that, take practice swings and address the ball with the club hovered. Since you don't have to slightly lift the putter head to avoid stubbing the putt, the stroke is much smoother and deliberate. MAYBE IT WAS A FLUKE BUT I HAVE NEVER MADE MORE PUTTS AND EVEN THE ONES I MISSED WERE VERY CLOSE.

One of the best things about it is distance control. For some reason I seemed to be able to judge distance and direction much better. Even the speed on breaking putts had more of an intuitive feel to them.

Have you ever tried it, and if so how did it work out for you? If you haven't give it a try. Takes a little while to get used to it but once you do......
 
Interesting. I might have a tough time doing that with my Rife putter - it's pretty shallow. I never "slightly lift" the putter head just before my backswing, and I rarely stub my putts. I'll give it a try on the carpet and putting ring later tonight though to see what happens.

I did try the hover technique for my driver for a bit. It was a long time ago, when I was playing some King Cobra clones (aka King Snake). I think I did it because Greg Norman did, and he played Cobra clubs back then. It didn't work for me so I abandoned it.
 
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If you are hovering any club you are bound to have less tension in your hands and arms,maybe that making a nice smooth stroke more obtainable,and your putting better. Whatever it is if it works dont fix it. :D
 
I just cannot do the hovering thing with any club. Even my driver routine has me putting the club on the ground behind the ball to trigger the start of my swing.

I put the putter on the ground behind the ball and then grip down about an 1/8" inch to insure I do not stub the putter on my stroke. It is the only way I can judge exactly how high to get it off the ground. For me, hovering it would require tension to hold it in place. Putting is so individual, everyone has their own way.
 
no hovering for me either....always ground my clubs.
 
I try to hover all my clubs. I usually only think about it on my tee shot and my putts. I still stub putts from time to time and hit behind the ball on tee shots. I guess on those shots I may not have hovered the club. But I TRY to do it every time.
 
By keeping the putting slightly off ground, you maintain a more consistent tension. I also started doing this a month or so ago and my putting is much more improved.
 
I do it sometimes on longer putts. I think that it has it's advantages on those longer rolls. I don't know what your club face is doing, but I tend to de-loft the putter face. What I think is happening is the forward roll of the starts sooner, with less skipping at the beginning of the putt. The argument against this is that by doing this, you are hitting above the equator of the ball, thus pushing the ball into the ground before it starts rolling. :confused2:

Just as a note; I am one those guys that do not ground their irons in back of the ball prior to my back swing, so "hovering" is pretty common in my game.
 
I tried hovering my putter and for me personally, it doesnt work as well. To each their own though. If it works for you stick with it.
 
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