Arm-lock putting is a long-putter technique that anchors the putter shaft against the lead forearm to remove wrist action from the stroke. After Bryson DeChambeau, Will Zalatoris, and Webb Simpson rode it to wins on the PGA Tour, it has moved from oddity to mainstream. This guide explains exactly what arm-lock putting is, how the setup and stroke differ from a conventional putter, who it suits, and how to give it a fair trial without buying gear twice.
What Is Arm-Lock Putting?
An arm-lock putter is a longer-than-standard putter — typically 39 to 42 inches — whose shaft rests against the inside of the lead forearm and runs up toward the elbow. The hands grip the club below the lead forearm, and the shaft is pressed lightly into the forearm throughout the stroke. The result is that the lead arm and the putter behave as a single connected unit. The wrist cannot break down; the putter face stays in a much narrower angular range through impact.
This is different from the now-banned anchored long putter. Under the USGA’s 2016 anchoring rule, you cannot intentionally hold the putter against your body. Arm-lock putting is legal because the putter rests against the forearm of the same hand that grips it — the contact point and the grip are on the same arm, which the rules permit. The 2016 Rules of Golf clarification specifically allows this configuration.
The Physics: Why Arm-Lock Reduces Variance
A conventional putter pivots around the wrists. Even small last-millisecond wrist movements rotate the face by several degrees, and at the speeds putts roll, a degree of closed or open face costs the line within the first foot off the putter.
When the putter shaft is locked against the forearm, the lever changes. The stroke now pivots around the shoulders rather than the wrists, which is a longer and more stable arc. The hands and wrists become passengers. Strikes get more consistent for two reasons: the face presents at impact in a narrower window, and the loft is “leaned forward” consistently because the shaft is angled toward the target throughout the stroke. Arm-lock putters come with extra loft — typically five to seven degrees instead of the standard three to four — specifically to compensate for that forward shaft lean.
Setup and Equipment
Putter Length
Length is everything in arm-lock. Too short and the shaft does not reach the forearm; too long and the grip end pokes out past the elbow. The simple test: take your normal putting posture, put your lead hand in your usual grip, and the butt of the grip should sit two to three inches above the crook of the lead elbow. For most men of average height that lands between 40 and 42 inches; women and shorter players often need 38 to 40.
Loft
Because the shaft is leaned forward in the stroke, the dynamic loft at impact is reduced by roughly four degrees compared with a conventional address. Standard arm-lock putters come with five to eight degrees of static loft to put dynamic loft back in the right range — about two to three degrees at impact. Putting a standard-loft putter into an arm-lock setup almost guarantees skidding putts that bounce before they roll, because the forward shaft lean delofts the face into the negative.
Grip
Most arm-lock players use an oversized, flat-fronted grip that runs longer than a conventional putter grip. SuperStroke and Lamkin both make dedicated arm-lock grips. The flat front of the grip seats against the lead forearm and keeps the shaft from rotating in the hands. Pencil grips and standard putter grips work poorly here — the rotation control is too loose.
Head Style
Head choice is less critical than length and loft, but the change in stroke shape favours certain styles. The arm-lock stroke tends to be straighter than a conventional arcing stroke, so a face-balanced mallet usually fits more naturally than a heavily-toe-hang blade. Players who already prefer a strong-arc stroke can still pick a blade, but they will need to allow the face to release more deliberately because the wrists are out of the equation.
The Arm-Lock Stroke, Step by Step
Address Position
- Stand slightly closer to the ball than with a standard putter so the lead arm hangs naturally and the shaft rests against the inside of the forearm.
- The lead forearm and putter shaft should form a single straight line from the elbow to the putter head when viewed face-on.
- Ball position sits forward of centre, opposite the lead foot’s instep. Forward shaft lean is built into the address, not added during the stroke.
- Eyes directly over the ball or slightly inside the line, depending on which gives the cleanest read for you.
Grip Pressure
One of the counter-intuitive parts of arm-lock putting is how light the lead hand can be. The forearm contact does the stabilising work; the hands just hold the club. Most players find the trail hand wants more pressure than the lead hand. Aim for around three out of ten in the lead hand and five out of ten in the trail hand. If the lead hand grips hard, the forearm tenses and the stroke gets jerky.
