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Left hand low putting

TonyB

TonyB

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I got to the course yesterday about an hour early and spent most of it on the practice green. I started playing around with left hand low and was surprised how well I was putting like that. I had no idea of the correct grip but was able to easily keep the face square to my line and had good distance control.

I made the not good decision to take it to the course until the 3rd hole with a 6 footer for birdie that I missed horribly. I played the rest of the round conventional grip but came home and found a Golf Mag article from Speith on his putting technique and grip. I have a tendency to manipulate the putter with my right hand at times and this is supposed to help with that. I will give it some practice time on the Putt Out mat for the next week or so.
 
TonyB said:
I got to the course yesterday about an hour early and spent most of it on the practice green. I started playing around with left hand low and was surprised how well I was putting like that. I had no idea of the correct grip but was able to easily keep the face square to my line and had good distance control.

I made the not good decision to take it to the course until the 3rd hole with a 6 footer for birdie that I missed horribly. I played the rest of the round conventional grip but came home and found a Golf Mag article from Speith on his putting technique and grip. I have a tendency to manipulate the putter with my right hand at times and this is supposed to help with that. I will give it some practice time on the Putt Out mat for the next week or so.
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I just converted to LHL.

Watch ball position with Left hand low - I moved the ball forward slightly in my stance and began sinking everything. Also, my left hand is only slightly lower than the right hand - I kind of wrap my right hand around my left hand fingers to eliminate the right hand more completely.

I also found it's easier to point the back of your left wrist down the target line through impact so you're more square for a slightly longer period of time.
 
Thanks for the tips Desmond. My left hand was not much lower either and I just tried to find a comfortable grip. I ended up pretty close to what I see online as the "correct LHL grip". The birdie putt that I missed was more mental than anything and I flat choked.
 
TonyB said:
Thanks for the tips Desmond. My left hand was not much lower either and I just tried to find a comfortable grip. I ended up pretty close to what I see online as the "correct LHL grip". The birdie putt that I missed was more mental than anything and I flat choked.
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I don't know if anything is "correct." It's what is comfortable and I think you know that.

I have theputtingstick - about 5 feet of plastic that is thinner than the typical yardstick and roll the ball down it - my putts kept falling off right and that's when I adjusted ball position and was cognizant of keeping the back of the left wrist square approaching and right after impact - LHL really helped my distance control. I'm naturally left handed but play righthanded - and the left hand is more athletic than the right - so the conversion made sense.
 
TonyB said:
I got to the course yesterday about an hour early and spent most of it on the practice green. I started playing around with left hand low and was surprised how well I was putting like that. I had no idea of the correct grip but was able to easily keep the face square to my line and had good distance control.

I made the not good decision to take it to the course until the 3rd hole with a 6 footer for birdie that I missed horribly. I played the rest of the round conventional grip but came home and found a Golf Mag article from Speith on his putting technique and grip. I have a tendency to manipulate the putter with my right hand at times and this is supposed to help with that. I will give it some practice time on the Putt Out mat for the next week or so.
Click to expand...

Left hand low is a fine technique. However, if one is "fighting the yips" I don't believe left hand low is especially effective, at least not for me.
I have found the claw style grip to be good for avoiding yips.
Also, these days there are putter grips designed to help combat the yips. For example, the Golf Pride SNSR combines a unique material, shape, and weight designed to promote light grip pressure.
There are lots of wide diameter grips on the market today, also designed to promote light grip pressure and, or, combat the yips.
And grips such as FlatCat and Garsen MAX combine unique profile shapes and size to promote particular grip techniques which help avoid the yips.
 
DG_1234 said:
Left hand low is a fine technique. However, if one is "fighting the yips" I don't believe left hand low is especially effective, at least not for me.
I have found the claw style grip to be good for avoiding yips.
Also, these days there are putter grips designed to help combat the yips. For example, the Golf Pride SNSR combines a unique material, shape, and weight designed to promote light grip pressure.
There are lots of wide diameter grips on the market today, also designed to promote light grip pressure and, or, combat the yips.
And grips such as FlatCat and Garsen MAX combine unique profile shapes and size to promote particular grip techniques which help avoid the yips.
Click to expand...

My right hand would get the shakes at the start of a round. I take the right hand essentially off the club by wrapping the right hand loosely around the left fingers even using LHL.

Agree on grips - I use a Palmbird on one putter - think of an ergonomic flat cat, and the Guerin Rife's Gravity Grip which has extended sides like flat cat but a metal rod down the back of the grip.
 
DG_1234 said:
Left hand low is a fine technique. However, if one is "fighting the yips" I don't believe left hand low is especially effective, at least not for me.
I have found the claw style grip to be good for avoiding yips.
Also, these days there are putter grips designed to help combat the yips. For example, the Golf Pride SNSR combines a unique material, shape, and weight designed to promote light grip pressure.
There are lots of wide diameter grips on the market today, also designed to promote light grip pressure and, or, combat the yips.
And grips such as FlatCat and Garsen MAX combine unique profile shapes and size to promote particular grip techniques which help avoid the yips.
Click to expand...


I don't have the yips. I am not even sure why I decided to try it yesterday other than it was 38*, I was cold and wanted to keep moving. I am very right hand dominant in everything so I have to always be aware of that during my putting stroke to no allow myself to try to steer the putt with my right hand. It seemed in my short 15 minutes or so putting that LHL took that away and felt easier to stay square to my line. I have the Winn Jumbo X Lite grip which is similar in shape to the SNSR Contour

I did try the claw grip for a short time a couple years ago but it never felt comfortable.
 
