I’m sorry to hear that your game (and your life) has been affected by a stroke. On the plus side, you’re able to play golf still, which I’m glad to hear, even if not to your previous level.

One suggestion I can make with the putter is to try a putter that’s heavier than what you’re used to. It might help you to make a smoother stroke if your left hand is affecting your putting stroke, even while anchored to your chest. I’ve always felt like a heavier putter gives me better awareness of the head throughout the putting stroke. You may start to get a better feel for distance control.

You could just try getting some lead tape and applying it to your current putter to see how that feels. Careful to apply it uniformly or else you could inadvertently move the sweet spot to a different location.

As for why no one anchors it under the armpit, I can’t say for sure. Do you putt that way?

If I had to guess why more people don’t do that, I’d have to say that it probably diminishes the effectiveness of the pendulum action of the putter.

If you put it under your left armpit, then you pretty much have to play the ball off your left foot or you’re going to be delofting the club face. In a little experimentation now with a mop handle, it felt to me that to make a good follow-through, I had to turn my torso a good amount or else I couldn’t keep my left hand on the club (for longer putts requiring a longer follow through).

On the other hand, with the putter anchored to the chest, there’s a lot less torso action.

Another thing I noticed is that I can move the club (mop) along a more down the line action, whereas with it under the armpit, it’s very difficult to keep it square to the line throughout the stroke, one of the big benefits of a pure pendulum stroke.

However, if you do putt that way and it works for you, that’s all that really matters.

I wrote to the USGA and they said it was OK, but if it isn’t then why isn’t anyone doing it?