What are YOU doing to improve your putting?

[danattherock]

[quote name='lightningbolt444' timestamp='1326565498' post='4084029']
I worked with Bruce last season and am continuing to do so this season as well. Its amazing how much he has helped my putting.

[/quote]


He is a moderator on Puttertalk.


Saw this just now about his blog...


[color="#222222"][size="4"]The address for my golf instruction blog has moved.[/size][/color]

[url="http://www.bargolfinstruction.blogspot.com/"]www.bargolfinstruction.blogspot.com[/url]
[color="#222222"] [/color]
[color="#222222"][size="4"]To all my past readers - Thanks for your support. To any new viewers - Welcome aboard.[/size][/color]



Found it in the Strategy and Technique sub-forum



-Dan

[Naylor09]

 

I hope you love it as much as I do. Keep me updated with how you like it

 

 

 

 

Will do man. Thanks again for posting on this thread.

 

 

I need this far more than a used putter on Ebay

 

 

 

-Dan

LOL that's what I was thinking when I ordered mine. Instead of buying new arrows a few times a year lets work on the indian

[danattherock]

 

Instead of buying new arrows a few times a year lets work on the archer...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[danattherock]

The ad for TCM is popping up now on my computer while on the forum. Smart programming, eh?

 

 

See where Golfwrx members get $100 off ($289 item) by entering Golfwrx in the coupon code box.

 

 

If the My Golf Spy 1/2 off deal runs it course (50 people order using it), you can save $100 by entering Golfwrx.

 

 

Figured it worth mentioning in case someone finds this thread months down the road and the other coupon code has expired.

 

 

You can almost buy a SC headcover with the money saved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Dan

[dgrelecki]

I have just started working with Bruce as well. We're going to go over all the vision, setup, putter types, etc. Once I've had some time with all of that, we'll get togehter to do a puttlab fitting to confirm eveything. It's fascinating really, how before I even put a stroke on the ball I have been doomed to fail....

[danattherock]

The SAM putting lab is money well spent. I worked with Glenn Coombe (Puttingdoctor here on forum) last year and we did the SAM eval. Fascinating. Truly.

 

 

Can't fix what you don't know is broken.

 

 

 

Part of a sample report from Glenn's website....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[danattherock]

Since we are compiling some good putting info, thought I would share a few pearls I ran across over the years from Geoff Mangum's website.



Tons of good articles on his site under "tips". The guy is a putting genius.






[b][color="#0000ff"]The Long and Short of Putter Length and Lie[/color][/b]

[b][color="#008080"]by Geoff Mangum[/color][/b]
[center][color="#ff0000"][b]Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone™ Instruction[/b][/color][/center]
[center][url="http://puttingzone.com/"]http://puttingzone.com
[/url][email="[email protected]"][email protected][/email][/center]
[u][color="#0000ff"][url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/lengthlie.html"]Zip[/url][/color][url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/lengthlie.html"][color="#ff0000"]Tip: EQUIPMENT: [color="#3333FF"]The Long and Short of Putter Length and Lie[/color][/color][/url][/u]

Don't let the putter wag the puttee; figure out a setup that is best for a good stroke, and then fit the putter to your needs, or else you'll get stuck with "average golferitis."

[center]***[/center]
What difference does it make if the putter is 35 inches long with a "standard" lie of 71 degrees? Isn't this about what EVERYONE uses? It's surely what almost ALL the putter manufacturers peddle, so what could possibly be the question? The long and short of it is: putters are NOT designed for optimal putting, but for buyers of putters, and by far most buyers of putters are NOT too good at putting. The dirty little secret is: [u]Many many times, it's not the puttee -- it's the putter[/u].

[u][color="#0000ff"]What's Stock.[/color][/u]

Putters in golf shops all look the same length, and nearly the same lie. So-called "standard" putters are 35 inches long with a "lie" of 71 degrees. Many manufacturers typically offer lengths from 33 to 37 inches with lies varying from 4 degrees more upright than 71 degrees to 4 degrees flatter.

Does anyone recall the advice that the golfer's setup and technique should dictate the putter length and lie, rather than allowing the putter specs to dictate technique? The dog wags the tail! [u]But in golf, the putter wags the puttee![/u]

More and more manufacturers are coming around, though. Karsten Manufacturing, makers of the popular Ping putters, cautions golfers to get fitted for their putters, and makes lengths available from 30 to 42 inches, with lie adjustments 8 degrees either way off "standard." Zevo also makes custom fitted putters. Other custom putters can be found.

[u][color="#0000ff"]What's Wrong -- Too Long![/color][/u]

Does a 35 inch putter work best for the average golfer? The average US male is typically between 5 feet 10 inches tall and 6 feet tall. Standing upright, the hands typically hang so the wrists match the crotch in height above the ground or the inseam on his pants, and the typical inseam length is between 30 and 33 inches. The WRISTS of almost all male golfers naturally hang 30 to 33 inches above the ground, so almost all golfers can grip a 35 inch putter WITHOUT BENDING OVER AT ALL. This is certainly the case with 6-foot tall males and is even more the case with anyone shorter. So this applies to about 90 percent of all male (and almost all female) golfers.

[color="#ff0000"][u]Crooked Elbows or a Flat Lie with Hands Out Away and Eyes Inside the Ball[/u][/color]. A 35 inch putter causes problems! If you have a 35 inch putter and place your hands on the grip BEFORE you bend over at address, your bending will necessarily cause your elbows to flex as your torso lowers your shoulders but your hands stay the same height. The arms have to collapse (elbows outward) to accommodate the shorter distance between shoulder height and hands height. The only other way to bend at address and keep the elbows from going out to the sides is to extend the putterhead farther from your body and stance as you bend, so your hands lower in height as your shoulders lower.

What's wrong with that (the tail wagging the dog)? Bent elbows during putting require upper arm and forearm tension to control the position of the elbows to keep the overall shape of the arms-hands-putter system constant during the stroke. This tension, even if maintained steadily, translates into added grip pressure and detracts focus from more important aspects of the stroke. A failure to pay attention to this problem leaves excess "play" in the system, so the system can vary in length going back and coming through in the stroke, making solid consistent contact very problematic. The great Leo Diegel in the 1920s took care of this problem by poking both elbows out sharply, in a style since known as "Diegeling."

In the same way, extending the putterhead away from your stance also causes defects in technique. First, this forces the eyes back from the ball, so your targeting suffers from defective sighting angles that cause misperceptions of the target location. Eyes inside typically cause the target to appear to the right of its actual location.

Second, this forces the hands farther away from the thighs and flattens the lie angle of the putter. The net effect is you cannot simply move back and through in the stroke, with the putter hanging from your light grip; instead you have to lift and carry the putter back, and this adds a requirement of constant tension to your arms and grip.

Third, the extended putterhead with eyes inside the ball forces a "gating" stroke path back around to the inside and then forward around back to square, with a follow through forward and back around again. Good luck having a square face at the precise instant of contact! In the 1920s and 1930s, Walter Hagen, Horton Smith, Bobby Locke and others tried to deal with this problem by "hooding" the left wrist to try to eliminate the gating effect -- letting the left wrist fold or break on the backstroke and then gradually returning the wrist to square as the putterhead approached impact, to keep the putterhead going straight back and through on a single line.

So what happens if you bend BEFORE assuming your grip on the putter, allowing your hands to sink down the club as your shoulders lower? Try it and see. Your hands will slide 5 or 6 inches down the handle before you feel you are in the old familiar address position. And you are probably at the very bottom of the grip material on the handle, or perhaps a tad onto the metal with your fingers.

