Putting Grips Explained: Which One Is Right For You?

If you’ve ever walked off the green frustrated after missing putts you know you should be making, there’s a good chance your putting grip is part of the problem. The way you position your hands on the putter controls everything, your wrist movement, your face angle at impact, your tempo, and ultimately where the ball goes. Get the grip right, and the stroke tends to follow. Get it wrong, and no amount of practice on the putting green will fix the inconsistency.

In this guide, we break down every putting grip style you need to know, when to use each one, and how to figure out which one is actually right for your game.

What Is a Putting Grip?

A putting grip is the way a golfer positions their hands and fingers on the putter to control the stroke. Unlike a full swing grip where generating power and rotation is the goal, a putting grip is all about stability, feel, and keeping the putter face square through impact.

The grip you use on your irons or driver doesn’t translate to the green. Putting demands a completely different connection between your hands and the club — one that minimizes wrist movement and keeps the stroke on a consistent path. To understand the full picture of what putting is and how it fits into your game, check out our guide on what is putting in golf.

Putting Grip Styles

There is no single correct putting grip. Different styles exist because different golfers have different stroke tendencies, wrist habits, and physical needs. Some grips are built to quiet the hands, others to lock out wrist movement entirely, and some are designed specifically for golfers battling the yips.

Below we cover all 8 putting grip styles used at every level of the game, from beginners to PGA Tour professionals. For each one, we explain what it is, how it works, and exactly who should be using it.

1. Conventional Putting Grip

The Conventional Putting Grip, also called the overlap putting grip, is one of the most recognizable grips in golf. It closely resembles the way most golfers hold their irons or driver, particularly the interlock grip, which makes it feel immediately familiar to players who are new to focusing on their putting.

To set it up, the top hand’s index finger (left hand for right-handed golfers) lifts slightly off the grip, while the bottom hand slides up so it overlaps the top hand’s ring finger. The putter sits more in the fingers than the palms, giving the stroke a natural, connected feel.

Pros: Familiar for most players, provides a natural feel, and supports consistent control.
Cons: May allow for more wrist movement than some alternative grips.
When to Use It: Ideal for golfers who want a smooth transition from full-swing grips to putting.
Who Should Try It: Beginners and experienced players alike.
Who Uses It: Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods.

2. Reverse Overlap Grip

The Reverse Overlap Grip is the most widely used putting grip in golf — used by approximately 85% of PGA Tour players. It might look similar to the conventional grip at first glance, but the key difference is what the index finger does.

For right-handed golfers, the left index finger is placed over the fingers of the right hand, the exact opposite of how the overlap works in a full swing. This subtle adjustment locks the hands together and encourages the putter to sit more in the palms rather than the fingers. The result is a shoulder-driven stroke with less wrist involvement, better face control through impact, and a smoother, more consistent roll.

This is the grip most teaching professionals start with because it works in almost every situation and suits the widest range of golfers.

Pros: Promotes a shoulder-driven pendulum stroke, reduces wrist action, encourages lighter grip pressure, works on any length putt
Cons: Can feel slightly awkward at first if you’re coming from a conventional grip
When to use it: On any putt, under any condition — this grip is as versatile as it gets
Who should try it: Golfers with too much wrist action, grip tension, or anyone looking for a more consistent stroke
Who uses it: Scottie Scheffler, approximately 85% of PGA Tour players

3. Claw Grip

The Claw Grip has grown significantly in popularity over the last decade, particularly among tour players who’ve struggled with the yips or trail hand dominance. It’s unconventional, but it works.

The lead hand grips the putter normally, while the trail hand takes on a completely different role, instead of wrapping around the grip, the thumb, index, and middle fingers pinch the shaft from the side. This “claw” position effectively removes the trail hand from the stroke and puts control entirely in the lead arm and shoulders.

