How to Grip a Putter

The Putting Grip Encyclopedia: How you Hold the Putter Matters

Putting is the key to lowering your scores.

According to 18 Birdies golf app, “The USGA statistics states the average male golfer shoots a 98-99 and has at least 40 putts per round or 2.2 putts per hole. Most recreational and amateur golfers are well above this number while professional golfers average about 1.8 putts per hole and 32 putts per round.”

If you want to become a better golfer and drastically improve your handicap, work on your putting! As Dan Schwabe, a PGA Pro said, “If people are upset at being a 25 – 36 handicap, watch them putt. That’s the fastest area in the game to save five shots a round.” 

If your putting isn’t up to par, it’s time to change that starting today. While there are a lot of components to becoming a great putter, the grip is one of the most important factors.

Since it’s the only part of your body that touches the club, it’s essential to make sure your grip yields a consistent stroke. Unlike a full swing though, there are a variety of different grips that you can choose from. 

The goal is to find one that gives you Tiger-like confidence once your ball is on the green. Keep reading to learn everything about how to improve your putting stroke by improving your grip.

Types of Putting Grip Styles

If you’re like most golfers, you want to know what is the proper putting grip? What grip is best for putting?  What putting grip style will help me make more putts?

The answer is simple – the putting grip that works best for you!

There is no one type of grip that works best. Otherwise, everyone would use it and make putting look easy.

If you watch the best players in the world, you will notice there is a bit of everything. 

Tiger Woods, arguably the best putter of all time, uses a conventional grip style. While Jordan Speith, a clutch putter in big moments uses a left hand low. And other players like Colin Morikawa, use a claw grip. 

The point is, there is no one style grip that works best for rolling the rock. It’s about testing out different ones to find out which works best for your stroke and ultimately, gives you the most confidence. 

At the end of the day, confidence is the biggest thing you need on the greens. Not a perfect stroke or a $500 putter. While those can certainly help, the thing you want above all else is trust in your abilities. 

Here are some of the different putting grips so you can find the best one for your game. 

How to Hold a Putter

Conventional Grip (Reverse Overlap) 

The first grip is the traditional or conventional grip. It’s also known as the reverse overlap. It’s basically the equivalent of a normal (non-interlocking) full golf swing grip.

According to Golf.com, it’s also the most popular grip amongst professionals. Roughly 68% use this grip to help the hands work together and minimize wrist hinge.

If you need an example of a traditional grip, look no further than one of the best putters ever – Tiger himself. While his full swing isn’t traditional (he interlocks his fingers), he’s the poster boy for a reverse overlap grip.

It’s pretty simple and allows you to feel the putter in your hands.

Conventional Putting Grip Instructions

Here is a quick checklist on this style from Tiger’s book, How I Play Golf:

  • For right-handed golfers, start with your left hand and then put your right hand on top, overlapping your right pinky over your left index finger.
  • The back of your right hand is parallel to the left hand. This makes sure your hands don’t fight each other during the stroke. It’s also easier to get the face square at impact. 
  • The right thumb extends down the shaft just below your right forefinger. The back of the left hand faces the target. This position makes sure there isn’t excess rotation throughout the stroke.
  • Both thumbs are directly down the handle to provide feedback during your stroke.

Needless to say, if it works for the 15-time major champion, it’s pretty dependable. Other players who use this style include Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, the Golden Bear, and others. 

Alternate Version

Another way to slightly change this putting grip is to have your right index finger go down the putter shaft. This putting grip style is preferred by multiple major champion, Brooks Koepka.

Cross Handed Grip (Left Hand Low)

The opposite of the reverse overlap grip is known as left hand low or a cross handed putting grip.

This style is commonly referred to as cross handed as well. One of the most common players to use this Jordan Speith who is one of the most clutch putters on the PGA Tour.

The method is pretty much the exact opposite of a conventional grip.

Instead of the right hand being low, the left goes on the grip first. The left thumb is on the side of the shaft and the hand is facing the hole, in a weak position. 

This grip will leave almost all of your control to your left hand. The right hand plays a very small role and is there for support more than anything else. 

Since the left hand is locked in place, it’s great if you have too much wrist hinge. If you find yourself flipping and missing putts left of the cup, cross handed should help. 

If you try to putt left hand low, just know it will take some time to adjust, specifically with distance control. It’s sometimes hard to gauge speed for longer putts but have personally found it useful with short putts. 

Read our full article on the cross hand putting grip here.

What is the Claw Grip?