The message should be pretty clear -- ALMOST ALL GOLFERS OUGHT TO HAVE A PUTTER THAT IS AT LEAST 2-3 INCHES SHORTER THAN "STANDARD" IF NOT MORE.

If you currently use a 35 inch putter, try letting your hands slip down the putter as you bend before taking hold of the grip. Your head and eyes should remain over the ball, your arms hang naturally without tension and elbow "play," your hands hang naturally beneath the shoulders, the putterhead is not artificially forced away from your body, and your stroke path does not have a huge "gating" effect.

[u][color="#0000ff"]What's Wrong -- Too Flat a Lie![/color][/u]

If the putter length is too long, you either have the elbows crooked or the putterhead out away from you. Neither is good. The "lie" of the putter is determined by the height of your hands above the surface at address and by the horizontal distance from your hands out to the ball. The purpose of the lie is to set the sole of the putter flat on the surface, given the position of the hands back and above the ball. If you have a hands position that results in either the toe angling up or the heel angling up, your lie is incorrect. Such a lie also alters the sweetspot location on your putterface, so beware.

The "lie" is the angle between the two lines that meet at the ball: the line back to your feet and the line up along the shaft of the putter. That's where the "standard" 71 degrees comes in. But this is just odd jargon. The real point is that the shaft angles back FROM VERTICAL (90 degrees) by 19 degrees with the "standard" lie (90 - 71 = 19).

What's wrong with that? Well, the geometry is pretty straightforward: a typical 6 foot golfer using a putter 19 degrees back off vertical cannot possibly place his eyes directly over the ball unless he bends WAY LOW (with his hands going far down the metal or else his elbows point out to the sides). The reason is that the typical horizontal distance back from the eyes to the shoulder sockets and hands is pretty constant for people, and is around 8 to 10 inches. With the eyes over the ball, a shaft running up from the ball at a 19 degree angle meets the plane of the hands 8 inches back at a mere height of 23 inches. On a 35 inch putter, in order to put and keep your eyes directly over the ball, your palms must be gripping metal or your elbows must crook nearly 6 inches outward or inward.

Even if you can find a grip height that does not cause undue elbow "play," AND you can keep your eyes over the ball, if the lie is too far back off vertical you still have the problem of having to support the putterhead during the back and through motion with some lifting tension in the arms and hands. This requires the hands to float away from you as you lift slightly to keep the sole hovering above the turf, out from the hands' natural hanging line beneath the shoulders. And you still have the "gating" problem for solid, online, consistent impact. This makes your grip and forearm tension too tight and any lessening of this level of muscle tone during the stroke results in the putter head drifting in towards your feet.

As a test, lift the putter just off the surface and then relax your arms and hands. If the putterhead drops back towards your feet, your lie is too flat. In effect, the putter is trying to get to a more upright position by falling back towards the line straight down below your shoulder sockets.

[color="#0000ff"]So What's Good?[/color]

If you are 6 feet tall or under and believe in the following statements, a "standard" putter is very likely causing you problems in your putting:

[list][*]The setup should be comfortable;[*]The eyes should be directly above the ball;[*]The grip should be relaxed without tension in the arms;[*]There should not be excess "play" in the system during the stroke;[*]The putter sole should rest flat on the ground or just above the ground;[*]The stroke path should remain pretty close to on line, without "gating," especially in the foot before and after impact.[/list]To putt with these principles, you cannot allow the putter to dictate your position or technique.

To determine your proper length and lie, you should assume a setup position with a comfortable back and neck bend so the eyes are directly over the ball and your arms are hanging naturally and completely beneath your shoulders. Then you need two numbers: A) the horizontal distance from the centers of your palms out to the ball, and B) the vertical height of the centers of your palms above the ground. Try holding a yardstick horizontally out above the ball and looking straight down with eyes above the ball to get A. With these two numbers, your length and lie are simple geometry.

A right triangle is formed with vertices at three points: the center of the palms, the ball, and a point directly above the ball horizontally out from the center of the palms. "A" is the distance from the hands horizontally out to the point above the ball. "B" is the distance from there to the ground, which is identical to the distance from the center of the palms to the ground. The angle at the ball of this triangle is the offset from vertical of the shaft.

[color="#ff0000"][u]The Lie[/u][/color]. The number A divided by B gives the "tangent" of the offset from vertical -- a simple number indicating the constant ration of these two sides for this unique angle at the ball. The inverse of this "tangent" (called the "arctangent") gives the [u]angle in degrees[/u] offset from vertical. Manufacturers describe lie as the angle up to the shaft from the ground, so your "lie" is 90 degrees less this arctangent number. The formula is Lie = 90 minus Arctangent(A/B).

[color="#ff0000"][u]The Length[/u][/color]. The length to the palms is the hypotenuse (longest side) of the 90 degree triangle having vertices at the ball, hands, and a point out from the hands directly above the ball. The two shorter sides of the triangle are A and B. From the Pythagoreum Theorem, (A times A) plus (B times B) = hypoteneuse times hypoteneuse. Or, the hypoteneuse length is the square root of the sum of the two sides squared. Since this goes only to the centers of the palms, add about 4 inches to get the full length of your putter. The formula is Length = Square Root(A*A + B*B) + 4 inches.

[color="#ff0000"][u]Two Examples[/u][/color]. A golfer is 6 feet tall and when he assumes his address position, his hands hang 27 inches above the surface (6 inches beneath his crotch, with the center of his palms about halfway down his thighs toward his knees), and the horizontal distance from his hands out to the ball and his eye line over the ball is 9 inches. His lie should be 18.4 degrees off vertical or 71.6 degrees. His putter length should be 32.5 inches.

Another golfer is 5 feet 6 inches tall and when he assumes his address position, his hands hang 25 inches above the surface (about 5 inches below the crotch, just above the knees midway down the thighs), and the horizontal distance from his hands out to the ball is 8 inches. His lie should be 17.7 degrees off vertical or 72.3 degrees. His putter length should be 30.2 inches.

In both cases, the putter is considerably shorter than stock and the lie is a little upright. The shorter the golfer, the more each of these is true. Unless you are very tall or have difficulty bending, stock putters very likely are hurting your game.

You can calculate your length and lie now, using this scientific calculator: [url="http://www.calculator.org/jcalc98.html"]Calc98[/url]

LIE: To get the ARCTANGENT, just type in the ratio then click Shift then Tan. The result in the display is the angle off vertical. For the lie angle up from the ground, the calculator sequence is A, /, B, =, Shift, aTan, MIn, 90, -, MR, =.

LENGTH: The calculator sequence is A, x^2, +, B, x^2, =, SQR, +, 4,=. This gives the total length of the putter.

[color="#FF0000"]CAVEAT[/color]: "Perfect" calculations tend to be too cute by half, and real golfers seldom set up on the course as "perfectly" as they try to set up in a fitting session, so don't go as low as the numbers suggest -- go as low as the numbers PLUS 1-3 inches of "extra" so the golfer has some flexibility to setup taller on occasion. Cutting a putter down is a one-way street, so don't go too far all at once. The 5' 6" tall golfer in the example should probably try a 31" to 32" putter for a while first, not a 30.2" putter, and the 6' 0" tall golfer should try a 34" putter.

[u][color="#0000ff"]Make This Part of Your Game.[/color][/u]

Shorter putters and more upright putters should be the rule of the day. Oftentimes, poor putting is caused by using putters that other poor putters choose to use. Manufacturers are in the business of maximizing sales, not improving your game. They sell putters mostly to poor putters, as the average golfer score is well above 90. These putters are designed to fit into this majority technique. Don't be a go-along sucker! Get fitted for a REAL putter under the guidance of someone who knows how to putt very well. If you can't find a custom fitted putter, take a hacksaw and cut down a "standard" putter and get it regripped. The long and short of putter lengths and lies is that you won't ever get rid of these problems until the dog starts wagging the tail!