The reason it works so well for players battling the yips is simple: the trail hand can no longer flinch. There’s no full wrap, no leverage, no way for the hand to take over and ruin the stroke at impact

Pros: Significantly reduces wrist hinge, eliminates twitchiness and jerky motion, removes trail hand dominance
Cons: Takes time to get used to, the feel is very different from a traditional grip
When to use it: When you’re struggling to control the trail hand through the stroke or missing putts because of hand breakdown
Who should try it: Golfers battling the yips or any player with excessive wrist movement in the trail hand
Who uses it: Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia

4. Arm Lock Putting Grip

The Arm Lock Grip takes wrist control to the next level by locking the putter shaft directly against the lead forearm. Rather than just reducing wrist movement, this grip eliminates it almost entirely by turning the arm and putter into one connected unit.

To use it, you’ll need a longer putter with an extended grip. The hands hold the putter lower on the grip, while the top of the grip stays pressed against the inside of the lead forearm. From there, the stroke becomes a pure arm-and-shoulder movement, there’s no wrist to break down, no hinge to manage.

It’s important to note that this grip complies with current R&A and USGA rules, unlike anchoring, which was banned in 2016. The putter must hover off the body, not rest against it, for the technique to be legal.

Pros: Produces an extremely consistent and stable stroke by eliminating wrist breakdown entirely
Cons: Requires a specific longer putter, can feel awkward during the adjustment period
When to use it: When you need to completely eliminate wrist breakdown and want a one-piece arm-driven stroke
Who should try it: Golfers struggling with inconsistency, yippy strokes, or anyone who’s tried conventional grips without success
Who uses it: Bryson DeChambeau

5. Cross-Handed (Left-Hand Low) Grip

The Cross-Handed Grip, commonly known as left-hand low, flips the traditional hand positioning entirely. For right-handed players, the right hand goes on top and the left hand goes below. This creates what feels like a backhanded stroke and immediately changes how the shoulders sit at address.

One of the biggest benefits of this grip is shoulder alignment. The traditional grip can cause the right shoulder to drop, tilting the stroke. The cross-handed setup naturally levels the shoulders and promotes a more even, pendulum-like motion through the ball.

It’s also particularly effective for golfers who push putts, those who tend to leave the face open at impact. By placing the lead hand lower, you quiet the right hand and reduce the chance of flipping the face through impact

Pros: Levels the shoulders, improves face rotation control, works well on short putts
Cons: Takes adjustment time, especially for players with years of conventional grip habits
When to use it: When you’re pushing putts, struggling with shoulder tilt, or want to quiet the dominant hand
Who should try it: Golfers who push putts or consistently struggle with alignment at address
Who uses it: Jordan Spieth

6. Prayer Grip

The Prayer Grip is one of the less common styles on this list, but it has a very specific and useful purpose. Both hands are placed level with each other on opposite sides of the grip, almost exactly like pressing the palms together in a prayer position.

This symmetrical hand placement does something unique: it naturally levels the shoulders and creates a balanced setup that many other grips can’t replicate. The result is a stroke that moves more evenly through impact, with less shoulder tilt and a more consistent pendulum arc.

Pros: Promotes level shoulders, creates a symmetrical and even pendulum-like stroke
Cons: Uncommon feel, may not suit all putter grip shapes or sizes
When to use it: When you’re working specifically on shoulder alignment or want a completely symmetrical stroke
Who should try it: Players working on shoulder tilt issues or anyone looking to experiment with a different hand positioning
Who uses it: Matthieu Pavon

7. Arm lock with claw

The Arm Lock with Claw is exactly what it sounds like, a combination of two of the most stability-focused grips on this list. It blends the arm lock’s wrist-locking mechanics with the claw’s trail hand control into one ultra-stable putting style.

The top of a longer putter shaft is pressed against the lead forearm, locking out wrist movement on that side. The trail hand then adopts the claw position, lightly pinching the shaft from the side rather than wrapping around it. The outcome is a putting motion driven almost entirely by the lead arm and shoulders, with both hands effectively neutralized from influencing the stroke.

