Putting: Grip pressure & size

 Jesse Grewal

There are numerous preferences recommended by tour players and golf professionals with regard to ‘putting’. The only way to ascertain what is good for you is to try out the options and find the one that work the best. This could also vary from season to season, as the speed of the greens varies a lot at different times of the year. 

A majority of tour professionals recommend a very light grip pressure while holding a putter, but this is good if the golfer has good control and feedback from their hands. If the hands or wrists get excessively active during the putting stroke, firmer pressure can help reduce the hand action. Kramski, who makes one of the most expensive putters in the world, recommends an extremely high grip pressure to reduce the rotation of the club face during the stroke. Excessive rotation of the club face leads to what we call ‘yips’; any golfer who has the ‘yips’ while putting, should hold the putter with a firmer grip pressure. 

The thickness of the grip also has a role to play in putter face rotation. Golfers who have control on their fingers like a surgeon should putt with the normal size, thinner grip. However, golfers who have over-active, non-steady fingers should use a thicker grip as this brings the putter more into the palms of both hands and reduces the role of the fingers. The thicker grip also reduces putter face rotation and reduces the dependence on timing. Putters are still built with thinner grips to suit a finger grip with the right hand (for right-handed golfers), but some manufacturers have added the thicker super-stroke grip for those who need to reduce the role of the hands by bringing the putter into the palms of both hands. 

(Grewal is currently the Director of National Golf Academy of India and CGA Hero Honda Golf Academy. If you have any queries get in touch with him at parexcellence@tribunemail.com)