For the long game with woods and irons it is essential that the correct grip is used to allow the hands and arms to correctly ‘square up’ the clubface at impact.
For putting it is different because a good putting technique usually involves more of a rock of the shoulders rather than a hit with the hands and with more touch and feel involved and hence the grip when putting is more about how comfortable the club feels in the hands.
It is for this reason that you see many different techniques amongst the world’s best players and below are just a few types of grips that you could use:
Standard Grip
Simply grip the putter as you do all the other clubs in your bag with perhaps the only change being the ‘reverse overlap’ or the index finger of the top hand down the side of the shaft.
Split Handed
Hold the club the same as you do for normal shots but ensure that the hands are separated on the handle with no linking or overlap and the top hand will steady the club in motion while the lower hand will apply the hit, as seen in the Happy Gilmour film.
Cross Handed
Often referred to as the ‘reverse grip’ simply hold the club as you do for normal shots but switch the hands so that the hand at the top of the grip becomes the lower hand and vice-versa and you will have seen this technique used by Jordan Spieth at the Masters.
The Claw
Essentially this is a variation of the split handed grip where the top hand provides stability but the lower hand is almost removed from the handle and is attached only my the thumb, index finger and middle fingers and is often called a ‘pencil grip’ as a result and this grip is used by the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose.
Palm to Palm
Players that use this technique usually have a bigger grip fitted to the putter because the style has the palms of both handed facing each other with both thumbs pointing down the shaft and is often referred to as the ‘prayer grip’ and this style has been used by Vijay Singh and currently by Matt Wallace.
Arm Lock
This technique is legal but considered by many not to be so as anchoring the putter against the body is not allowed but appears that anchoring it against the arm is allowed and to use this style grip the putter lower down the handle or have the putter shaft extended, take your standard putter grip but ensure that the top of the handle of the putter remains jammed or locked against the inside of the forearm throughout the stroke as used by the likes of Bernhard Langer and now a reverse locking method being tested by Matt Kuchar.
Just remember that whatever style you use the aim is to be comfortable under pressure and it is not about how the technique looks or what other players say.