Many senior golfers lose confidence in their Putting over time.

This can be due to many reasons but in the main it is because of memories of important putts missed through playing the same course over and over again. Slowly but surely confidence in putting technique can decrease over time and changes are needed to restore such confidence. One such change that is easy to implement is to change to a Cross-Handed putting grip.

An orthodox putting grip for a right handed golfer is one where the left hand is positioned at the top of the golf club with the right hand underneath it. A Cross-Handed putting grip is where the hands are reversed on the grip – the right hand is positioned at the top with the left hand underneath.

Changing to the Cross-Handed putting grip can provide many benefits to an experienced golfer. Here are some of them:

– It is an easy change to make – it is a simple swap of the hands and is quick to get used to.

– The wrists are kept more secure through the putting motion. One of the main problems for the experienced golfer is the use of the wrists through the ball. When the hands swap over the left arm is kept much straighter at the wrist and prevents the right hand from powering the motion to flick the putter head through the ball. This promotes accuracy and quality distance control.

– The putting swing will be powered from the shoulders. As the left arm is straighter and lower on the golf club, the shoulders are more level with the ground. This position encourages the golfer to provide the power for the putt via the shoulders rocking rather than the arms and hands hitting. Better control of distance will occur.

– Alignment is easier. Because the left arm is lower on the golf club, the shoulders are easier to align parallel to the line of the putt ensuring straighter, more accurate putts.

Holding the putter in a Cross-Handed grip is very simple, use the following instructions for the correct Cross-Handed grip. (These instructions are for right handed golfers, please reverse for left handed golfers)

1. Set the putter to the ball and line up to the target.

2. Place the right hand on the top of the golf club so that the last three fingers wrap around the club. Position the thumb on the front, flat part of the putting grip so that it is pointing straight down the shaft of the golf club towards the club head. The index finger should be held off for now.

3. Place the left hand on the golf club so that the little finger rests against the middle finger of the right hand. Position the thumb on the front, flat part of the putting grip so that it is pointing straight down the shaft of the golf club towards the club head.

4. Position both index fingers to point straight down the line of the shaft either side of the club head. They should mirror each other, the left index finger resting on the grip, while the right index finger rests on the fingers of the left hand.

Try the Cross-Handed grip as an alternative from the orthodox grip to improve your confidence and get your putting back on track.