How to Use a Belly Putter
By Michael Lamanna
Director of Instruction, The Phoenician Resort
Why Belly Putting?
Conventional putting is still the dominant method in professional golf; however, belly putting has become a viable option. Many top players in professional golf have great success using the belly putter and more and more players are converting to this method.While many purists argue for the belly putter to be outlawed as "too nontraditional," its popularity on tour and brisk sales in golf shops will probably preclude a ban of the belly putter by the governing bodies. I think the belly putter is here to stay, and for good reason.
Golfers using traditional-length putters have only two connections to the club: the hands. They often struggle with loose wrist action, which can produce a breakdown of the path and face position at impact. Additionally, under pressure the arms tend to rotate and swing independent from the shoulders, which also produces inconsistent clubhead movement.
The belly putter allows a golfer to anchor the club in a third spot, which becomes a fulcrum. This gives the stroke stability and produces a more consistent stroke path. The hands, wrists and body are linked with the shaft. The shoulders move the arms, hands and putter as one unit, and this produces perfect pendulum action.
Belly Putter Technique
The setup and stance with the belly putter.
The technique for belly putting is very similar to conventional putting. The goal is to produce a pendulum-stroke action with a slight inside-to-inside arc. Here are a few setup and stroke keys for the righthanded golfer:
1. Make sure you set up with perfect posture every time. Your knees should be very slightly flexed, your upper spine straight and your torso bent forward from the hips.
2. Your weight should favor the left foot slightly, and you should be balanced on the balls of the feet.
3. Your elbows should be slightly bent and they should touch the side of your ribcage.
4. Place the grip of the putter in your palms and use your normal putting grip. Use light grip pressure for better feel and rhythm.
5. Anchor the putter just to the left of your navel. Since your weight is distributed slightly to the left foot, your stroke arc will bottom out just to the left of your body center.
6. Position the ball approximately two inches left of your stance center. This will allow you to make contact with the ball as the putter bottoms out and begins to rise.
7. Align your body parallel to the target line and position your eyes over the inside edge of the ball.
The belly putter stroke is a pendulum stroke, arcing slightly inside to inside.
8. Use a pendulum stroke, equal length back and through, moving only your shoulders rhythmically. Your head and body must be very still with no up, down or lateral motion.
9. Allow your shoulders to turn around your spine.
If you struggle putting, I suggest that you experiment with the belly putter. As you can see, there are some definite advantages to using this club and technique and it might just work for you.
Related article:
• Do-it-yourself belly putter fitting: Getting the proper length and lie angle.
(Photos © Michael Lamanna; used with permission)
See Also:
• Putting Tips
• Golf Tips
• Golf Instruction Videos
