WILL IAN POULTER’S ONE-HANDED PUTTING SYSTEM HELP YOU DROP MORE PUTTS?

Maybe Ian Poulter lost a bet (though we all know there is no gambling on the PGA Tour).

Perhaps the European Ryder Cup star was sending a message to the American team that the Euros could beat the Good ol’ USA one-handed.

Possibly Poulter is just batshit crazy – the craziest kind of crazy outside of Kanye West crazy.

Or, just to mention the slim chance, he could be crazy like a fox.

There appear to be no other explanations for why the outspoken Poulter decided to putt one-handed, using his right hand and keeping his left hand in his pocket, from seven feet on the Friday of the Waste Management Open. What’s more, the putt came in front of the boisterous crowd at the par 3, 16^th hole. And the crowd howled when he missed. In case you missed it at the time:

It may have seemed Poulter was just playing to the crowd at the Waste Management Open, as he was 4-over par and the same number over the projected cut line. However, most of the crowd probably didn’t know that Poulter had putted one-handed earlier in the round. In fact, he was three-for-three putting one-handed at that point.

Just to explain. I holed at 24ft 1 handed out on 9. 12ft on 12. 6ft on 13. I putt nicely 1 handed in practice. Sometimes it works.

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) February 5, 2016

Poulter told a UK site in 2014 that putting only with his right hand is one of his favorite exercises.

“You’ll see me on the course with a yardage book in my left hand, feeling the pace of the putt with the right.” Poulter said. “This gives you a nice sensation of the putter-head working back and forth and terrific feel for the release of the right hand. In fact, I’d love to play a tournament putting one-handed – it’s that good.”

POULTER WASN’T THE FIRST TO PUTT ONE-HANDED IN TOURNAMENT PLAY

Mike Hulbert began putting one-handed in tournament play in 1995 at the AT&T Pebble Beach. A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, Hulbert needed to find a way to start making putts. He’d practiced that way for a handful of years and while practicing one day he noticed the balls were dropping to the bottom of the cup. Hulbert said, “I knew it couldn’t hurt.”

What’s more, Hulbert immediately achieved some minor success. The very next week in San Diego he finished tied for second and the following week tied for ninth at Riviera. He would go on to have the 36-hole lead at the Buick Open in May and was one shot off the lead after 36 at the Memorial in June.

For those familiar with Pulitzer Prize winning writer Jim Murray, here is an article by Murray regarding Hulbert from that 1995 Memorial.

It’s safe to say most golfers would hold the putter with their elbows if they could make 75 percent of putts, as Poulter did that infamous Friday a few weeks ago. So naturally, MyGolfSpy wanted to put Poulter’s one-handed method to the test.

TESTING PROCEDURES

• 11 Golfers
• 60 Total Putts of 5 Feet
• 60 Total Putts of 10 Feet
• 60 Total Putts of 20 Feet
• No two putts were on the same line
• Equipment: Gamer Putter
• Equipment: Gamer Ball

Additional Details:

• Putted to four different holes on indoor putting green (relatively flat; all golfers have previously putted on the surface).
• The “course” was set-up in nine-hole increments, first with two hands, then with one.
• The putting order was: 5 feet, 10’, 20’, 10’, 5’, 10’, 20’, 5’, 20’
• All golfers had a brief practice one-handed prior to starting that portion of the test.
• Although Poulter put his left hand in his pocket, MGS let each golfer keep his left hand where it was most comfortable.
• Participants didn’t know ahead of time what the experiment would entail.
• Two golfers in the test regularly practice putting with only one hand.

THE RESULTS

Golfers made a 34 percent of all putts – 61 out of 180 – with their normal putting grip, as opposed to only 22 percent – 40 out of 180 – with the Poulter one-handed method.

While nobody will argue with using the stroke that will help you make the most putts, the data showed some other interesting trends.THE DATA

On five of the six “holes” of 5 feet or 10 feet, the average length on a second putt would have been closer using one hand for the first putt!

If you have a three-shot lead on Sunday at Augusta National with a 5 foot putt on hole 18, you may want to consider putting one-handed to minimize your risk of pulling a Van de Velde. From 5 feet, golfers who missed the putt missed by an average of nearly 2 feet (22.5 inches), which included two putts that were punched more than 3 feet by the hole. Using the Poulter method, the average miss was 6.5 inches shorter at 16 inches. Nobody wants a small sub sandwich longer putt to win the Masters or bragging rights in a foursome.

The results on the putts from 10 feet show that both methods performed similarly. Sure, five more of the 60 putts were made using both hands on the putter at this distance, but the average missed distance remaining to the hole was slightly shorter with one-handed putting. The average distance of missed putts from 10 feet was approximately 14 inches using both hands on the grip compared to 12.8 inches using the Poulter method.

Putts from the downtown distance of 20 feet showed the most disparity. More than double the number of putts were made using two hands (11 out of 60 using two hands; 5 out of 60 using one hand.) Using one hand also meant an average miss approximately 6.5 inches farther from the hole.

So, What Should You Do?

The data seemingly suggests that if you are just trying to lag a putt close from inside 10 feet, consider putting with the Poulter method… but why?

Several members of the group thought their putting tempo was smoother using one hand instead of two. In fact, one golfer who had been going through a crisis in putting confidence said he practices with one hand to remind him not to jerk the putter back. Other golfers said they planned to incorporate some one-handed putting into their routines.

On the other side of the fence, some testers felt they had to “lift” the putter to start it back instead of making a true stroke or used too much wrist following through with the stroke, and in turn thought it was a worthless exercise.

Don’t expect to see the 2016 European Ryder Cup team putting one-handed like Ian Poulter, but the dude who has helped break American hearts multiple times in team play may help you improve tempo and place more putts close to the hole.