To correct the issue of pulling putts left, golfers must first evaluate their stance and alignment. Proper alignment is crucial for a successful putt, so ensuring that the shoulders, hips, and feet are all parallel to the target line is essential. Golfers should also assess their grip and hand position, as an incorrect grip could lead to a pull. It is important to keep the grip pressure light and consistent throughout the stroke to avoid any manipulation that could result in a leftward pull.
Golfers dread few things more than that gut-wrenching feeling as you watch your perfectly-read putt race toward the hole, only to catch the left edge and spin out. Nothing kills confidence and scores more quickly than missed short putts, especially those pushed or pulled offline. If you struggle with a left-to-right putting stroke and want to straighten your stroke to sink more putts, implementing changes in your setup, grip, alignment and stroke mechanics can get you back on track in no time. Read on for tips from the pros on how to analyze your stroke, equipment, and fundamentals to stop pulling putts left.
Check Your Eye Dominance
One overlooked factor in putts that leak left is eye dominance. Just as people are right or left-handed, you likely have a dominant eye that takes precedence when you line up shots. If you are right-eye dominant but set up square to the hole, your dominant right eye will actually pull your aim and stroke to the left. Checking your eye dominance and adjusting your setup is an easy fix. To find your dominant eye, make a triangle with your hands and isolate a small object in the distance. Close one eye, then the other. The open eye that keeps the object visible is your dominant eye. Set up aligned slightly right of the target to counteract the pull towards your dominant side.
Analyze Your Setup and Posture
Faulty setup is one of the most common causes of pulled putts. If your feet, knees, hips and shoulders are aimed left of the target line at the address, your stroke will likely move the putter to that alignment. Analyze your posture and stance from multiple angles to ensure you are properly aligned with the target line. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart, knees slightly flexed, back straight, and your eyes directly over the ball tracking the intended start line. Use alignment rods, a spare club or the lines on your putter to double check your aim matches the target line. A misaligned stance is easily fixed but makes a world of difference.
Check Your Putter Lie Angle
Another often overlooked factor in putts missing left is improper lie angle on your putter. Lie angle is the angle between the shaft and sole of the putter designed to sit flat at address. An incorrect lie angle will cause the face to point left or right of the target. Since the putter must be held perpendicular to create a straight back-and-through stroke, an ill-fit lie angle forces manipulation during the stroke. If the toe of your putter sits flat while the heel is off the ground at address, the lie angle is too upright, likely causing pulls left. See your local club fitter to find the optimal lie angle for your straight back putting stroke.
Perfect Your Grip and Ball Position
Hand and ball position directly impact your ability to swing the putter face back to the target at impact. An incorrect grip leads to manipulation during the stroke, usually with the hands and wrists rather than steady body rotation. Perfect your grip by positioning both hands evenly down the side of the shaft, lead hand in the fingers and trail hand more in the palm with your eyes directly over the ball. The ball position should be opposite your lead foot, in line with your sternum, to allow the putter to freely swing back inside then return to impact. Gripping too far down the shaft reduces wrist hinge, while playing the ball too far forward restricts a straight back, straight through pendulum motion.
Practice a Square Putter Face
If you struggle with keeping the putter face aimed at the target on short putts, impacting the ball with a closed clubface is likely pulling your putts left of the hole. Impact with a closed face redirects momentum left due to the clubface angle relative to the start line. Using impact spray, impact stickers or powder spray on the face during practice reveals whether you commonly close the face during impact. Grooving a square face through impact keeps the ball online, even with a slight error in stroke path. Focus on accelerating the putter head through impact with the face open matching the backswing angle for optimal energy and direction transfer to get putts rolling end-over-end.
Quiet Hands and Arms Throughout
Overactive hands, arms and shoulders translate to a breakdown in proper stroke fundamentals, often leading to pulled shots. Ensure you maintain quiet arms during the entire stroke, using body rotation rather than hands to stroke putts. Set your hands into position at address with light pressure in your grip and a fixed posture angle. Then make slow, smooth practice strokes focusing only on rocking your torso to move the club. Eliminate any flipping or scooping motions from tightening forearms or shoulders. Solid contact comes from steady rotation rather than manipulation from tense muscles. Quieting your hands allows your bigger muscles to control club delivery.
