Weird works : Tour pros show you more than one way to hole a putt

Golf Digest, July, 2001 by Ron Kaspriske, Chris DiMarco, Vijay Singh, Scott McCarron

With the notable exception of telling Sam Snead he couldn't putt while straddling his putting line (now Rule 16-1e), the U.S. Golf Association has pretty much left golfers alone in their quest to hole putts. But not since the Bill of Rights was drafted have the possibilities been so widely interpreted.

Watch any PGA Tour event on a Sunday afternoon and you'll see all kinds of weird and wondrous putting styles. Do these represent the final acts of yipper desperation, or is there some method to all this putting madness? See for yourself. On the following pages, four PGA Tour pros explain their unusual putting styles and how they can help you.

'Psycho' grip is far from crazy

By Chris DiMarco

It has been called the "psycho grip," but basically it's just a normal left-hand grip with the right hand grabbing the handle the way you see here. What this does is take the right side out of the equation. The left hand controls the stroke. I'll give fellow tour pro Skip Kendall a plug for showing this putting style to me five years ago. From five feet and in, I was really struggling with a traditional grip. But with this grip, I avoid twisting the putterface with my right hand. Now putting is fun.

Anchor putter to secure stroke

By Vijay Singh

I've probably used 50 putters in my career, but I've never felt more comfortable than with the medium-length (46-inch) putter I have now. My new putting method, in which I anchor the shaft into my stomach, still allows me to use my left-hand-low grip, but now I have the same consistent release every time. All I have to do is line up the putt correctly. Anchoring the grip end keeps the clubhead from twisting off line.

Putting woes are 'long' gone

By Scott McCarron

I switched to a long putter (49 inches) back in 1991, and it has helped me win three tour events. The reason is the consistency it produces in making a pure stroke. I no longer have to worry about wristy putts. The stroke is controlled by my shoulders and the right arm. The left hand simply goes along for the ride on top of the putter shaft, with my left thumb resting against my sternum. To further prevent getting wristy, I run the index finger of my right hand down the shaft.