Feedback on two grips

I'm persisting with the split-hand putting grip. My lag putting has improved for distance with little impact on accuracy, including club face contact consistency. Green reading has been more of an issue lately, not to mention winter green quality. All in all, I really like the feel of just using my right hand to control the putter, it feels natural, like throwing a stone or ball (as mentioned previously).

Short putts are another realm, of course, and here there are still some issues. However, the issues are not really related to grip, but are more to do with confidence. I'm making some ground in this area, concentrating on keeping the putter low and trying to take attention away from the result of the putt. This is far from fully effective, but still there is a slight improvement. Getting the ball closer to the hole in the first place is also a step in the right direction.

Speaking of grips, however, I have gone back to a ten finger grip for iron and wood shots for the time being. It's not that I couldn't play with the Vardon overlap, but I somehow feel that my now natural draw is more consistent with my right hand low and separated. The ten finger (not baseball grip - that's with thumbs wrapped around the shaft) is also effectively the equivalent of gripping down an inch or so more than when using a Vardon or interlocking grip. Gripping down is not a bad thing for control, though it possibly costs five or so yards in distance - no big deal if the gains in accuracy are realised.

My focus in my last game was actually on rhythm, not on technicalities. I had been watching the seniors play in the Brit seniors open and noticed how rhythmic most of the players were. I think good rhythm makes up for some technical flaws, the only problem being that it's not the easiest thing to acquire. I recently read about 'make your driver swing the same as your pitching swing', but of course if you've got poor pitching rhythm, this will not help. Nevertheless, there is a lot to be said for not forcing any shot - my 70% rule. Nothing good comes from forcing any shot.

So, grip it and rip it, should really be 'grip it and smooth it'.

Grip update

I've stayed with my split hand grip for all putts. I like the feel I get from a low bottom (right for me) hand. It's like I am throwing the ball, not having to think about hitting it. So far, it's helping with distance, lag putting.

The split top (left for me) hand acts as a stabiliser, but plays very little role in the putts apart from that. Putting one handed is an exercise some golfers use, but having two hands on the club helps with swing path, which is important even in putting.

Short putts are still an issue for me, but by concentrating on keeping the putter low, I have successfully minimised the results focus and anxiety that has been causing problems. My short putting has improved and I'm gaining confidence.

The split handed putting has a lot in common with the long putter approach, without the anchoring. I reckon some of the long putter pros should give it a go next year when anchoring the long or belly putter becomes illegal.

As for the full swing, I gave the old ten finger grip a trial in my last game. There was very little difference in my ball striking. All in all, I think the Vardon grip will be just fine for me, now that my left hand injury is fixed. Using ten fingers does separate the hands, lowers the grip, and I think tends to pull the right (for me) shoulder out in front more than is desirable (ie. opening the shoulders). There is slightly more security in a ten finger grip, but the club should not be held too tightly anyway, so I'm going back to the Vardon.

Flash in the pan? Whatever that means?

From previous blogs it will be obvious I'm working on two areas - backswing for the full shots and putting grip or method. And the early indications are that I am making progress.

Firstly, trailing arm position on the backswing. Having tried thinking about keeping my trailing arm as vertical as possible at the top of the backswing and found that to be too hard, I tried something else I'd also experimented with recently - trailing arm tucked against my side - like in the old hickory shaft days.

Well, it might have been deleted from the modern coaching manuals, but I now reckon that in the interests of consistency in the backswing, it's not a bad idea. Sure, it limits the length of the backswing and maybe flattens the swing plane a bit, but for someone who has always had a short backswing and a quite flat swing plane - so what?

In fact, keeping my trailing arm tucked in this way has made little or no distance to my length with driver and probably all other clubs except perhaps wedge and maybe seven to nine iron. What it has done is give me a feeling of security, of knowing where I'm swing back to, i.e. knowing that I am in a consistent position from which to commence the downswing. Maybe this doesn't matter to those who play more than I do and don't have an issue with their backswing, but for me it has been a big help.

I shouldn't claim that using this tucked or connected backswing position solves all problems because there is still plenty that can go wrong, including in particular the results that come from a rushed downswing. Therefore, I've had to add another component to this procedure.

The added component is the introduction of a slight pause at the top. This is something I've talked about before, but without linking it to the concept of a tucked trailing arm and short backswing. I've long known that a shorter backswing demands a slower transition and that rushing the downswing with a short backswing is usually disastrous. Getting the pause right (correct) is the problem, i.e. not too short and not too long - it has to be, as for Goldilocks, just right. It's a work in progress.

The pause is actually an opportunity to make sure the wrists are fully cocked. Now that I've gone back to a Vardon grip for full shots, my hands are working better together and I can feel it when I fully and successfully cock my wrists. This element of the backswing is important because of the additional speed that the wrists and hands can generate from a fully cocked position, provided the release is not too early. Anyway, I'm finding that it's something to think about that doesn't interfere with my conscious connecting of my trailing arm and side and helps me to remember to pause and not hurry the transition.

Secondly and finally, and speaking of grips, I've trialled a totally different putting grip that I am absolutely loving. It's not the usual front hand low or pen grip or whatever that those of us with some putting issues usually resort to - it's a split hand grip.

Now you don't see split hand grips very often, except, wait for it, with every golfer who uses the long putter. I'm not using, and will never use, the long putter. I'm talking about a traditional short putter, but with the leading hand as far up the grip as possible and the lower or trailing hand as low on the grip as possible, almost down to the steel. The gap between the hands will vary a little, but it is around two or three inches. It feels quite comfortable, but a bit strange at first, and so it should.