The Motion
The stroke is a shoulder-rocking motion with the lead arm and shaft moving as one unit. There is no wrist hinge on the backstroke and no flip through impact. Keep the same forward shaft lean from address through follow-through — this is the entire point of arm-lock. Many players find a useful internal cue is “the logo on the putter head finishes pointing at the target,” which forces the shoulders to rotate through rather than the hands to release.
Drills to Build the Arm-Lock Stroke
Towel Under Lead Arm
Stuff a small towel under the lead armpit. Hit short putts without letting the towel drop. This forces the lead arm and torso to move together — the exact pattern that arm-lock requires. If the towel falls, your lead arm is disconnecting from your body and the stroke is not yet shoulder-driven.
One-Handed Strokes
Hit putts from inside ten feet with only the lead hand on the club. Because the shaft is locked against your forearm, you can still strike the ball cleanly. The drill teaches you how little hand pressure the stroke needs and exposes any wrist movement that creeps in.
Gate Drill
Place two tees two inches apart, slightly wider than the putter head, on a flat ten-foot putt. Roll putts through the gate. The gate drill is the classic test for face control, and it suits arm-lock perfectly because the stroke either grooves through square or it does not. There is no recovery from a slightly off face the way a wristy stroke might mask.
Who Arm-Lock Putting Suits
Arm-lock is not for everyone. The honest assessment, based on watching it work and fail on tour and in club golf, is that it suits a specific kind of player.
Good Fits
- Players who miss putts due to wrist breakdown under pressure
- Players whose face control on short putts is poor — consistent pulls or pushes from inside six feet
- Players who feel the yips on conventional putters, especially after a long career with a standard length
- Slow-tempo putters who already think in terms of shoulder rocking
- Players who have tried claw grip or reverse overlap variations and found them only partly helpful
Poor Fits
- Players whose feel for distance comes from the hands and a free release — arm-lock can make lag putting feel deadened
- Players with long arms relative to their height; the geometry fights you
- Strong-arc stroke purists who genuinely roll the face on the backswing
- Players whose putting problems are about reading greens rather than starting the ball on line
Distance Control: The Real Adjustment
The most common complaint from players new to arm-lock is that medium-length putts feel flat — the ball comes off the face at a predictable speed and there is less “life” from the wrists. That is correct, and it is the point of the technique. Distance control with arm-lock comes from stroke length rather than from wrist snap.
The honest fix is to calibrate by feel on the practice green. Start at ten feet and find the backstroke length that consistently rolls the ball to the hole. Then take that same backstroke length to twenty feet and notice that the ball falls short by a predictable amount, then to thirty, and so on. Within two or three range sessions, most players build a new distance map. It usually arrives faster than expected, because the variability that came from the wrists is no longer in the system.
Common Mistakes With Arm-Lock
Pressing the Putter Too Hard Into the Forearm
The forearm contact should be firm enough that the shaft does not separate during the stroke, but not so firm that it tenses the arm. If you finish a putting practice with a red mark on your forearm, you are pressing too hard.
Decelerating Through Impact
Without wrists in the stroke, decel is harder to disguise. Players who never noticed they were quitting on putts can suddenly see it because the deadened stroke leaves the ball short. A reliable cue is to make the through-stroke slightly longer than the backstroke. That alone fixes most decel patterns.
Trying Arm-Lock With a Standard Putter
This is the most common failed experiment. A 34-inch putter pressed against the forearm has the wrong loft and the wrong shaft lean for arm-lock geometry. The ball jumps, skids, and rolls poorly, and the player concludes arm-lock does not work. It does — with the right equipment. If you want to try it seriously, demo a proper arm-lock putter at a fitter before drawing conclusions.
Should You Try It?
Arm-lock putting is a worthwhile experiment if your putting problems live in the stroke itself rather than in the read. The best path is to demo a properly fitted arm-lock putter on a practice green for at least an hour, then take it for nine holes before judging. If your strokes-gained putting improves and your short putts feel more reliable under pressure, the gear is doing its job. If the long lag putts continue to feel disconnected after a week of work, conventional putting may suit you better. Either way, build the trial around a proper pre-shot routine so the change isolates the technique rather than the process around it.
