Worth another try

In my last post, I resolved to go back to a more traditional putting grip and work on rhythm and basic technique, and accept the odd missed short putt as part of the game. I'm going to modify two things I mentioned then.

Firstly, I'm not going to go to a centre shaft putter - yet. I'll give my existing putter another go and if I'm not happy in a few weeks time, I will switch putters.

Secondly, I'm going to revisit a putting grip that a colleague says he has been using since day one and, this guy has no problem with short putts - my problem area.

This grip is one in which the hands are rotated outward, that is, for right handers the right hand is rotated clockwise (looking from the top of the shaft) and the left hand is rotated anti-clockwise. This places the palms up, rather than opposing, and tends to tuck the elbows in closer to the hips. The fact that the hands are now working against each other, in a sense, means the wrists are less likely to flip - their freedom is restricted.

This grip, I discovered today, is also the one used by none other than Corey Pavin, with some success. It can also be used for all length putts, encouraging shoulder rocking with the longer putts, rather than wrist flipping. I don't think it is the total cure for short putt problems, but I'm going to give it another go - since nothing else feels right and nothing else has really worked. For example, left hand low, claw, and other grip variations, just don't feel right to me. I want something relatively traditional, but with a little bit of a tweak to help stop the tweaks.

It's worth another try.