Tip Tuesday: The Low Left Hand Approach to Putting

In the latest of his putting tips series, Ted Frick of the Classic Swing Golf School in Myrtle Beach, S.C. demonstrates the putting grip and approach that Jordan Spieth, Jim Furyk and Fred Couples have used in their careers with great success.

Ted Frick:
All right, so this is episode three in our putting series. Episode one talked about how to use your dominant eye. All good putters use their dominant eye. Remember the RAT acronym of good putters. They read well, they aim well and they have good touch. In episode two, I talked about the difference between traditional and then moving into some of the mid mallets and then into a mallet size with different size grips.

I’m going to go ahead now and explore the grip number two option in this evolution of different grips. I’m going to go with the low left hand. I would say the low left hand has been out there a good 30 years, but the young man that really helped to gain popularity was Jordan Spieth. But we know Jim Furyk has been using it forever. There was times that Freddie Couples, he was using that as one of his weapons.

So with the low left hand, I’m going to go and place my right hand on the top, my power hand, and then I’m going lead hand, lead arm low. Now, ladies and gentlemen, when they’re using this grip, this is a very good way to help reduce wrist activity. If you’re a putter that’s very wristy through impact, this might be very advantageous, because what these putters think they use the back of the left wrist and their club face as one single unit. They want to feel like they’re stroking the putt with the back of the left hand. Very advantageous to help quiet the wrist down.

All right, so another green reading tip in episode two, I talked about the green. In episode three, going low left-hand with a mini mallet and a midsize handle. I’m going to go ahead and talk about using the feet. There’s been this newer generation where they start using their feet. We all grew up using our eyes. The newer generation kind of just relying on the feet and the feet are very sensitive. I could feel this little putt here that my right foot is a little lower than my left. That means as this ball is getting to the hole and I notice the green a little bit to the right, this ball is going to veer off to the right.

So I’m going to go ahead now into a low left hand putt where I play this ball left center. All right, lead hand on top. Excuse me, power hand on top. Lead hand low. Low left-hand putting. Setting up a little left center putt. Just a wonderful way to help reduce the wrist. Notice again, off to the right. That’s where the green, that’s where the land’s suggesting.