How tightly we grip your putter is very personal. It really depends on your stroke and tempo when putting. Personally, I grip my putter with a loose grasp and keep it very consistent through my entire putting motion. There really is no right answer as to putter grip pressure, it is something that you have to decide for yourself. There are, however, some aspects of the putting stroke that are must be followed; yet pressure on the putter is not really one of them.
My putter grip follows Kellie’s rule of a consistent pressure most of the time. However, because I generally have a gentle grip I have found that it does not work very well for putts over 40 feet. I know that this distance seems arbitrary, yet I can tell you that I notice a significant need for a tighter grip to keep my swing tempo.
The longer the putt, the more I increase the pressure on my lead (left) hand. I find that I do not have to swing out of my shoes by gripping just a bit tighter. This slight change in my putter grip pressure helps make for solid contact. The ball pops off the putter face with more zip and something I learned to control over the years of practice.
If you have not given it much thought, I have a recommendation that might work to establish the proper putting pressure for you. Stand over your ball in your normal putting stance. Now lock your wrists and elbows and stand straight up. You will find that your putter is sticking straight out. Have someone pull the putter out of your hands. If your putter pops out of your hands, then that is the right pressure. If you are having a tug-of-war with your putter, it might me time to revaluate how tightly you are holding on.
Over the years, I have worked on my putting grip often. I have changed many times, but have settled on the grip I use now and would not give it up for anything. I know that my grip pressure is a large part of my putting success in the last 10 years and if you give some attention, it might make a difference in your overall scores.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
I have a mental issue over putting on the course I played today. I putted well today. I hit my lines and my speed was spot on. But I only got a couple to drop and they were outside the should be in range. The ones that frustrated me weren’t. I was throwing darts out there today. I had at least 10 chances for birdie today in the 7-8 foot range with most right below the hole. I missed them all. What I didn’t miss was my line or speed. They were all perfect putts except that they simply didn’t fall. I missed them high. And I missed them low. Usually by less than a ball. I know I’m not blind. I know how Bermuda grass reacts. I don’t have this problem on any other course. Sure I miss putts everywhere on occasion, but I don’t misread greens anywhere else like I do here. And I’ve played that course probably 100 times over the years and still I can’t read them right. How do we get past that? That’s what I want to know.
Frustration aside. It was a beautiful day. I played really well except for my putting issue. I carded a 78 and had a double on the first hole thanks to blading the first approach shot. Just no birdies to make up for the few errors I made during the day and only one clutch par save for the same reason. And among the group, I did shoot the best score so it’s a win. And a win with an asterisk is still a win.
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Kevin,
That is a tough situation. I would suggest (only from your description of your putting) that you are overreading the greens. When I do that, I remember a saying by Peter Kostis that I should read the green and cut the break in half. This works for me especially if I am missing on the high side all the time. Other than that, it just sounds like a tough track to putt on.
Cheers Jim
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