George low putting secret

[@rptucker3871]

George Low used his wrist to putt. Modern putting teachers say the wristy putt worked great because the greens were so slow and not as smooth as now but that's a fallacy. I don't use my arms hardly at all. I use a baseball grip with the thumbs on top. I use a TaylorMade Spider putter with the face balance S shaped shaft and I always hit the ball straight. I am normally an average putter hardly ever making birdie putts but when I put with my wrist I make anywhere from 1 to 4 putts a round for birdie. You must trust it. That is the biggest thing. You have to hit it straight and this is how you do it. Now on longer lag putts I sometimes do an arm stroke with the "oldman" grip with index fingers down each side of the shaft. This works on keeping the putt online when it's a long putt. I can also do it with the wrist.

[@ralphluft6181]

Great tip JH. I'm old enough to remember how many of the "older" pros used to wrist put in some fashion, and have wondered why it seems to have gone out of favor. I've been experimenting with it recently, but have struggled to start the ball on line consistently using my regular putting grip. I practiced with it today using the grip technique you showed, and I was amazed at how freely the putter head swung back and forth inside to out and square at the ball. Thanks!!

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi Ralph, I have no idea what the putting stats would have been for Casper/ Hogan/Palmer/Gary Player...and, of course, George Low...however I think they would have been very impressive.... and they all were wrist putters ...as were most players in the 40's/50'/60's . I think the secret with wrist putting is making sure the putter is taken inside and swung out to the ball at impact .. you have to have the putter face hooded if you do that of course .. you don't want to fan the face open on the backswing and then try to roll it back to square at impact .. None of those players played the ball off the back foot and with a closed shoulder line ... but I think if they did they would have been even more efficient with their strokes for the reason I will unveil in the next video of the putting process.. cheers JH

[@barbaramilne]

Yogi took it inside at 7 oclock, but hit up on ball. Casper was great wrist putter. I think new players are so mechanical and no touch. I am old and was taught to putt by Casper and Yogi. When I get too mechanical and don't wrist putt, I am terrible on speed and tend to pull the putts. Am so glad you shared this approach!

[@1atomicgolf]

You know the clowns at the USGA have cast the aspersion on Billy Casper that he won all his tournaments and Majors with an inferred not in the spirit of the game putting stroke .. he anchored his lead wrist to his lead thigh .. that is now deemed 'illegal'.. If what Kuchar does is not 'anchoring' in comparison to Casper I don't know what is .. Kuchar is actually pressing a 'part' of the putter against his body/arm.. Casper didnt do that .. he had the grip of the putter in his hands at all times... only his wrists were being pressed against his thigh .. but then the USGA is an organisation that saw fit to ban tees that were longer than 4 inches .. and up until now didn't allow the repairing of spike marks on the green .. and still doesn't allow relief from a sand-filled divot on a fairway .. which is clearly ground under repair .. Casper and Yogi had perfect wrist mechaics in their putting strokes .. cheers JH

[@barbaramilne]

@@1atomicgolf I just LOVE your passion and knowledge! Am so glad I found your site. Watch it almost everyday and learn something to try!

[@1atomicgolf]

@@barbaramilne Frankly the passion is the 'elixir' of life for me these days .. I get so much enjoyment personally from the practice tee experiments..and I have something to look forward to every day because the golf swing has so many areas of exploration to get involved in .. The Golf Swing is like the 'Universe' .. it seemingly has no end to its mysteries.. cheers JH

[@Spudroe]

@@1atomicgolf My buddies ask me all the time why I hit so many practice balls and my answer is always, "it's like going to your shrink, it's my therapy session", lol.

[@1atomicgolf]

@@Spudroe I get asked the same question all the time .. I just say that the very 'next' ball I hit might be the one that locks my brain into a state of total understanding of the mystery of the golf swing .. and the 'more' balls I hit the law of averages suggests I will get that 'understanding' of the mystery of the Golf Swing 'sooner' than 'later'.. which at my age is very important .. cheers Jh

[@ianmckenna9445]

What a timely gem of information. Tee to green CL is great, my putting was terrible. Discovered i am left eye dominant as a right handed golfer. I tried this pinch grip with conventional putting ball forward under left eye and what a great result. putter stays on line without yips. Birdies at last, long putts to gimme distance. Thanks JH. regards Ian

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi Ian, The long' putts are such a plus with the Pincer grip process.. I have so much feel for the correct distance now .. and the 'gimmie's' are virtually a guaranteed result now.. utilising the 'dominant' eye correctly is a major plus for sure .. cheers JH

[@shofey]

JH I just found your putting lesson. OMG I need this. Thank you Thank you.

