Why did Sam Snead putt with the club between his legs?
Sam Snead lost a battle with the yips in the 1960s, so he switched to a croquet style and putted with the club between his legs. Bobby Jones, riding in a cart with USGA executive director Joe Dey around the grounds at Augusta National, first saw Snead putt croquet-style during a practice round at the 1967 Masters.
How did Sam Snead get rid of his putting yips?
The sidesaddle. The technique you see above is very similar to the one used by Sam Snead in the latter parts of his career. Snead remedied his late-career putting yips with a croquet-style putting stance. When that was outlawed, he switched to side-saddle, which he used for the remainder of his career.
What did Sam Snead teach Sam Kostis?
One day Snead taught his sidesaddle technique to Kostis, who took it to heart. “Sam had a regulation length BullsEye putter with a grip that ran down to six or eight inches from the hosel,” Kostis says. “Sam taught me how to bend over and get my eyes over the line.
Did you know that Sam Snead invented the sidesaddle?
Before the year was out, the USGA had banned croquet-style putting. Snead responded by developing his own version of the sidesaddle — bent over, hips swayed to the right, club gripped with his right hand way down the shaft, only six or eight inches above the hosel. It was an unusual if not uncomfortable sight, but his putting wasn’t awful.