What are YOU doing to improve your putting?

[chamgel2]

Kiwi, yes, the 3-6-9 is ft from the cup.. If you are not familiar with the drill, you place a ball at all 3 positions, starting at 3, you make it and move to 6, make it and move to 9, if at anytime you miss, you place all 3 balls back down and start all over. It really makes you practice those 3-6 footers and makes you practice putting those 9 footers with a little pressure. I do this at 4 spots, below the hole, right of the hole, left of the hole, and above the hole. Someways it takes forever, some days I breeze right through.

[rogue409]

[quote name='danattherock' timestamp='1326648413' post='4088261']
[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



[/quote]

I am a poor putter with pretty bad confidence: poor mechanics and bad green reading skills. This winter I have spent about 30 minutes, 4-5x per week on my basement green working on putting mechanics. It's probably not enough time, but I think things are looking up.

1. New setup: working with a mirror to ensure my eyes are in line and shoulders are square. At the beginning of the winter, my eyes and shoulders were very poorly aligned. It's better now, but not perfect. Elbows are straighter: my arms used to be bent in an upside-down prayer position. Now they are have just a slight bend. I've shortened my putter and had it bent a little flatter to accommodate the new setup. I used some impact tape and the end of winter dispersion is much tighter than it was at the beginning of the winter. Progress!
2. Building a routine for putts. I never really had a routine. Now, it's "line up the ball", 2-4 practice swings to get a feel for the distance, step up to the ball, take 1 quick look at the hole, and hit it.

My practice right now is to hit ~25 4-5 foot putts, following my exact playing routine. I feel like I'm going in the right direction with mechanics and confidence. Now that it's getting warmer out,I'm going to work on green reading.

[KiwiBoy]

[quote name='torrejuan' timestamp='1331552973' post='4488193']
[quote name='KiwiBoy' timestamp='1331533298' post='4487823']
[quote name='chamgel2' timestamp='1331510580' post='4485379']
I put myself through my "putting suicides" after every range session. I do the same 3-6-9 (sometimes add a 12) that I've been doing since I was 17 (now 31), but I have added where I do it from all 4 sides of the cup to force myself to practice different breaks. It's amazing how much your putting inside of 10 ft improves with you add a little pressure to the practice. It also made me realize how poor my alignment was on right to left breakers. The first few times it took me longer to get through that station then the other 3 combined. On the course I just always assumed it was a slight misread high or low.
[/quote]
Is this feet from the cup like a compass at 4 points around the hole?

Also if anyone has any good lag drills Id love to get some
[/quote]

I have one. At 30-40-50ft from a hole, putt one ball from each distance. Put an alignment stick two feet behind the hole. You have to putt all three past the hole, but not past the stick. Really tough for me.
[/quote]

Thanks mate

[cullinaa]

Interesting thread. Dan it looks like you read a lot of books. I like to do the same thing and has really helped with my irons and woods. Do you recommend any one in particular. I'm currently reading the impact zone but would like to go ahead and order another good one. My biggest problem is reading greens and speed (so I guess that is about everything lol!!). I tend to play to much brake and usually will come up 3-4 feet short or hit it 4-5 past. Do you have any good recommendations?


When you guys putt do you guys ever actually look at the grain of the grass? I've seen it a lot on TV but usually completely forget about doing it.

[Hit em good]

I try to hit the putting green at least once per week.

About 20% of the time I hit a few medium and long range putts, just to keep a feel for distance control.

About 80% is spent on 3 - 5 footers. That's the distance where your practice will result in an actual reduction in strokes. The reason is that we can make those on a consistent basis, if we practice. Out past 5 feet, and the make percentage drops off significantly.... not much return on the effort.

I'm a decent putter.

[Hit em good]

I try to hit the putting green at least once per week.

About 20% of the time I hit a few medium and long range putts, just to keep a feel for distance control.

About 80% is spent on 3 - 5 footers. That's the distance where your practice will result in an actual reduction in strokes. The reason is that we can make those on a consistent basis, if we practice. Out past 5 feet, and the make percentage drops off significantly.... not much return on the effort.

I'm a decent putter.

[mulliganman30]

[quote name='Eagle006' timestamp='1331679393' post='4501833']
A lot of my problem when it comes to putting is that I tinker too much. A few bad days on the greens and I'm trying a new method, rather than just going back to basics (grip, alignment, posture etc) and working through the problems. I'm sure I'm not alone on this. Constant tinkering leads to huge inconsistency and some pretty high putting averages.

I have done a ton of playing around with different styles this winter and am determined to dedicate myself to one method this season and beyond - the method which just seems most comfortable and natural too me and which I have had most success with overall, which is Utley's method. I'm not saying it's necessarily better than any other approach (there are a lot of great putting teachers out there) just what feels best for me. For whatever reason I can't get to grips with the shoulder driven putting strokes which are currently in vogue at the moment.