© 2001 Geoff Mangum. All rights reserved. Reproduction for non-commercial purposes in unaltered form, with accompanying source credit and URL, is expressly granted. For more tips and information on putting, including a free 10,000+ database of putting lore and the Web's only newsletter on putting (also free), visit Geoff's website at [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/puttingzone.com"]http://www.puttingzone.com[/url], or email him directly at [email="[email protected]"][email protected][/email].

[danattherock]

Below is a tip I got from a lesson with David Orr. Helped smooth my takeaway big time....







[b][color="#0000ff"]Bounce the Putter to Locate the Ground[/color][/b]


[color="#008080"][size=2]by Geoff Mangum

[/size][/color][size="4"][color="#ff0000"][center]
[b]Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone™ Instruction
[url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/puttingzone.com/index.html"]http://www.puttingzone.com[/url]
[email="[email protected]"][email protected][/email][/b]
[/center][/color][/size]

[size=2][/size] [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/bounce.html"]ZipTip: SETUP & STROKE: Bounce the Putter to Locate the Ground[/url]

[size=2][/size][size=2]To stabilize your stroke and make sure your putterhead returns to impact in a vertical orientation for a solid roll, set the length of your putting system from pivot to turf by tapping the putterhead lightly at address and keep the pivot stable in your stroke.

***

[/size][size=2]You've seen Greg Norman gently tapping his putterhead up and down behind the ball just before he pulls the trigger. He says it relaxes him and makes the takeaway smoother. That may well be useful, if you have trouble with a smooth takeaway move. Here's an independent reason for doing this: it tells your body exactly where the ground is! Yes, you can see the ground, but tapping it with the putter communicates to your body more and better perceptions about your setup, so that when you make your stroke, the putterhead glides into impact just above the surface, skimming the tops of the short-mown grass blades. Tap the putter to sharpen up your stroke.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][size=2]Some Theory.

[/size][/color][size=2]Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and many other pros have long preached the absolute necessity of keeping your head still during the putting stroke. The usual explanation is that you do this to PREVENT early peeking, which moves the shoulders out of square and throws the stroke off line. Well, there are at least two POSITIVE reasons that are probably more important than that one: keeping your head still aids your visual management of impact between the putterface and the ball by keeping visual attention and focus where you need it and also aids your physical management of impact by keeping your stroke pivot from bobbing up or down, changing the length of your putting system, or twisting out of plane as in peeking.

The point about visual attention and focus is perhaps self-evident but it bears emphasizing that your putting accuracy vitally depends on solid contact with the back of the ball by a putterhead trajectory moving the putter sweetspot through the ball's sweetspot along the start line of the putt with the face surface squarely oriented to this line. If you are looking somewhere other than at the back of the ball when impact is occurring, you seriously diminish your chances of making this happen.

The point about the length of your stroke system ought to sound relatively novel. When you address a putt, the vertical length of the putter is effectively fixed because your grip does not move higher or lower once applied and you should not be changing the lie angle of the putter during the stroke. This means the only thing that can change to alter the length of your system is your body: you can bend lower, stand taller, or let your arms out farther in the stroke, and any of these will change the total length of your system.

An optimal putting stroke is not only one that can be repeated, but one that best promotes sound physics for predictable, controllable, and repeatable performance. An optimum stroke is usually said to be one that is moving pretty level and low through impact, with solid contact and a square face moving on line. The biomechanics that approaches this ideal with the greatest degree of stability is a shoulders-only stroke. But the key to a truly effective and reliable shoulders-only stroke is to make sure that the length of the total system does not vary during the stroke.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][size=2]What to Do.

[/size][/color][size=2]In assuming the address position, you should NOT hold the putter grip before you have set your eyes. This is putting the cart before the horse, since your head and eye positioning determines how low your arms will hang below the shoulders. If you hold the putter when assuming the address, you will likely hold the putter too high on the grip with the result that you fail to bend over correctly and your eyes are inside the ball with a downward gaze out of your face -- not at all optimal. Set up first, and then grip the putter based on where your arms hang. You wag the putter; not the other way around!

When you take hold of the putter, keep a watch on your elbows. When the arms hang properly, there's not much crook left in the elbows and so there is little chance the arm length will increase. So get your arms hanging ALL THE WAY out of the sockets before taking hold of the putter. There's about one to two inches of excess play here for everyone.

After you have taken hold of the putter, you will probably see that the putter sole is resting, perhaps even pressed, into the ground. This presents a danger of a jerky takeaway, a loss of focus, and a stubbed downstroke.

There are four ways to remedy this. First, your can inhale. This will raise your torso (and head) ever so slightly, and you can let the putter get pulled up as your torso lifts your arms and hands a bit. Again, watch the elbows. If they cave inward, your putter will stay down. A second way is to lift a little of the bend out of your knees. A third way is to straighten up the back a bit, raising the pivot of the putt in your neck area, along with the shoulder sockets. Finally, the fourth way is to BOUNCE the putterhead lightly on the ground and CATCH IT in your hands on the up-bounce. Personally, I like to combine the inhaling and the bouncing-putter catch.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][size=2]What Good Is It?

[/size][/color][size=2]When you tap the putter and bounce it lightly, it has several beneficial effects. First, you get a definite knowledge of the position of your arms and hands in the setup. This makes your "triangle" a more definite system that you can control better.

Second, you get a knowledge of the location of the bottom of the stroke both as an absolute spot and as a distance from your stroke pivot point in your neck. This helps your arms find their way away and back to impact with better precision and also makes you conscious of not altering the location of your stroke pivot during the putt. Keeping stock of your pivot will practically eliminate unwanted head movement.

Third, you get a little help in knowing the weight of your putter, especially the putterhead. This helps on distance control.

Finally, when you know where the bottom of your stroke system is in relation to the ground, and you plan on avoiding any lengthening of the system during the stroke, you are freed from any concern of stubbing the putt. This makes you more positive on the through-stroke and also has the effect of cutting down on those odd occasions when out of fear you raise the putterhead too much and top the putt! Ugh!

[/size][color="#0000ff"][size=2]Make This Part of Your Game.

[/size][/color][size=2]On the practice green, or whenever you get ready to putt, stop worrying about peeking ... instead, make a positive effort to keep your system the same length during the stroke. Adopt your setup before taking hold of the putter; hang your arms fully out of the sockets and relax away the excess play in bent elbows; hold the putter lightly and inhale to raise your system a touch, and then play catch the lightly bouncing putter. Even if you choose not to tap the putter this way, make sure your pivot point stays pretty much where it is when you start the stroke until after you have managed the impact with precision. That is the fundamental part, and applies whether your stroke is a shoulders-only move or something else.

© 2001 Geoff Mangum. All rights reserved. Reproduction for non-commercial purposes in unaltered form, with accompanying source credit and URL, is expressly granted. For more tips and information on putting, including a free 10,000+ database of putting lore and the Web's only newsletter on putting (also free), visit Geoff's website at[url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/puttingzone.com"]http://www.puttingzone.com[/url], or email him directly at [email="[email protected]"][email protected][/email].

