Do you find that your misses inside five feet are all over the place? Sure, nerves play a part, because the expectation is that you should make them. That pressure only builds when the putt is for birdie or to save par. But the biggest reason you alternate between pulling one putt and pushing the next is because you lack putterface stability. It’s either open or closed when you make contact.
JD Cuban
Here’s a simple thing you can do when you take your grip to help stabilize the face: Under pressure, add a little pressure. Grip the flat top surface of the grip a bit firmer with both thumbs (above). You don’t have to white-knuckle it, just firm up the pressure to a 6 or 7 on a 10-point scale. This will prevent the face from wobbling and coming into impact open or closed.
It’s important that you apply pressure with both thumbs. A lot of amateurs make the mistake of adding pressure with one hand or the other, which can change the path the putterhead takes into the ball. Grip the putter tighter with the thumbs on top, and you have a better chance of returning the face square and starting your putts on line.
Alana Swain, a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher, teaches at the PGA Tour Performance Center at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