This, plus a load of practice drills from various books. I must have hit thousands of 3 - 4 footers on my carpet in recent months. I hope I start to see results soon!
[/quote]

I have always been a poor putter. Haven't gotten it yet but ordered one of these:

[url="http://www.wrightputtingdynamics.com/The_Putting_T-Bar.html"]http://www.wrightput...ting_T-Bar.html[/url]

Hoping this will really help.

[SteveL1]

I just got back from a five day golf trip to Mesquite, NV and learned that my main weakness is reading greens and not hitting the ball where I wanted like I thought. I played one round with a good freind that is by far the best at reading greens I've ever met and had him read my putts and give me an aiming point. I made more putts than I ever have and realized that I was over reading the breaks most of the time. I've also never really had a good understanding of grain and how it would affect the putt.

I'm now on a quest to get better at reading breaks and learning as much as I can about the grain.

[danattherock]

[quote name='cullinaa' timestamp='1331673163' post='4501187']
Interesting thread. Dan it looks like you read a lot of books. I like to do the same thing and has really helped with my irons and woods. Do you recommend any one in particular.[b] I'm currently reading the impact zone [/b]but would like to go ahead and order another good one. My biggest problem is reading greens and speed (so I guess that is about everything lol!!).[b] I tend to play to much brake and usually will come up 3-4 feet short or hit it 4-5 past. Do you have any good recommendations?[/b]


When you guys putt do you guys ever actually look at the grain of the grass? I've seen it a lot on TV but usually completely forget about doing it.
[/quote]



The chapter on putting, specifically implementing a flat left wrist, helped me a ton with my distance control. I used to have a somewhat wristy putting stroke that led to short and long putts, just couldn't get the distance right. When I stopped breaking the wrist down, and practiced a time or two a week, my distance control is 10x what it used to be. Simply put, you can strike the ball with the same (more same anyway) power with a flat left wrist (no break down) than you can with a wristy stroke. There is just no way to break down the wrist at the same rate over and over. You can remove this variable entirely by implementing the flat left wrist. I stand over 20 footers now and know that I am going to leave the ball 1-3' from the hole every time. In the past, I would leave one 3-4 feet short, blow one 5-6' past the hole, hit a few near the hole, etc.. Just way erratic with my distance control until I started using the flat left wrist.



-Dan

[danattherock]

Kiwi, yes, the 3-6-9 is ft from the cup.. If you are not familiar with the drill, you place a ball at all 3 positions, starting at 3, you make it and move to 6, make it and move to 9, if at anytime you miss, you place all 3 balls back down and start all over. It really makes you practice those 3-6 footers and makes you practice putting those 9 footers with a little pressure. I do this at 4 spots, below the hole, right of the hole, left of the hole, and above the hole. Someways it takes forever, some days I breeze right through.

 

 

I have really benefited from doing this drill. Fun too and adds purpose to my practice.

 

 

Thanks for sharing

 

 

 

 

-Dan

 

 

[Golfer4Life]

I was using the Utley method for quite some time. I just read Stockton's Unconcious Putting and have adopted his technique to my putting. I have to say that my putting has improved significantly. The way he explains putting is outstanding. I would recommend this book to anyone that just want to try something different.

[Sean2]

I work on my putting stroke. I putt with my shoulders: no arms, wrists, or hands. I have a slight arc. I hit a lot of solid putts this way, and the ball starts rolling quickly, i.e., not a lot of skidding.

I also pick a line right in front of my ball and putt to that line. To me all putts are straight putts. If I putt to my line I simply let gravity do the rest.

[xabia]

Besides hitting more putts, the one thing that has really helped my putting is that I have a dedicated routine I follow each time now for a putt. This small sequence of movements (~30 seconds), allows me to collect myself and really decide what I want to do. It really has made a world of difference

[danattherock]

Agreed, a pre-shot routine is crucial. Still honing mine, but it goes like this....


Stand behind ball and look at the putt, think, look, etc..

Then step into the put by lining the putter head up behind the ball, then stepping in.

I then settle my feet in, think Segio's regripping, for about 5-8 seconds, making the slightest of adjustments to my stance.

Then I look at the putt ahead of me, tracing the line from the ball to the hole, then directly back at the ball.

Then while looking at the back of the ball, I am thinking about where the hole is although I don't look back at it.

My final move, my trigger, is to bounce the putter head on the ground 5-6 times, slight taps, the putter head goes up and down about 1/4" each time.

Then I let the putter head come to a rest briefly, then away with the back stroke.