[/size]

[danattherock]

[b]Set Up to the Ball, Then the Putt[size="5"][color="#0000ff"][/color][/size] [color="#008080"][/color][/b]
[color="#008080"][size=2]by Geoff Mangum

[/size][/color][size="4"][color="#ff0000"][center]Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone™ Instruction
[url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/puttingzone.com/index.html"]http://www.puttingzone.com[/url]
[email="[email protected]"][email protected][/email][/center][/color][/size]

[size=2][/size] [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/setup.html"]ZipTip: SETUP & STROKE: Set Up to the Ball, Then the Putt[/url]

[size=2][/size][size=2]To make sure the setup never changes and therefore the stroke dynamics don't alter from putt to putt, set up to the ball itself first, and then to the putt, so that you don't pull the trigger unless the two setups coincide.

***

[/size][size=2]One of the most common faults in putting occurs in the setup, or the taking up of the position of the body and putter at address. The fault is setting up to the putt, instead of setting up to the ball. What happens is that when you set up to the putt, you have not yet completed your assessment of the line of the putt and the setup causes you to prejudge the remainder of your perceptions to fit your established orientation. The result is that -- even if you accurately perceive the line -- you are highly likely to try to make the stroke from a flawed body orientation or a with a flawed stroke path or both.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][u]A Bit of Theory[/u].[/color]

[size=2]Setting up to a putt presupposes that you accurately perceive the line of the putt. However, every golfer still has the critical aiming process to complete AFTER taking up his or her position at address. The perceptions during this post-setup targeting almost always cause a fine adjustment of the putterface or the sense of the starting line or the body orientation to the stroke. Accordingly, you really haven't completed your setup until after your targeting is complete.

In addition, all putts are the same except for distance, in terms of setup and stroke. Once you set up to any putt, the visual composition of the ball at your feet should always look identical to that for every other putt. (I don't recommend altering stance or putter orientation for different putts.) This consistent setup helps the brain plan and execute a reliable straight stroke, so that all putts start away from your body on exactly the same line out from your setup. The movement of your arms and shoulders in the stroke always follows the same path in reference to the rest of your body, and the start line of the ball as it leaves the field of view at your feet always looks the same and follows the same path in reference to your feet and eyes. The trick is to aim the whole setup so that this constant, identical putt leaves the address position on the line that matches the putt's line.

Because of these considerations, there really are two "setups" that must coincide: a general setup to the ball and a specific setup to the putt line. If you don't get a good setup to the ball, however, you cannot get a good setup to the putt line, and if you have to adjust to get a good setup for the putt line, you also have to re-set to the ball itself.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][u]How This Works[/u].[/color]

[size=2]In order to set up to the ball itself, use only an approximated sense of the line of the putt itself. Let this approximate line intersect the point on the ball's equator that is closest to the target, and continue from there through the ball's center, and out the opposite point on the back of the ball. This "line" through the ball is the line that determines your setup of the putter and your body. Set your putter so its sweetspot is directly behind the rear point on the ball and so that the face of the putter is perpendicular (or "square") to the line through the ball. Then set your eyes and gaze above the ball, square your feet, hips, and shoulders to this line and the putterface, and take up your grip.

Then, continue your normal aiming process. As your perceptions of the true line develop in accuracy and vividness during the post-address aiming process, you will very likely discover the need to alter your body's postioning at address slightly, or to adjust the putterface a bit, to fine tune your aim. At this point, again you should set up to the ball itself, using the more accurate sense of line. The new, more accurate line will intersect the front of the ball in a different point, and pass out the back of the ball along a slightly different line. When you adjust your setup of the putter and your body to this accurate line through the ball, your whole system must adjust as a unit, keeping the same relationship of your stance and shoulderframe orientation to the putterface.

At this point, the setup to the ball matches the setup to the putt line, so you are primed for your reliable, straight stroke. Your brain knows what to expect visually and kinetically, and so has the best chance to execute the intended putt. The optimal stroke path will start back away from the ball along this ball-putt setup line and the sweetspot of the square putterface will travel back into impact along this same line and continue through the ball on this setup line.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][u]Make This Part of Your Game[/u].[/color]

[size=2]Practice setting up just to the ball itself. Pick a point on the front equator and see its opposite point on the back equator. Set up the putterface and your body to this "line" through the ball. Visualize a perfect stroke sending this ball straight out of your setup, the putter's sweetspot traveling squarely through this ball line at impact. Then, adjust the ball line one dimple, so the front point is farther from you by one dimple and the back point is nearer to you by one dimple. To this line, you have to adjust the whole setup as a system, reorienting the putterface as well as your whole body (stance, hips, shoulders, eyes). On the practice green, treat your initial setup as nothing more than a tentative approximation, subject to change as your targeting hones in on the real putt line. Only when the setup to the ball line matches the setup to the putt line do you get a green light to pull the trigger.

[/size]© 2001 Geoff Mangum. All rights reserved. Reproduction for non-commercial purposes in unaltered form, with accompanying source credit and URL, is expressly granted. For more tips and information on putting, including a free 10,000+ database of putting lore and the Web's only newsletter on putting (also free), visit Geoff's website at[url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/puttingzone.com"]http://www.puttingzone.com[/url], or email him directly at [email="[email protected]"][email protected][/email].

[danattherock]

[center][b][size="4"]Pushing or pulling putts?? It is the left elbow stupid....[/size][/b][/center][center][b] [/b][/center][center][b] [/b][/center][center][b] [/b][/center][left]You can always make a pull stroke by starting the takeaway out across the startline and coming into impact at the 4:30 position on the ball, with a stroke moving from out to in. And you can always make a push stroke by taking the putter back inside and contacting the ball at 6:30 heading in to out. But the shocker is you can STILL make a serious push or pull even though the stroke path is pretty straight going back and headed to impact. It's still not too late to mess up! A familiar tip to promote a straight stroke (and avoid pushes or pulls) is to putt as if sliding your two elbows along a rail that parallels the putt's startline. But that tip only works if some other elements are present in the stroke. Too bad it's a little complex ...

[b]The Oldtime Push Stroke[/b]. An oldtime pro tip for putting is to anchor the right (hind) elbow on your hip and keep it there throughout the stroke. This requires either a pure-wristy style stroke or at least a hinging forward at the right elbow in the thru-stroke (a la Nicklaus' piston stroke), but the left elbow does not necessarily separate from the left hip as the putterhead moves thru the ball. The left arm and wrist are kept "firm" in the thru-stroke, and this causes the left shoulder to buoy up a bit higher as the follow-thru progresses. The emphasis ends up being on the straightness of the hands' trajectory down the line, and it doesn't really hurt much to stand with the feet or shoulders a little open to the target. Left-eye / right-hand golfers (like Nicklaus) feel like they have a slight "push" in the stroke because the arms and hands are moving out from the body as they go forward down the line from the slightly open stance. It's hard to "pull" a putt when you intend to "push" it right from the start. In any "push" stroke involving the arms (not just a pure wristy stroke), the lead elbow moves away from the hip, and not in a path that parallels the putt line, but in a trajectory somewhat outward towards the putt line. From this setup, a real push happens when the lead elbow moves too much outward toward the putt line.

The open setup is actually the dominant setup used around the beginning of the 20th century, as seen in the putting of Walter Travis, Willie Park Jr., and others on up to Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, and others around WWII. Not very many pros still putt this way, but I've seen a number of amateurs do it. Today, the dominant setup is "square," with joint pairs aligned parallel to the putt line. From a square setup, what happens with the lead elbow to produce a straight stroke (and avoid pushes and pulls) is not, unfortunately, "straight forward" (so to speak).