This setup creates one of the most rock-steady strokes you can produce, especially on fast greens where face control matters more than feel. It’s particularly popular among former anchored putter users who needed to adapt after the 2016 anchoring ban.

Pros: Creates an ultra-stable lead-arm-driven stroke, virtually eliminates wrist breakdown and hand flipping from both sides
Cons: Limits feel and touch, especially on longer lag putts where distance control matters
When to use it: On fast greens, under pressure, or any situation where face control is the priority over feel
Who should try it: Golfers with the yips, overactive trail hands, or former anchored putter users
Who uses it: Webb Simpson

8. Broomstick Putting Grip

The Broomstick Putting Grip uses an extra-long putter, typically between 44 and 50 inches, and a split-hand setup that creates one of the most stable strokes in golf. The lead hand grips near the top of the putter close to the chest, while the trail hand holds the shaft lower down. This split creates a natural pendulum motion that is almost impossible to disrupt with wrist movement.

Players used to anchor the top of the putter directly to their chest, but since the anchoring ban came into effect the putter must hover slightly off the body, it cannot make contact during the stroke.

The broomstick is especially popular with golfers who have struggled with the yips for a long time, miss short putts under pressure, or have physical limitations like back problems that make bending over a conventional putter uncomfortable.

Pros: Extremely stable and consistent stroke, virtually eliminates wrist action and hand flipping, allows a more upright posture
Cons: Short putts can feel tricky during the adjustment period, requires a dedicated long putter
When to use it: When traditional grip methods aren’t working and you need a complete reset of your putting technique
Who should try it: Golfers with the yips, poor short-putt performance, physical limitations like back pain, or anyone who has exhausted other options
Who uses it: Adam Scott, Lucas Glover, Will Zalatoris, Akshay Bhatia

The Importance of a Proper Putting Grip

The way we hold the putter can drastically change the way we move our wrists in the putting stroke. If our wrists are moving all over the place the club face will not be square to the ball when it hits it and the ball will move off line. We want to find a comfortable putting grip that essentials stabilizes our wrists through the putting stroke.

How to Choose the Proper Putter Grip

Choosing the right putting grip comes down to one thing: what works for your stroke, not what works for anyone else. The most used grip on tour means nothing if it doesn’t fix your specific problem on the green.

Start by identifying what’s actually going wrong with your putting. That’s the real starting point.

Too much wrist movement → Reverse Overlap or Arm Lock. Both are designed specifically to reduce wrist involvement and promote a shoulder-driven stroke
Battling the yips → Claw, Arm Lock, Broomstick, or Arm Lock with Claw. These grips remove the trail hand’s ability to flinch or take over at impact
Pushing putts consistently → Cross-Handed (Left Hand Low). Levels the shoulders and quiets the dominant hand through impact
General inconsistency or lack of confidence → Reverse Overlap. The most versatile grip on this list, works for the widest range of golfers
Back pain or physical limitations → Broomstick. Allows a more upright posture without bending over a conventional length putter

Give each grip a full dedicated practice session, not five minutes, a real session on the putting green
Start with zero pressure putts from short range (3–4 feet) before moving to longer distances
Use alignment aids or a putting mirror to check your setup and shoulder position with the new grip
Film yourself from overhead so you can actually see what your hands are doing
Commit to the new grip for at least 2–3 rounds before making a judgment

Switching grips mid-round because one putt missed, that’s not a data point, that’s noise
Picking the grip 85% of tour players use without testing whether it actually solves your problem
Giving up on an unfamiliar grip after 10 minutes because it feels weird, almost every grip on this list feels wrong at first
Trying multiple new grips in the same session, you won’t know which one is actually working

Read the problem list above and identify which grip is most likely to help your specific issue
Head to the practice green with no round planned, pure practice time
Spend 20–30 minutes with that grip on short putts only, focusing on feel and stability
Move to medium length putts (10–15 feet) and notice how the stroke holds up
If it feels promising, take it into a low-stakes round and give it real on-course time
Evaluate after 2–3 rounds, is the specific problem you identified improving?
If yes, commit and keep building. If not, go back to the list and try the next best match

Impact on Putting Stroke

A putting stroke needs to be as stable as possible. The more robotic the stroke can be, the better. Look at the Arm lock Grip for example, all this putter and grip manipulation to ensure that the wrists don’t move.

