Walk into any pro shop and you'll find a dozen training aids promising to fix your putting stroke. Alignment sticks, putting mirrors, laser devices. The industry is full of gadgets.
But the most important piece of equipment in putting? It's already in your hands.
Your grip is the only physical connection between you and the putter. It's where feel originates. It's how you control the face. It's the foundation upon which every putting stroke is built. Get it wrong, and no amount of practice will produce consistent results.
What follows are seven grip principles that separate elite putters from everyone else. Some will surprise you. Others might contradict what you've been taught. All of them work.
1. Light Pressure Is Non-Negotiable
If there's one universal among great putters, it's this: they hold the club softly.
Grip pressure kills feel. Squeeze the putter and you create tension in your forearms. That tension travels up to your shoulders. Suddenly, your smooth pendulum stroke becomes a jabby, manipulated movement controlled by small muscles rather than your larger, more stable ones.
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is squeezing as hard as you can, most amateur golfers putt around a 6 or 7. Tour pros? They're at a 3 or 4. Some go even lighter.
Ben Crenshaw, one of the best putters in history, recommended grip pressure around a 4 out of 10 and described the putter as a "delicate instrument." A common teaching analogy compares ideal grip pressure to holding a baby bird — firm enough that it doesn't fly away, but gentle enough that you don't hurt it. That's the sweet spot.
Try this drill: Make ten practice putts with normal pressure. Then make ten more where you deliberately use grip pressure so light you're almost afraid the club will slip. You'll probably putt better with the lighter pressure. Your hands will feel more connected to the putter head. You'll sense the weight better. Distance control will improve almost immediately.
The caveat? Light pressure requires confidence. When you're nervous, your instinct is to squeeze. That's why pressure-proofing your grip is mental as much as physical. Trust that light works. The club won't fly out of your hands. The ball will roll truer. Your stroke will flow more naturally.
2. Your Palms Should Face Each Other
This isn't about conventional versus reverse overlap or claw grips. This is about hand positioning that works regardless of style.
When your palms face each other (what's called a "neutral" or "prayer" position), your hands work as a single unit. Neither hand dominates. The putter face stays square more naturally through the stroke.
Check your current grip. If your right palm (for right-handed golfers) faces too much toward the sky, you're in a "weak" position. You'll tend to pull putts or close the face through impact. If your right palm faces too much toward the target, you're "strong." You'll likely push putts or leave the face open.
Stand up right now and press your palms together in front of your chest. Notice how your forearms align. Now place a putter between those palms. That alignment is where you want to start.
This neutral position does something else crucial: it reduces wrist movement. When your hands are positioned symmetrically, it's much harder to break your wrists during the stroke. The result? More consistency. Better face control. Fewer three-putts caused by pushes and pulls.
3. The Lead Hand Controls, The Trail Hand Feels
Your hands have different jobs in the putting stroke. Understanding this division of labor transforms your putting.
Your lead hand (left for righties) is your control center. It guides the path. It maintains the angle. It provides stability. This hand should have slightly more pressure (still light, but engaged). You should feel like you're steering with this hand.
Your trail hand (right for righties) is your touch sensor. It reads the speed. It feels the weight of the putter head. It gauges distance. This hand should be even lighter than your lead hand. It's receptive rather than active.
Think of it like this: your lead hand is the GPS, your trail hand is the gas pedal.
When golfers struggle with distance control, it's usually because their trail hand has checked out. They're gripping equally with both hands, or worse, gripping tighter with the trail hand. The result? They can't feel the shot. They're steering blind.
Try this: Make some putts where you exaggerate the softness in your trail hand. Almost let it go limp. You'll be amazed how much better your speed control becomes. You're suddenly sensing the weight of the putter head. You're feeling the ball come off the face. You're dialed in.
4. Position Your Hands to Quiet Them
Where you place your hands on the grip affects how much they can manipulate the face.
Most elite putters position their hands so that the shaft runs up the lifeline of the lead hand. This creates a direct connection between the forearm and the putter shaft. When your hands are in this position, it's biomechanically difficult to flip or scoop at impact.
Contrast this with a grip where the club runs more through the fingers. That creates a hinge point. Your wrists become active. The face can rotate more easily. For some types of shots, that's useful. For putting? Usually disastrous.
Test this: Grip your putter and make a stroke. If you can feel the club hinging back and through in your wrists, your grip is too much in your fingers. Reposition the club higher in your hands (more in the lifeline and heel pad of your lead hand). Make another stroke. Your wrists should feel much quieter.
