Ben Crenshaw: These are my 5 'musts' for great putting

Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the champion proposal stands the trial of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting immoderate of the top proposal teachers and players person dispensed successful the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we revisit Ben Crenshaw’s putting tips from our January 1981 issue. For unlimited entree to the full GOLF Magazine digital archive, join InsideGOLF today; you’ll bask $140 of worth for only $39.99/year.

Putting is simply a important constituent of golf — and if you want to go a bully player, you’d amended study really to make it a strength. Dead-eye putters tin move bogeys into pars, and pars into birdies. When you’re rolling the shot good connected the greens, you’re ne'er genuinely retired of the hole.

Just for illustration successful the afloat swing, everyone has their ain unsocial flare erstwhile it comes to putting. Some attraction connected the mechanics of the stroke, while others trust much connected feel. There’s nary hard-and-fast norm for what you should do. All that matters is that you consciousness comfortable complete the ball.

Well, that’s mostly true. According to two-time Masters champ Ben Crenshaw, you tin usage immoderate style you want connected the greens — but make judge your style fits wrong these 5 “musts.”

5 putting ‘musts’, beryllium Ben Crenshaw

If there’s 1 definite point astir putting, it’s that it’s an individual business. The awesome putters person utilized each conceivable type of grip, stance and stroke. They’ve utilized shoulder-and-arm strokes, pinch very small wrist, very wristy strokes, and everything between. They’ve utilized slow, pendulum strokes and fast, shorter strokes, and again, everything successful between.

Are there, then, immoderate rules astatine each successful putting? Yes, I deliberation location are. Although you person awesome latitude successful building your style, you should travel the principles I’ll spell retired here.

1. Keep your shoulders complete the putt

A batch of instruction successful caller years says successful effect that successful putting your eyes should beryllium complete the ball. However, awesome putters specified arsenic Isao Aoki and Fuzzy Zoeller person proved that it’s not a “must” — Aoki’s shot is overmuch farther from his assemblage than a statement vertically downward from his eyes. Zoeller putts the aforesaid measurement to a lesser extent, and successful checking myself, I’ve recovered that my eyes are somewhat “inside” the ball. What is simply a “must” is to person the precocious portion of your backmost much aliases little horizontal. This position gives you the plaything way you request successful putting. Although the putter will still plaything to the wrong going backmost and backmost wrong aft impact, it will travel a way overmuch person to “‘straight backmost and consecutive through’’ than if you were to guidelines arsenic erectly arsenic for a afloat shot. How overmuch you thin complete the shot is simply a individual choice, and varies from players specified arsenic Jack Nicklaus and Hubert Green who crouch down, to golfers for illustration myself who guidelines much erect.

2. Putt for illustration you swing

I deliberation each the awesome putters person treated the putting changeable arsenic a miniature play swing. They people formed putting strokes that had the aforesaid comparative length, tempo and style arsenic their afloat swings. For example. Billy Casper has a closed-to-open type putting stroke; it is reasonably short and has a brisk tempo. His afloat swings person the aforesaid characteristics. On the different hand, I person a longer, much deliberate stroke, pinch the putter look remaining quadrate to the shoulders arsenic I plaything backmost and through. My afloat swings person the aforesaid characteristics. Tom Watson has a very accelerated tempo successful his afloat swings and the aforesaid tempo successful his putting stroke. Then there’s Arnold Palmer — he almost forces the shot into the spread connected the greenish and he uses the aforesaid method successful his afloat swings. The astir notable example, perhaps, was Bobby Locke. He aimed acold to the correct of target pinch his afloat shots and past hooked the shot backmost from a very closed stance. In putting, he besides adopted a closed stance and deed the shot very overmuch from wrong to out. Some group committedness he moreover hooked his putts!

To put the thought different way, it’s not a bully thought to adopt a putting style that is wholly different from your afloat swings. If you do, it tin ‘‘leak’’ into your afloat swings pinch mediocre results. For example, if I were to adopt Billy Casper’s style, | mightiness find myself moving the leaf from closed to unfastened successful my afloat swings aliases conscionable plain swinging excessively “short” and fast. That would beryllium against my earthy tendencies. Everyone has a tempo and timing that is theirs naturally. If you deviate from these, the changeable simply won’t work. Equally well, I could beryllium successful heavy problem if I decided that I would emulate Locke’s closed alignment. Before I knew it, I could beryllium aiming to the correct of target connected my afloat shots and threat hooking myself correct disconnected the course!

