How To Pick The Right Putter Grip

From oversized SuperStroke grips to traditional tapered models, the choice of putter grips has never been greater. Learn about the latest technology and what to look for when selecting a new grip to gain more confidence and hole more putts.

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Video Transcript

Hi guys, Neil Tappin and Joel Tadman here from Golf Monthly, and in this video we are looking at putter grips, both the grip that you have on the club and the way in which you hold it.

Now, over the last five or 10 years we've seen a lot of players out on tour holding their putter in slightly different ways, from claw grips to left below right, right below left, even two thumb grips you see are being used regularly out on tour.

So there are lots of different methods that people are using, and I think that has led to a whole host of different grips being launched into the putter market.

So your choice of putter grips is bigger now than it's ever been, and it's a really important decision to make because the choice of g- grip you put on your putter will largely depend on the technique that you use.

Talk us through the options that people have.

Definitely, yeah.

I mean, we've got a load of grips in front of us here.

They come in a whole host of different shapes, sizes, and textures.

So it's important you try different ones to see which, which ones feel good, right for you.

But yeah, so I'll just talk you through kind of how they vary.

So, traditional putter grips, this is kind of similar to a traditional putter grip where it's larger at the top, so wider at the top, and then it tapers towards the bottom.

So that, what that essentially does is it means that you're gripping the, the putter grip with different pressures in each hand.

Which means if you're, if it's narrow at the bottom, your right hand will be holding it a bit tighter, which means that it might be a bit more active in the stroke.

Which is why SuperStroke, a common putter brand, there are obviously a lot of different putter grip brands out there, but SuperStroke kind of pioneered that no taper design.

So you can see it's the same width at the top as it is the bottom, and that means that you're applying equal pressure to the grip from both hands, which means they should be less active or equally, imparting, force on the putter.

So your stroke should be a little bit more consistent.

O- one quick thing, Joel.

So the, the tapered version that you've got there- Yeah w- what sort of player should be looking out for that?

Because there is a benefit to having a slightly firmer grip pressure in your lower hand, isn't there?

Yeah.

So if you're struggling to release the putter, if you need a more active right hand, so perhaps you miss putts to the right a little bit more, then- Or you, maybe your distance control isn't very good.

Exactly.

So you feel like you need that flow through the ball with the putter.

Yeah, if you're more of a feel p- player rather than a kind of m- mechanical player, you might wanna feel like your right hand is a little bit more active through strike.

Another way you can do that is by running the right finger down the bottom of the grip during your stroke.

We saw Ian Poulter do that on tour.

He won on tour recently by changing his putter grip to having that finger running down the, the back of the grip there, and that's because he felt like he needed to, a little bit more help releasing the putter.

So that's another way you can do it.

Okay.

So from there, and that Super- SuperStroke grip that's even all the way through, there are strangely, you might think, "Okay, well, that's fine.

Those are two good options," but there's a lot more to talk about besides these two, right?

Yeah, of course.

And we've got a load of different grips here.

W- we talked about the taper in this direction, so the width at the top and bottom.

But you'll notice a lot of putter grips are wider at the top in this direction, so from the side on view, and that's designed to fit more between the pads of your top hand a little bit more easier.

So you get a bit more stability in the grip, better control in that top hand, which is really important.

Yeah.

That's certainly what I've got in my Scotty Cameron here.

Um- Yeah and a- as Joel said, the putter really is designed to sit in between those two pads, isn't it?

Yeah, you don't want the wrist to be involved here.

So you really want the, the, the angle of the shaft as close to your forearm as you can when you're addressing the ball.

You don't wanna have a big angle between your arm and your putter shaft, 'cause that means that your wrist is gonna be more involved.

So the more you can use your shoulders during the stroke rather than your wrists, so keeping this all in one line and just rocking the shoulders, you should be a more consistent putter that way.

So what are the other options that we've got to show people?

Right.

So we've got a, a, a wider SuperStroke here.

So this is the Slim 3.0.

I think they do do much bigger ones as well.

But this is, essentially for people who, like the feel of a larger putter grip, so you've got larger hands potentially.

Or your grip that you choose, i.e.

The way you hold the putter, is more kind of leaning towards this style of grip.

So for example, if you have a two thumb, if you want to go for the two thumb style, so having your hands together with your thumbs together like that, a larger grip is obviously important to do that.

They come in a lot of different shapes as well in terms of the leading edge.

You can get ones that have a narrow front edge or a wide front edge, depending on It's all down to personal preference.

At the end of the day, it needs to feel comfortable in your hand, so it's really important to try a load of different ones.

Just going back to that two thumb grip.

Sorry, Tappin.

Yeah, go on.

the one thing that's really good about that two thumb grip, obviously it gets your shoulders level, but it also, because your hands are facing each other, it means that your alignment should be pretty square.

You know, you haven't got one arm climbing on top of the putter this way or underneath the other way.

'Cause they're level, your shoulders should be square to the tar- or parallel left of the target, with your putter.

So that's- It should, yeah, it should be a really, very solid technical putting stroke, right?

Yeah.

And then also by having your hands like that, I guess it encourages you to have a little bit less wrist hinge.

Absolutely.

Keeps the putter more stable.

Yeah, definitely.

Which might help on short putts.

Some people struggle with long putts when they have that cut type of grip, but, for most golfers it might be a way to be more consistent, for sure.

Yeah.

And as I say, it's one of those that you will see players using out on tour.

I've got a feeling that Bernd Wiesberger uses that at the moment, so keep an eye- Matt Wallace as well, I think out for him.

Yeah.

Matt Wallace what uses it as well.

Right.

What else we got?

Well, this is an interesting one, from SuperStroke.

