LPGA Teacher of the Year Cheryl Anderson discusses a proper putting setup.
Hi, I’m Cheryl Anderson; welcome to the Mike Bender Golf Academy Putting Studio. So we do a lot of putter fittings here, and a lot of putter lessons; and probably the most important thing we look for is that the shaft of the putter lines right up through the forearms. When it does, you won’t see any of the shaft. When it doesn’t, you’ll see the shaft peek through the bottom. One of the reasons we see this a lot is that people don’t hold the putter properly in the lifeline of their left hand. They get it down in the fingers too much, where your full swing should be. So make sure it’s in the lifeline.
Another tip to get that shaft to run through the forearms is simply go into your setup with the putter shaft parallel with the floor. Make sure it’s lined up in the forearms, and then you want to tilt forward from your hips like so. Have or friend—or check in the mirror—so that it’s lined up. If it is, you’re good to go. Now, notice when I do this, I have a little bend in my elbows, and that way my hands are hanging comfortably under my shoulders. The club is stable, because it’s in line with my forearms; it’s not going to be moving around as much. Then I’m going to swing my shoulders back and through, and that allows the putter to swing on a natural arc. So just to recap, make sure the putter is in your lifeline, line it up with the forearms parallel to the ground, and then tilt forward; and you should feel very comfortable and make some more putts.