Doesn't matter so much what your pre-putt routine is, just that you have one.




-Dan

[danattherock]

[quote name='danattherock' timestamp='1334547442' post='4729382']


My final move, my trigger, is to bounce the putter head on the ground 5-6 times, slight taps, the putter head goes up and down about 1/4" each time.


[/quote]




One of many great articles from Geoff Mangum is below. This tip actually came to me during a lesson with David Orr. It helped out to smooth my take away more than I can explain. Check out his "tips" section on puttingzone.com.....





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


[color="#008080"]by Geoff Mangum

[/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]

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

[font="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif"]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.

***

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.

[color="#0000ff"]Some Theory.

[/color]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 [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/bounce.html#"]start[/url] 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 [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/bounce.html#"]best[/url] 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.

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

[/color]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.

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

[/color]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!

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

[/color]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].

<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">

[danattherock]

Another article from Geoff that helped me immensely is below.

 

Why does everyone use 35" putters???

 

Makes no sense at all to me. I am 6'6" and all my putters are 34.25".

 

I used to use 36.5" putters, then 36", then 35", etc... and finally figured out a shorter putter worked better for me.

 

I think this is a huge variable that few people give enough consideration.

 

I also think the right grip is essential for feel and distance control.

 

For me, after tons of experimentation, it was Pingman and midsize Iomics that got the best results.

 

Irregardless of what works for you, I think putter length and the 'right' grip is absolutely essential in getting the most out of your putter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Long and Short of Putter Length and Lie

 

by Geoff Mangum

Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone™ Instruction

http://puttingzone.com

[email protected]

ZipTip: EQUIPMENT: The Long and Short of Putter Length and Lie

 

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."

 

***

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: Many many times, it's not the puttee -- it's the putter.

 

What's Stock.

 

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! But in golf, the putter wags the puttee!

 

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.

 

What's Wrong -- Too Long!

 

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.

 

Crooked Elbows or a Flat Lie with Hands Out Away and Eyes Inside the Ball. 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.

 

What's Wrong -- Too Flat a Lie!

 

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.

 

So What's Good?

 

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:

 

• 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.

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.

 

The Lie. 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 angle in degrees 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).

 

The Length. 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.

 

Two Examples. 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: Calc98

 

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.

 

CAVEAT: "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.

 

Make This Part of Your Game.

 

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 http://www.puttingzone.com, or email him directly at [email protected].

 

 

[danattherock]

[b][color="#3333FF"]What the Heck is a Forward Press Good For?[/color][size="5"][color="#0000ff"][/color][/size] [color="#008080"][/color][/b]
[color="#008080"][size=2]by Geoff Mangum

[/size][/color][center][size="4"][color="#ff0000"]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][/color][/size][/center]


[size=2][/size] [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/press.html"]ZipTip: SETUP & STROKE: What the Heck is a Forward Press Good For?[/url]

[size=2][/size][size=2]A forward press is a bad trade for a little rhythm in your stroke, and at a minimum requires careful attention to how it is performed to avoid creating problems.

***

[/size][size=2]The forward press in putting is often said to be useful to "relieve tension" and to impart "rhythm" or "smoothness" to the stroke. Hokum. Forward pressing helps some people putt a bit better, but in general it's far from optimal and [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/forwardpress.html#"]offers[/url] a poor trade-off of advantages versus disadvantages.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][u]A Little History of Wrists and Loft[/u][/color]. The forward press in putting is a descendant of the forward press used with the driver. In the early days of golf through at least Jack Nicklaus, a forward press of the driver has been a standard technique to get the full-swing stroke started with rhythm and fluidity. But at this time, greens were pretty rugged affairs, and most putters had lots of loft to get the ball rolling good. A forward press in putting wasn't very helpful. From the 1920s into the 1960s, most top putters used a lot of arm and wrist motion in putting. Billy Casper's "pop" putting for short putts was all wrist action back and through. Another sort of wrist action, famous from Walter Hagen, Bobby Locke, and Horton Smith, was the "hooding" action of allowing the left wrist during the backstroke to bow targetward to keep the putterface square to the putt line in a gating stroke path or a straight path powered by an arms stroke.

[size=2]Somewhere between the 1940s and 1960s, golfers started using a forward press in putting. In actuality, the putters of that day were more lofted than necessary. Also at this time, the shoulder stroke gained stature and the greens became more finely manicured and truer. On these finer surfaces, "left wrist breakdown" caused inconsistent energy and started the ball with a bounding action. As putter lofts decreased with the improved greens, the low and level stroke became the norm, and the notion of "true roll" became more prominent. Before lofts decreased substantially but after green surfaces improved, golfers delofted their putters to get a more consistent, truer roll. The functional purpose of the press was to dump off excess loft, but the rationale was borrowed from the driver swing, so the putter forward press was said to give fluidity and rhythm to the stroke.

