There are three basic putting styles to choose from: Traditional, Mid-Length (Belly), and Long.
We’ll explore each one and help you determine which style may be best for you!
- Traditional – The traditional style is typically good if you have the temperament to control your nerves and a putting stroke with little or no wrist action. It is also very important you can feel comfortable using a standard address position; that is, you can take your stance and lean forward without being uncomfortable. Your eyes should be directly over the ball and target line, with your arms hanging loosely down so that you can stroke the putt without breaking your wrist. One of the main advantages to the traditional style is it gets you closer to the ball and provides outstanding feel and feedback.
- Mid-Length (Belly) – The Mid-Length style is good if you have any trouble keeping your wrist from breaking down during the stroke. Also, unlike the traditional style, this style putter has three points of contact, each hand on the grip and the butt end of the grip anchored in your belly area. This third point of contact will add greater club and wrist stability, helping to prevent your wrist from breaking down during the stroke. Another big advantage of the belly putter is it gives you an extra stability point like a long putter, but lets you use the same hand gripping style of a traditional style putter. This makes the transition away from a traditional putter easier
- Long – With the long putting style, you can stand taller in your address position, which is particularly helpful if you have back pain when bending over with a traditional style putter. Compared to the two styles above, the long putter provides more of a pendulum stroke due to it's extra length and 80 degree lie angle. The long putter also eliminates the problem of wrist break-down.
Tip: Distance control can be harder when using the longer shafts of belly and long style putters. A good tip to help with long putts when using these putters is to open up your leading foot. This will help clear the leading hip and provide a smother longer stroke for those long putts.
Thomas Golf Putters
Traditional, Mid-Length/Belly & Long Putters
