Putting Tips For Left Handers

From a physical perspective, putting should be the easiest part of the game but it certainly is not.  Left-handed individuals have an even more difficult time mastering their putt because most instructions are geared toward right-handed players.

Evaluate

First on the list of putting tips for left handers is to evaluate what kind of stroke you are going to need.  You also have to read the green and determine whether you have a downhill, side hill or uphill because this will affect your putt as well.  It is extremely helpful if you can evaluate the speed of the green.  Is the grass wet?  Is it short or long?  If you aren’t experienced with reading a green, whether you are left-handed or right-handed, How to Break 80 is a program that can really help you learn how to properly read your green.

Practice Swing

Many players who are looking for putting tips for left handers are not even taking a practice swing while other left-handed golfers take up to four practice swings, especially on longer putts.  This does nothing to help you because all you are doing is allowing your mind more time to become unforgettable with the shot and sabotage you.

Evaluate your shot, approach your ball and allow yourself one practice swing before you attempt your putt.  You may not believe it but your brain can really have a negative impact on your game.  The more time you allow yourself to analyze something, the greater chance you have of failure.  Black Ops Golfer is a very helpful program to use if you think this is your  problem.

Read Other Players

Just because you are left-handed, doesn’t mean that you can’t use information that you observe from your right-handed friends.  Putting tips for left handers are often just as simple as making observations.

As a left hander, observe whether a putt from a right-handed player broke to the left or right.  If their putt took a path to the right, adjust to make sure you aren’t pulling your putt.  Leave it a little more toward the left of the hole, allowing you to play the break.

Imagination

This may not be one of the most heard of putting tips but it works.  Imagine a circle around the hole with a circumference of about two feet.  Obviously this is a lot easier of a shot to complete than making it in a hole just a tad over four inches.  Even if you just get your ball within this imaginary circle, you can two-putt the hole.  Many teaching professionals swear by this.

Grip

For some reason, left-handed golfers seem to put a death grip on the club.  On a scale between 1 and 10, your grip for your putt should be somewhere around a 4.  When you hold your putter too tight, it is impossible to really get a true feel for the golf ball as contact is made with your club.

Equipment

One of the most overlooked piece of advice is putter choice.  Selecting golf clubs for a left-handed player should take a fair amount of time if you’re really evaluating them thoroughly.  While flex and length are important will all other clubs, the putter is really about feeling.

There are basically three different types of putters to choose from:

1.      Conventional Putter – The shorter the better!  However, if you have a problem involving your wrist, this is not recommended.

2.      Belly Putter – Rests at stomach level.  For many left handers, this longer handle is not helpful when it comes to accuracy because it is harder to control.

3.      Long Putter – This eliminates wrist movement but it can certainly be difficult to get use to.

Take your time when purchasing your left-handed putter and go with which one feels right, not which one the salesperson tells you is best.