You can have a textbook grip and a great eye line on the greens, but if your hips and knees sway or rotate during the putting stroke, the putter face will never return to square consistently.
2024 LPGA Global Teacher of the Year Janean Murphy places the TrueStrike foam block directly between the knees to lock in a rock-solid lower-body base so your shoulders can rock the putter like a pendulum.
See the full step-by-step station on the The Knee Stabilizer Putting Drill | TrueStrike page, or watch Janean demonstrate the setup below.
The drill
Janean Murphy (Director of Instruction at Meadowbrook Country Club; 2024: LPGA Global Teacher of the Year, 2026: Golf Digest Best Teachers in State, 2022-2027: LPGA Top 50 Best Teacher) uses the TrueStrike impact and connection trainer to give golfers immediate physical and visual feedback on every repetition.
Excessive lower body movement is a common "putt-killer" that prevents the putter face from returning squarely to the ball. This drill uses the TrueStrike as a stabilization tool between the knees to create a rock-solid foundation, allowing your upper body to rock the putter consistently every time.
Setup
- Take the TrueStrike
- Step into your putting stance.
- Place the TrueStrike directly between your knees.
How to run the drill
- Squeeze the TrueStrike lightly with your knees to engage your lower body and create stability.
- Focus on keeping your "nose and knees" perfectly still throughout the stroke.
- Make several practice strokes, feeling your upper body and shoulders doing the work while the TrueStrike keeps your base quiet.
- Once you feel stable, begin hitting short to mid-range putts while maintaining the unit between your knees.
Keep your 'nose and knees' completely still by lightly squeezing the TrueStrike block between your knees from setup until the ball is rolling.
Watch the drill
View the full guided drill on pathpal →
Why it works
Excessive lower-body motion is one of the sneakiest putt-killers in golf. Even a half-inch of knee drift or hip turn shifts the center of your putting arc and alters the face angle at impact, where a one-degree error misses a 10-foot putt.
Quiet the knees with the TrueStrike block, and your upper body can rock the putter on a repeatable track every time.
By placing the TrueStrike between your knees and applying light inward pressure, you engage the stabilizing muscles of your lower body and isolate the stroke to your shoulders and upper torso. The cue 'nose and knees still' becomes something you can physically feel on every putt.
Who this is for
- ✓Golfers whose knees or hips move during the putting stroke
- ✓Players who struggle to return the putter face square on short and mid-range putts
- ✓Anyone who feels unstable over putts in windy conditions or under tournament pressure
- ✓Golfers looking for a zero-setup putting drill they can run anywhere
Try it
Step into your putting stance, place the TrueStrike foam block directly between your knees, and run a 15-putt stabilization block.
- Step into your putting stance and squeeze the TrueStrike block lightly between your knees
- Make 10 practice strokes focusing on keeping your nose and knees completely still while your shoulders rock
- Roll 15 putts from 5 to 12 feet maintaining steady knee pressure on the TrueStrike until well after impact
- Remove the TrueStrike and roll 5 putts, recreating the exact same grounded lower-body stability
This drill uses the TrueStrike trainer from the pathpal training system. Shop the TrueStrike or explore the Complete Training System to get everything you need in one kit with Free U.S. Shipping.
Related drills
If this drill matches what you are working on, these three guided drills build on the exact same movement pattern:
The Putting Isolation Drill
Taught by Jacob Tilton. Master the Putting Stroke by Isolating Your Upper Body. View drill →
Putting stroke: Arc vs Straight drill
Taught by Brad Pluth. Myth Buster: Why Your Putter Doesn't Go Straight Back and Straight Through. View drill →
Match Pace and Line Putting
Taught by Mike Barge. The Two Keys to Perfect Putting: Line and Pace. View drill →
About Janean Murphy
Frequently asked questions
Why does lower-body movement hurt my putting stroke?
When your knees or hips shift during a putt, the low point and path of your stroke move with them, making it nearly impossible to return the putter face square to your start line.
How hard should I squeeze the TrueStrike between my knees?
Janean Murphy recommends a light, steady inward squeeze just firm enough to hold the TrueStrike in place and engage your lower-body stabilizers without feeling rigid.
What does Janean Murphy's cue 'nose and knees' mean?
It is a simple checkpoint to keep both your head (nose) and lower body (knees) completely quiet so only your shoulders and upper torso rock the putter.
What length putts are best for the Knee Stabilizer Drill?
Start with short-to-mid-range putts from 4 to 15 feet where start-line precision is most critical, then test it on longer lag putts where lower-body sway often creeps in.
Can I combine this drill with a pathpal putter gate on the green?
Yes. Holding the TrueStrike between your knees while rolling putts through a pathpal gate trains both lower-body stability and centered face contact simultaneously.
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