The bottommost statement is that you’ve sewage to cognize yourself. You should study your ain intelligence and beingness makeups and the characteristics of your afloat swing. Ask yourself: Am I slow and deliberate aliases speedy and nervous? Do I person a agelong aliases short swing? Do I favour a quadrate alignment aliases americium I much comfortable somewhat unfastened aliases closed? Do I plaything the nine from unfastened to closed, closed to unfastened aliases support the nine square? Based connected the answers to these questions, you tin create a method of putting that is compatible pinch your afloat swing.

3. Keep your thumbs connected top

There is tremendous state of prime pinch respect to the putting grip. You tin usage the regular overlap, reverse overlap, cross-handed, split-handed and truthful on. But 1 property is communal to astir each bully putting grip—the thumbs dishonesty consecutive down the apical of the grip. Most often this “thumbs connected the top” position is utilized because the subordinate wants to support the palms facing each different truthful that the hands activity together during the stroke. He finds it helps him support the clubface square. I do this myself. However, moreover if you study the bully putters who move the palms outward arsenic Jack Nicklaus does (to trim wristiness), you will still find that the pads of their thumbs are connected the apical of the grip. Why? Because pinch the thumbs connected apical you person amended consciousness — you tin consciousness the deed and guideline the putter much easily.

The thumbs of each manus are the “feelers.” If you were going to consciousness the texture of immoderate cloth, you would support the cloth pinch your forefinger, but consciousness the cloth by rubbing it pinch your thumb. If you were reaching into your pouch to return retired a dime for a section call, your trusty thumb would separate betwixt the dime and the different mini alteration successful your pocket. The thumb besides plays the awesome domiciled successful penning and different delicate tasks. In putting, wherever 1 of the superior requirements is touch, it makes consciousness to spot the thumbs straight connected apical of the grip, truthful that they tin bring maximum consciousness to the occupation astatine hand.

4. Guard against the three-putt

It is evident that each bully putters person repeating strokes, and that the touch that develops from that changeable is simply a awesome facet successful their success. However, I deliberation location are 2 different factors that thief the bully putter get down successful 2 putts aliases little practically each the time. 

First, each bully putters are adept astatine reference greens and cognize really the various types of grasses, slopes and grains power the putt. They’ve besides trained themselves to observe those specifications earlier they onslaught the putt, not afterward pinch 20-20 hindsight. That’s why I deliberation it’s a bully thought to believe reference putts connected the believe green; it’s conscionable arsenic important arsenic grooving your stroke. The different facet is the “lag versus charge” question. More often than not, a good putter will defender against a 3 putt by lagging the longer putts up astir the hole, alternatively than charging. 

Bobby Jones and Bobby Locke were “lag” putters successful their day, and truthful is Nicklaus. I am, too. As Jones said: “The bully putter is simply the man who tin support coming close, wrong a ft of the hole; he holes much putts because the greater the number that travel close, the greater number that will apt spell in.”

However, really does 1 explicate specified bold putters arsenic Palmer, Watson aliases Andy Bean, who consistently putt respective feet past the hole? I deliberation the reply lies successful knowing yourself. If *‘come-backers” clasp nary panic for you, if you cognize you tin make them, past you tin spend to spell for the hole. But if you’re not assured connected short putts, I deliberation you’ll beryllium much accordant and spread much putts, if you’re contented to time off the longer putts close.

5. Stay steady

A last rule communal to each good putters of the modern era is steadiness. They support the caput and little assemblage still. And this applies whether they are wrist putters, specified arsenic Palmer, Casper and Doug Ford, aliases limb and enarthrosis putters, specified arsenic Bob Charles and Watson. I autumn successful the “arm and shoulder” category, and I don’t licence immoderate caput aliases limb movement, moreover connected agelong putts. I conscionable lengthen the changeable to nonstop the shot a farther distance.

However, I person to admit that 1 awesome putter doesn’t fresh this picture, and that was Bobby Jones. Jones putted from a very constrictive stance, and location was pronounced limb activity successful Jones’ longer putts. And Jones himself said he could consciousness the limb activity successful his putting changeable connected the shortest putts, moreover though this activity was not discernible from photographs. Jones simply believed that you should licence limb movements to return spot arsenic needed, but warned against excessive movement.

In essence, Jones putted successful the aforesaid manner arsenic he swung connected afloat shots, utilizing the full body, alternatively than conscionable parts of it. Which method should you use? Well, if you bargain the thought that the “best” method is the 1 that’s utilized astir commonly connected the Tour, past I deliberation coming there’s nary uncertainty that you should usage a ‘‘shoulder and arm’’ style, pinch nary wrist aliases conscionable a small wrist. However, if you can’t get immoderate consciousness aliases power retired of this style, past research pinch a much wristy style aliases moreover the Jones’ style.

About the past style, I will adhd this thought: If you effort it, support your caput dependable complete the ball. Jones ne'er swayed successful putting, and neither should you.