Check Equipment for Proper Roll
In addition to analyzing your fundamentals, checking your equipment can uncover reasons for putts leaking left. The grooves on your putter face influence launch angle and roll, while plastic inserts and groove edges often wear unevenly over time, influencing direction. If you tend to miss short putts low on the toe side, groove wear could be reducing overspin, causing skidding. Check your strike pattern on the face using impact adhesive spray or powder during practice. If worn grooves are causing gear effect, pulling left and low across the hole, reshim the insert or invest in a new putter to restore proper launch conditions.
Practice Straight Back and Through Stroke
Ingraining muscle memory for a straight, pendulum-like stroke pattern trains your body to swing the putter straight back and straight through along the target line for consistent contact. Tie a ball to a string, measure out a three foot radius, then stroke putts so the ball travels directly back and forward like a pendulum without veering off plane. You can also place a spare club outside your target line to monitor and correct any deviation in your path. Stay disciplined keeping the face square as you stroke straight back, eliminating any manipulation through impact to solidify straight putts.
FAQs
Why do I keep pulling my putts left?
There are several potential reasons you may be pulling your putts left:
- Aiming/alignment issue: Your feet, shoulders and eyes are lined up left of the target at address. Re-check alignment to ensure squared stance.
- Grip trouble: Gripping too far down the shaft reduces wrist hinge and ability to release. Relax grip pressure with hands evenly down the sides.
- Overactive hands/arms: Flicking or manipulating the putter with hands/arms pulls putts left. Maintain quiet arms and stroke with body rotation.
- Closed clubface: Impacting the ball with a closed clubface redirects momentum left. Groove accelerating with an open face to impact.
- Eye dominance: If right eye dominant, your eyes actually aim slightly left. Set up aligned right of target to compensate.
Why do I push and pull putts?
Inconsistent push and pull putts often stem from poor fundamentals and alignment issues:
- Varying posture/ball position shot to shot leads to inconsistent delivery. Replicate ideal address position every putt.
- Failure to align feet, knees, hips and shoulders parallel to target line leads to aim errors. Double check stance alignment.
- Gripping too tight or loosening mid-stroke varies face angle and path, causing misdirection. Relax grip pressure and keep steady.
- Manipulating face open or closed during stroke leads to push/pull misses. Hinge and rotate rather than handling putter.
How do you hit left to right putts?
In order to elegantly curve putts from left to right, it is advised to aim several inches inside the hole to account for the curve. Align your feet and shoulders in a parallel position to the left of the target line. Envision an inside-square-inside stroke path to achieve face closure through impact. During the backswing, swing the toe of the putter inside the line and then release through impact. Increase acceleration and extend the follow-through to allow the momentum to move to the right.
How do I stop pushing left to right putts?
To reduce the excessive curve on left-to-right putts, it is advised not to overanalyze the break. A slight adjustment in alignment is all that is needed for a subtle break. Relax the grip pressure and refrain from using excessive hand and wrist movement, allowing the body to execute the putting stroke. Employ a slower and smoother stroke to minimize manipulation of the club face upon impact. Align the feet and aim slightly to the left of the hole to reduce the curve. Concentrate on maintaining a steady face angle through impact to start the putt on the intended line.
End | how to stop pulling putts left
In conclusion, the issue of pulling putts left can be addressed through a combination of technical adjustments and mental focus. Firstly, it is important to ensure that your stance, grip, and alignment are all correct. Paying attention to these fundamentals will allow you to strike the ball with a more consistent and accurate stroke. Additionally, focusing on maintaining a smooth tempo and rhythm in your putting stroke can also help to prevent the tendency to pull putts left.
Practicing mindfulness and visualization techniques can further aid in maintaining control over your putt direction. When addressing the issue of pulling putts left, it is essential to approach the problem holistically by considering both the physical and mental aspects of the game. By taking the time to evaluate and adjust your mechanics, as well as refining your mental approach, you can effectively mitigate the occurrence of pulling putts left and enhance your overall putting performance. With dedication and disciplined practice, it is entirely possible to overcome this issue and improve your putting accuracy.
