Michelle Wie West converted to the tabletop putting stance after this light-bulb moment
Players on the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour have infectious swings and you just want to mirror their perfect motions, but some golf coaches tell you to swing your swing and do things your own way.
Michelle Wie West was the top student in this school of thought when she adopted the tabletop putting stance about a decade ago which helped her become a major champion.
While speaking on the Off the Beat podcast to Brian Baumgartner, Wie West revealed that she used to suffer from putting yips which caused her to putt awfully. Her words, not ours.
But after having an epiphany during one day at the Tour Championship – now the CME Group Tour Championship – Wie West found comfort in her putting stroke in the most uncomfortable fashion.
“The year before, the last tournament of the year, the Tour Championship. I’m hitting the ball great and I’m putting awfully.” Wie West explained. “I think I was playing with a really short player, someone who was like five feet tall.
“And obviously they’re making everything and I’m missing everything and I’m like you know what, I’ve figured out why I’m missing all my putts. I’m too tall. This is why. I’m too far away from the ball. They’re five feet tall and they’re so much closer to the ball. That’s why they were putting well!
“So, in the middle of the round, obviously, there are no mirrors on the golf course. I start to bend lower to the ball. I start making everything – I feel so great over the golf ball, the ball looks bigger, the hole looks bigger, I am at one with the ball and I am closer to the ball.
“Then after the round, my partner started asking me questions about my new putting stance. I said yeah, it’s a little lower to the ball, what’s the big deal?
“I saw a picture of myself and then I understood why. I look funny. But it worked, I felt comfortable. I didn’t have the yips anymore and that’s all I cared about.”
The stance may have been excruciating to look at, but Wie West won the US Open at Pinehurst in 2014 while also winning the LPGA Lotte Championship in the same year.
The 33-year-old’s unorthodox style on the putting surface began to evolve into the bent-over frame of Jack Nicklaus in 2016 to feel more balanced with short putts.
Her stance began to rise as the seasons ticked over and she eventually converted to the claw grip in a regular stance after taking inspiration from Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.
Who are we to judge how a former World No 1 major winner plays the game we all long to master each week? To be fair, Wie West was the first to admit her stance wasn’t easy on the eye.
“The more comfortable I felt over my putt I started gradually coming up a little bit – it was a long time to be 90 degrees. It’s visually shocking!”
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Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
