One of my favorite golfers is Rickie Fowler because of his dynamic putting ability and his positive attitude. 

I remember watching a PGA Tour tournament on TV and noticing that Fowler was putting with his left hand lower than his right hand (cross-handed). When one of the announcers asked him about it, Fowler mentioned that the cross-handed grip helped him regain his feel when he was in the midst of a slump on the putting green.

If you play golf, you’ve probably heard of a crossed-hands putting method or grip. 

But does this method work? We explore the effectiveness of this popular putting grip here.

What is a Cross Handed Putting Grip?

A cross-handed putting grip is often used by golfers who want to improve their putting accuracy or pace. 

Do you know how the standard putting grip involves keeping your right hand below your left (for a right-handed golfer)? When using the cross-handed technique, the left hand is the low hand on the putter’s shaft instead of the right hand.

Though the cross-handed grip doesn’t get much publicity, it has been helping golfers regain their putting feel for several decades. Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel, and Kevin Chappell are PGA Tour stars who are big fans of the cross-handed putting grip. 

Other veteran PGA Tour stars like Bernhard Langer and Vijay Singh have employed the cross-handed grip at different points in their respective careers.

Benefits of Using a Cross Handed Putting Grip

There are many benefits to using a cross-handed putting grip. 

If you are struggling on the greens and hitting way too many three-putts, the cross-handed grip may be just the key to getting your flat stick back on track! Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of trying out the cross-handed grip.

1. Improves Shoulder Alignment

Most right-handed golfers have open shoulders. This means that the right shoulder sticks out just a bit further than the left shoulder. 

This can make lining up your putts much tougher. It can also make keeping your shoulders square throughout the putting stroke more difficult.

When you move to a cross-handed putting grip, this naturally squares up your shoulders. Most golfers love that by using the left-hand low technique, they no longer have to worry about their shoulders flying open during the putt. 

This leads to more solid contact with the ball in the impact zone.

2. Better Control of the Putter

Control means everything on the green. The cross-handed grip enables the golfer to feel the putter’s clubhead more easily. 

This leads to more precise accuracy, especially on those long lag putts that are always tricky.

The cross hand grip also leads to more control of the putter face. This helps the golfer to putt with the proper speed. 

Controlling the speed of your putts will lead to lower scores and a more enjoyable time on the course!

3. Reduces Hand Movement

Remember how Jack Nicklaus said that the “hands are the swing wreckers”? That statement is also true for putting. 

Too much wrist involvement can send your putt flying way past the hole and possibly off the green altogether (OUCH!).

When using the cross-handed putting grip, the wrists’ involvement in the putting stroke becomes limited. This is a great thing because it leads to a more consistent putting stroke. 

As we all know, consistency is a huge factor in playing better golf. 

Other Common Putting Grips

Reverse Overlap Putting Grip

The most popular putting grip in the game of golf is the reverse overlap grip. The reverse overlap grip involves placing your left index finger over your right pinkie finger while putting. 

This is very similar to the Vardon golf grip for a regular golf swing. Lots of golfers prefer this putting grip because it allows them to have both of their thumbs on the putter’s shaft together.

Two Fingers Down Grip

Other folks opt to point their right index finger down the side of the shaft. This is the most common variation of the reverse overlap grip. 

Some golfers prefer to point both of their index fingers down the shaft of the putter. This is known as the Two Fingers Down Grip.

Claw Grip

The claw grip is another common type of putting grip. With the claw grip, the left hand stays in the same position as the reverse overlap grip. 

The right-hand remains lower on the club but makes a claw shape.

The claw grip makes sure that the shaft of the putter stays in the fingers of the right hand. This keeps the dominant hand (right hand) from taking over the stroke.

Some golfers opt to use a long putter when using the claw grip. Big-time PGA Tour stars like Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, and Webb Simpson swear by the claw grip.

Palms Facing Grip

This grip calls for the golfer to putt with their palms facing each other on the club. 

Neither hand is lower on the club so this should keep either hand from taking over the stroke. Both thumbs simply rest on each side of the putter’s shaft.

Vijay Singh is a big fan of this grip because it keeps both hands in a neutral position. 

This grip certainly works well for Mr. Singh, but many golfers find that they cannot put enough speed on their putts with this type of grip.

Mike Noblin

Mike has been involved with sports for over 30 years. He’s been an avid golfer for more than 10 years and is obsessed with watching the Golf Channel and taking notes on a daily basis. He also holds a degree in Sports Psychology.

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Thanks to my erratic driving game, I had to learn the art of drawing and fading shots out of the woods to get back into play. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your ball flight turns out opposite to your initial intention. As a result, your ball vanishes off its target line. This post is to educate you about what is a double cross in golf?

The aim is to help you identify when it happens and how you can fix it. Those who struggle with other elements of their swings can read our various detailed guides on how to resolve your challenge.

What is a Double Cross in Golf?

In layman’s terms, a double-cross occurs when your golf ball travels in the opposite direction you were aiming.

For example, a tree sits in your line to the green, and the only shot you have is to induce a fade. As a right-handed golfer, you aim to the left of your target, preparing for the left to right-hand shape, but it doesn’t come. Instead, it develops a draw shape and hooks away from your target.

You were aiming left of your target, and you hooked your shot. That means that you are now well beyond the left side of the fairway.

I, unfortunately, endured a double-cross in my last round. My tee shot ended behind a shrub on a par 5, leaving me with the option of hitting a lofted club over the shrub and laying up or fading a fairway wood. Naturally, I opted for the latter option.