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi Ira, George Low was the best putter in his day.. so his method must have worked.. hope it does for you as well. cheers JH

[@UncleDanBand64]

I'll give that a try. I'm terrible at putting. I usually 3 putt. Truthfully even though I know it's important it bores me to practice it. Thanks for sharing this👍

[@leeeustace7643]

That's great stuff, and it is all outlined in George's book, "The Master of Putting."

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi lee, George Low could have been the greatest putter of all time .. no one ever beat him in a money match putting competition .. no one.. cheers JH

[@RocketRanger711]

Tried it yesterday for a round after carpet putting with it for a few days. Takes some getting used to from a feel standpoint, distances too, but I have to say the accuracy was there.

[@steveng8727]

Wow JH, before seeing this i'd been putting with Just my right hand, elbow stays attached and Only using that right wrist as you demonstrate to eliminate arm & shoulder variables, now I'll add that grip you're showing here, awesome..thanks !!

[@georgebooth3609]

Thanks for the putting advice. I will give the grip a try. Cheers George

[@A-FrameWedge]

People have to also remember the greens back in 1950’s were often very slow and bumpy, so the best way to putt then doesn’t always correlate to what would be best now.

[@1atomicgolf]

No question the greens back in the day were not as good as they are today.. however I personally found that using Low's putting mechanics.. and a narrow sole blade type putter .. the ball roll on todays quality greens was superior to that which I can get with any other putting mechanics currently promoted by putting gurus... I guess the way to judge any type of swing or putting technique as to its superiority over something else.. is to just try it for yourself .. you don't lose any shots on the practice green when trying something out to see if its better than what you currently are using. cheers JH

[@SpiritFJT]

Correction - your friend is mistaken / forgot. Yes, the right thumb and forefinger was his key / secret for feel; however, the position of the right forefinger was set in a hook or trigger or ? position ("positioned as in triggering a gun") with a little space from the second finger. A little more pressure was used on the right and left thumb and right forefinger over the other fingers on the grip. All of the right forefinger was touching / wrapped around the grip. George gripped the putter in his fingers - 6 in all and the two thumbs. The fingers on the grip were the last three of his left hand (forefinger was reversed overlapped in a comfortable position) and the first three fingers of the right hand (the right hand pinky was overlapped on the left hand, Vardon-style. The two thumbs were set on top of the grip. I'd be happy to email you a photo of George Low's grip (or see pg 14 of his book, The Master of Putting, George Low with Al Barkow, 1983). And yes, he was one of the top putters, if not best. Regards .... o ___ !

[@1atomicgolf]

My Freind was .' Norman Von Nida'.. he was a great Australian and International player .. he was a personal friend of Hogan's as well as George Low.. What George told Von Nida was his 'real' secret of his putting grip which he personally used to win all his money putting matches.. George like Hogan never revealed his 'true' putting grip secret .. same as Hogan never revealed his true 'swing 'Secret' in his book or any of his discussions about his golf swing .. they both didnt want anyone to know their 'secrets' because that secret gave them their edge on everyone else they competed against .. George did however tell Norman Von Nida his 'true' putting grip secret because Norman would never be teaching or competing against him in the US ever .. and he just liked Norman a lot .. I will stick with Von Nida's version of Low's putting grip .. cheers JH I

[@Jogaan03]

I find it funny the way you are always looking round like you are trespassing and worried about getting caught! Still interesting though.

[@1atomicgolf]

Where I hit from is directly down range to the right side of the driving bays on the driving range ... I am constantly scanning for people who get at the end of the driving area and start aiming in my direction .. .. you will see balls lots of time bounce through behind me .. I hit from where I do because no one is allowed in the area and I don't get interrupted during the videos .. but its a bit precarious in terms of potential to get hit with errant drives.. JH

[@bayougolf7524]

JH Is this the helpful tip I’ve been needing and looking for...I bet it is I hinge putt from time to time but selecting the desired speed for different length putts can be tricky and it’s a practice thing I do understand but if you have tip on that I would really appreciate it We’re in our 2nd day of rain so putting is a few days away Love the short game and putting videos More please Thanks

[@jerryphillips5777]

this works especially on fast greens, a superb master stroke, not doing too well with cl especially with longer clubs, its really hit or miss so I have continued with Moe Norman which works for me with some of your suggestions added. CL requires a lot of work and practice.