Again, like I said, there are other brands.

We've got a Golf Pride one down here which is really good.

But this is, the Counter Core technology.

So there's actually a weight here that kind of you can pull it out and adjust the weight on the top to adjust the feel of the putter.

Feel is really important obviously with controlling distance and accuracy and, and all those sorts of things.

So by adjusting the weight of the putter, you can kind of- Tweak the way it feels and suits your, basically your putting stroke.

So Joel, you can change the feel of the putter in your hands by changing that weight in the top, but that's not a dual balance or a counter balanced putter grip is it?

Or is it?

It's making it feel more like a counter balanced putter.

So as we know, counter balanced putters are heavier at the bottom and heavier at the top just to make it feel more stable and smoother.

And this is one where you can kind of promote that a little bit by using a conventional length grip.

So if you want a heavier putter or a lighter feeling putter, that's one way you can do that.

Yeah, and it's one that, it's quite a, a nice piece of technology that, because if you're buying the grip with the brand of putter, you, you might get a dual balanced or a counter balanced putter grip in it.

This one allows you to kind of set it in exactly the way that you want, so it's kind of worth, thinking about.

There is, as you said, there's also a Golf Pride grip down there which got a slightly different feel to it- Yeah to the other Superstroke grips, right?

So this is the, the Tour Sensor from Golf Pride, and it's a really soft feeling grip.

And I think, it's definitely one you should try.

It's got It's not tapered, so you should feel like even pressure in both hands.

But it's just a different type of feel.

All different putter grips have different textures on the surface.

The Superstroke has like a plus pattern.

This has something similar, but it does feel very different because it's made of a softer material.

So it's really worth trying as many different ones as you can.

All our hands are different sizes and shapes, so they're all gonna suit you in different ways.

So it's trying as many as you can and finding the one that feels the best in your hands.

Now Joel, over your, I know as a fact, that over your golfing career- Yeah you've used a few different, grips yourself.

Yeah.

Like ways of holding the putter.

What have you gone for?

Yeah.

What have been the sort of feelings that you've had from those different grips?

Yeah, I mean, so you might find this relevant to your game, and it's definitely worth a try.

So for me, I started with the conventional right below left with the finger kind of running alongside the other fingers, and then I changed to having the finger running down the line of the putter.

Felt like that kind of took the wrists out a little bit more.

Again, that's something you can try.

And then I was really struggling with short putts, and I changed fro- from conventional to, to left below right.

Jordan Spieth a few years ago was holding a lot of putts that way, so I thought I'd give it a try.

And that actually felt for me like I really was a lot more proficient on short putts.

I didn't look at the hole.

I wasn't that good.

But, it just felt like the, the, the back of the left wrist wasn't breaking down as much, so I wasn't flicking at the putter at all.

And if you tend, tend to have that fault in your stroke, that's a really good way of combating that.

You can even wear a watch and put a pencil down there as a drill to stop it from breaking down.

But for me, that left below right just felt like the, the back of the left hand was going towards the target, and there was no flicking at all during that stroke.

And I was really good at short putts for a while.

I think they kind of, they go in and out of fashion, grips, and some grips work for a while, and then suddenly they stop working, and it's something you can change really quickly.

So it's just, you know, trying what works for you and then put It might just suddenly stop working, and you can always change back.

So it's just what feels comfortable at the time.

Yeah, I would agree with what you just said, say there.

If, if you are struggling with your putting, try a different grip because it, it gives you that different feeling.

It's a bit like sort of resetting your brain.

For a long time now, I've been using a claw grip.

And I felt like my right hand was way too active.

If anyone has suffered with the yips, it's such a debilitating thing in golf.

I've certainly suffered with it in the past myself.

And by taking the, the palm of the right hand off the putter and having it running like this, suddenly no problems in that regard.

And now, for me, putting would I wouldn't say it's the strongest part of my game, but it's definitely not the weakest area of my game.

I'm not, I'm throwing away shots on the golf course in other areas more, readily than I am, on the green with the putter, and that's down to the claw grip.

And I feel like if I could have sort of started again from scratch, I might have even just started with the claw.

It, I know it do- it, it can look a little bit ungainly, and people think, "Oh, you're struggling with your putting."

But actually, if it resets your brain and you feel comfortable with it, then go for it.

That would be my advice.

And there's a whole host of golfers on tour that have switched to the claw grip and got some really good success.

You look at Tommy Fleetwood, Webb Simpson won at Sawgrass using the claw grip.

Obviously he uses, that anchored style stroke.

We've seen it with, Soren Kjeldsen as well, who, who runs it along hi- the inside of his forearm.

Obviously he got a lot of loft on his putter.

I think he's got six degrees of loft because he's got so much shaft lean.

But that's another way, another way.

We're talking about so many different ones.

But that's probably a fifth or sixth way you can hope potentially make the putter more stable, less kind of face rotation, and, more consistent.

So, you know, worth a try.

So there you have it.

Putting, as Joel's just said, is a feel game, and whatever works for you works.

You know, there are some technical principles at work within putting that are good for everyone to have.

But beyond that, it is an individual game, and one putting stroke really won't look a lot like, another one, and that's why it's definitely worth experimenting with different styles of grip and different types of grip on your putter, just to change the feeling in your hands.

Find something that's right for you, and then you might just be able to hole a few more putts.

Guys, thank you very much for watching.

If you have any questions about any of this stuff, and it, it, we have sort of whisked through it all.

Yeah.

There is a lot to, understand, a lot to learn.

If you're thinking about buying a putter or a new grip, leave a comment below.

Leave a question.

We'll get back to you with some, hopefully some advice and some thoughts from us.

But from here from Frilford Heath for now, it's goodbye.

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