When it comes to putting my concept mirrors that of Happy Gilmore: getting a hole in 1 (Ace) is so much easier than putting, I should just try to do that every time! (And I do)
This has always been the worst part of my game. My long game saves me a lot because I can park most drives right by the pin or within about 20 feet. But further than that, I struggle with my putting. I have tried a lot of different types of putts, grips, and styles to try and find one that works for me. Recently I have come across a form that helps me a lot. Since this has been working for me, I wanted to share it with you in hopes of helping your short game.
The form is really just a change in the grip that I have been using. It just goes to show, that a slight change in something that seems small can really help improve your game. By changing to this new grip I am averaging about a 95% accuracy for putts within 20 feet (previously I was around 70%). And it is also giving me about 70% accuracy for 20-40 foot putts. It may not seem like a huge improvement, but it truly helps my game. When I play any course I play by tournament standards which means I consider every hole a par 3, regardless of distance. This helps me gauge how well I'm doing on that hole: whether I can ace, birdie, par, or go over. This is my measuring system; if you prefer to play by the signs go ahead, but it's just easier than trying to keep track of all the listed pars for an entire course. If you just play a par 3 for every hole, you know from start to finish an 18 hole course is always going to be a score of 54 (18 x 3 = 54).
Now on to the new style. I have attached two pictures of the grip that I am currently using from the top and bottom view. I have found that when I grip the disc, if I put more pressure between where my thumb is holding and the mid point on the pointer finger this gives me more stability in the putt. This means that it isn't wobbly coming out of my hand, nor in flight. See the picture below for a better idea:
This disc is a heavier (hard to find, if even still in production) Glo Champion Aviar from Innova. The increased pressure in this area makes for a solid flight (assuming there is limited wind resistance). On the underside of the disc you will see that the fingers are pressed along the surface to again create stability. This covers more of a surface area, and helps to keep that flat flight. See below:
It looks a little awkward just because of how my wrist is bent. If you are holding the grip right, you will feel like you are pinching the disc between your thumb and pointer-finger. If you don't feel like there is a lot of pressure there, you're not holding it firmly enough. With the release I put on just a small amount of anhyzer (reverse spin) so it can keep a straight line. I also pick a specific area that I want to aim for. Starting out I used to pick a single chain-link to aim at. Some times I can keep that focus, most of the time I can't. Now I pick an area of space for aiming, more like a single strand of chains that are hanging. Since I am right handed, the natural flight of my discs turn left. So for shorter putts I aim to the immediate right of the pole behind the chains. The farther away I am, the more I move my aiming focus to the right. This gives the disc room to break to the left during it's flight, but still hits my target.
So there it is. My *new BIG secret. I hope this helps your game, as much as mine. Let me know what you think in the comments, and if you have any other ideas to share.
As always if you like the tips and tricks that I have here, make sure you follow the blog to get notified when the newest posts are published. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook. Follow me on both for the most up-to date news, and join in the community of "discers". Happy Throwing!
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