I aimed my feet to the left of the target, positioned my open clubface behind the ball, and initiated my backswing. However, my rotation slowed before impact, causing my hands to take the lead and closing my clubface at impact. That led to a snap hook 20-yards in the wrong direction.

A more common scenario for higher handicap players is that you set up for your ball to shape from the left to the right side of the fairway, but you snap hook it left. Since you were aiming left to account for a slice or fade shape, the result is far worse than if you aimed directly at your target.

Causes of a Double Cross

Rotation

Like I described with my experience with the double-cross, it is often caused by lower rotation speed. That leads to your hands moving ahead of the ball and prompts your clubface to close.

As a result, your ball hooks uncontrollably to the left hand side of the course, putting you on the back foot for the remainder of the hole.

It is vital to turn your hips through impact for optimal power and accuracy. Read more about how much hip turn is best for your golf swing in our detailed guide. Understanding these elements will lead to distance and accuracy consistency.

Weight

Those who consistently slice their shots will notice that you often lose your balance at impact and fall back. That is because you struggle to shift your weight forward and leave your body and clubface open at impact.

On the contrary, if your golf shots draw excessively, you may shift your weight too early on your downswing. That closes your body and clubface, causing your ball to hook.

Ball Position

Where you position your ball in your stance can impact the direction it curves. Mark Blackburn from Titleist explains that it is best to place the ball slightly back if you wish to prompt a draw. That position helps you close the angle of your clubface at impact to initiate a right to left curve:

Conversely, Blackburn recommends placing the ball front center in your stance when attempting to fade the ball.

If you place the ball in the incorrect position of your stance, it is difficult to get your clubface to the angle it needs to be at impact. Therefore, you may slice the ball when you had hoped to draw it.

Swing Path

Besides slow hips and the incorrect ball position, your swing path can also cause your golf ball to travel to the opposite side of the course. For example, if your golf swing moves inside-out, you are more likely to prompt a draw than a slice or fade.

Contrarily, an outside-in swing is most likely to produce shots that fade or slice. The bottom line is if you aim right of the target intending to draw the ball but swing outside-in, your ball may slice or fade away from the pin.

In addition, if you set up for a fade by aiming left of your target, but then you produce an inside-out swing, you may hook your ball.

You can learn more about different swings and the types of shots they produce by reading our informative guide.

Clubface At Impact

While your swing, rotation, and ball position may all impact the final result of your shot, your clubface at impact has the final say. When you leave your face open at contact, it results in left to right sidespin, which leads to a slice or a fade.

Inversely, a closed clubface at impact causes increased right to left sidespin, encouraging a draw or hook.

Swing Easy

When golfers swing rapidly and try to smoke their ball, it generally ends in a bad shot. From past experience, I hit double-crosses when I attempted to swing faster than Kyle Berkshire. My advice to the average player is to take it easy and don’t force it.

4 Tips to Fix a Double Cross

1. Rotate Through Impact

The first area you need to work on to eradicate a double-cross from your swing is rotation. Putting the brakes on hip rotation before impact causes your hands to lead the clubhead. That often prompts a closed clubface position and causes you to hook your shot.

Golf coach Alistair Davies provides a simple drill to improve your rotation. Pick up a golf ball and imagine that it is a stone you are trying to skip across a lake. Rotate your body, and release the ball. You will notice how that motion increased your power and accuracy:

Once you have practiced that motion three to five times, take three practice swings. Focus on rotating your hips through impact to propel your clubface along the intended line. As a result, you increase your chance of executing your intended shot shape with added power.

2. Correct Your Weight Position

You can practice inducing a fade by placing your weight on your back foot at address. Once you are over the ball, lift up your front foot, and maintain the weight on your trail leg. That position prompts you to keep your body open through impact, leading to a fade.

Take a few half swings and feel how this position enables you to keep the clubface open at impact, causing your ball to fade.

On the opposing end, lift up your back foot and reposition the mass on your lead leg to prepare for a draw.

Overall, these drills help improve your muscle memory to consistently execute fade and draw shots and avoid the double-cross.

You can learn the best setup for your golf game by reading about employing a proper stance.

3. Correct Your Swing Path

When your club veers off the intended swing path, it is a mission to get your clubface into position at impact. Failure to achieve the desired clubface angle at impact sends the ball traveling in the unintended direction.

When you prepare to strike a draw, you should swing in and out to give yourself the best chance of closing your face at impact.

Instead of repeating myself, you can learn how to execute an inside-out swing by studying my review here. Instead, let me help you with pulling off a fade to put you in the fairway.

A fade or slice is prompted by an open clubface at impact that generates left-to-right sidespin for right-handers. For starters, widen your stance and position the ball in the front center of it. Next, take your club back and out away from your body, then follow an inside path on your downswing.

This angle causes your clubface to cut across the ball and generate sidespin with an open face, resulting in a fade.

4. Fix The Position of Your Clubface at Impact

The angle of your clubface when it strikes the ball determines which direction the ball will travel. By implementing the above steps into your swings, you should see improved ball striking and the position of your clubface at impact.

A drill that I find handy is breaking up your backswing into three parts to ensure that your club is on plane the entire way. Once you hit the top of your backswing, pause for a moment and commence your downswing.

If your club remains off plane after this drill, you need to take it in baby steps. Take a half swing, pause, and focus on swinging inside for a fade and outside for a draw. Familiarizing yourself with the club’s position at that point of the swing helps you improve your consistency and avoid double cross shots in golf.

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.

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