If we look at the putter techniques of some of the greatest players in history, it is easy to see that they all have something in common. You might only be able take one thing away from them all: they have incredible concentration skills and are a fantastic putter. They have a variety of putting styles, so they are not able to share a common putting technique.
We look at the putters who have been doing it for many years when we examine great players. Some golfers are just one-hit wonders. They putt well for only a short time and then fall back to the norm. These golfers shouldn’t be considered alongside the greatest. These would be Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as well as Billy Casper and Ben Crenshaw. If you compare Tiger Woods’ putting technique to Jack Nicklaus, the difference are nearly night and day.
Take Wood’s putting technique, for example. His set-up and putting stroke were flawless in his prime. It was almost as if the ball were invisible to the putter blade, which made his midrange putting extraordinary. Tiger could make putts of five to ten feet when he was at his best. Nicklaus was a completely different person. This style allowed Nicklaus to remove a lot more moving body parts by crunching up in a prominent crouch. He kept his head down and held on to the side of his arms. He pressed the ball towards the hole with his palms and forearms. However, he was an excellent pressure putter as there were fewer things that could go wrong.
Billy Casper was another great putter from years back. His left wrist was used as a hinge. He then brought the putter back, and aggressively raced through it. Each style was different but all of the great putters were equally successful.
This is something we can hopefully take away from it: there’s a lot to be successful as a putter. Each of the players created a style that was not only suited for their physical characteristics but also fit their mentality. As we said, putting is a mental sport. Any stroke that anyone makes must bring confidence to the game. This is why we tend to improve our putting more than other parts of our golf game.