[/size][color="#ff0000"][u]The Forward Press Dumps Off Loft as a Way to Get a Little Rhythm[/u][/color]. According to Dave Stockton, who grew up on the true greens of California and toured during this transitional period, the forward press adds rhythm to the stroke and promotes a good roll. Interestingly, Stockton does not particularly desire loft at impact, but he wants loft in his putter so he can remove it with a forward press. This is in line with others, who [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/forwardpress.html#"]agree[/url] that at impact you basically should not have any loft, but should contact the ball with a face that is near vertical to the surface. Tom Kite says that to promote this impact you should preposition your hands a bit forward as a way of removing loft, and then maintain that slight wrist bowing throughout the stroke, but he does this without a forward press. (Stockton advises against the prepositioning, since it prevents you from watching the loft disappear.) Loren Roberts adds the bowing of the left wrist during the backstroke, and then maintains it throughout the rest of the stroke. Phil Mickelson, who has a very pronounced forward press, has a specially designed putter with 6 degrees of loft to allow him to keep the press in his stroke. His putter is a throw-back to the 1930s and Bobby Jones' "Calamity Jane." All agree that at impact the putterface should be square, near vertical, and with the sweetspot moving straight on line through the center of the ball.

[color="#ff0000"][u]A Forward Press is a Dangerous Trade for a Little Rhythm[/u][/color]. If you simply want to get rid of loft, get a putter with little or no loft. So, the forward press comes down to rhythm and fluidity in the putt stroke. Looking at the associated difficulties versus the supposed gain and the need of the press to attain this gain, the forward press looks like a rotten deal.

[size=2][u]The Disadvantages[/u]. The main disadvantage of the forward press is not doing it correctly, so the putterface orientation gets out of square. According to Stockton, you have to square the face and then look at the face that the loft allows you to see (below the top edge of the face). Then, when you forward press, you move your hands 1 to 2 inches laterally directly toward the target and watch the loft close evenly all along the face. To make the loft disappear evenly, your hand movement has to be directly at the target on the line the face is square to. If the loft disappears unevenly, you are changing the face orientation either to closed or open. (I bet the vast majority of forward pressers have never thought of watching the loft disappear.) Without being careful like this, odds are pretty good the forward press is taking the face out of square.

The second disadvantage is using too little or too much delofting. Too much, and you get "negative" loft that drives the ball into the turf and it rebounds out with uncertain energy and direction. Too much loft and the ball gets launched, again losing energy and direction. In addition, too much forward pressing tends to cause a push in the stroke path.

The third disadvantage is moving something other than your hands in the press. The press will likely alter the relation of the front forearm and the hind elbow, and this new relationship has to be preserved without much time to learn it well. In addition, there is a tendency to let the front shoulder slide forward with the press (as probably happens a bit in the driver full-swing), but this moves your head as well and changes the orientation of your upper torso to the putt and the ball. Not good! And if the shoulders shift open in the press, you promote a pull stroke or a cut stroke.

A fourth disadvantage is that the press alters your sense of the location of the bottom of the stroke arc. This knowledge is vital to consistent, solid impact, with the face square and vertical, and the sweetspot moving level through the center of the ball. People who forward press have to be very careful to avoid head movement or lifting the putter going back or sway of any kind, since their technique predisposes them to hit down into the ball instead of level and low through the ball. The forward press is very dangerous without a well-practiced fixing of the wrist angle at the end of the press, and a level and low through-stroke to go along with it.

[u]The Rhythm Advantage[/u]. The principal advantage is illusory. Do you need the forward press to get rhythm in your putt stroke? Not really. The real problem here is the notion of using your forearm muscles to initiate the stroke. There is a powerful tendency to initiate the stroke with the hands and a left-wrist break, like Casper, as the putterhead is the heavy part of the system. In order to avoid wristiness, many golfers today climb one level up the limb system to the forearms.

But if you watch, these golfers are feeling a sudden increase in tension in the forearms at the initiation of the stroke, but the real movement is from the shoulders pushing the arms-hands assembly back as a unit. (The forearms alone are not capable of moving the putter back, because the elbows prevent this.) Unfortunately, this forearm tension tends to cause snatchiness in the wrists and grip-pressure changes. These influences tend to throw the stroke path out of pattern and cause the face to come out of square. With a stroke like this, the forward press serves to stabilize the forearm-wrist system before the snatchiness can affect it. The so-called "smoothness" thereafter in the stroke comes from a combination of shoulder power and elimination of wrist action. If you simply increased your grip pressure to an unreasonable level, along with forearm muscles locking the elbows in place with tightened wrists, you can still make a very smooth, fluid takeaway without any question.