The reason I'm trying this grip is part desperation and part a realisation that speed or distance control is by far the most important element of the putting stroke. Direction is probably 70 percent a matter of a good green read and 30 percent not yipping the putt (a mental challenge, which I'll come back to soon). Distance control is critical, particularly for lag putts, so that you can get the ball into safe two-putt territory. However, it is also critical for those four to ten footers when there is a bit of break - speed and read are the critical factors in these putts.

So, having established that distance control is king, how do you get it? The answer is by letting your dominant lower hand control the feel of the putt. Some people say you can control putt distances by altering the length of your backswing - I seriously doubt this. Lag putting is about letting your mind calculate the distance required and then letting your sensory-motor skills go to work as you hit the putt. It's why rank beginners have great difficulty working out how hard to hit long putts - it is a learned thing, it takes time and practice - there is no formula.

While the lower, dominant (throwing hand incidentally) calculates how hard to hit the ball, the top hand provides a steadying influence. This won't be like the soon to be illegal anchoring that goes on with users of the long putter. However, it is helpful to have this top hand at the top of the grip because it does give one a sense of stability, while allowing the putt to be stroked by the controlling hand. I can't yet say I'm certain this is THE answer, but I believe that there is actual research evidence that golfers have improved their lag putting performances using a split grip.

Returning briefly to the question of short putts, rather than lag putts. My latest solution for better short putting (inside five feet) is simple - concentrate on keeping the putter-head low to the green surface. Keeping the putter-head low is not necessarily going to make much difference to the quality of the ball contact (spin, etc.), though it could in some cases, but the very fact that your mind is occupied by the task of keeping the putter-head low helps to block out the negative, result focused thoughts that often lead to poor short-putt strokes.

As with all of golf, the mind has to be controlled, sometimes even tricked, in order to avoid the worst of the mistakes that can befall us, particularly when we finally reach the green. I'm not sure what flash in the pan means, but it doesn't sound good for golf. I'm crossing everything that these latest concepts of mine are nothing of the sort.

Forgot to mention

Two things I forgot to mention in the previous post relate to putting and backswing respectively.

Further research on putting grips tends to indicate that the best putters look to have what they refer to as a 'neutral grip', with the thumbs down the front of the putter and the fingers overlapping or not in what feels most natural to the individual. Some experts also favour a palm or lifeline oriented grip, but feel with the fingers is something that Dave Stockton, for example, favours. I'll see how this goes.

There's actually a second thing re putting. I think keeping the trailing arm close to the trailing hip might help reduce the tendency to pull putts. I will check this out also.

The second main thing I forgot related to backswing. I think I need to find a position of my trailing arm that I can consistently find on all shots. I have quite a short backswing, so I think there is no problem in linking my trailing arm to that side of my torso or at least getting close to that position.

In the good old days, this was advice given to many golfers that has been roundly condemned by many golf teachers since. However, one of the problems I have, as do many average golfers, is the lack of consistency in my backswing. And, since I find myself focusing on my backswing in trying to get it right, I don't put my concentration where it should be - on actually hitting the shot. As they say, you don't hit the ball with your backswing.

So, next game, I intend to try to replicate this trailing arm/elbow close to my trailing side feel, in the hope that I can find a backswing that I can repeat and be confident with. I know this will restrict my backswing and I can live with that because I can generate plenty of club head speed with my slightly short backswing. I don't need to try to overpower my shots, good rhythm and timing and solid ball contact is all I need at my age and level of golf.

Basically, I am in search of consistency, like so many others, and short of hitting a thousand balls a day, I don't think there's any hope of this without a consistent backswing.

Back to the d board, again

Last blog, quite a while ago, I mentioned driver - ball position, and I've stuck to the procedure I developed then. That is, I position the ball off the front foot heel, but set the club about 6 to 8 inches behind the ball, so that I don't open my shoulders at set up. I'm driving the ball reasonably with this method, playing a draw, and only hitting the odd push shot and rare hook.

Fairway woods are, however, proving to be a slight problem. I can't quite work out the optimum ball position - and perhaps I've been playing them with the ball too far back. On the other hand, I like to compress fairway woods if possible and I'm worried about moving the ball too far forward. I'll experiment this coming week.

Irons are on the improve. It's a case of let the club do the work with my irons. I'm also trying to channel the easy swings of players like Tom Watson and Inbee Park with my iron play. As always with irons, you need to give yourself that split second extra to get the weight forward onto the front foot to make sure you get ball first contact. I see many high handicappers hitting their irons fat all the time - it seems so obvious what's required, but that's the way things are.

Pitching and chipping are reasonable at the moment. I'm still generally leaving too many too short, but I'm making good contact, trying to tell myself to hit the ball with authority and it's going fairly well. I'm pulling the odd pitch, which is definitely worth working on to correct.

Putting is the area of most concern to me, most recently lag putting. My distance control has left me for the moment and I think it might relate to the anti pull or push putting grip I've been trying. Rotating my top hand to a weak position and my bottom hand to a strong position has given me some confidence with short putts, but I think it is affecting my ability to feel the distance with longer putts. I might go back to a more conventional grip for a while.

On putting again, I think with shorter putts in particular, it is crucial once you have picked your line, to concentrate on making a good stroke, i.e. to focus on the process of the stroke and forget about the hole and the result of the putt. I believe this has helped me recently, and I've no doubt the yips comes on for anyone who is hole and result focused, more than for any technical reason. The theories that include the weakening of the lower hand or lead hand low probably help a bit with confidence, but should not be the be all and end all of putting for me or anyone else.

Anyway, the test will come soon enough.