[b]The "Hooding" Solution[/b]. The "hooding" action of Horton Smith and others was occasioned by the "gating" stroke path of the day, and has three separate components: vertical face, square face, and low face. The action keeps the putterface vertical beyond impact with left-wrist flexion. Classically, "hooding" also keeps the putterface aimed the same way it points at address even though the stroke path arcs back and around in the backstroke and then forward and around in the thru-stroke (a "gating" stroke path like Crenshaw's). To maintain the face direction in a "gating" stroke, the left wrist rotates counterclockwise going back and then "unrotates" clockwise going forward, and the degree of rotation depends upon the degree of arcing in the path. There may also be an effort to keep the putterhead close to the surface by NOT allowing the left shoulder to rise (or rise much) going into the follow-thru. This is a characteristic shared by Dave Stockton, with his drill of focusing on keeping the back of the left wrist level going thru impact (and to a lesser degree by Loren Roberts, as he allows his right wrist to fold going to the top of the backstroke and then preserves the angles of the wrists going thru -- although his left shoulder rises).

The whole emphasis of this style is on the putterface orientation in the stroke movement. Learning and being consistent with the "hooding" motion requires considerable practice, focus, and finesse. Essentially, the golfer has dual attention upon the face orientation AND the trajectory of the hands and wrists in the stroke (staying parallel to the putt line, as in making strokes above a yardstick). The more the hands are positioned out ballward from hanging directly below the shoulder sockets, the more pronounced the rotational "hooding" action in the wrists. If the hands are suspended directly below the shoulder sockets, the only "hooding" is for face verticality and lowness of putterhead, so the "rotational" wrist action is eliminated. But if the stroke path arcs and therefore requires some rotational action, but the golfer forgets, he is asking for a pull! The lesson is: if you want to use "hooding," use a hands-below-shouldersockets setup (to simplify the management) AND in any event know that the left elbow must separate from the hip going thru.

If the stroke arcs and the golfer remembers to manage the "hooding" rotation, he ALSO is forced to move the left elbow not only forward from the hip but also away outward from his body closer to the putt line. That is, only when the hands hang below the shoulder sockets does the trajectory of the left elbow stay parallel to the putt line going thru. If the stroke gates, the putterhead will curl forward and back around the body in the thru-stroke UNLESS the left elbow compensates by heading closer to the putt line. This is WAY TOO MUCH TROUBLE, so don't ask for it! Dont use "hooding" without hanging the hands below the shoulders, and ALWAYS let the left elbow separate from the hip going thru.

[b]The Bobby Locke Torso-Putt Solution[/b]. Bobby Locke's putting style was often described as "hooking" the ball into the hole. By this, the observer was pointing up the fact that Locke stood "closed" to the start line, took the putter back to the inside of this line, and delivered the putterhead at the ball from the inside. But this is not the full story. Locke also "hooded" the putter back and thru with wrist manipulations to keep the face aimed the same as at address. But there was something else he did. He kept the shape of his arms pretty much intact throughout the stroke and delivered the putterhead straight thru impact and down the line with some outward movement of his right shoulder. If you looked straight down on Locke from ten feet over his head, and tracked the position of his right shoulder, you would see it curl back as he takes the putter back inside and then uncurl forward as he delivers the blow. This is evidenced by a slight release in his right knee plus a slight lateral move of his head targetward in the thru-stroke as his right shoulder and torso move horizontally out towards the ball and putt line. His torso as a whole has a twisting "opening" action in it. Because his left torso was twisting behind as his putterhead was moving straight on line, Locke's left elbow had to do something other than follow his hip as it turned back -- else he really would have "hooked" his putts hard to the left. Consequently, in his stroke, the left elbow splits the difference and goes back a bit and goes laterally forward from the hip a bit. This makes the left elbow appear to jut out from his body in the follow-thru, but it's really his body moving back away from his elbow as his hands move down the putt line. It's a complicated combination, but ultimately Locke's move is fairly simple to execute and repeat.

[b]The Trevino Arms-Hands Push Stroke[/b]. The Trevino stroke pictured above illustrates a sqaure setup using a mild form of "piston" or "push" stroke. You will notice that the left wrist stays firm and ends up pretty vertical after impact, with the flat back of the left hand facing the target. This left-wrist orientation is pretty much the same in the putting styles involving "hooding" from the 1930s-1950s and the modern pendulum shoulders-only stroke style. The difference from the Trevino illustration and the other two styles is what happens with the left (lead) elbow.

In the Trevino-type stroke, the left elbow does not significantly separate from the hip, and the forearm simply straightens out downward and forward in the thru-stroke. But once the putterhead gets past impact, it is impossible to maintain this arrangement of the arms-hands in motion without the putterhead rising AND there is an ever-present tendency for the stroke to curl back around the body in the follow-thru as in a full swing and/or for the left wrist to "breakdown." Golfers who treat the putt as a miniature version of the full swing are apt to have a little hip rotation in the thru-stroke, as evidenced by some give or release in the right knee (e.g., Bobby Jones and Ben Crenshaw). The hips will assuredly cast the torso curling back also unless prevented. A lot of the times when the golfer blames "moving his head" or "peeking," what actually happens is his hips were rotating. It feels perfectly natural so it's hard to focus on it as "bad" to stifle it from happening. This rotating tendency causes many pulled putts and less-than-solid blows.

[b]The Pendulum Solution[/b]. The shoulders-only "pendulum" stroke uses "dead" hands and arms. There is no attempt to use wrist action to manage the putterface. The key feature of this style is that the shoulder joint does not alter during the stroke (the armpits don't open or close any), or alters only minimally as the stroke amplitude gets larger for long putts. [The Trevino forearms style is close to this in that the armpits alter very little, since both elbows stay close to the hips.] This feature guarantees that the so-called "triangle" of arms, hands, and putter stays "intact" throughout the stroke, and that means the left elbow must separate from the hip as the stroke goes forward beyond impact. It also means the putterhead will be arcing upward thru impact into the follow-thru, as a true pendulum would, so there is no attempt to manipulate the verticality of lowness of the putterface going thru. With hands-below-shouldersockets, the trajectory of the hands will mirror the symmetrical pendular arcing of the putterhead, so the left shoulder must rise going thru, and hence the left elbow separate from the hip, and the trajectory of the elbow and hands stays in the plane that parallels the vertical plane of the putt arising from the putt line.

As with any "gating" stroke, however, there is really only ONE place in the stroke when the face is square to the start line, and that is at the bottom of the stroke arc (or peak of the rainbow-shaped or frown-shaped stroke path), which should coincide with the middle of your stance directly opposite the sternum, chin, and nose. Consequently, for the pendulum style, BALL POSITION matters a lot if your stroke gates. Since you don't manipulate the face in the stroke, if your stroke path "gates," you will push putts if the ball is too far back or pull putts if the ball is too far forward. And the only way out of this bad ball postioning is wrist rotational manipulation on an ad hoc basis. AND if this sort of variable compensation is required by a "gating" path, it also requires that the left elbow not simply separate from the hip along a trajectory paralleling the putt line, but move outward towards the line when the ball is too far forward or back behind the hip if the ball is too far back in the stance. The extent of this outward or backward component in the elbow motion depends not only on the extent of gating, but as well upon ball position. With a lot of "gating" and a ball too far forward of the bottom of the stroke arc, the elbow has to move farther outward towards the puttline than is required by the "gating" alone. When the hands are directly below the shoulder sockets, however, the ball position matters a whole lot less for how the putterface will be pointed at contact. With this setup, ball position is mostly a matter of letting the stroke reach maximum acceleration at the bottom before impacting the ball and a matter of whether the putterface is rising when it meets the back of the ball. The lesson again is: hands below shoulder sockets calls for the left elbow to move forward of the hip on a path parallel to the putt line, and any "gating" requires the elbow path to trend toward the puttline going forward.