[/size][color="#ff0000"][u]Initiation is the Problem for Rhythm[/u][/color]. So, rhythm is not really the problem -- it's HOW you initiate the stroke that's the problem. Your stroke needs to start without any sense of snatching or grabbing the putterhead back along the line, and the motion needs to fit into your established tempo from the beginning. A slow, even tempo allows this sort of initiation.

[color="#0000ff"][u]A Better Way[/u][/color]. A better technique without risking the disadvantages of a forward press is to combine a secure initiation move with good tempo. You need to have your tempo in mind before you initiate the stroke and then do so with sufficiently even, constant, light tension in your forearms and grip so the putterhead moves "fluidly" and "smoothly" back. For me, the key is to start the stroke consciously with a fixed arms-hands system (or "triangle") but the whole pushed back with the left shoulder dropping. This "push back away" move, when combined with a nice tempo, is always even and smooth, and it goes straight back from the ball on line without changing the face or the upper body orientation to the putt.

[color="#0000ff"][u]Make This Part of Your Game[/u][/color]. Try replacing the forward press with a shoulder move back and a slow tempo. If your impacts occur with too much loft, then your putter is not well designed for your stroke (or the ball is too far forward of the bottom of your stroke arc). It's far more important to keep the putterface square and to make solid, consistent impact than to risk this for the sake of a marginal gain in rhythm and fluidity, especially since you don't have to make the trade at all! The forward press is an odd-ball relic from a certain transitional phase of golf history, and has outlived its usefulness as a technique. Of course, though, it's addictive, so.....

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]

[b]Get a Grip on Putting: Keep the Pressure Light and Constant[/b]
[size="5"][color="#0000ff"][/color][/size][size=2]

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

[/size][/color][center][size="4"][color="#ff0000"]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][/color][/size][color="#008080"][/color]

[color="#ff0000"][/color][color="#0000ff"][/color][color="#0000ff"][/color]

[/center][color="#0000ff"][size=2][left][color="#FF3333"][b][url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/grip.html"]ZipTip:[/url][/b][/color][url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/grip.html"][color="#3333FF"] SETUP & STROKE: Get a Grip on Putting: Keep the Pressure Light and Constant[/color][/url][/left]
[/size][/color][size=2]Keep your grip pressure light and constant throughout the stroke to avoid snatching or casting the putter, abrupt transitions in the stroke, or tempo fluctuations, as this promotes a smooth stroke, with good accuracy in the stroke path, and consistently solid contact.

***

A light, constant grip pressure is the unsung hero of good putting. You seldom hear about it, maybe because it's not as sexy a subject as "left-hand low" or the interminable debate over "lag" versus "aggressive" putting (Bor-ing!). To cut to the chase: use a light grip pressure (under one-fifth of the maximum grip pressure you are capable of) and for gosh sakes don't let it change at any point in the stroke. Let's talk about it.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][size=2]
[b]Some Theory.[/b]
[/size][/color][size=2]"Grip" is used in three senses: 1) the putting handle; 2) the pattern of disposing the hands and fingers on the putting handle; or 3) the pattern of muscle activation in the grasping or holding of the handle. This tip is NOT about whether you should use the "reverse overlap," "baseball / 10-fingers," "interlocking," "left-hand low," "split-hand," or any other sort of grip pattern. This tip is about the degree and constancy of squeeze.

Optimal grip pressure must relate to the function of the grip. Obviously, the grip must hold the putter, but the key is to hold it so that nothing about the stroke, the putter, or the hands makes it more difficult to deliver a square putterface with the sweetspot on a straight trajectory through the center of the ball on the putt's starting line, with the appropriate force. You don't want to think about grip pressure apart from this function.

How does the optimal stroke get messed up, apart from bad aim? There are several ways.

Sometimes, the putter itself reacts to the forces of the back- and through-stroke so it veers off line or the face twists out of square. This can happen with some heel-toe weighting schemes, design oddities, or personal efforts to "tape" the putter or alter its swingweight or shaft dynamics. Robotic tests of face-balanced putters versus heel-toe weighted putters reveal this effect. This problem is exacerbated by quick strokes and strokes without smooth tempo and fluidity of motion.

Sometimes the hand-arm positioning creates a biomechanical pattern that forces the stroke path along an arcing trajectory. The most common pattern has the hands out beyond the shoulder sockets, with a resulting "gating" stroke path that fans the toe open going back and fans it closed (hopefully) back to square an [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/grip.html#"]instant[/url] before impact.

