You're Correct!

There are many different styles of putting nowadays. You only need to watch an afternoon of golf on TV and you will see countless styles all sending the ball into the hole on a regular basis.

But how do you know which style would see you hole more putts and shoot lower scores?

The first thing that you need to find out is what currently happens during your putting stroke. Why do you miss your putts to a certain side of the hole or leave them short more often than hit them long? If you find out this vital information then you can move on to the next step which will make you a more consistent putter. Lets take a look at a major fault in most club golfers putting and the styles that would help correct the fault.

Lead wrist breaking down

When your lead wrist breaks down, your trailing hand pushes under and through excessively. This causes issues with direction and more importantly speed control. There are a couple of styles that would help correct this fault:

• The Claw - You can fit your trailing hand to the grip in a few ways, i.e. pencil style or like a crabs claw. The grip is designed to limit the degree of movement with the trailing hand through impact.
• Cross-Handed - This grip is again designed to eliminate as much movement of the trailing hand as possible in the stroke. This style has one other significant benefit which is helping to level your shoulders at address.

There are some other styles of putting that we could look at. These are using a long or broom handle putter, and the belly putter. The problem with these styles is that from 1st January 2016, you will no longer be allowed to anchor your putter to your body. This will mean that you will need to change your style again to accommodate for the new ruling.

The biggest problem with trying to copy the styles of your favourite players is that they have spent hours upon hours of practise in an attempt to perfect their style. If you go out and try their style, the chances of you seeing instant results is extremely slim. You must spend time practising which ever style until you become efficient with it.

You will have heard the saying what works for one wont necessarily work for another. This is so true when it comes to golf. You must remember that everybody is different and the style they adopt may or may not work for you. Choose your style to improve your game and dont try to fit into the style of somebody else.

Every style of putting will produce successful and consistent putters. The biggest challenge is to find a style that will provide the stroke mechanics that you require as an individual to improve your putting. If your mechanics dont fit you then you will constantly struggle to control your direction and your speed.