What are YOU doing to improve your putting?

[StevenF]

I highly recommend the pelz putting tutor. You can experience the frustration of making bad putts on the course right in your own living room!

[KaTooM]

Great information here gentlemen!!!!

Thanks for posting!!!!

[KaBoom21]

[quote name='danattherock' timestamp='1334627624' post='4734936']
[quote name='KaBoom21' timestamp='1334610865' post='4733308']
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?
[/quote]


It's not.!!!

Read this..

-Dan
[/quote]


[quote name='Vindog' timestamp='1334667415' post='4736874']
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.

[/quote]

YAY! I'm not the only one! I didn't even know it had a name. Cool.

Putting has always been my strong suit, especially inside 10 feet. Sometimes, it's automatic and others compliment me on it.

Back story: I first read a Golf Digest article years ago that basically trashed this grip. Can't remember the specifics, but it was absolute about how it was a really bad idea, so I always figured I would need to "fix" my grip at some point.

Fast forward to this years golf show and I took a complimentary putting lesson. Guy seemed pretty knowledgeable, but he gave me the "no one on Tour putts with that grip". I was going to mention Furyk"s unique swing, but I figured it would quickly devolve into him telling me I'm not Furyk and me telling him he's not Pelz.

Anyway, I've been using a conventional grip this year and it's just not the same. The index finger gives me better feel and totally takes the wrists out of play.

Hopefully, I can go back to being the best putter I know.

[danattherock]

Fast forward to this years golf show and I took a complimentary putting lesson.

 

 

Guy seemed pretty knowledgeable, but he gave me the "no one on Tour putts with that grip".

 

 

 

 

Sounds like you got what you paid for

 

 

Watching the RBC in Hilton Head just the other day, someone was putting with a grip that had index finger/fingers going down the grip. At the time the footage was played, one of the commentators mentioned Mark Mcnulty, a famous putter apparently of the past.

 

 

 

I putt with both index fingers down the shaft one left, one right.The left index finger is overlapped by the middle and ring finger of the right hand.

It is a grip I saw Mark McNulty use, when he was widely regarded as one of the best two putters in the world, the other one being Loren Roberts at the time.

I am not a great putter, but better than most people I play with on a regular basis and this grip feels natural to me and locks both my wrists, so there is no flippy motion.

Those are the two most important things about a putting grip I think.

Frankly, I cannot understand why somebody would "give you a hard time" because of that. Sounds like idiots to me. Rather change playing partners than your grip.

 

 

 

From....

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ONLY warning I would give about using this grip, don't use the fingers to steer the putter head.

 

 

Use the meat of your hands to hold the putter grip.

 

Play with how your grip (rubber grip) interacts with the lifeline of your hands.

 

After 15 or so grips (rubber) I actually picked my grips (Pingman and midsize Iomic) based on how they fit my lifeline. It matters.

 

I grip my putter just as naturally as I grip my... The type of grip used on the putter must match your hands and grip style.

 

Give great thought to grip pressure and find what works for you.

 

I am at a 3 out of 10 if I had to put a number on it.

 

Be sure your stroke suits you. Be sure your putter suits your stroke. Be sure the BALL (that's right, BALL) suits the other stuff.

 

I can putt fantastic with a Srixon Z star, ProV1, Callaway Hex black or chrome, and NXT Tour S.

 

From there, it drops off quickly. Pick the ball you putt best with. There is one out there for each of us. Several hopefully, but not all.

 

I doubt most folks experiment enough to even know what ball is for them.

 

They think about which ball they drive best, 10-14 times per round.

 

But what about the 30-40 putts per round?? Hearing crickets....

 

 

 

Think of the index fingers as trip wires.

 

 

When one is activated or broken (bends) you go BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

The feedback is instant.

 

 

Be safe out there guys.

 

 

 

-Dan

[Vindog]

Apparently it's also been referred to as the "over 40 grip"

I'm not sure how we all feel about that one.

[Mikeco]

i decided to make a real effort at putting better this season so I bought Scotty Newport 2....about a week after receiving it i 3 putted 4 times in the first 8 holes....then it fell into the pond next to the green i finished the round putting with my SW. it was the wake up call i needed and i realized I'd wasted 300 dollars on a putter that didnt help me at all, and the real problem was that i need a face balanced putter so i bought a tour issue newport 2.6 and now i only 2-3 times per round, but im on the right track now...i bought a new SC California sonoma yesterday.....lol

[DLiver]

I hate it when putters fall into ponds. I was playing with a buddy one time when his long putter fell into a small river 30 yards from the green.