Sometimes the technique introduces complications that go awry. Forward pressing changes the wrists-arms relationship and it is highly unlikely that most golfers can tilt the face of the putter forward in this delofting move without also changing the face away from square or altering the setup alignment of the shoulderframe. The deleterious effect on a good stroke should be obvious. There are quite a few of the "techniques" with similar effects that should be left alone entirely.

And sometimes, the muscles of the hand tighten (they seldon get looser) during the stroke, especially at the initiation of the takeaway, the transition from back-stroke to through-stroke, and at impact. These changes can be accompanied by uneveness in the flow of the stroke. This generally results from lack of a clear notion of how to [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/grip.html#"]start[/url] the stroke; from fears of technical flaws (the dreaded "left-wrist breakdown"), from lack of visual and kinetic attention to the line of the stroke and putt; and from uncertainty about force.

In response to the first three causes, golfers usually try to overcome a developing problem in the stroke path or face angle with the hands and fingers. The tighter grip counteracts unwanted changes in the putter orientation and seeks to "create" stability through tightness. In the last, the hands and fingers just jump into the act uninvited. In all cases, it should never come to this.

[/size][color="#0000ff"][size=2]
[b]How CONSTANT Pressure Fixes These Problems.[/b]
[/size][/color][size=2]When the putter starts to veer off line or the face seems to be opening, it's too late. You shouldn't be having this problem. If you have a putter that tends to veer or twist, it has this tendency in every single putt. If you keep this putter, you need to observe this about it and set your grip in a pattern and with sufficient pressure to prevent and avoid the problem. Usually, all that is needed is a tiny bit more pressure in the left thumb tip (to prevent toe fanning). If you wait to react with grip pressure changes, each putt will call for a different response and will likely not get exactly what is needed. By sensing the putterhead dynamics very carefully in practice, you will find the minimum extra pressure and pattern that completely controls these unwanted forces.

By the same token, changes in grip pressure will introduce unbalanced forces to the putter except in the very rare case where both hands are adding pressure in a perfectly symmetrical pattern and timing (not likely!).

[/size][b]Rule Number One[/b]: Set and keep one grip pressure. Some instructors recommend "milking" the grip as a way to increase "feel" and reduce psychological stress. Maybe; a better use of this technique is to use "milking" to sense your pressure consciously and then to squeeze lightly down to your desired pressure, symmetrically with both hands at once. This setting of grip pressure gives you a recent benchmark pressure to maintain during the stroke. You should also find that this technique makes your stroke tempo smoother and more flowing.

[b]Rule Number Two[/b]: Don't tighten the grip at the start of the backstroke, at the start of the downstroke, or at impact. "Grabbing" the handle in order to move the putterhead or assert reactive control is one of the main causes of bad stroke paths and face twisting. Also, if you "power" the stroke with one hand or the other, as many instructors recommend (usually the right or dominant hand), you get in the quagmire of "accelerating" the putterhead through impact. This approach to the stroke usually causes grip pressure to increase at the transition to the through-stroke and also at impact. Instead, learn what it means to "let the putterhead do the work." And the anticipation of putterface twisting at impact also causes tightening. The answer here is to make solid impact with the sweetspot and a square face secure in the knowledge that there is never any twisting with a good impact like this. You only need to tighten in anticipation at impact if you are not capable of making this sort of impact.

Many golfers putt as if they are not convinced the putterhead is capable of getting the ball to the hole. The truth is it is hard NOT to hit past a hole on most greens for lengths up to about 10 feet, and not much force is required apart from a free-falling, "unpowered" stroke for putts out to 20 or more feet. In other words, the vast majority of putts should be utterly "hitless." Just for fun, suspend a putter very lightly between two fingers, pull the head back from a ball about 10 inches, and let go; the putterhead will free-fall into and through the ball and on most greens the ball will roll between 8 and 10 feet. Don't accelerate and don't hit; keep the pressure steady and let the putterhead impact the ball and roll it to the hole.

[b]Rule Number Three[/b]: Use the lightest grip pressure you can get away with. A light pressure is not for the purpose of better "feel," whatever that is, but to make room for a stable, accurate stroke without unnecessary tension impeding the timing and fluidity of the motion. Hence, the grip should only have so much pressure as is required to hold the putter in a stable orientation as it undergoes the forces of the stroke's initiation, movement, transition, and impact. A light pressure MAKES good technique happen.

To sense the lightest possible pressure, try what I call the "Chinese handcuff" grip pressure. A Chinese handcuff is a tube created by weaving bands of straw so that when you insert your index fingers in the opposite ends and then try to retract them, the fingers pulls the tube out longer and at the same time smaller in diameter, hence trapping the fingers. The only way out is to push the tube back inward to fatten up the hole and release the fingers. You can do something similar with the putter by adopting a very light grip that emphasizes the fingerprints or crook pads of your lowest fingers on the handle (and thumbprints), and then slightly drawing your whole grip upward until the grip barely locks onto the handle and the putter starts to lift. Your grip very lightly "handcuffs" the putter.

