AUGUSTA, Ga. — Accurate placing is commonly considered the most pivotal golf ability, and the most intractable. Though golfers frequently keep their clubs the very same way for a whole swing, when it will come to rolling a minimal white ball into a hole about 4 inches broad, even the very best gamers in the planet contort their palms and arms into unique grips to calm their nerves and foster consistency.
Right here are nine ways that prime golfers at this week’s Masters Tournament try to fix the everlasting puzzle of placing:
Lee Westwood
The Claw
Lee Westwood: The Claw
Popularized about 25 decades back, the claw grip, in appropriate-handed golfers, attributes a right hand that does not merge with a stabilizing remaining hand at the major of the putter, as was accomplished in common grips for a long time. The proper hand branches out on its own, with the putter pinched claw-like concerning the thumb and forefinger, which can purposely make the appropriate hand more passive in the stroke.
Credit rating…Doug Mills/The New York OccasionsPhil Mickelson: Lefty Claw
Mickelson is appropriate-handed in most things he does other than golfing, and his proper hand, with a pointed index finger (often known as a pencil grip), gets to be the prime section of his version of the claw grip. The still left hand is in the guiding placement. Mickelson values the claw for the reason that it will make it much easier to have “a lengthier, smoother stroke” on the rapid greens of the Masters and tour occasions.
Credit rating…Doug Mills/The New York SituationsAdam Scott: Prolonged Putter Claw
Scott is the only Masters champion to have used the older model of a extensive putter, which could be anchored in opposition to the upper body. Revised policies forbid the top of the putter touching the system body, but Scott has adjusted with a correct-hand lower claw grip. He also tends to leave the flagstick in the gap when placing, which is not prevalent.
Credit history…Doug Mills/The New York OccasionsJustin Rose: Modified Claw
Rose likes to feel of his remaining arm as the driving drive of his stroke, and he regularly procedures putting with his still left hand only. His version of the claw has his two suitable fingers about the top rated of the shaft rather of resting on the aspect. Asked why he prefers this grip, Rose had the most standard, succinct solution of all: “It feels more simple.”