Long Putting-Bernhard Langer Style

By Jack Moorehouse

Bernhard Langer’s bouts with “the yips” are well documented. Twice he’s overcome them using non-traditional putting grips—once with a cross-handed grip and once with a clamp grip. Both are designed to stop excessive wrist action during putting, the main cause of the yips—a subject I’ve talked about one or twice in my golf lessons and golf tips. 

Despite his battles with the yips, Langer is still considered an excellent long putter. In fact, it’s one of his strengths. In his book, Langer on Putting, published shortly after he joined the PGA Tour, Langer talks about his keys to long putting. Let’s look at those keys and his approach to long putting.

Good long putting, or lag putting, as some refer to it, is a stroke saver, a point I emphasize in my golf instruction sessions on putting. It turns three putts into two by leaving the golfer with an easy tap-in. Unfortunately, it’s one of the weekend player’s most glaring weaknesses, but weekend golfers don’t realize it.

Langer approaches short putts and long putts as two completely different games. He uses a different grip, stroke, and philosophy for each. On short putts his primary concern is accurate direction. On long putts, distance control.  When he’s faced with a long putt, he makes adjustments designed to maximize his feel for distance.

Here are five of Langer’s keys:

-Look at hole during practice stroke

-Grip the club lightly in the fingers

-Swing putter inside, let blade open

-Let wrists break slightly as stroke gets longer

-Keep eyes on ball for solid contact

A major factor in determining distance is the length of your stroke. Unfortunately, there’s no formula for determining a specific length of backswing for a given putt. You can obtain this information intuitively, however, by looking at the putt’s slope and line at address, says Langer.

Once you’ve assessed slope and line, your mind will transfer this information to your body more easily if you stand near the ball and take some practice strokes while looking down at the line toward the hole. While practicing, try to imagine how far you must swing the putter back and forth to achieve the right distance. Also, try to relax.

Regardless of your grip, two keys must prevail on long putts: You must hold the putter so that it’s controlled by your fingers and your grip must be extremely light. Using your fingers enhances the feel of the putter while using light grip pressure enables you to make a long accelerated stroke while maintaining the feel of the club.

On short putts your putter should swing straight back and through, but on long putts that’s unsound, as I’ve pointed out in my golf tips. On long putts, Langer points out your putter should start along an inside path, return to square at impact, then finish on an inside path to the follow-through. The putterface fans open slightly during the stroke, then closes.

Many players try to eliminate all hand and wrist action during putting, since excessive wrist action often leads to missed putts. But Langer uses a slight hand and wrist action for long putts to provide a better feel for the distance, especially for putts over 20 feet. The key is keeping your grip pressure light and your hands relaxed during the stroke.

Finally, keep your eyes on the back of the ball for solid contact, an extremely important element for reaching your desired distance. You can have the right speed and length of putt down perfectly, but if you don’t hit the ball solidly that won’t matter. Keeping your eyes on the back of the ball makes it easier to return the putter to your address position.

These five keys are just some of the advice Langer provides in his book. One thing I would add on long putting is to visualize a three-foot ring around the hole with putts of 20 feet or more—a technique teach in my golf lessons. Try putting the ball within that three-foot ring rather than trying to sink the putt, unless you must convert the putt to win the hole, in which case, you need to go for the hole.

Langer’s keys to long putting are all sound fundamentally. If you follow them when on the practice green and on the course, you’ll improve your long putting, which will in turn help you cut a stroke or two off your golf handicap.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.