Golfers are often taught that it’s bad to use any hand action in the putting stroke. They’re told to swing the putterhead back and through with the big muscles in the chest and shoulders. The trouble is, if you move the putter with just your shoulders, you don’t create much energy in the backstroke to put into the putterhead for impact. You have to manufacture that energy, which often leads to a jerky stroke without much rhythm to it.
I’ve had the good fortune of watching Tiger Woods on the practice green at many PGA Tour events over the years. I think his favorite putting drill is to place tees just outside the toe and heel of the putterhead and make strokes through the tees using his right hand only. Sometimes he’ll rest his left hand on his left thigh; other times he’ll place it just above his right elbow.
Using this drill, you can feel the weight of the putterhead as you swing it back. You’re letting the putterhead swing and load behind the handle, which is represented by the tee I stuck in the end of the grip in the photos above. When you load the putter like that, you’ll have an easier time rotating and releasing the putterface as it swings through. The release occurs when the putterhead lines up with the handle and the face squares up again.
“Swing” might be the operative word here. The putterhead can’t swing when you use only your shoulders to power the stroke. Copy one of the all-time great putters and learn how to properly load the putter and use your hands. Your control over distance and direction is sure to improve.
Todd Anderson, one of Golf Digest’s Legends of Golf Instruction, is director of instruction at the PGA Tour Performance Center at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
