Pressure
Pressure
By Dr. T. J. Tomasi, Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research
In my opinion, the best putters are those who allow the putter to swing back and through sans any manipulation. To the uninitiated, this might seem obvious, but if you’ve ever faced a twisting 3-footer for the match, the championship or even for a little self-respect, you know that the stroke too often gets short and quick with a grip pressure just short of aneurysm.
The idea is to maintain a constant pressure while you stroke the putt because when you change pressure, it alters your putter face. Assuming a conventional grip, when you increase the pressure in your left hand, it has a tendency to block the release of the face, leaving the ball to the right. Conversely, increasing your right-hand pressure fosters a pull to the left. In a rarer but still statistically relevant occurrence, some golfers, without realizing it, decrease the pressure in their right hand and push the ball, while others lower the left hand pressure through impact and pull the putt.
Use Your Shoulders.
To roll the ball the same way stroke after stroke, your grip pressure should be the same in both hands, and it should not vary during the stroke. Golfers who overuse their hands usually have much higher changes of pressure than do shoulder putters, so the more you move the putter with your shoulders, the more consistent your stroke will be.
This pro and I are working on his grip pressure. The more he uses his shoulders, the less he uses his hands. The horizontal line represents his shoulders at address, so you can see how he used a teeter-totter action that ended with his left shoulder higher than it was at address.
The Test
To test for changes in your grip pressure, wrap Silly Putty around the grip of your putter. Make sure to use a piece of aluminum foil between the putty and the grip so the clay doesn’t stick to the handle. Set up a 20-foot putt, stroke it, then examine the impressions on the putty. If they’re deeper than you started with, you’ve increased the pressure. Next, try stroking the putt using only your shoulders and compare. I’ll bet the impressions are not as deep.
Our pro used his shoulders on this stroke, leaving only low-pressure impressions on the grip with even pressure in both hands.
This pattern shows high grip pressure overall with heavier pressure applied by the right hand and thumb. This stroke was handsy.
If you’d like to study with Dr. Tomasi and other PGA Master Professionals, contact The College of Golf today.
