Putting Grip Pressure

In an email conversation with Jay, the question of putting grip pressure came up.  He has a video from Monte Scheinblum who advocates for a firm grip.

I was intrigued with this as putting is becoming more of an interest.

I looked at a few things last night on youtube.  There is not too much disagreement here.  Let's see what the experts say.

Crenshaw suggests 3/10, because it's all about feel.  This is maybe ok as he putts are very fast greens and the rest of us don't.  But I could see his point.  He also has a longish, slow swing.

The Odyssey putting people saw it differently.  If you have a short, quick, "hitting" type of stroke, they you will do better with a firmer grip.  Use a light grip if you have a lazy, swinging stroke.

Brad Faxon has a test.  Grip it firmly enough that it will not twist, but loosely enough so that you can extend your arms easily.  Thus he wanted biceps and triceps to be somewhat relaxed, but the lower arms and wrists to be firm.

At the Mr. Hume's school of putting, the first lesson is "get the ball to the hole every time."  The second lesson is "Match the line for the speed that's required to get the ball to the hole every time."  See how neatly that builds on itself?

Lesson three: on breaking putts, aim to drop the putt into the low side of the hole, thus having it break across as much of the hole as you have courage.  That protects you from a putt that doesn't break as much as you thought and it allows you to hit the ball harder - see lesson 1.

I've been applying some of this lately.  And have been happy with the results.  A firmer grip is keeping me from stubbing the putt, which saves a stroke or two a round.  Mostly an issue with long putts where one has to bang them a bit.

We'll gather some more data and revisit another time.

How firm is your grip when chipping, pitching and sand play?  

Ah, the questions never end...