[danattherock]

i decided to make a real effort at putting better this season so I bought Scotty Newport 2....about a week after receiving it i 3 putted 4 times in the first 8 holes....then it fell into the pond next to the green i finished the round putting with my SW. it was the wake up call i needed and i realized I'd wasted 300 dollars on a putter that didnt help me at all, and the real problem was that i need a face balanced putter so i bought a tour issue newport 2.6 and now i only 2-3 times per round, but im on the right track now...i bought a new SC California sonoma yesterday.....lol

 

 

 

You are a slow learner.

 

Welcome to the group. My name is Dan.

 

 

 

 

 

[choeppner]

I've started taking the alignemnt sticks you can get and using those on the greens. Make it where you have to hit the pole as it's a smaller target than the hole. Helps quite a bit.

I've also made it to where on my practice sessions now, I have to spend as much time on the putting green as I do on the range. So, if I spend an hour working my irons and all that, then I have to spend an hour working my putting. Noticed a HUGE difference in my stats.

[Mikeco]

[quote name='DLiver' timestamp='1334918411' post='4756824']
I hate it when putters fall into ponds. I was playing with a buddy one time when his long putter fell into a small river 30 yards from the green.
[/quote]

i hear that id like to have a talk with isaac newton and try and find out why golf clubs tend to fall sideways in a helicopter motion. its the strangest thing

[jabrch]

I'm an ok putter....what I am doing now to improve my putting is work on my accuracy from inside 150 so I have fewer putts from outside of 15 feet.

[Dead Solid Perfect]

The best thing for putting is the 3 6 9 drill. The next best thing is a chalk line on 4 foot straight putts: 3 rd practice.

[danattherock]

Any other drills you guys find helping your putting?

[3_Jack_Par]

I've done a couple of things to try to make some improvements to my game on the greens. First, I've switched to a Bettinardi BB53 belly putter in an effort to improve my short putting. Second, and the thing that should help more, is that I've been hitting a bunch of 3 footers and tracking my results. I've been setting up a ring of 5 tees around a hole, and doing 20 rounds per session. I've hit 500 since Monday (mostly before work and at a nearby course at lunch), and I'll be getting another session in this evening. The results are pretty eye-opening so far. My best has been 94/100 (worst is 91), which is obviously not where I want to be. I'm finding that I have to maintain focus to consistently hole putts. If I let my mind wander or if my form gets sloppy, I start missing. I seem to have a flaw in my stroke that leads to pulls sometimes -- I'm pretty sure it's usually from taking it back too far inside, so I'm trying to focus on that.
Also working on getting the distance control dialed in with the new putter. I'm having trouble with leaving putts way short. The solution to that seems to be just hitting a lot of putts to improve my feel with the longer, heavier flatstick.

I'd really like to get better, because my putting really holds me back, especially missing from short range.

[JWells]

I set up three puts in the same line, one 4 foot one 10 foot one 15-20 foot, it's a drill I learned from some Justin Rose tip video I saw. Has helped Me judge speed very well. I also practice short puts constantly because nothing is more annoying then 2 putting from 5 feet away

[Golfer4Life]

I continue to work with the Stockton method, but made a few adjustments. I am not a forward press guy, so I got rid of that, and also got rid of looking for a point in front of the ball. I feel more comfortable using the putter natural loft and looking at the ball at address. By using the others part of the method, like alignment and reading, my putting has improve.

[danattherock]

I continue to work with the Stockton method, but made a few adjustments. I am not a forward press guy, so I got rid of that, and also got rid of looking for a point in front of the ball. I feel more comfortable using the putter natural loft and looking at the ball at address. By using the others part of the method, like alignment and reading, my putting has improve.

 

 

 

While I am a fan of Dave Stockton, that tip didn't work for me either.

 

 

A 'swing thought' I have been cultivating this year is rather odd to share here in typed form. Not sure I can do it justice in words. But basically I am going through my simple, but regimented pre shot routine, stepping into the ball, looking at the hole, then while looking at the ball seeing (in my mind) the hole. For a lack of better articulation I see the hole while looking at the ball beneath me. Almost actually see it (in a sense) at times.

 

A visualization technique of some sorts. Mind tricks. Whatever. I am rolling more 20-30 footers to one foot of the hole than ever before. Dropping more 10-15 footers as well. It works, wish I could explain it without sounding crazy. Basically just think about where the hole is, what it looks like, burned into your minds eye while looking down at the ball. It has helped not only my pace, but the frequency I am dropping long putts in the hole as well.

