Putting - accelerate the putterhead, or let it 'fall' into the back of the ball?

Like probably almost all of you, I've been doing a lot of putting on a mat recently. It's been a great way to spend some time working on set up, trying my various different putters, deciding on the 2020 'gamer' and doing some drills.

Doing all of this has made me realise that there are two ways I can putt: The Stan Utley style of letting the weight of puttered 'fall' into the back of the ball, or the style of putting where you accelerate though impact, say a 1/3 backswing 2/3 follow through style. Checking YouTube (the kiss of death) I see that there are various different people who advocate each approach.

I find with the Utley method I have to make a conscious effort not to hit at the ball, but when I do it simplifies everything. Longer backstroke = longer putt and there's nothing else to think about. When I use the accelerate through the ball method I feel like I get a good strike, and I don't have to focus so much on 'trying to relax' which sounds like an oxymoron. I hope this makes sense?

I'm interested to hear how you guys do it, and which way you think is best?

I've read of studies that show the best putters have their putter speed level out at around contact. This means that they're not accelerating, nor are they slowing down. That doesn't mean we should all feel like that's what we're doing. Players who have a tendency to decelerate will need to feel like they're accelerating. I'm on the other side, I used to feel like I was accelerating every time. I've tried to develop a longer backswing and more "even" feeling stroke, and it helps with distance control.

I've mastered blending the two styles. A long backswing and a sad decel into the back of the ball. Net result is I am quite a lag putter, why I often can leave a 3-footer in the lip. (I think my usual playing group look away when they realize I have a short putt.)

The best player I've seen in person putts with a really long backstroke and stops right after he hits the ball, its like a long flowing pop stroke. The dude just puts the most pure roll on the ball.

I just need to remember a little release feel with the putter which is the little issue I have now from time to time since Monte has settled my hips down. I can tend to hold on through impact - big flaw with full swing, an occasional issue that pops up from time to time with putting, but mostly to the point where I just hit the ball (don't subscribe to the "ball is along for the ride"). If I'm set up correctly I tend to putt okay and honestly don't worry about it too much, but like I said when I have an issue now it's usually hanging on a bit.

Utley talks about that feel with gravity for people that have a certain fault, but his teaching really doesn't suggest that feel is how putting works, IMO.

That video is horrible.

How so?

In the Utley method the putter does accelerate into the ball. It is the natural acceleration that occurs because we play golf in a gravitational field. What I think is harmful is trying to accelerate beyond contact. Makes distance control more difficult.

Steve

big pool player here... the pool stroke is probably the most similar stroke to a putting stroke in all of sports.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that the idea of a pool stroke should be to use the same speed in the backstroke as the forward stroke. It's all about being smooth. The length of the stroke can change based on the power needed, but it is a much smaller range than most people think.

The main idea here is that a smooth and consistent speed will reduce or eliminate any inaccuracies either in speed for strike point due to tension in the arm and body.

I'm an above average putter for my handicap (11) and it's definitely due to my abilities and knowledge in pool. I'm nowhere near a great putter, but I've also spent 1/100th of the time in my putting stroke compared to pool... maybe less.

To me, the putt is really about imagining the putt in your mind, quieting the mind and then letting your natural feel and athleticism execute. If you have a smooth stroke and know what it feels and sounds like to hit a pure roll, you have to maximize your opportunity to do that... and the only way is to put in the reps.

My dear departed Grandfather referred to golf as cow pasture pool.

Steve

Seems most of the best putters all have a shorter follow through than backstroke. Their mental feel of how they end up with that type of stroke vary pretty widely though.

Feels vary widely because the are individual, your feel and my feel. What the observation that the through stroke is shorter than the back swing tells us that the good putters are not accelerating through the ball.

Steve

I used to have quite a bit of "hit" in both my putting stroke and my short-game chipping and pitching, and greatly improved both phases when I started concentrating and matching speed on the backswing and downswing.