With that grip pressure, the putter will not fall out of your hands. And with such a light pressure, you will need a stroke technique that absolutely minimizes forces on the putter that would tend to corrupt the stroke. The first thing that should disappear is forearm tension holding the putter out too far, and this will cause your arms and hands to relax and drop hanging directly beneath your shoulder sockets. The second effect if that you do not have enough pressure to use your hands to initiate the stroke, so you find another way: use the shoulderframe to power the stroke. Next, you will see you cannot move the putter too fast or stop it to change direction too quickly, because you don't have sufficient pressure to control the forces, so your stroke is nice and easy, smooth and slow. Next, you don't lift the putter going back, because you can't; instead, you keep the triangle intact and the pivot of the shoulderframe stays in line with the top of the putter and the putter shaft at all times. In the throughstroke, you get the sense that you are lightly drawing a sharp pencil in a very straight line, and this sense of straightness occupies your attention and prevents fears of impact from causing putterface twisting, so again pressure stays light. The putter is allowed to do its work as you roll the ball into the hole.

[color="#0000ff"][size=2]
[b]Make This Part of Your Game.[/b]
[/size][/color][size=2]You may not feel comfortable with the lightest possible pressure. That's okay, but try it in practice to know what's available. For comparison, in testing of the grip pressure of top putting pros, the grip pressure range stays between about 12% and 25% of each golfer's maximum grip pressure. Nick Price, who had the steadiest pressure throughout the different parts of the stroke among those tested, kept a constant pressure of about 20%, or one-fifth his maximum. Amateurs typically have variable pressures in the 20-40% range, with spikes of tightening at impact and other points. Try squeezing your hands as hard as you can, and then half that hard; then reduce the pressure by half again. That's still too tight in comparison to Price's squeeze. And you can really go a lot lower than that, too -- down to about 10 to 15%. A good image is to have about as much pressure as you would need to hold a three-foot long section of broomstick handle -- not much at all. And let the putterhead do the work!

[/size]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]

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

[/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]

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

[font="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif"]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.

***

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 [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/setup.html#"]completed[/url] 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.

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

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 [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/setup.html#"]recommend[/url] 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.

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

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.

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

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.

© 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].

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[Sean2]

Great stuff Dana. I'm in the market for a new putter. At 6'5" I usually go 35.5" and 70º lie angle. After reading what you posted I think I will go with 34-inches and a more upright lie angle.

Thanks for posting. :-)

[Vindog]

I just had my putter come in at 32". Short Italian over here.

[Tiptx1122]

I always spend a good 10 min or longer putting before I tee it up. I also planning on switching back & forth between my new SC GoLo S & my Custom C911 SC Laguna. Yep thats right down to just 2 putters now. 1 blade & 1 mallet

[StevenF]

I've been putting at jelly beans on my carpet.

[KaBoom21]

Changed my grip.

Used to have my right index finger extended down the length of the grip. Why is that grip considered such a a bad idea?

[Scotty1140]

What am I doing to improve my putting?

Making a strong effort NOT to think about technique on the course. Stick to my routine and think about the actual putt.

I've made a lot of technical changes over the last two winter off seasons, all for the better I feel. The downside has been getting past that period of having to run through that mental checklist in my head of all the changes. I've putted very well when it's all about the putt. When I catch myself getting technical on the course that's when those 30 footers come up about 5 feet short...

[agoose10]

I have been focusing on this topic a lot this year. After thinking about re-starting everything (stance, grip, putter). I read an excerpt from a book "Putting out of your mind", and heres what I changed:

1. Went back to normal grip.
2. Developed a routine (for EVERY putt).
3. Downloaded a metronome on my phone and now every time I practice I have that baby on 85bpm.
4. On the course just try to keep my mind clear and do the same routine each and every putt.

Its worked! I am excited each time I walk up to a green and the scores are dropping!!

Goose

[danattherock]

Changed my grip.

 

Used to have my right index finger extended down the length of the grip. Why is that grip considered such a a bad idea?

 

 

It's not.!!!

 

Read this....

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...08#entry4735008

 

 

 

 

 

I use both index fingers down the grip as it quietens my wrist motion, the same wrist motion that used to kill my distance control. Implementing a flat left wrist in my putting improved my distance control more than anything I have done. This grip reinforces this and the slightest breakdown of the wrist, I feel it. Almost like a fire alarm is going off. No question, wrist break down can be felt. In doing so, using this grip, my stroke is better than ever and the distance control is freaky good for my skill level.

 

From an old thread...

