Dr. Alison Curdt, a PGA and LPGA master professional, holds the cardboard cylinder between her left wrist and the handle of her putter. She places her right hand below the left one on the putter. Should the cylinder break away from her wrist when she putts, the stroke is bad. Should the cylinder stay against her wrist, the stroke is good.
An empty toilet paper roll, it appears, can clean up just as much as a full one.
“If you want to dial in your putting speed, you need to make sure that your hands are placed on the club properly and that you don’t have excessive wrist motion,” Curdt said on the video shared by the PGA of America social media accounts. “So for those that struggle with speed issues, oftentimes they use their wrist as an accelerator throughout the putting stroke.
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“Here’s an at-home drill for you to help improve this mechanic. All you need is an empty toilet paper holder.”
Curdt grabbed the putter with her left hand, her lead hand, then placed the cardboard against her left wrist so that she felt “it’s connected coming up to my forearm.” She used her wrists for speed on one stroke, and the roll broke away from her wrist. Curdt didn’t use her wrists for speed on another stroke, and the roll didn’t break away.
“If I start to use my wrist as a speed multiplier, all of a sudden that’s going to become separated from my forearm,” she said. “I want to try to maintain contact with my lead hand and the putter throughout the entire stroke. So now that has eliminated any sort of wrist motion that I had and now I’m able to repeat my speed much more frequently in my putting stroke.”
Curdt is both an instructor and a player. She teaches out of the Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley, Calif. She’s played in two LPGA Wegman’s Tour Championships and five KPMG Women’s PGA Championships, including this year’s at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, Pa.
“Tuesday Tip: Don’t throw out that toilet paper roll – it can help you control your speeds on the green with this drill from @alisoncurdtgolf,” wrote the PGA on its Instagram account.