Hand Placement
Your first concern with your putting stroke is the placement of your hands on the club. The lower you place your hands, the more control your have. Place your top hand about 6 inches down on the golf grip. This will give you excellent control over your putt, and it will still give you the opportunity to put sufficient power behind it for longer strokes.
Grip Strength
You cannot choke the club tightly while putting. For all putts 30 feet and under, you need to maintain control of the club, but you need to have an excellent feel for the ball as it strikes the blade of your putter. Grip your putter at a "4" on a scale of a 1 to 10. If the putt is longer than 30 feet and you need more power, grip it at a "5," but no tighter than that.
Fine-tuning Your Stroke
The fine changes within the putting stroke are done with your right (bottom) hand. Your left hand will lead the backswing and then the approach into the ball. However, if there is a break in the green or there is a bit of an uphill run, you can make the final changes by altering the pressure with your right hand.
About The Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.