Tiger Woods Putting

The Tiger Woods putting stroke style, grip technique, tips, setup, stance, posture, (hand, eye, and ball position), routine and practice drills are text book.

Okay, he has some personal preferences to his putting technique, but mostly, Tiger Woods follows golf putting tips basics.

See below. Maybe you can learn a thing or two from Eldrick.

Tiger Woods Putting Grip Technique

• This grip calls for the thumbs to go down the middle of the putting shaft.

• Otherwise, it is like your typical overlapping golf grip, except for how the fingers overlap. The index finger of the lead hand lays over top the fingers of the right hand. Thus, the name, “reverse overlap.”

Hand Direction: The back of Tiger’s lead hand and the palm of his back hand both point down the target line.

Grip Pressure: He believes in a medium grip pressure.

Putting Shaft: Finally, he adds feel to his grip by placing the butt of the putter under the heel pad of his left hand. This is the same as the Hogan and Annika full grip style.

• This placement of the butt in his grip is not typical and is opposite what Dave Pelz would suggest.

• Dave believes that the handle should run through the middle of the palm and parallel to the left forearm.

• Dave would argue that this takes overactive wrist out of the putting stroke.

Control Gauge: Tiger, however, prevents his wrist from being overactive by extending his right hand thumb a little down the shaft.

Tiger Woods Putting Setup:
Posture, Stance, Hand Position, Ball Position and Eye Position

• His legs are slightly bent.
• He bends his upper body at the hips so that his back is slightly more angled than 45 degrees.
• His back is rim rod straight without the slightest bit of hunch.
• His head extends from his back maintaining the same angle as his back.

Tiger’s hand or grip position falls down just inside of his shoulders. Tiger Woods stance width is generally shoulder’s width, though he has been known to vary the width of his stance throughout the years.

Tiger positions his eyes directly over the ball with his eyes parallel to the target line.

Instead of positioning the ball directly in the middle of his eyes, he tends to have the ball nearer to his right eye. Thus, his ball position is slightly back from the middle of his stance.

Tiger Woods Putting Routine

Namely, Tiger does the same putting routine before each putt without fail.

He takes a general look at the topography. He follows that by examining the localize features of the green between the ball and the cup. He crouches to get a closer look at the green.

Finally, he takes two practice strokes and prepares to stroke the ball.

Tiger Woods Putting Stroke

Tiger maintains the same pace and stoke length on the backswing and follow through. This is somewhat different than other good putters may suggest.

• Some pros swing forward slightly faster and follow through with a longer stroke to make sure that they accelerate through the putt.
• Tiger maintains the same pace and stroke length to gain more control maintaining his putting line.

For short putts he uses a straight back and straight through putting line. On longer putts he uses a slightly inside to square putting swing path.

Finally, Tiger allows the toe of his putter to pass the heel of his putter on the follow through.

Tiger Woods Putting Tips (Tops 10)

1. Make practice strokes while looking at the hole. Fred Couples does the same thing.

2. Let your wrist hinge slightly.

3. Keep your head still.
   • Head Still Putting Tips

   • Head Still Putting Drills

4. Judge if your eyes are parallel to the target line by seeing if the bill of your cap is parallel.

5. Putt mainly with your arms and shoulders.

6. Don’t block your putt down the line like you would a chip.

7. Cup your hands around your eyes to read putts.

8. Balls break from the mountain tops and toward the water.

9. Greens are fast in the morning and slow in the evening.

10. Find a putter that feels right in your hands.

Tiger Woods Putting Practice Drills

I remember seeing Tiger at Jack’s Memorial Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Tiger and every other pro hit the putting green practicing one-handed putts. It’s an epidemic. Hey, there must be something to it if every pro is doing it.

Also, Tiger has used a putting grip device that allows him to monitor his grip pressure while putting.

Finally, Tiger practices a straight back and straight through putting stroke by placing an object inside his putting line on the backswing.

Top of Tiger Woods Putting Article
Tiger Woods Golf Swing
Jack Nicklaus Putting
Phil Mickelson Putting

Main Putting Page