 

 

 

 

 

-Dan

 

 

[mahonie]

I continue to work with the Stockton method, but made a few adjustments. I am not a forward press guy, so I got rid of that, and also got rid of looking for a point in front of the ball. I feel more comfortable using the putter natural loft and looking at the ball at address. By using the others part of the method, like alignment and reading, my putting has improve.

 

 

 

While I am a fan of Dave Stockton, that tip didn't work for me either.

 

 

A 'swing thought' I have been cultivating this year is rather odd to share here in typed form. Not sure I can do it justice in words. But basically I am going through my simple, but regimented pre shot routine, stepping into the ball, looking at the hole, then while looking at the ball seeing (in my mind) the hole. For a lack of better articulation I see the hole while looking at the ball beneath me. Almost actually see it (in a sense) at times.

 

A visualization technique of some sorts. Mind tricks. Whatever. I am rolling more 20-30 footers to one foot of the hole than ever before. Dropping more 10-15 footers as well. It works, wish I could explain it without sounding crazy. Basically just think about where the hole is, what it looks like, burned into your minds eye while looking down at the ball. It has helped not only my pace, but the frequency I am dropping long putts in the hole as well.

 

 

 

 

 

-Dan

 

 

 

I try and do this and have had some success on my 'home' greens where I am comfortable with the pace. On new courses I struggle to visualise the hole until I can get a good read. To augment the visualisation process, I try and practice putting 6 footers with my eyes closed, although I still struggle to properly visualise putts of 3-4 feet!!

[danattherock]

Had some interesting ideas on the putting green this evening. Thinking of ways to make more 3-4 footers, I tried this 'pop' stroke. Old timers used this way back when. Not ideal on our faster greens of today, but for 3-4 footers, hmm... Assuming you go straight back a few inches, and pop the ball, it goes straight. Duh. But seriously, how many times have you missed a four footer for par because you pulled or pushed it? I have done it. Will need more testing, but this abbreviated back stroke (pop stroke) could be just the ticket for pesky 3-4 footers.



[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5Z_mU-2gA&feature=channel&list=UL[/media]

[vix02]

Bought a new putter that correlates with my putting stroke.....It's doing wonders ( Scotty Newport 2 Notchback ). Coming from a Del Mar style




and carpet putting

[mr_wolf]

[list][*]I am trying to get a "routine" in place for the stroke - this includes a bit of a forward press[*]I practice a bit at home on the carpet each night[*]I use the alignment sticks during part of the routine[*]I just ordered an Iomic large sized grip which I think will help a bit - I used to use a jumbo grip, and the factory Scotty Cameron grip is just a bit too narrow for me[/list]

[danattherock]

Good insights on the use of a forward press....







[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 offers 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 agree 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]

Found this just now in a thread on the Instruction sub-forum. Some very insightful comments and I wanted to add it here....

 

 

Hitball, whomever you are, welcome to the forum man

 

 

 

OP I feel your pain. The other day I was putting and feeling like I was clueless if my aim lines were any good. I know I didn't have a laser available on the course to see where I'm aiming and to be honest I've never used one at home either. A long story short, I started just using a right hand dominant (after backswing) push stroke at impact along the path of the slope. I'm thinking his helped me clear through the ball better too. I started making a lot of ten footers and these greens were punched. (A true pro doesn't blame poor greens for his score or his putting. If you are a pure putter the ball will find a way to get in the hole. There's more variance on bad greens, but in the end it evens out. Poor putters make as many putts as they should and good putters likewise) I wasn't reading putts from 3 angles, just standing over the ball, seeing the break with my depth perception, and "pushing" them like little ducks to the pond along those breaks. I was making a lot of putts.

 

I even went to different greens hoping it would work on slopes too. It did. I realized how simple municipal greens were to read etc. (Maybe the easiness of the greens was very friendly, who knows) I was trying to incorporate pure roll by hitting the dead equator of the ball with the center of the face too. (The club sits low at address and finishes higher than it sits) This method definitely helped me do that since i didn't have to think about 5 different things (ie setup, path, face, upstroke, head still etc) The "right hand push" stroke is in a way like using the clubface to mimic the green slope/distance.

 

I went out today and found an open right foot sometimes helps me clear the club through. I have NO clue how good or bad is what I am doing, but I have nothing to lose and its a lot better than guessing if I'm on point. I feel I lose a lot of putts at the end, and that means I am not zone in. Standing over a putt and pretending I know where the face is truly aimed is bs. (I might change my tune once I start working with a laser AND figure out my dominant eye etc) Looking at the hole and its break and then looking at the ball and putting it right on that path with a path friendly stroke is not bs. (The face is not that hard to keep fairly straight IMO, aimlines and speed are what kill putts) Its the simpliest form of putting. Of course you need some skill to do it like any hand eye coordination sport.