The case of the inverse "gating" (smile-shaped stroke path) with hands closer to the feet than directly under the shoulder sockets (e.g., Fuzzy Zoeller) is too rare and ill-advised to comment on.

[b]Conclusion[/b]. Obviously, the title of this tip is meant to be a little humorous, since this elbow action is hardly easy to analyze or describe. For almost all golfers today, though, there is a nice clear bottom line: the left or lead elbow SHOULD move forward in the thru-stroke and separate from the hip, and the question is whether the elbow stays parallel to the putt line or trends toward it (depending on the presence and degree of "gating" in the stroke path). One can note rather clearly that the left elbow should NOT stay at the hip -- this will cause left-wrist "breakdown," weak shots, and pulls, or cause some weird compensatory manipulations. One can also note that the left elbow should NOT move back and around the body going thru, at least for that critical five to six inches past the ball. This elbow action causes pulls or cut strokes. The tricky part is when the elbow needs to move outward toward the putt line, as is caused by a gating stroke path. Too much "outward" in the elbow move and you get a push. The simple answer is: don't gate! Keep the hands directly below the shoulder sockets and move the shoulderframe as a unit inside a stable vertical plane of rocking back and thru. Then the elbow move is always and exactly forward and parallel to the setup alignment. So keep the hands below the shoulder sockets and let that elbow go forward from the hip parallel to the startline!

If we wanted to amend the old tip about moving your elbows along a rail, it would go something like this: with your hands AND elbows hanging directly beneath your shoulder sockets and your shoulders setup "square," imagine a horizontal club shaft (also aligned parallel to the putt line) between your arms and chest, contacting the back of your upper arms just above the elbows a couple of inches; move your "triangle" so the backs of both upper arms remain in contact with the shaft at all times. To see exactly what this means for the elbow motion, just hold a shaft horizontal in front of your chest at sternum level so it runs parallel to your setup and note particularly that section of the shaft six to ten inches in front of your lead hip. You shouldn't let your elbow ever fall back inside that, and really never get further outward away than that, unless your setup is open or your hands a bit out from your shoulder sockets. You can also "feel" this by holding a shaft across your chest with the right hand and making strokes with a putter held solely in your left hand, sliding the back of the left upper arm along the shaft. So long as your left elbow does not hinge (flex inward) and your left wrist stays unchanged, your left shoulder will have to rise vertically up a little in the thru-stroke. The shoulder will not curl backwards any at all, and will only move straight up. That's the ticket to get rid of pushes and pulls.

[/left]

[danattherock]

[b]Indoor Putting Exercises[size="5"][color="#0000ff"][/color][/size] [/b]
[size=2]

[/size][color="#008080"][size=2]by Geoff Mangum

[/size][/color][size="4"][color="#ff0000"][center]Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone™ Instruction
[url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/puttingzone.com/index.html"]http://www.puttingzone.com[/url]
[email="[email protected]"][email protected][/email][/center][/color][/size]

[url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/indoor.html"]ZipTip: PRACTICE: Indoor Putting Exercises[/url]

[size=2][/size][size=2]Indoor putting practice and drills need not always be about stroking a ball into a drinkglass, and your putting would be well served to add some exercises that sharpen relevant perceptual skills and specific stroke movements.

***

[/size][size=2]During the off-season and really throughout the year, many golfers want exercises and drills to do inside to sharpen up their putting. Obviously, you are pretty limited indoors by space limitations and also by the nature of the surface (flat, carpet, no break). Still, if you focus on the perceptual and movement skills that are fundamental to golf, you can get a lot of valuable practice in. The trick is to focus on developing specific aspects of the art of putting.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][size=2]Some Theory.

[/size][/color][size=2]While it is generally true that practice conditions should closely simulate actual playing conditions, the purpose of this rule is to train your response to stress and to present the same variety of problems you face on the course. But fundamentally, your skills in putting develop separately and come together over time like a slowly developing photograph. There are many different perceptual and motor skills in putting that need to function cooperatively in an integrated way, and these aspects develop independently at differing paces. An indoor practice regimen that focuses on developing these isolated aspects of putting can speed up your advancement quite nicely.

In the psychology of learning, it is important to consciously identify the aspect of a sport you are practicing and to understand its function in the total mix. This allows you to monitor your practice for relevant performance cues and feedback. As a consequence, your learning proceeds faster and your skill develops with greater definition and staying-power and is more readily available in memory storage for accurate activation later on.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][size=2]Perceptual Skills.

[/size][/color][size=2]The perceptual skills most prominent in putting are: using the dominant eye for directional sighting; recognizing when your gaze is straight ahead; recognizing when your eye muscles are moving your eye balls; a sense of balance; recognizing when three objects or locations are in linear alignment; recognizing when two lines or planes are oriented perpendicularly; sensing distance of an object or location in relation to your body; sensing when two planes are parallel; feeling the pace and extent of a head turn in your neck; feeling relaxation in your arms and hands; sensing the distance of your putting system to the ground; and on and on. Doubtless, in your personal style, you have others.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][size=2]Movement Skills.

[/size][/color][size=2]The movement skills prominent in putting include: adopting a balanced, solid, square setup as a base for movement; allowing your targeting perceptual process to control the planning of the movement; isolating the biomechanical mechanisms of optimal movement to keep extraneous movements out of your stroke; sensing when you are ready to pull the trigger versus when you are uneasy or unsure; keeping the head / pivot still as you make the stroke; keeping visual attention where it is needed (at the ball-putterface impact); feeling the plane of the putt; starting the putt with a straight takeaway; keeping a constant, light grip pressure; seeing the vertical disk of the ball that aligns with the vertical plane of the puttline; ensuring that the putterface returns to vertical before impact; feeling the relaxed nature of a pendulum stroke without "hit"; keeping the putterface traveling straight and level through impact; using spots to keep the stroke on line; establishing a consistent, slow tempo for all putts; using your athletic ability to control distance / force instead of "trying" or "figuring how hard" to "hit" the putt; and so on.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][size=2]Some Exercises.

[/size][/color][color="#ff0000"]1. Floorline Putting[/color]. An excellent exercise that combines a number of these skills is setting up over a linoleum tile floor, using an intersection of tiles as the ball, and then sighting along the floor line for the puttline. The intersection lines allow you to sense a square setup better, as you can see the distance of your toes to the line, see the cross-line perpendicular to the puttline as it establishes ball position a little forward of the middle of your stance; see the approximate relationship of a balanced stance on either side of this cross-line; see whether you flare your toes outward; match the floorline with a line horizontal across both eyes; detect in your head-turn to the target whether your head is propelling your gaze off line; calibrate the extent of your neck turn to the target with various well-defined distances; use the puttline behind the ball to monitor your takeaway and backstroke; use the puttline in front of the ball to monitor your throughstroke, etc. All together, this is an excellent exercise. If your experience is similar to that of many others, this exercise will feel odd as you turn to the target, because you are not used to keeping your gaze steady and then moving the gaze down the line. Most golfers jump from the ball to the target, skipping the in-between. And the changes that occur in gaze and head orientation in such a technique cause misperceptions that go unnoticed. The floor drill helps tremendously with these aspects and problems.

