Week Three

This week should be devoted to a basic that precedes all other basics: You have to determine your dominant side in your putting stroke – your right or your left. This doesn’t have anything to do with whether you putt right-handed or left-handed -- it’s about which arm has more control of your putting stroke.  It truly is an overlooked "super basic"- something many players neglect or have never even considered, yet it influences everything else in your putting game so this is the week to get it under control.

DO THE DRILL, HONE YOUR SKILL

Here’s a simple drill you can do to determine which arm is the dominant arm in your putting stroke: Hit 10 putts with just your right hand holding the putter; then hit about l0 putts with only your left hand.  The dominant side will feel fairly solid to you, and you won’t have any trouble controlling the clubhead, that is to say, keeping it square.  The non-dominant side (or for the sake of simplicity, the wrong side) will feel as if you must struggle with the clubhead to keep the face square to your putt line so the putts go in the direction you aim them.  You have to admit, that's pretty simple. Once you know which side is your dominant side, here's what you do with that information:

IF YOU'RE A LEFT-ARM-DOMINANT PUTTER. . . [Right handed putter]

. . . your left armpit should act as the "center" of your putting stroke.

. . .you should use a heel-shafted putter designed to swing open and closed like a gate

. . .you should play the ball forward of center in your stance, somewhere around the inside of your left heel.

. . .you should stand tall at the ball with your arms hanging fairly loose but straight.

. . . even though the face of the putter swings open and closed to the target line it stays square to the putter arc.

IF YOU'RE A RIGHT-ARM-DOMINANT PUTTER. . .

. . . the top of your spine should act as the "center" of your putting stroke.

. . . you should use a center-shafted.

. . . you should play the ball in the center of your stance.

. . . rather than hanging straight, your arms are folded because you are bent over. 

… the clubhead moves away from the ball on a straight line and returns through the ball on the same line.

 

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