Monty's belly putter tips

If you’re starting to miss more putts than you should, perhaps you should review the way you putt. That’s what Colin Montgomerie did and now he couldn’t be happier – even for Monty!

For years the eight-time winner of the Volvo Order Merit putted in an orthodox style, with a regular 35-inch putter, until his success deserted him.

He refused the broomhandle, used so successfully by his great friend and Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance, but finally had to accede to the belly putter and hasn’t looked back.

"That’s what I did and it produced almost instantaneous results," he says.

At address he says, he adopts the cack-handed method (left hand below right) because it helps to square his shoulders.

"In the backswing, with the butt of the putter wedged into my midriff, it helps create a pendulum movement. The triangle between my shoulders and arms remains the same, so no unnecessary movement under pressure,’ he says.

And with the follow through automatically mirroring the backswing, it leaves him to concentrate on the line and length of the putt.

He adds: "Using the belly putter eradicates all independent arm and wrist movement that cause most missed putts. It stops me taking the putter outside the line in the backswing and cutting across my putts like I used to with the conventional putter."

Though the belly putter entails you making massive modifications to your current putting technique, Monty says it’s worth the effort and practice to be able to hole almost everything you stand up to.

You can even get a PGA pro to extend your putter if you don’t want to change the feel off the clubface.