Claw Grip 

Next up is a newer style grip that has become more and more popular on the PGA Tour. It’s known as the claw and also helps deal with an overactive right hand. 

With the claw putting grip, the left wrist is the dominant one in the stroke. Placement wise, it is in the same position as a reverse overlap grip. But the right hand is where things get interesting. 

The right hand can hold the grip in a variety of ways.

With the right hand, take your pointer and middle finger and place them on top of the grip. The ring and pinkie finger can barely touch the club or wrap them around the shaft as well. 

For example, some players like to only have two fingers touching the grip. While others prefer all four on the grip. 

After finding my right wrist getting overactive in my putting, I decided to try this style out. While it felt extremely awkward at first, I can say it helped a ton.

The key is to figure out how many fingers you want on the grip to feel comfortable during your stroke. I tried with two, three and four fingers, but ultimately felt best with only two. 

Even if you don’t make the switch to this grip style full time, it’s a great way to practice. I practice on the putting green using the claw to feel the right hand and wrist not moving. Give it a try even if it’s just on the practice green. 

Click here to learn more about the claw putting grip in detail.

Prayer Grip

A newer style putting grip is known as the prayer putting grip.

With this style grip, your hands are on the same level with each palm facing one another (as if you were praying). Your thumbs are both on the grip facing down with both index fingers running parallel down the shaft. It’s very interesting as it’s the same grip for both hands.

What is the Prayer Putting Grip

To make this grip style work, you can’t use a normal grip though.

Not every grip that comes standard with your putter will work with this hand placement. Instead, you need a thicker grip to facilitate the hand position.

The goal is to keep the putter head straight and there is no dominant hand involved. Each plays a big role in making sure to keep the putter face square. 

Go here to learn a lot more about the Prayer putting grip.

Arm Lock Putting Grip

While the traditional grip is all about feel, the arm lock method almost entirely removes it. That’s why Bryson DeChambeau putting stroke looks very different on the greens vs. Tiger or Jack. He looks more like a robot than an artist, but clearly it works for him so no judgment on my end.

The arm lock putting grip does require a longer shaft to make it work. A normal 34-36 inch putter length won’t do the trick. 

To use the arm lock grip, you want to adjust your left hand slightly to allow the grip and shaft to touch your left forearm. Then, everything else is just like a conventional grip. 

The main benefit of the arm lock grip is that the club face can’t move very much. Since the club is locked into your arm, the face won’t open or close very much, which gives a strong sense of stability. 

While it eliminates a lot of feel, one thing I like about this grip is that it makes you forward press the ball. This helps act as a trigger to get your stroke started and is something great putters tend to do (Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, etc.). 

Other notable players that use this includes Keegan Bradley, Matt Kuchar, and others. 

We’ve got a full article on the Armlock putting grip here.

Alternate Version

A slight variation of the arm lock is combining it with a claw for even more control.

Putting Grip

Broomstick Grip

The broomstick method is very different from any of the others we’ve mentioned. With the broomstick grip, the shaft is substantially longer than a normal putter. Not to mention, there are two different grips on the same shaft.

There is a normal length grip and a small grip at the top of the putter shaft. This is where your left hand holds the putter.

Meanwhile, the right hand can rest on the club

Since the butt-end can no longer “anchor” to your body, this method isn’t as popular of a putting technique anymore. In fact, most golfers have never even tried to use style. But it might help you out so ask a friend who uses one.

Other Factors to Consider

While your hand placement plays a pivotal role in putting, there are some other things to consider for good putting. Before switching up your grip entirely, make sure to check out these things as well.

Accelerate Through the Putt 

The ball has a zero percent chance of going in the hole if it doesn’t make it to the cup. While I’m not advocating that you race each putt by 4 or 5 feet (that would make for a long day), get it to the hole.

Specifically, make sure you always accelerate through the stroke. In Phil Mickelson’s Short Game Secrets, he says it’s essential to always accelerate through the putt. Try to think, “25% of your stroke on the way back and 75% on the way through” so you always accelerate.

Putting Alignment (Target Line)

You could have the perfect grip, perfect stroke, and perfect speed, but if your alignment is off, the putt won’t fall in the bottom of the cup. Your target line specifically is the biggest thing to evaluate when you’re struggling on the greens.

If you don’t have one yet, invest in a Putting Tudor by Dave Pelz.

This budget-friendly training aids makes it apparent if your start line is off. Thanks to the marbles, if your ball hits one then you get instant feedback on if you’re pushing or pulling putts. 