[color="#ff0000"]2. Doorjamb Gazing[/color]. In order to sense a straight-out-of-the-face gaze and become familiar with the relevant cues of your field of vision, you can stand a bit away from a doorjamb and gaze dead level to a spot that is the same height as your pupils. To see this height, stand next to the jamb with good posture and simply note with your thumb on the jamb how high your pupil is. Mark it if you like. Then back away and work at a balanced, erect posture with no tilt in your head. Close your nondominant eye and note where in your field of vision this aim spot occupies. It should be approximately one inch in from the bridge of your nose level with a horizontal line across both pupils. Set the back knuckle of your thumb on the bridge of your nose and see if the aim spot is not just off the tip of your thumb. This is the location in your field of vision you use when sighting, either sighting the target from behind the ball, looking at a dimple on the back of the ball, looking at an aim spot on the ground, scanning along the line of the putt, looking at the back lip of the hole from the address position, and so on. It helps to know whether you are actually using this focused vision in sighting these points by becoming familiar with the "look and feel" of proper use of the gaze. Otherwise, your eye control is likely to be poor. You can also practice this gaze control in front of a mirror, by looking straight and level into your dominant eye's pupil.

[color="#ff0000"]3. Ruler Putting.[/color] Put a yardstick on the floor and make strokes above it. This is an old Horton Smith training trick that helps coordinate the visual monitoring of the stroke with the feeling of a straight stroke. You will have a problem with this exercise unless either your hands are directly beneath your shoulder sockets at address or you know how to "hood" the stroke in response to "gating" caused by having the hands positioned inside or outside the line beneath the sockets. You can also place a ball on the yardstick and putt it off the end.

[color="#ff0000"]4. Chase the Rabbit.[/color] Putt one ball away (see "The Core Putt" tip) and then putt a second ball at this "rabbit" so the second ball just barely touches the first. This drill trains targeting and coordinating targeting with movement planning and consistent tempo.

[color="#ff0000"]5. Fill the Sleeve Box[/color]. Place an empty golf ball sleeve box on the carpet about 8 to 10 feet away and putt a ball back into the box. Then putt two more balls into the box. This is a neat trick that forces you to really focus on line and distance / force control. It's easier than it sounds!

[color="#ff0000"]6. Knock the Ball into the Target.[/color] Set a ball about a foot short of a target (salt shaker, checker?) and then back off about 8 feet and putt a ball at the first ball so that it gets knocked straight ahead into the target. Anything off line and the two-ball collision will send the stationary ball off on an angle.

[color="#ff0000"]7. Align the Face.[/color] Mark a target about 10-15 feet away and use a small wooden block as the putterface. Set the block behind the ball and, standing at address, move it until it looks aimed at the target. Then walk behind the block and check it with your dominant eye. See if you have any persistent misalignment tendencies.

[color="#ff0000"]8. Putt Two Balls[/color]. Set two ball down so they both fit within your putterface as aimed at a target. Make a stroke that contacts both balls at the same time, and sends both off on a straight line. This exercise tests your ability to make square impact, without putterface twists, and gives immediate feedback.

[color="#0000ff"][size=2]Make This Part of Your Game.

[/size][/color][size=2]There are many, many exercises like this that can be devised to focus practice on the relevant perceptual and motor skills in the art of putting. Make up your own, so long as the exercise highlights an important perceptual or motor skill fundamental to putting. And when you get on the practice green, put these drills into effect again. But on the course, your only job is to sink the putt.

[/size]© 2001 Geoff Mangum. All rights reserved. Reproduction for non-commercial purposes in unaltered form, with accompanying source credit and URL, is expressly granted. For more tips and information on putting, including a free 10,000+ database of putting lore and the Web's only newsletter on putting (also free), visit Geoff's website at[url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/puttingzone.com"]http://www.puttingzone.com[/url], or email him directly at [email="[email protected]"][email protected][/email].

[ZimBag]

ive been using the iping app this winter its kinda fun to use

[danattherock]

Heard of that recently. Might check it out sometime. Still not sure exactly what data it gives, but sounds like a clever app.

[MadGolfer76]

I am stuck inside due to snow, so I decided to make a putting track out of my school law books. Best $250.00 I ever spent.

[danattherock]

Buy a new putter... Duh

And when that one doesnt work ill buy a different one!!! LOL!

 

 

 

While I may not putt better, I did just that a few hours back.

 

 

Got my second Yamada, a "soft black" Emperor.

 

 

Found a deal on Ebay for a brand new one that I just couldn't turn down.

 

 

34.5", Nippon shaft, and white Iomic midsize.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Dan

 

 

[somedevil]

I put a big grip on and went to left hand low.....been making everything since......

[danattherock]

I tried the Super Stroke slim "lite" the other week. Loved the direction control, but my distance control suffered appreciably. Cut it off and put on a midsize Iomic. Dropping more putts than ever. The thick grips are interesting, but not for me. Couldn't get a feel for the speed using it. Very nice grip otherwise. I think many people underestimate the importance of a good grip. "Good" of course varies from person to person. Only way to find out is try out a few different ones. The guy at the golf shop is laughing at me at this point. The Super Stroke was the 3rd grip he put on my older SC tei3 this month. Using the old putter for a reason. I know how I putt with it. That allows me to compare apples to apples as it relates to the grips. Midsize Iomic it is for me, using one of the absolute models now. Undecided if I like it better than the regular Iomic. Regripit.com is the site for ordering Iomics in case anyone is interested.



-Dan

[danattherock]

This last post reminds me, what type of grip are you guys using?

 

 

 

 

I am using the two pistoleros grip. First heard of it from Geoff Mangum. Loving it.

 

 

 

[danattherock]

[quote name='danattherock' timestamp='1326521747' post='4082137']


[size="3"]Myself as of late, working on preshot routine, aiming the putter more precisely,[b] and ensuring I am using a flat left wrist at impact. [/b]

Bobby Clampett's book "The Impact Zone" drove home the importance of this and it has helped my putting game tremendously. The wristy action of the past made precise distance control impossible. Can't tell you how much a flat left wrist helped my putting stroke.

[/size]
[/quote]



The two pistoleros grip was incorporated (by me) to assist in the utilization of a flat left wrist. With this grip, you can feel even the slightest hint of wrist breakdown during the putting stroke, especially at the crucial moment of impact. I had been doing something similar to it, both index fingers going down the grip. I searched online and sure as heck, find Geoff Mangum's name popping up again. This is a grip he named and gave some sort of notoriety to. Certainly no the first to use it I suspect, but the only person I can find online using it. This grip along with the putting section of Bobby Clampett's book was huge for me. I became better literally overnight.




-Dan

[danattherock]

[quote name='J.W.' timestamp='1326553086' post='4083025']
[b]Back in my early days at BSG I followed a practice routine of a guy named "Tiberon."[/b] I wish I still had it somewhere on my computer, and not sure who the guy was exactly but the way he talked and everyone listened... I think he was a pretty good player. I remember there being a ladder where you needed to make 9 putts in a row, 3 from each distance. I also remember a lag putting drill where you needed I believe 10 putts inside 3 feet from 20-40-60 feet but the catch was they had to be 3 feet or less past the hole. If you were short you started over, outside 3 feet...start over. There was more but those were the drills I did.
[/quote]


Did some digging online and found something...



[color=#1C2837][size=2]HOW TO ROLL THE ROCK LIKE A CHAMP, INSTEAD OF A CHUMP!

1. Practice on a chalk line from 6 feet....25 putts with your right hand only and another 25 with both hands....then

2. Put a tee down at 3, 5, and 7 feet....take 3 balls and make 3 in a row from each distance. You have to start over if you miss any of them, so after 9 in a row you're done!

3. Walk off 20 feet (7 steps approx ) from each side of the hole and put a tee in the ground from each....it's best to have 20 ft uphill and then 20 ft downhill from the other side. Take 3 balls and you have to roll all 3 and get them even with the hole (not short) and not go more than 3 feet past, then repeat from the other side until you have gotten 10 in a row inside of 3 feet without being short......the 10th ball is the pressure putt ! This is a great feel drill because you have to adapt your feel ALOT!

