Earlier I had written a post on the Stockton putting method and my attempts to implement. A few rounds of trying to pull my left hand at the target eventually killed all feel on my lag putts and I hit rock bottom last week with my career worst 98, which included 40-putts. Dave Stockton doesn’t take 40 putts in a round of golf but I cannot endorse his method any longer; it’s clearly not for me. I’m now in full ‘Stockton recovery, ‘ and have adopted a new simple pre-shot routine of two practice strokes with the right hand only (looking at the hole) and BINGO, roll, feel, and confidence are back! With the right hand only practice stroke, I take the club back considerably farther, which appears to be the key to regaining touch on the long putts. Prior to making the actual stroke, I gently place my left hand on the club and then stroke the putt without delay, making a totally right hand dominated stroke and attempting to duplicate the length and feel of the practice stroke. This is completely opposite of the Stockton notion of pulling the putt with the left hand and consciously trying to keep the blade low to the ground. I now feel relaxed and able to make a free flowing non-mechanical stroke.
I played today, one round removed from the 98 and validated with a great putting effort and managed to sink three lengthy birdie putts on my way to an even-par 70, which was my lowest score for the season. I now have come across several web sites advocating for the method and interestingly enough, Tiger Woods reportedly practices routinely by just stroking right-handed putts to ensure he’s releasing the putter properly. Here’s the best site I’ve found detailing the benefits of right hand dominance. Anyone out there had any luck with this method?
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