Cameron Smith is undoubtedly one of the best putters on the planet.
The Open Championship winner said he feels most comfortable on the greens, and he once gained an incredible 1.29 strokes on the field with his putting over the course of a season.
The Australian is a six-time winner on the PGA Tour, and while he’s struggled for form since joining LIV Golf, Smith’s putting has remained on point.
He gave some priceless putting advice for amateurs and dispelled a big myth that he sees golfers fall for.
Cam Smith tells golfers to avoid putting ‘myth’
Smith revealed that the myth he thinks amateurs should not fall for is all in the way they grip the club.
Speaking on LIV Golf’s YouTube channel, he said, “The best advice I’ve ever received, I used to hold the putter quite softly, and that led to maybe some not-so-good activation and setup stuff, so I was actually told to hold the putter a little bit tighter, and as silly as it sounds, actually activate the right muscles.
“From there, the putter just kind of swings on itself, so stop holding the putter so soft, it’s a myth.”
Smith continued, “I don’t like to let the putter flow too much. I don’t like soft hands. I actually like to hold the putter quite firm, and I think that kind of natural wrist hinge kind of just happens in the stroke. I’m not trying to bend it too much; I’m also not trying to be a robot here and have no wrist hinge.
“So I’m not really trying to actively engage the wrist here. I almost want to feel like my body’s moving off the ball, and I think that kind of just happens naturally. This wrist, especially this right wrist, just sets quite nice here if you get that body moving off the ball nice.”
It’s nice to know that when we’re feeling nervous and tight on the green, Smith gives us full permission to grip the putter tight and let our big muscles do the work!
Why Cam Smith’s tight putting grip is effective
Amateurs are often told to hold the putter lightly, but Smith encourages players to use their bigger muscles for better consistency. Using the larger muscles in your body to swing the club is far better for distance control, especially under pressure.
When a golfer employs soft hands, they rely on the small, twitchy muscles in the fingers and wrists to control the putter face. And in big-pressure moments, those are the first to fail, leading to shots at the ball that can cause missed short putts. So by gripping it more firmly, you take those muscles out of the equation.
By “activating” the right muscles, as Smith recommends, you create a unified unit where the putter, hands, and chest move in sync. This takes a lot of variables out of the equation, leading to much more consistency from putt to putt.
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