4. Put a tee in the ground at 30 ft and using 5 balls, you have to get all 5 inside of a 3 ft circle (usually the length of a putter), then move to 40 ft, 50 ft and finally 60 ft and do the same.....no cheating, but you only have to start over at the distance you were previously at!
[/size][/color][color=#1C2837][size=2][color=#6E6E6E][b]0[/b][/color][/size][/color][list][*]<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">[/list]
[size=2][quote name='golow' timestamp='1302408962' post='3137390']
I was a bad putter, became a streaky putter, and now I'm good. Not great, but good. I do these drills when I can (in some variation). They were posted ages ago by Tiberon .


[color="#0000FF"]1. Practice on a chalk line from 6 feet....25 putts with your right hand only and another 25 with both hands....then

2. Put a tee down at 3, 5, and 7 feet....take 3 balls and make 3 in a row from each distance. You have to start over if you miss any of them, so after 9 in a row you're done ! I learned this drill from Dottie Pepper, and it really turns you into a great short clutch putter! I saw this drill take her 1 hour and 45 minutes one day!

3. Walk off 20 feet (7 steps approx ) from each side of the hole and put a tee in the ground from each....it's best to have 20 ft uphill and then 20 ft downhill from the other side. Take 3 balls and you have to roll all 3 and get them even with the hole (not short) and not go more than 3 feet past, then repeat from the other side until you have gotten 10 in a row inside of 3 feet without being short......the 10th ball is the pressure putt ! This is a great feel drill because you have to adapt your feel ALOT!

4. Put a tee in the ground at 30 ft and using 5 balls, you have to get all 5 inside of a 3 ft circle (usually the length of a putter), then move to 40 ft, 50 ft and finally 60 ft and do the same.....no cheating, but you only have to start over at the distance you were previously at![/color]

golow™
[/quote]

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[/size][size=2]From this good putting thread....[/size][size=2]
[/size][size=2][url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?app=forums&module=post&section=post&do=reply_post&f=6&t=463305&qpid=3137390"]http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?app=forums&module=post&section=post&do=reply_post&f=6&t=463305&qpid=3137390[/url][/size][size=2]
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[/size][size=2]The below is from post #9 below....[/size][size=2]
[/size][size=2][left]Kev....that post was from Tiberon...aka DJ...a heck of a player--pro golfer (Nationwide Tour and mini tours) and Ballard protege'....[/left][left]

Read more:[url="http://richie3jack.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1449#ixzz1jXuv5zZE"]http://richie3jack.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1449#ixzz1jXuv5zZE[/url][/left][/size][size=2]
[/size][size=2][url="http://richie3jack.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1449"]http://richie3jack.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1449[/url][/size][size=2]
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[/size][size=2]-Dan[/size][size=2]
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[jabrch]

I'm working on 5 footers. 100 a day on my basement carpet...Just want to roll off the face to start dead straight as many as possible. If I could increase my success rate inside 5 feet, I'd be happy.

And I quit Ho-ing putters. My Ping Redwood Zing is perfect for me.

[bobfoster]

I use no devices. Nothing. Read no books. This is how I approach putting:


1. I bought the best putter for the money.


2. I just take thousands of practice putts. Continually. On any surface. Any carpet in my house, office, or any hotel room anywhere in the world.

I do not care about chalk lines, or the hundred different devices and books out there. Putting, at the end of the day, is 100% feel and confidence. And that doesn't come from any book, or technique, or device ... it comes from ... well, just hitting thousands of putts on every conceivable surface, from every imaginable distance.

[KarstenK]

This last post reminds me, what type of grip are you guys using?

 

 

 

 

I am using the two pistoleros grip. First heard of it from Geoff Mangum. Loving it.

 

 

 

 

I've been using this grip for the last few years by accident really. I just make more putts doing it. I have tried quite a bit lately to not use the straight right index finger and instead curl it under the shaft like a typical grip. But under pressure on the course I go back to the straight index finger. I will say that the weakness of the extended right index finger is longer lag putts. I have noticed that I will leave them short as the grip doesnt seem to lend itself to a more flowing release of the putter head. It makes my stroke a little too "aimey" and not natural if that makes sense. I practice in the basement almost everyday while watching tv.

[danattherock]

[quote name='bobfoster' timestamp='1326647214' post='4088141']
I do not care about chalk lines, or the hundred different devices and books out there. Putting, at the end of the day, is 100% feel and confidence. And that doesn't come from any book, or technique, or device ... it comes from ... well, just hitting thousands of putts on every conceivable surface, from every imaginable distance.
[/quote]


I buy that providing you have sound fundamentals and are practicing the right technique.

Otherwise it would be ingraining a faulty putting stroke.

Those are more the variables I am concerned with at the moment.

Practicing the right things.



-Dan

[danattherock]

[quote name='1big_whipper' timestamp='1326647600' post='4088179']
I've been using this grip for the last few years by accident really. I just make more putts doing it. I have tried quite a bit lately to not use the straight right index finger and instead curl it under the shaft like a typical grip. But under pressure on the course I go back to the straight index finger. I will say that the weakness of the extended right index finger is longer lag putts.[b] I have noticed that I will leave them short as the grip doesnt seem to lend itself to a more flowing release of the putter head. It makes my stroke a little too "aimey" and not natural if that makes sense. [/b]I practice in the basement almost everyday while watching tv.
[/quote]


Makes perfect sense and on some level I have experienced the same. Thanks for chiming in. Inside 20 feet, I have never been better. This grip assist with the flat left wrist I am working so hard towards and gives me great direction control. The only possible downside is when the putter head is moving on a large arc, longer back and through swing on longer putts, I feel the pressure on the index fingers as they simply have no where to go. Something I can work through with practice perhaps, but an identified area of concern nonetheless.


-Dan

[cmrl1986]

Switched to a belly putter... Love it

[Naylor09]

[quote name='bobfoster' timestamp='1326647214' post='4088141']
I use no devices. Nothing. Read no books. This is how I approach putting:


1. I bought the best putter for the money.


2. I just take thousands of practice putts. Continually. On any surface. Any carpet in my house, office, or any hotel room anywhere in the world.

I do not care about chalk lines, or the hundred different devices and books out there. Putting, at the end of the day, is 100% feel and confidence. And that doesn't come from any book, or technique, or device ... it comes from ... well, just hitting thousands of putts on every conceivable surface, from every imaginable distance.
[/quote]
+1 that what putting comes down to is confidence (which i why people usually putt well right when they buy a new putter) and repetition. Sounds like your on the right track sir!

[swbyps]

Get yourself one of those metal yard sticks. Make sure it has a hole at the end. Lay it on the floor. While you're lounging around watching golf or a game (or whatever it is you watch)...put the ball on the hole in the yardstick and try to roll putts all the way down the stick so it goes straight off the end and not the sides. I also put one of those automatic ball returns a few feet past the stick so it shoots the ball back to me.

[nosil]

[quote name='danattherock' timestamp='1326589953' post='4085733']
The guy at the golf shop is laughing at me at this point. The Super Stroke was the 3rd grip he put on my older SC tei3 this month. [/quote]

You need to learn how to regrip yourself

[danattherock]

No kidding man. I bet I have had 20 grips put on in the last 5-6 years. Granted, they are going on 6-7 putters, but still, that is a lot of grips. About $5-6 a pop for installation, it would be a good time to start gripping my own I suspect. It still amazes me how much of a difference the right grip can make on a putter. It is a huge variable.



-Dan