[@jimheckert5383]

Great. Thanks

[@hlu4973]

H Lu Hi JH: I looked at your putting with technical way from George Low Jr: found it is very useful for putting indeed. I start to look at your other KZbin video like this one. I have different questions would you to help me out, since I could not find much materials and video of George Low in internet and only found one book about putting: 1). your swings very real and practical and more suits for amateur golfers, however, no current golf stars using this kind of swings and putting method; why is reason for this? 2). could you let me know if you are a golf Pro to teach amateur golfers in UK? 3). if so, possible for coming over to follow some lessons with you? I am located in Belgium and current WHS/HCP 6. thanks HR

[@hongtao2932]

Hi, JH, It looks like Count Yogi putting stlye and it works for me. Cheers.

[@1atomicgolf]

The wrist action is similar to Yogi .. but he plays the ball forward.. I am playing it off the back foot position .. Yogi didn't use this type grip though .. cheers JH

[@40ny]

Another fantastic tip from the JH treasure trove.

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi Tony, I just think Low worked out how to take advantage of the natural physical traits we have biomechanically.. the hands/fingers/wrist we use in our normal lives in a very dexterous uninhibited manner. The functions of those limb components are so entrenched in the brain circuits as to really be to difficult to eliminate them from our natural response processes. What I mean there is we have a neural system designed to give controlled feedback of those components in a very concise manner.. the 'automatic' responses of the finger/hands/wrists are the result of the evolution of body componentry requirements to be utilized as effectively and efficiently as can be made happen. Simply put.. the brain knows the best processors for that componentry to be used.. you don't think about 'what' is happening with your fingers/hands/wrists when you are shaving f or example.. or even using a knife and fork whilst eating.. the componentry just works seamlessly to provide the perfect vectoring of those component for optimal efficiencies, and the 'rest' of the body reacts automatically to support the operation of that componentry. In conventional putting processes the body is contrived into a state of complete 'unnaturalness... the brain has to work overtime to support that state that has been applied.. I have never been comfortable with any putting process ever .. until I tried the George Low process.. its interesting that Low and Count Yogi were the two best putters of all time , and they both used a 'natural' application of the hands/fingers and wrists in their actions. cheers JH'

[@profpat70]

Just saw this JH. Why not go to a side-saddle putter. True fulcrum-and you're facing the hole!

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi Pat, Side Saddle like all putting methods will work quite well for some people.. I just found it non optimum for me because I had to tilt my upper body out the righ right to far in order to get my dominant eye sighting the the putt path to the hole . If I coul;d putt with the ball positioned directly between my feet it would be a great way to putt.. but that's not allowed unfortunately. cheers JH

[@martinsaar1]

JH, You show a similar way of putting about a year ago. But I didn´t managed to find the right way to hold the club in the hand. My question is, how do you hold the putter, apart from the thumb and the finger. In the middle of the hand, in the palm or at the pad? How to get a smooth and good hinge. Maybe you can show it more closely in the next vid, PLS !

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi Martin, After you have set up the 'pinching' action of the thumb/forefinger s of both hands you simply apply the rest of the fingers and hand in any manner that doesn't interrupt that pinching configuration and free hinging of the wrists during the stroke .. I just let my fingers close around the grip with just enough pressure to maintain control of the putter during the stroke .. for me I don't get the palms to involved in the configuration .. I will go over that aspect in the next video .. cheers JH

[@timedwards3996]

I'm a good short game player and average elsewhere. I liked this grip. Might practice then try 100 puts each of my old stroke and this and report back.

[@James_Vaughn]

Good video JH. I'll have to give this a try.

[@Handletaken4]

The human grip can open pickle jars or hold 200lbs. It can easily shoot a golf ball 12' past the hole!!

[@robo265]

JH how come you know all this stuff fascinating to say the least really enjoyable off to practice this will keep u posted

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi Ro Bo, I have just been lucky to know .. and talk to... some great players that played with .. or knew ... people like George Low.. as well I have always been a very in depth researcher of all things of great players and their systems and techniques.. cheers JH

[@tephveritas1750]

Great stuff, JH! Out of curiosity, are you potentially aware of the specs of the putters he used (lie, loft, balancing, length, weighting, etc.)? Thanks again for your efforts!!!!!! Much appreciated!

