Most Unorthodox Great Putters in Golf

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

IT IS claimed that the only proper way to putt is to rock your shoulders back and forth, thus ensuring that the putter keeps square to the ball during the backswing and at impact while keeping your hands out of the stroke.

Really? Some of the greatest putters in the game would not agree.

Jack Nicklaus, widely regarded as the greatest holer-out the game has ever seen, addressed the ball with a wide-open stance, with everything aiming left of the target apart from the putter face. The ball was placed at the front of his stance and he crouched over it with his elbows flayed. Textbook it certainly wasn't, but if you ever wanted a man to hole a 10-foot putt to save your life, Nicklaus was the man you would have chosen.

Then there was Bobby Locke, from South Africa. He won The Open four times, as well as 15 victories on the PGA Tour and 74 tournament wins in total. He did so by hitting everything low and from right to left. He was also one of the greatest putters the game has ever seen, and he did so by hooking every single putt, just like he did with his full shots. So he had to take the break into account and also had to consider the extra spin he imparted with his in-to-out putting stroke.

Have you ever watched Brandt Snedeker or Gary Player? Player won a bucketful of majors with a putting stroke that stopped almost at the split second he struck the ball. There was no follow-through. Snedeker does the same thing, and is one of the best putters in the game.

Then there is Billy Mayfair, an American PGA Tour golfer who won five times on the PGA Tour and had chances to win the US Open, The Open and the US PGA Championship. Mayfair's putting stroke was extraordinary. His practice stroke was perfect. Then he would get over the ball, take the putter way outside the line and cut across the ball. He struggled with his putting only when he decided that he wanted to change his stroke.

Many pundits believe that Phil Mickelson is one of the best putters who has ever lived - and when you look at what he has achieved on the greens over the years it is difficult to argue. However, before he starts his stroke he imparts a huge forward press. Instructors will tell you that such a move, in which he de-lofts the putter, is a huge no-no. Try telling that to Lefty.

During the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews, KJ Choi, of South Korea, decided that the best way to tackle the huge greens at the Old Course was to throw away the traditional putting stroke that had served him so well throughout a long and illustrious career. He decided that the way to go was to putt croquet-style!

And then, of course, there is Michelle Wie. The American strikes the golf ball quite beautifully but suffered the screaming heebie-jeebies on the greens. Wie is about 6ft 3in tall and decided the answer to her woes was to find a short putter and bend double over the ball at address. As she stands over the ball, her back is at 90 degrees to her legs. Try it sometime, but make sure you have a physiotherapist on speed-dial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEhejn-XOXc

Robert Garrigus has built a reputation as a big hitter on the PGA Tour. Like so many other tour pros who pound the ball vast distances, Garrigus struggled on the greens. The standard length putter measures between 34 and 36 inches, but Garrigus went out on tour with a putter that was only 28 inches long. His rivals spent a lot of time laughing at him, but they soon stopped when the ball started disappearing into the hole with regularity.

So there you have it. Sure, rocking your shoulders might get the job done, but don't believe for a minute that it's the only way to get the ball in the hole.

Click here to take a look at some of the game's more unusual swings.