 

I believe I used to putt like this when I was younger and it was why I made a lot of putts. I got the line, saw where the right hand needed to be (follow through/push etc) and then hit it pure. It was so easy. See the break, know how to control distances, and putt in that direction. It almost becomes playing skeeball lol. You're putting a path on a picture, not an imaginary line at or away from a hole. Once you get the line (or should I say path) and speed you are simply sending the clubface to its home along the path. You are taping into the power of your brain to send a ball along a fairly easy to read slope to a definite stopping point. Your brain is very smart at subconscious problem solving. (We do it on a daily basis and is part of our survival as humans) I am also seeing how it works on short putts. Might need the two hander for those, I shall see.

 

We need to get rid of the phrase "line of the putt" and instead use "path of the putt". Trying to hit a putt to in a straight line to a spot and hoping it breaks to the hole is bs. Let the club flow to the hole. (It might help the putter I was using was a very light Ram lol, and let me manipulate the clubface more) That 90 degree angle putting where the ball is supposed to break if you hit a spot doesn't work for me. (That's like trying to make two putts instead of one) That makes my brain hurt thinking about it where the spot even is and if I can hit it. (Its amazing how far off you are from your spot. Try it) You hit your spot (or somewhere near) and then your ball does all kinds of weird stuff that you didn't expect, because you putted with a line and not a feeling. You weren't soaking in all the information and then hitting a pure putt on a path that you choose.

 

This might all be bs and I am just making a lot of good putts since I am freed up with a new style, who knows, but I truly think I have found my old teenage putting stroke where every fifteen footer looked like a longer version of a 3 footer. Just hit it harder lol. I don't like not being in control of putts and this definitely helps me control the putt. Who knows, maybe my left arm/hand/shoulder/side was just too stiff/dominant this whole time. : ) Either way OP,

Best of luck on the greens.

 

 

[scotchblade]

Stop trying so hard, relax and focus on enjoying myself.

"Give up control to gain control" - George Knudson

[StevenF]

I assume that post above is by Geoff Magnum, who I respect...but... I recently started experimenting with the forward press while using an Odyssey black series #9. On the practice green I am dropping everything. Yesterday evening, after my 70 wedge shots, I sauntered over to the putting green with 1 ball. I would just pick a hole and try to 2 putt. In 20 mins or so I only had one 3 putt on a pretty sloped practice green. Even the putts I left 5-6 ft from the hole I was dropping with ease. I'm hoping this is a breakthrough for my putting, guess I'll find out today when I play.

[alpsburner]

Banned Jack Daniels the evening before

 

CU

[Colum]

I ordered a new leather Gripmaster for my putter, thats what I am doing to shave shots of the score!!!

[lightningbolt444]

I am going to put it close enough with my irons and wedges from now on that my golf partner will just give me the putt .


No but seriously I am just trying to find my stroke. It is coming back around with the help of Bruce and some more playing time. The biggest thing I am working on is maintaining my the same setup everytime . Also aim the putter and then set the feet instead of setting the feet and aiming the putter after I am set.

[danattherock]

[quote name='lightningbolt444' timestamp='1337440698' post='4942128']
I am going to put it close enough with my irons and wedges from now on that my golf partner will just give me the putt .


No but seriously I am just trying to find my stroke. It is coming back around with the help of Bruce and some more playing time. The biggest thing I am working on is maintaining my the same setup everytime . [b]Also aim the putter and then set the feet instead of setting the feet and aiming the putter after I am set.[/b]
[/quote]



That particular thing was of great benefit to me personally. In the past, I just walked up to the ball and assumed my stance while simultaneously placing the putter behind the ball. Now I have a more precise method in which I VERY carefully place the putter behind the ball, ensuring it is square, then step in one foot at a time (back foot first and square, then front foot open), I then settle each foot, then take one final look at the hole, then eyes back to ball (but I am 'seeing' the hole subconsciously, mental imagery, whatever), then tap the ground with putter head 2-3 times (my trigger), then fire. While this sounds stupid in typed form, it improved my putting in a huge way.



-Dan

[danattherock]

While I got this tip on bumping the ground, "squish the bug" as it was called, from a lesson with David Orr, this is where the tip originated. ...



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


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

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

[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.

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[/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 [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 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 [url="http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/bounce.html#"]degree[/url] 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].

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