Have tried it many times over the last 10 years just never sticks for me. For me, I found it more effective on faster than slower greens. Just about all of my rounds are played on slower greens which is why I typically switch back after a couple of weeks.
 
I have been putting left hand low since the late 80's when I saw Bernhard Langer do it on tv. My natural reaction when picking up a regular putter is left hand low. My mind automatically grips it like that.
The beginning of last golf season I experimented with a normal putter grip to see if I putted better. I didn't. Probably because I putted left hand low for so long.
Honestly I was never a great putter that's why in the middle of the season I made a broom stick putter to see how that is. I love it. My putting is night and day compared to a regular putter. (And no, I do not anchor).
 
I've been LHL for 15+ years. Like any change, it takes hours and hours of practice (21 of consistent repetition, or so I've heard) until muscle memory takes over.

But a certain comfort level can be achieved must sooner. For me, the effects were clear. Shaky in the beginning, but so was my putting overall as that's what sparked the whole experiment in the first place.

I'll never go back. Conventional feels way more awkward to me now than LHL did when I previously putted conventionally.
 
WMac19 said:
I've been LHL for 15+ years. Like any change, it takes hours and hours of practice (21 of consistent repetition, or so I've heard) until muscle memory takes over.

But a certain comfort level can be achieved must sooner. For me, the effects were clear. Shaky in the beginning, but so was my putting overall as that's what sparked the whole experiment in the first place.

I'll never go back. Conventional feels way more awkward to me now than LHL did when I previously putted conventionally.
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I am going to give it some real practice to see but I liked what I saw other than the flubbed putt for birdie. I should have known better than taking it on the course but it was just a practice round. I figured I would not have any feel for longer lag putts but had surprisingly good distance control.
 
Left hand low putting

I’m going to give left hand low a try for the next month and see what happens. I was starting the ball on line better that way but now I need to figure out pace.

I just want some putts to fall
 
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I went left hand low 2 years ago out of the necessity I was a good putter outside of 2 feet my playing partners would give me a 5 footer all the time but less than 2 feet they would just smile and say putt it I used to miss a few putts each round less than 2 feet and everyone knew it lol I resorted to left hand low on those and everything changed rarely miss now and have adopted it on all putts and don’t think I could ever go back now


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I've played around with left hand low the past couple of years but always seem to struggle with the short putts. It feels so much more natural to me though.

I had been using a standard grip so far but this last week went to a modified left hand low with both index fingers pointing down the shaft. It seems to have taken my wrists out of the stroke and feels like my shoulders are more engaged. I'm sure it looks horrible but I'm going to roll with it for a bit.
 
I continued this for about a month but really struggled with short putts. The one thing that improved my putting was taking the Scotty Cameron out of my bag and putting the V Line Fang back in and using a conventional grip.
 
Have tried LHL on the practice green right before a round just to see how it feels. I felt like I lost some control, but wouldn't expect my body to become 100% familiar with it after only 5-10 putts so until I decide to really put effort into the grip, i'll stick with what works for me for now.
 
I like LHL, i didn't for along time and then one day warming up i went back to it. A lot depends on the grip and the putter. It just felt right this time and i have not looked back.
 
I’ve tried many putting styles over the years including long putter, belly putter, putting left handed, and claw grip. I’ve used Left-hand low probably for about 10-12 years as recently as a couple years ago. What I’ve determined in my quest for better putting is that it’s mostly about confidence and mental approach, not grip or type of putting style. Jordan Spieth was in the top 10 in strokes gained putting his first couple years, fell to 48th on tour in 2017 and 104th last year. His left hand low grip is not to blame for his putting woes, his brain is.
 
As a natural lefty who plays right handed I really liked the switch to LHL. I actually keep my hands pretty far apart, maybe two inches of separation between my hands while making the stroke.


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It feels so weird but it has been producing a solid roll. I feel like I need to really kick the tires on it.
 
I have started this year trying LHL after having a very frustrating 2018 with an overly active right hand. Haven’t yet played on cut greens so we’re not getting a true roll to evaluate but so far I like the results I am seeing. Not sure if am going to stick with it for long putts but time will tell.
 
Jimmy3864 said:
I have started this year trying LHL after having a very frustrating 2018 with an overly active right hand. Haven’t yet played on cut greens so we’re not getting a true roll to evaluate but so far I like the results I am seeing. Not sure if am going to stick with it for long putts but time will tell.
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Just be aware that for lots of people the LHL stroke is a different feel and some make much better contact so it will take a little while to get speed down I hit all my putts much more solid LHLand don’t think I will ever go back to any other type of putting stroke


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As a senior who never was a good putter, I tried a lot of different grips, and my right hand was overpowering my left. I was given lessons a couple of years and was told to try the claw method. It actually made it worse. I saw Spieth on TV and thought to try that out. I eventually adapted to using left hand low, barely guiding the putter, with almost all my energy coming from the right hand with my index finger down the grip. (Maybe I ought to try using this technique with my wedges on close in shots.)
 
Still working on this a bit. Works great on short putts. Not so much on long right now.
 
I'd love to see the some pics of people's LHL grips (hands and fingers, not the rubber grip), especially how the fingers work. I can't seem to figure out a way to grip comfortably with my left hand low.
 
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