If we hold the putter like a baseball our wrists will release naturally and move the putter face away from the ball. Forcing the sweet spot to turn away from the ball causing mishits. With the margin of error being very small for putting, we need to make great contact as often as possible.

How to Improve Putting

Once we choose the putting grip that feels and works best for us, we can start to improve by focusing on getting better with the selected grip.

The hardest thing for amateur golfers is to practice putting. Thay may go out and hit the putting green by the club house 15 minuted before their round. That is more to understand the conditions of the green on that day.

Try to organize time to go somewhere to practice your putting. You’d be surprised how many golf course have putting greens within their practice facility. Go take 30 minutes to an hour when you have the time to work on the putting stroke and get comfortable with the putter in your hands. You can even check out some driving ranges and see if they have short game practice areas.

Focus on these three elements when you get to a practice green:

Developing a Smooth Putting Stroke
Controlling Distance and Speed
Mastering Short Putts for Better Scores

With these 3 elements being focused on regularly, greens will fear you!

Technical aspects of putting Grip

The grip styles we covered tell you how to hold the putter, but how you manage that grip over time is what separates consistent putters from inconsistent ones. These three fundamentals apply to every grip on this list.

Grip Pressure and Its Effects

Grip pressure is one of the most overlooked fundamentals in putting. Getting it wrong can ruin an otherwise solid stroke before the putter even moves.

Ideal grip pressure is a 4–5 out of 10, firm enough to control the putter, light enough to maintain feel
Gripping too tight engages the forearm muscles and creates tension that closes the face at impact
Gripping too loose causes the putter to lag behind the shoulders on the backswing, opening the face
Both extremes destroy tempo and produce offline putts
Grip pressure should remain constant throughout the entire stroke, backswing, through-swing, and follow-through
Any change in pressure mid-stroke changes the face angle at impact

Grip Alignment Techniques

How you place your hands on the putter at setup directly determines where the face points, and where the ball goes. Most amateur golfers never think about this.

The putter should sit in the lifelines of both palms, not in the fingers, this reduces wrist involvement
Both thumbs should run straight down the flat front section of the grip
Palms should face each other to keep the hands working as one unit
The putter face should be perfectly square to your target line at setup, grip placement directly affects this
Use the alignment markings or flat sections on your grip as visual reference points every single time

Gripping for Consistent Strikes

Everything in putting comes back to repeatability. The grip is where that repeatability either starts or breaks down.

Grip the putter the exact same way on every putt, consistency at setup creates consistency at impact
Center face contact produces a true end-over-end roll that holds its line, off-center contact does not
A grip that is too strong or too weak rotates the face open or closed before the stroke even starts
Practice your grip setup at home without hitting balls, muscle memory is built through repetition
Check your grip position regularly during practice rounds before bad habits develop on the course

Conclusion

Putting might seem like the simplest part of golf, but it’s often where scores are made or broken. The grip you choose plays a massive role in your consistency, control, and overall confidence on the greens. From the classic Conventional Grip to the innovative Arm Lock-Claw combo, each style has its own purpose and feel. The key is not to follow the crowd or copy your favorite pro—but to find what works for you.

Experiment with different grips, be open to change, and give each one a fair shot in both practice and real play. Pair that with regular putting practice focused on stroke mechanics, distance control, and short-putt mastery, and you’ll start seeing improvement fast.

Above all, stay patient and stick with it. A consistent grip leads to a consistent stroke, and that leads to more made putts—and ultimately, lower scores. So go find your grip, hit the practice green, and start rolling in more putts. The greens won’t know what hit ‘em.

Putting Grips Explained: Which one is right for you?

What Is a Putting Grip?