 

 

I use a "Two Pistoleros" grip which I discovered by accident. Well, from reading about it, I have a different version of it. I keep my lead hand (left) above the right hand and continue to use my overlapping grip. What I then do is overlap right pinky, ring, and middle fingers directly over the same exact fingers on the lead L hand. So two thumbs on top of shaft, L up and R lower, both index fingers going down, R lower than L. The index fingers run directly down opposing sides of the putter. Hard to type and explain, but feels 100% natural. Also, I have big hands so this may be why I like it so much. I am loving it. Read up and found that it sounds like the "Two Pistoleros" grip mentioned by putting guru Geoff Mangum (www.puttingzone.com) Go to that site and read the "Tips" section. TONS of putting info there for anyone interested. Below is a thread that describes this grip. I love the control I have of the putter and both index fingers going down the shaft really prevents the wrist from breaking down. Just as importantly, if they do, I feel it immediately. I have never putted better personally.

 

 

http://www.puttertal...index.php/topic,13564.msg159202.html#msg159202

 

 

http://www.puttingzo...iptips.html#BAS

 

A brief tidbit on the "Two Pistoleros" grip from Geoff's website...

 

 

 

A left-hand level "two pistoleros" grip form that functions to monitor stroke movement for pace and path while simplifying the biomechanics of a sound stroke -- to neutralize the adverse influence of dominant-hand control in favor of a "dead hands" approach to accuracy and consistency, to enhance the sense of level shoulders and symmetric body position exactly at the bottom of the stroke for pivot management and accuracy of impact, and to enhance same-hemisphere control for targeting spatial awareness and stroke movement control;

 

 

Below is an article on "tapping the ground" with the putter before taking the putter back. This was actually taught to me by David Orr "squish the bug" ha ha ... and it helped get a jerky motion out of my take away. It is now the trigger that starts my putting stroke and has proved to be a life saver. Just saw it while reading over at Geoff's website and thought I would post it here in case it may be of use to anyone. Simple, but extremely effective!

 

http://puttingzone.c...ips/bounce.html

 

 

 

 

 

Related thread....

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...down-the-shaft/

 

 

 

 

 

I use the two pistols grip mentioned by Geoff Mangum (pic below). Love it. It aids in my wrist not breaking down as I can feel it immediately. My only caution, don't steer the putter. The one thing that helped my putting the most, especially distance control, was implementing a flat left wrist. Read Bobby Clampett's book "The Impact Zone". Amazon has it of course. A famous book for the full swing, but the chapter on putting, teaches you to use a flat left wrist. It is a building block chapter of sorts for teaching you to use a flat left wrist in the full swing. Can't tell you how much this helped my putting (and full swing). Getting the wrist out of my putting stroke, the break down of wrist of course, is huge. Before I did that, my distance control was erratic. Since using a flat left wrist, it is scary how good I have got at controlling distance.

 

Another tip that helped me improve feel and distance control, using much less grip pressure. Experiment with seeing just how lightly you can hold the putter grip and still control it. I have a smoother stroke and 10x the touch I used to have since lightening my grip pressure.

 

Also, I find great utility in a Pingman or Iomic midsize grip. They just convey more vibration, feel, etc.. up the shaft and to my hand than the larger, softer grips I used to use. The grip (on the club) makes more of a difference than most folks would imagine. A lesson I have learned after much experimentation.

 

Lastly, read all the "tips" on Geoff Mangum's website. Tons of free articles from this putting guru.

 

http://www.puttingzo...om/ziptips.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VERY interesting article (with pics) here that has some TGM influence for sure, but also good pics of the grip similar to mine. Very interesting article that talks about this grip, flat left wrist, etc...

 

 

 

http://www.golfingmachinist.com.au/article.php?id=27

 

 

 

-Dan

 

 

 

[Vindog]

I use a RH pistolero. I've tried changing around, but I get [i]consistent, predictable results[/i] with it. So while it may not be the best grip...it's the best grip for me, and it's the one that I can get feedback from.

My real problem is in the left hand though. If I get loose or get a wimpy strike, it's because of lefty. I've started to really become (more) diligent in squaring the back of the left hand to the target line, and started to become aware of the pressure of the left hand. That is, not necessarily grip it tighter, but just be conscious of it. So when I line up, I'l make sure the shoulders are loose, elbows loose, wrists loose, but make sure I feel that LH grip. Like the tightest thing in the setup is the LH, particularly the ring and pinky fingers (even though it isn't really all that tight, I just want to make sure I feel it).


If that makes any sense at all

[joekelli]

[b] What are YOU doing to improve your putting? [/b]



I am trying to hit my approach shots closer to the hole!

[tbowles411]

Interesting reads. Thanks for posting.