Obviously there has to be some acceleration since the downswing starts from a stop at the end of the backswing, but the intent is for the speed back and speed through to remain constant, so neither accelerating nor decelerating through impact. That's where the idea of "rolling the putt" as opposed to "hitting the putt" comes from.

Absolutely should not be accelerating through the ball!

Think the only ones that might accelerate through impact would be the short pop stroke. Not sure though. Because it be acceleration followed immediately by forced deceleration.

Once upon a time a pop stroke and acceleration through the ball was taught by lots of teachers. The greens we were putting on were rougher and slower. Other than Sneadaker (sp?) I don't know any top player that putts that way now.

Steve

Yeah, Sneds pretty much the posterchild for the pop stroke nowadays. I experiment with it occasionally. It seems to make my subconscious feel take over for distance control when I put a quick one-thousand-one cadence to it. But I imagine plenty of amateurs are still putting on those type of greens. So much of the discussion leans towards tour like conditions.

My bud was a pro and yells at us "Don't Manufacture power" then we yell and argue.... "Yeah if you suck!" I tell him.

I believe some have great hands and you do not want to waste that talent....... plus it not only helps with speed but accuracy too as you are willfully sending the ball where you want... you dont wanna be a passive participant asking for another bowl of grool

Thanks for that gem! I will soon be using this phrase extensively, I love it!

Check out Lockdown Learning on YT. Andrew Rice talking to Phil Kenyon...some great info there.

Say what? Everyone putts with his hands on the putter... So, what "helps with speed"?

...And did you mean "gruel"?

I know I'm in the minority here, but I think my base putting stroke is at least similar to the "1/3 back, 2/3 forward, accelerate through the ball" example you speak of. And my putting got significantly better because of it.

Almost 10 years ago I read an article that talked about the number of professional hockey players who also golf well, for 2 reasons: (1) the movements in a slapshot are similar to a golf swing (shoulder turn, hip turn, weight on lead leg on the follow through, etc). And (2), that the feel that hockey players have, in controlling the puck, translated to feel in a putting stroke.

I played a bit of hockey in my youth and it got me thinking that passing the puck in hockey was almost like a "push" forward. Very little backstroke, and the length of the pass and/or speed of the pass was dependent on the amount of force applied in the push.

So I tried to apply the same principles. It worked better with a straight back, straight through approach (along with changing to a face-balanced putter). Unless I'm lagging from 30ft or more, I don't take the putter back more than a foot. I have a bit of forward lean in the shaft, and I'm just focused on getting the ball rolling forward as if I were making a hockey pass. I'm less focused on the amount of follow through, and more focused on the amount of force I use to "push" the ball forward. Longer putts and uphill puts = more force.

I know its unorthodox, but it worked for me. I am much better at lag putts, and my metrics (1-putts vs 3-putts) in a given round back this up. YMMV.

I think the acceleration method is a lot more feel based. Look at throwing a ball, it's absolutely an accelerated motion and one can be darn accurate. Putting for me lately, with my Skytrak, I've got sort of a baseline for exactly 10', so all other putts are based off that motion. 15' is slightly harder, 6' is slightly less. I think there's merit to a mechanical approach like this, as well as the feel one. When I get on super fast greens, I have to get a little more mechanical, otherwise my engrained feel for slower stimps creeps in and throws everything off. Mechanical for ultra-fast, more feel and artistry on slower.

I don't think it matters very much.

The best outcome is from any method where the result is square collision with the right momentum at the center of the ball along the CoG of the putter head with a rising AoA square inline with the intended starting line.

The grip, stance, posture and path can be any way or technique that the player uses that is repeatable and fulfills the result above.

Yeah gruelllll haha

Never said hands aint on the club lol...... the threads discussion is using gravity more vs your power..... read the first post

Geoff Mangum is a proponent of letting the putter fall by gravity with longer putts needing longer backstrokes. The golfer simply takes the putter back then "rides" it down and through as gravity does its job.

Works well for me, and I believe that GM knows quite a bit about putting.