Pre-Shot Putting Routine 

Finally, don’t forget to have a solid pre-shot putting routine as well. While a lot of players have one for the full swing, so many forget about implementing on the putting green. 

A consistent pre-shot routine will help battle nerves, build confidence, and hopefully, drain more putts. 

These are all important factors to consider when working to improve your putting performance. Need more articles?

Make sure to check these out:

FAQs  About the Putting Grip

Do you have more questions about using different grip types to improve your putting? Keep reading to learn everything you need to know.

What is the standard putting grip?

The proper putting grip is the one that allows your putter face to get square at impact and helps you drain putts. Regardless of which grip styles you might use, it’s all about finding one that works best for your specific putting stroke.

While some swear by a standard putting grip, others want to use the arm lock so it’s attached to the left forearm. While others want the left wrist/left hand to lead the stroke with a cross hand.

Try out several grip styles if things aren’t going on your way on the green.

What kind of grip do you use for a putt? 

The one that gives you the most confidence when you’re standing over the golf ball. That might mean a left hand low grip or a claw grip. Or, a traditional grip like Tiger uses.

It’s also important to test out your grip vs. others if you’re going through a bit of a slump. A while back my traditional grip wasn’t giving me loads of confidence, so I tried the claw. It helped me minimize hand movement in my stroke and ultimately led to draining more putts.

Now, I go back and forth between the two when I need to feel something different.

Don’t be afraid to mix up your grip if you need a confidence boost. But I’d suggest practicing enough to make sure you’re comfortable with it on the golf course.

Who uses the claw putting grip?

The claw is also a popular method on the Tour. One reason it’s become so popular is that the claw works great on fast greens, which is basically every PGA stop. 

Us normal golfers play on greens that are on average, a 10 on the stimpmeter. Meanwhile, the best players in the world putt on lightning fast greens that are between a 12-14. Sometimes, even 15 for the biggest majors too. 

Not to mention, some venues are also firm greens as well. 

Who makes the best putting grips? 

While there are a lot of brands that offer great grips, I would argue that SuperStroke makes the best ones for putters specifically. They have a huge product line and it gives players a ton of options when it comes to gripping the putter comfortably.

Here is a quick breakdown of some of their different product lines:

  • Pistol grips
  • Round grips 
  • Flatso putter grips
  • Wristlock putter grip
  • Countercore putter grips

These are one of the most popular grips to add to your putter handle. I’m a huge fan of them but encourage you to put your hands on a few to find the right fit.

How often should you regrip your putter?

With putting, you don’t need to regrip as frequently as the rest of your clubs. The reason is that your grip pressure is so much lighter than with a full golf swing. Which is good because they’re not cheap!

What is the advantage of a fat putter grip? 

Some players swear by a fat putter grip while others won’t even touch one. So what’s all the hype about?

Fat putter grips are so large that they essentially remove (or at least minimize) excess hand motions through the stroke. Which helps a lot of golfers as so many players move the hands/wrists too much which leads to a lot of missed putts.

Click here to learn more about fat putter grips and see if they’re worth it.

Should I wear a glove while putting?

No, don’t wear a glove while putting. Just watch any event on the PGA Tour and you’ll see that none of them wear a glove. Meanwhile, if you go to your local municipal course, chances are you will see plenty of high handicappers wearing a glove.

The point?

Putt like the pros.

Wearing a glove removes your ability to monitor grip pressure and feel the putter in your hands. Since putting is all about feel more than anything else, wearing a glove gets in the way of that. 

Once your golf ball is on the green, un-velcro your glove and start your green reading strategy. 

What grip does Tiger Woods use?

Tiger’s putter grip might be the most famous one of all time.

His trusty Scotty Cameron flat stick has helped me make some of the most clutch putts of all time. But the grip itself is actually a traditional, Ping PP58 putter grip. 

According to Golf.com, Tiger orders a few hundred at a time! Clearly they’re working extremely well for him so we don’t blame him.

How does Phil Mickelson hold his putter? 

Leftie is a unique player in that he isn’t afraid to change putting grips. Sometimes he putts with a traditional grip while other times he opts for the claw grip. 

In this YouTube video, Phil explains why he switches to a claw style from time to time. 

Final Thoughts on the Best Putting Grip

As you can tell, there are a lot of common putting grips.

No one putting grip style is better than the other. It’s all about finding a style that works for your putter, your stroke, and helps you get the ball in the hole.

The good news is that if you’re in a putting slump, a grip change might be just what you need. As I mentioned, switching from traditional to a claw grip helped me almost immediately and my morale on the greens.