Brooke Henderson Goes Low with Left Hand

Brooke Henderson went low on Sunday with a seven-under par 64 and in doing so claimed her 11th professional title at the 2022 ShopRite LPGA Classic Champion.

Brooke contributes her putting to be what got her over the top this week and more specifically, going low with her left hand. When asked in her post round interview about her new putting set up, she said, “It’s been working very well, and I feel a lot more comfortable.”

Brooke Henderson is not alone in using the left hand, or lead-hand-low putting method as a way of improving both putting technique and overall confidence on the green. We see this method often as a way of helping countless professionals and amateur golfers alike.

One of the most common things that golfers struggle with is alignment and set up, not just the putter, but all throughout the bag. While you might be able to scrape it around with alignment issues in your full swing, getting away with them on the putting green is far less likely. Precision is absolutely essential.

Left-hand low, or lead-hand low is simply a reversal in the traditional way of putting your hands on the grip of your putter. When golfers putt with a traditional grip, many tend to favor their trail shoulder over their lead, causing alignment issues with the shoulders. Going to a lead-hand-low grip, will allow the shoulders to get in better alignment. This helps create balance and produces a more pendulum-like stroke, which is a trait of most great putters.

One of the reasons I often play with a left-hand-low, or lead-hand-low grip, is to help balance out the use of my hands within my stroke. When putting with a traditional grip, I often find my right hand becoming too dominate on my through stroke. This causes my left wrist to break down and get cupped at impact, which is not something you want happening at the moment of truth.

I often find the face of my putter closing at impact, ever so slightly, and my putts going left of my intended line. Going left-hand-low helps keep my left wrist flat at impact. This in turn keeps my putter face square at that all important moment when the face meets the ball.

Brooke Henderson is one of the countless professionals that uses this method to help find success on Tour. Jordan Spieth and Nelly Korda are two other great examples…Matthew Fitzpatrick even chips lead-hand-low as we saw up-close-and-personal at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills.

If you find yourself struggling on the short stuff, you may want to consider giving this set up method a try - it just may be the thing you have been searching for to help transform your putting and lower your scores.