EQUIPMENT

Why putting with the toe up can ruin your putting stroke / perfect your putting technique

Thank you for watching this Explanar Putting Mat instructional video. In this brief video, the mat’s inventor Luther Blacklock reveals how putting with the toe of the putter in a raised position sets your hands too low at address, which has a knock-on effect to the rest of your stroke. Although a popular putting style in the 1960s and 1970s, most tour players today prefer to set the hands higher at address, which means the toe of the putter is set lower so that much more of the sole remains in contact with the ground.
When the hands are set higher, the shaft of the putter is more in line with the forearms, which makes it easier to eliminate unwanted wrist action from the stroke, as well as makes it easier to swing the putter straight back and through, rather than on an arc. This leads to more consistency.