Hovering the Putter

Is it best to ground the putter or hover it fractionally above the turf before taking a stroke.

You should not ground the putter since you do not want the putter to strike the ground in during your swing. For myself, I ground the putter during my set up. Once I am set I raise my putter about 1/8" - 1/4" off the green and then make my stroke.

Thanks for that gord. I've always grounded the putter and I've had problems with not being able to take the putter straight back sometimes during my backswing. I think the act of lifting the putter to take it back has been throwing me off line. I've been experimenting with hovering the putter and this problem seems to have gone.

Thanks again.

I'm with Gord - I ground my putter to align it (I swing a 2ball clone - what a great alignment system), then I pick up the putter 1/4-1/2" before making my stroke. Otherwise, I run a huge risk of hitting the big green ball before the small white one.

Like all clubs if you start the swing from a grounded club it's difficult to tell if the hands will unravel to the same position they were at address which will affect the clubhead alignment and result in a shot hit offline.

If you hover the club you will find it easier to feel if the clubhead direction is likely to change mid swing. You can then adjust the body position and grip (slightly) until you get the clubhead travelling bang square to the target line.