Can an Alternate Putting Grip Improve Your Game?
Through the years the Pelz Golf Institute has done research on how golfers putt and, particularly, how the way in which they grip the putter affects their results.
Spoiler alert: The conventional grip (right-hand low for right handed golfers) is the putting style that consistently yields the worst results. During their research, golfers employing “unconventional” grip styles tended to perform better than conventional putters because their techniques had less wrist movement and breakdown, and were more repeatable.
Let’s take a look at the “Lead Hand Low” style of putting.
LEAD HAND LOW
Take your conventional stance, ball position and putter length. Grip with leading hand (left hand for right-handed golfers) below the trailing hand on the handle. This puts the trailing hand in a passive position, and allows the lead arm to pull the putter through impact on line and square.
ADVANTAGES
- Eliminates forearm rotation for most golfers.
- Minimizes wrist breakdown.
- Encourages the shoulders to be square to the line at address and promotes a square putter face through impact.
DISADVANTAGES
- Takes time to regain touch on long and breaking putts.
- Stigma of “cross-handed” putting discourages many golfers.
JOHN BURCKLE – Director of Instruction at GolfLabAcademy.com
- 25 Years Teaching Experience
- 80 Professional Wins
- 6X Golden State Tour Order of Merit Champion
