Putting hand thoughts...

Golfmasta69

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Was on the putting green a couple days ago,, working on my putting and ran into the "guy".. the one that knows all about putting from his many degrees, being friends with many tour pros and Tiger's friend Patrick Reed..
So anyways, before I could run away..he looks at my putting stroke and says I need to have the club flush against the ground, and eyes pretty much over the ball, with weight 70 to 80% on left side.
He also said for most pros, it's their left hand that is the dominant hand on the putter, with the right sorta along for the ride.. The other stuff he said I took with a grain of salt, as just coming from someone all knowing, but while I didn't say it at the time, the left hand dominant thought intrigued me. Being a righty, I feel like I putt best when my right hand is dominant and the left is along for the ride, but I do feel when I miss putts mainly low on left to right putts, it's because of an overactive right hand.

Any one with similar feelings or thought in terms of a "dominant " hand in the putting stroke. The left hand thing feels like it makes sense, but not sure if I want to venture down that road as far as tinkering with putting stroke... Anyways, just curious what y'all think..
 
I struggled with breaking my right wrist which then gets my whole putt off line, I did the Jordan Speith reverse grip for about a year which seriously improved on that and now i have some interlocked grip that places the dominance on both hands equally as the whole wrist break is no longer a issue. My dad always told me to have a dominant left hand but to help the overactive right hand another tip is just running the right index finger down the shaft to prevent any movement.
 
One of the best putters on tour, Steve Stricker putts with the heel of the putter off the ground. A lot of pros and teachers have their eyes over the heel of the putter and the back half of the ball. The hands should work as one with equals push/pull coming from both.

All that being said, do what ever gets the ball in the hole consistently
 
I struggled with breaking my right wrist which then gets my whole putt off line, I did the Jordan Speith reverse grip for about a year which seriously improved on that and now i have some interlocked grip that places the dominance on both hands equally as the whole wrist break is no longer a issue. My dad always told me to have a dominant left hand but to help the overactive right hand another tip is just running the right index finger down the shaft to prevent any movement.

Thxs.. I'll try the right index finger tip and see, but have to admit the dominant left hand in putting intrigues me...
 
There a various schools of thought on how to power the putting stroke. Left side dominant is the Stockton approach, Tiger is an example of right side dominant, pelz and Seemore are shoulder driven, and Utley teaches arms around shoulders. Each can be effective provided you understand what the choice you make does to the stroke. In my opinion (based on what I have been taught) eyes over the ball is a misnomer as well and many teach eyes inside the ball now.

No matter which you choose work on starting the ball on your intended line with any stroke length.
 
I'm right handed but my left is the dominant hand in the putting stroke. The thought/feel that I have is that the left index finger is the one that starts the motion, and the right hand is just along for the ride. If I try to use the right hand in any way, I grip too tightly and end up flipping at the ball and it comes off weak and always short.
 
One of the best putters on tour, Steve Stricker putts with the heel of the putter off the ground. A lot of pros and teachers have their eyes over the heel of the putter and the back half of the ball. The hands should work as one with equals push/pull coming from both.

All that being said, do what ever gets the ball in the hole consistently

What he said ^^^^^^^^^

I'll add to keep the pressure even through both hands as well & don't choke it to death. Even putting pressure in your hands relaxes you and frees up your shoulders and forearms for a consistent stroke.
 
For me I don't sense that either hand is necessarily dominant. The best tip for me was one THP posted on the THP Facebook page from Pat O'Brien. That tip was to hold the putter in the fingers instead of along the lifeline or in the palm of the hands. You can tell if you have gripped it right if you can take both thumbs off the club. My putting has improved dramatically since I have started to do that.
 
The eye alignment is different for everyone. My eyes are over the hosel, slightly inside the target line. Over the line my eyes trick me and I aim off line. We aren't robots and everyone's eyes work differently.


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