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Oh man my putting hit a new low yesterday. I played 9 holes yesterday and my putting really killed my score. I hit 5 greens in regulation 4 of which saw me 3 putting! I was disgusted through good ball striking I set myself up for some good birdie tries. All of these 5 birdie tries came within 15' so nothing really really long. My touch and feel are nonexistant and on 3 holes to go from birdie to bogie is nuts. This is nothing new since I always have felt my putting was the worst aspect of my game. I dedicated myself to 'learning to roll the rock.' The funny thing is most pro's I talk to advocate various different methods when it comes to putting. I have tried the shoulder stroke, & the arm stroke and I can honestly say that these putting strokes feel wooden and I have no 'touch' or 'feel' with these things. My putting set up is good as I worked on this to death feeling that this is where the problem was but it made little difference. So what now.........

Well today while in Borders I saw Jack's classic 'Golf My Way' and I was curious to here what he had to say about putting. I have read most of the modern putting 'guru's' take on the putting stroke and they advocate either the arm or shoulder stroke. It was interesting to read that Jack, who was a great putter, switched his approach to putting depending on his 'feel' or types of greens. Interesting stuff but Jack advocates going with what YOU feel is comfortable. Also he goes on to say who gives a **** what kind of stroke you make so long as the ball finds the hole. This was kind of common sense stuff but it rang home with me given my past.

When I first started out in golf my putting was where the strength of my game lay. My stroke was a wrist stroke and I could really roll the ball and had great touch and feel. Well when I first took lessons I was shown the 'correct' way to putt and that is when my putting hit the skids. At moments I had some average days but gone were hitting some of those monsters as were feel and touch. This was all because a 'wrist' putting stroke is wrong and unreliable and I bought into this line. Well I went to the practice green and went back to my very 'old' & 'natural' putting stroke. After about 15 minutes I started hitting 15 footers easily. The most important thing I noticed was my feel & touch were there! I could see break & feel the right speed. I was also able to sink two +20 footers leaving the rest withing 2 feet of the hole. Why oh why did I change.....for what the experts said was an incorrect putting stroke. One reason they say is that when nerves kick in your wrist stroke will fail......well I doubt I will have the chance to face a 10 footer to win the US Open. As I said earlier the arm & shoulder stroke seems to wooden and mechanical. Anyway I would like to here some of your thoughts on the different putting strokes.

I've gradually transitioned to where I am comfortable now using the same swing from driver to putter and it makes the game much simpler not having different swing thoughts for different shots. I "glue" the upper arms to the torso and rotate the torso keeping arms and hands stable. Rarely do I have a problem with pushes or pulls with this method, and don't feel at all wooden or mechanical, plus the unexpected occassional jerkiness from the small hand/wrist muscles is eliminated. On particularly long putts I feel the wrists hinge a bit at COD.

I used the Straight Back Straight Through method with various clubs (toe hang, face balanced mallets and blades, etc). I have tried the Arc Swing by Utley. I observed the golfers in the 50s and 60s with a short chopping stroke.

Current "wisdom" is that the pendulum stroke should utilize a face balanced putter and the Arc stroke should utilize a toe hang.

In the end, the best stroke for me was the one with fewest moving parts, no weight shift and a smooth tempo. For me, it is a Straight Back Straight Through (AKA Pendulum stroke), and I see little difference in effect amongst the different putters.

If the wrist stroke works for you, then so be it. It's the fact that you close out the hole with the fewest strokes.

i have a mix between straight back and through and in and out.

its barely inside and outside.


but i roll the ball true.

i can always tell when i do because i see if the line is moving right,, i put a line on my ball.

Putting is personal i am the most mechanical person ever when it comes to shots over 100 yards get me inside 50 yards and mechanics go out the window don't think just get the ball in the hole. Short game is all feel remember that

Going back to Jack, he was an advocate of hovering his putter some of his career,and I like to do this some of the time especially when it is very windy. My stroke is inside to inside depending on the distance and I feel like I do my best putting with the greatest feel when I have a little mini-release of the putter head.

Using your wrists is "old school". Some of the best of all times Bobby Locke, Billy Casper, and Gary Player used variations of this method and "if it feels good do it". Putting is very individual and is all about feel. As long as you make a smooth tension free stroke and practice a lot, your putting will help,not hurt your game.

Thoughts!?! No, thanks! Look what they have done to you!


In all seriousness: I do think about the full swing and about putting a lot, but I don't buy into any techniques based on theory (though I may become interested in them because of theory): The only thing that matter are how it feels to me, how it repeats for me, and the quality of the results. That feedback is far more important than the 'soundness' of a theory.

See the following earlier thread for some putting drills that might be of help: Putting Lessons

I've found one other thing about putting, and that is that the club really CAN make a difference. I don't know exactly where your problems lie as you didn't detail any tendencies, but I got the short putt yips last year. I was very close to giving up the game because it just wasn't fun any more. I really didn't believe that any putter could be better than the 8 year old Odyssey that I loved. But after borrowing a friend's putter for 9 holes, I was hooked, and I've never had any reason to regret dumping the Odyssey. Putting is once again the strongest part of my game. So don't write off that possibility when things go bad.

I've used a simple method (works for my simple mind) successfully to practice putting for years. I place 4 tees in the ground on a flat part of the practice green. Yellow tee: 15'; blue tee: 10'; white tee: 7'; and, red tee: 4'. Then I take 25 putts from each distance, starting with the longest. I use six balls to keep things manageable. This keeps my putting stroke stable and on chips and long putts I'm relaxed because I know that if I can get my approach within 5' to 8', I'll make the next one. Hitting with confidence usually gets that approach closer than that to the hole.

I have a long Ping G2 Anser B and i use a SBST stroke. Another thing that is always fun to try is different grips. left hand low, claw, over lapping your right pinky over ur left index finger. Just differnt things to try out. Last night i figured a way to keep my putter from turning. I lay my index putter on the right side of the grip and feel as if im putting with just that putter. I could lag it within 3 feet. And with a long putter anything in 5' is basicly lights out...