The goal isn't to eliminate all wrist movement. A little natural hinge is fine. But excessive wrist action is a consistency killer. Position your hands to minimize it.
5. Your Thumbs Are Alignment Guides, Not Pressure Points
Look at where your thumbs sit. Are they creating pressure? Many golfers press their thumbs hard into the top of the grip, thinking this gives them better control.
It doesn't. It creates tension.
Your thumbs should rest lightly on top of the grip, pointing straight down the shaft. They're alignment references. They help you feel if the putter face is square. But they shouldn't be pressing or squeezing.
Some of the best putters barely engage their thumbs at all. They rest them so lightly on the grip that if you asked them to lift their thumbs while maintaining their grip, they could do it without the putter moving.
Try this awareness drill: Make ten putts focusing only on your thumbs. Are they tense? Are they pressing? Consciously soften them. Let them simply rest on the grip. Notice how your entire grip softens as a result. Notice how your forearms relax. That's the feeling you want.
One more thing: If your thumbs naturally want to point slightly outward (away from your body), let them. Don't force them straight down the shaft if it feels awkward. Comfort trumps textbook positioning. A relaxed grip that's slightly "wrong" beats a tense grip that's technically "perfect."
6. Match Your Grip Style to Your Stroke Type
There's no one "correct" putting grip because there's no one correct putting stroke. Your grip should complement your stroke mechanics.
If you use a straight-back-straight-through stroke (often with a face-balanced putter), you want a grip that minimizes face rotation.
Conventional overlapping grips work well here. So do cross-handed grips or the claw.
If you use a slight arc in your stroke (common with toe-hang putters), a traditional grip with both palms facing each other works beautifully. The natural rotation of your shoulders allows the face to open slightly on the backswing and close through impact.
If you struggle with the yips or tension, the claw grip or arm-lock style removes the small muscles from the equation. The stroke becomes more of a shoulder-driven movement. Less manipulation. More consistency.
Don't be afraid to experiment. Just because you've used one grip for twenty years doesn't mean it's optimal for you now. Bodies change. Strokes evolve. Your grip should evolve with them.
I switched from conventional overlap to cross-handed in my forties. It felt bizarre for about a week. Then it felt normal. Then it felt better than my old grip ever did. My left hand (now my trail hand) finally stopped trying to steer every putt. That one change dropped two strokes off my average round.
What Grip Do the Best Putters Use?
Among the top 50 putters in Strokes Gained: Putting on the 2024 PGA Tour, the traditional reverse overlap grip dominates. Here's the breakdown:
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74% use the traditional/conventional grip
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16% use left-hand low (cross-handed)
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4% use the claw grip
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6% use other styles (arm-lock, broomstick)
What does this tell us? While the traditional grip remains the gold standard among elite putters, nearly a quarter of the best putters in the world use alternative styles. There's no single "correct" way—only what works best for your stroke and gives you confidence on the greens.
7. Consistency in Your Grip Creates Consistency on the Greens
This might be the most important secret: Your grip should be identical on every single putt.
Same pressure. Same hand position. Same finger placement. Same everything.
Why? Because your brain calibrates distance and direction based on feel. If your grip changes (even slightly) between a three-footer and a thirty-footer, your calibration is off. You've introduced a variable that makes consistency impossible.
This is where a consistent pre-putt routine becomes crucial. As part of your routine, you need a grip checkpoint. Maybe you always set your lead hand first, then add your trail hand. Maybe you always press your thumbs together briefly to confirm placement. Whatever your system, make it automatic.
Tour players do this. Watch closely next time. Their hands go on the club the exact same way every time. It's not conscious. It's grooved through thousands of repetitions.
Build your grip the same way on the practice green and you will on the course. Same way on tap-ins and on knee-knockers. This consistency is what allows great putters to calibrate their feel so precisely. There are no variables — just pure, repeatable mechanics.
Your grip might not be glamorous. Nobody's going to ask you about it after you sink a long putt. But it's the foundation upon which everything else is built.
Start here. Get these seven principles dialed in. Then, when you work on your stroke mechanics, your green reading, or your mental game, you'll have a stable foundation to build on.
The best putter I know once told me: "Great putting starts with great gripping." He was right. Fix your grip, and you might be surprised how many other problems fix themselves.
