You're Correct!

The way you use your hands and wrists in particular during your putting stroke has always been an area for debate, with some people saying you should use your wrists and others saying a definitive no.

Yet the real answer lies somewhere in between, and it all depends on whether or not you can make your normal, solid stroke, maintain your tempo and still hit the putt the required distance.

If you find that you cant then it becomes absolutely necessary to let your wrists release the putter head ever so slightly to make sure you dont end up leaving it 10 feet short of the hole or running it past. Like all aspects of your game, you must practise before you try and play a particular shot in a round so a great way to practise this is the low pressure drill.

To practise this drill, you need to place a tee in the ground on the practise green and take 20 large paces away from it. Drop six balls here and take your normal putting set up. When you feel ready to make your stroke, take your trail hand off the grip and lighten your grip pressure in your lead hand by at least 50%. Make your stroke. You will feel the lead wrist release the weight of the putter head ever so slightly. Hit all six putts in this way, then before you go to retrieve your balls, place a tee in the ground where you are. Now you can hit your six putts back in the same manner.

Repeat this drill using only your trail hand, and reduce the grip pressure by at least 50%. You will feel the wrist slightly release the putter. Hit all 6 balls in both directions. The last part of the drill is to hit your putts with both hands on the handle, making sure you reduce your grip pressure by at least 50% so you can feel the putter head release.

The more time you have to practise, the further apart you can make your tees so you can still keep an even tempo the longer the putt, and more importantly, control the speed to hit the ball the required distance.

If you face a putt of 5 or 10 feet then you most definitely need to keep your wrists out of the stroke, but if you have a putt of 70 feet or longer then you will struggle to consistently judge the distance if you dont allow your wrists to release the putter a little.

Having soft or loose wrists in your putting stroke when you have a really long putt is a good thing, but only on long putts. If you let your wrists get active on short putts then you will struggle to hole out as good as you should and suffer with speed control issues too.

Making a pendulum type stroke with only your shoulders and arms moving is a great way to putt, especially on short and mid range putts. But if you try and hit a putt this way across one of the double greens at St Andrews, youre more likely to four putt because youll find it difficult to keep your tempo and hit the putt hard enough to cover the distance without a little wrist release.