[@1atomicgolf]

The Wizard 600 putter that George released commercially was a very ordinary putter design wise .. it had a short stubby blade and a thick longish hosel but in fairness to the designers and Gerge Low all blade putters of that era were similar in design.. George used probably something like the Mcgregor Tommy Armour Ironmaster putter before he brought out his own putter.. that putter had a longer and shallower blade.. which George probably thought could be improved on by shortening the blade and making it a bit deeper... Because the putter had a longish thick hosel and a shortish blade the sweet spot was towards the heel ... The putter length of the one I had was 34.5 inches .. and weighed 330 grams .. it had a lie of 71 degs and a loft of 4 degs .. the shaft was quite soft in the tip .. much like the Wilson 8802 putter that Crenshaw used .. they were very whippy in the shaft tip .. The putter was very ordinary as a putter technically because balance factors etc were not a consideration of technical requirement in those days .. the one I had I thought was so unremarkable that I gave it to a junior golfer at my golf club .. I wish I still had it today .. they bring a lot of money from collectors .. I heard that there were only like 300 hundred of the putters produced so George would not have made much money from them .. I think they sold for if I remember correctly for around $28 dollars at the time .. that seems a small amount for a manufacturer to make so there could have been a lot more .. I know Jack Nicklaus had 10 that he had collected over the years .. and he said every one of them felt different to putt with .... cheers JH

[@tephveritas1750]

@@1atomicgolf Next, would you mind just downloading your golf mind into mine? Such a wealth of knowledge! Thank you so much!!

[@1atomicgolf]

Golf has been a great vehicle of exploration over the years .. there are so many things to research and investigate .. I invariably find something new every week that I didn't know or hadn't heard of before .. how did we ever get by without the Internet and Google search engine .. cheers Jh

[@fwalterkihm2856]

I can't see your left hand grip. please explain the left hand.

[@1atomicgolf]

If you go to the video starting around 6 minutes 15 seconds... that section of the video shows in closeup detail the way the fingers are configured to the grip.. I cant explain the left hand any more fully than I do in that closeup explanation .. cheers JH

[@fwalterkihm2856]

@@1atomicgolf You are using the standard overlap grip with your left hand not the reverse overlap.

[@fwalterkihm2856]

@@1atomicgolf I think "jug" MacSpaden copied George Low. He was half of the 'gold dust twins'. Other half was Byron Nelson. Jug put his right thumb nail into the grip. I don't think anybody knew what he did with his index fingers & his left thumb. When I saw the Low left thumb I immediately thought about Jug. He built Dub's Dread in Piper, KS. I saw him playing with Tom Watson when Watson was about 14 yrs old.

[@09Youba]

Hi JH, didn't ChiChi hit down on the ball when putting? He said it was like hitting a billiard ball.

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi Ray, Chi Chi was a terrible putter until Bob Toski told him to hit down on his putts .. he instantly became a good putter and it was never a problem ever again .. cheers JH

[@hongtao2932]

Hi, JH, It looks like a special and reasonable grip for putter, but only works for short putting? Cheers

[@1atomicgolf]

The grip works for 'all' length putts ... I only demonstrated that 15 footer because I had to use a certain part of the green and had to do it quickly .. I will do another video with longer putts demonstrated.. but really the length of the putt makes no difference to the grip application .. cheers JH

[@hongtao2932]

Hi, JH@@1atomicgolf Expecting for you new vid for longer putting. Cheers

[@johndonohoe3778]

Great video JH! I knew about the inside out path and hitting down. It’s in Low’s book. The grip secret is something else. Can’t wait for the next vid. I have the Low putter so let me practice. Perhaps in the future( if you haven’t already) you can talk about the swing thoughts of Norman Van Nida. He seems like an interesting fellow. What were his strengths? Cheers!

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi John, Norman Von Nida was regarded as the best bunker player of all time by the great golfers that knew him.. he taught Gary Player how to play bunker shots .. player will acknowledge Von Nida as being the best bunker player if you ask him .. he has said such in print on occasions .. Norman was a marvellous ball striker .. he had incredibly strong hands and forearms .. apparently, Hogan said his ball striking was the best of any of the European and Australian players of that era .. he was only a small guy but hit the ball a long way in his time .. and was a great long iron player for a shortish person .. I will see what I can dig up on him .. cheers JH

[@1atomicgolf]

This is a bit about Von Nida .. kzbin.info/www/bejne/faGxqqpsqbefqJI some great old swings as well ..

[@johndonohoe3778]

1atomicgolf Thanjs JH!

[@markmillar9615]

It looks like pop putting to me great video!

[@1atomicgolf]

Hi Mark, The process does have an element of Pop putting because it does eliminate a lot of arm/hand travel in the stroke .. and of course, has a lot of wrist hinge application .. cheers JH