One Hand Control

In everyday life, we rarely use both hands to accomplish a motor task. This is one of the reasons why putting with just one hand on the handle can yield positive results.

A drill I give many of my students who are having trouble getting the ball on line is to place a ball at a distance of no more than three to six feet from the hole. Your job is to attempt to make the putt with just your right hand on the putter handle. After attempting five to 10 putts with your right hand, repeat using just your left hand.

After the left-handed putts, note which hand is more of the control hand. This is the hand you felt more comfortable with or the one that got the ball in the hole the most consistently.

Often, it's your dominant hand, which should be no surprise. There are a few golfers who feel the non-dominant hand (the left for right-handers) is better at controlling the ability to get the ball started on line. Whatever is the case, work to get both more capable of controlling the putterhead. If one hand is clearly the winner, it may not be prudent to spend much time on the other hand.

The point is that if you find you're not getting the ball started on line out on the course, you may wish to grip the putter first with your control hand, then slide the other hand on as support and with a lighter grip pressure.

By using one hand as the control hand and the other as support, you should find that the challenge of eye-hand coordination is lessened. This, in turn, may reduce the number of mis-hits and allow the ball to start on line more frequently.

Dr. Craig Farnsworth is a sports vision specialist. He has trained some of the world's elite golfers and athletes of all sports. Dr. Farnsworth directs the See and Score Golf School at the Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort in Henderson, Nev. (www.puttdoctor.com).