My main problems are distance control and not making birdie putts - yes I knock them in for par but miss the birds.
I have watched Phil's DVD and like a lot of what he suggests, I just don't seem to be getting better.
Where do you suggest I begin looking again?
Alternatively, what is your best drill for improving distance putting.
__________________ The student senses his teacher’s steadfast belief and quiet resolve: “This is doable. It is doable by you. The pathway is there. All you need is determination and time.” And together, they make it happen.
Alternatively, what is your best drill for improving distance putting.
OK this is outside of TGM maybe. But here is something that has helped me with distance control:
-make it as much like throwing darts or a ball is you possibly can. Dont get bogged down in the process or the mechanics , trust your eye to prescribe to your hands the proper amount of lag pressure to apply to the putt.
-dont get caught up in how accurate your practice stroke is weight wise. Its a rehearsal to awaken you pressure points only. If a practice stroke gives you cause to mentally critique its mechanics , its done you a disservice. In this case forego the practice stroke or do it behind the ball instead of beside it.
-when you get over the ball take a long cold look at the hole and "take a picture" of it in your minds eye.
-Keep that "picture" in your mind as you return your gaze to the ball and let er go................. Putt to the picture.
That's it. It works. Tiger does this. With your mind on the target instead of extreaneous mechanics or whatever your brain directs your hands to dole out the proper amount of lag pressure as it does when you're throwing a ball or similar.
As for a drill...... Take a bunch of balls and without any practice strokes to gauge the weight......putt to different holes at various distances. All the while merely "putting to the picture". Turn your conscious weight scrutiny tendencies off and just let er go. You'll notice that your distance control goes awry when you lose the "picture" while making the stroke. So dont. Some days its easier than others........cest la vie.
The eyes, the brain can direct the hands to do amazing things ........if left alone. You couldnt throw a ball a prescribed distance properly if your thoughts turned to something mechanical.......the position of your elbow or the length of your arm travel or whatever.
When Im really putting well the ball and the clubhead disappear........its just a picture of the hole in my minds eye and the pressure points in my hands. The more Im conscious of the putter head's travel the more Im steering it.
Trust your eye. This method works for all shots by the way. Driver to putter.
Thanks OB, I think you are on the money with this. I was actually saying to someone on another forum that with regards to aiming we instinctively know if we are aiming a long way left or right so its just experimentation
I think one of my problems is hitting the ball hard enough. I have a long flowing stroke and I thnk for long putts the stroke feels so long I decelerate into the ball.
This weekend I am going to just go and allow myself to sink putts without thinking them through.
My head comes up too, so putting to the picture should help.
I like feeling lag pressure when putting but sometimes feel it causes me to block putts - any suggestions?
__________________ The student senses his teacher’s steadfast belief and quiet resolve: “This is doable. It is doable by you. The pathway is there. All you need is determination and time.” And together, they make it happen.
RE the lag pressure thing: It could be that the clubhead is lagging too far behind, opening the face a touch. Try a forward press, or try setting up with your hands more forward. That way, your clubface at address and impact will be more closely aligned. You could also try firming up your grip a touch to create more stability in the clubface and shaft angle.
The drill that helps me the most with speed and line without getting bogged down with my own thoughts is putting while looking at the hole. It really gets me in tune with the target, and it translates well to the "putt to the picture" technique O.B. was talking about.
Styles, I have a long flowing stroke as well. I didnt want to get into mechanics cause there are options but I personally love Homers idea from 12-5-0
12-5-0 BASIC MOTION REQUIREMENTS. " Use a slow , smooth motion up-and-back, down -and-out and up-and-in the dame distance in both directions and as continuously as possible.
Make no adjustment during the Storke , for - or because -Impact, NEVEREVER. That is "Hacking at the Ball" and produces only "Hackers."
I can see how the people who "pop" their putts a little can get a nice roll and good positive contact but for me anyways I prefer to do as Homer prescribed above and be "smooth and heavy" . Its especially helpful with distance control and a super effective method on fast greens. Over acceleration begets deceleration, throwaway even on such a short stroke. Sustain the lag with smooth flowing acceleration. Feel the lag in your hands, sustain it, with a picture of the hole in your mind.
The trick is keep it even paced back and through and have a definite TOP and FINISH, the Three Stations ........Address , Top , Finish. Im better able to sustain the lag pressure longer in this way, over acceleration can stalk the lag and drag in a menacing way whilst putting too. Its maybe even more menacing when putting!!!!!!
The actual length of the stroke is maybe something that is grooved during a PRACTICE stroke and then translated into a FEEL, as you just dont want to be too hyper conscious of how long the stroke is when you're actually PLAYING the shot. That would cause you to lose the picture as your attention turns to an alignment or mechanic. Some people might disagree with this but some people have never really stopped practicing. See Practice vs Playing in 3-B. Play with or by FEEL!
We all have our unique methods when it comes to putting. I read a book that had me pacing off the putts , calculating it in feet and then varying the length of my stroke accordingly. It worked for a while but Id never go back to that method again. I was putting from 60 yards out in Scotland last week, to do all that calculating would have had the course ranger on my tail, no doubt. I dont think it would have worked either. " Putt to the picture" worked wonders over there. Even when putting from places Id never considered previously.
I use a similar "picture" method for chipping , pitching, any sort of weight critical shot. It works for line on longer shots as well.
Tiger takes a picture on every shot in the bag. Driver too. It really works. Nicklaus called it "going to the movies".
As for blocked putts , it sounds like type one Steering from 3-F-7-A. There have been some successful "Straight back , Straight through" putters but it is Steering. OK for putting maybe but death for longer shots unless you need a soft lob shot.
If you are more of an "Arc" putter , it sounds like you are leaving the face square to the hole on the through stroke. Vertical Hinging. To employ a Plane methodology when putting (straight back, straight through is not plane compliant in a clubshaft manner though the clubhead can be said to travel a straight line or plane as it covers the plane line) means the club head travels up and in , in and out etc . And most importantly for you , the clubface closes in accordance with the desired Hinge Action. Angled most likely, or commonly. Thats your fix for blocked putts................first understand the geometry of the inclined plane and then execute a Hinge Action.
Styles , you got into Vertical Hinging on your full shots a while back didnt you? Now you're doing it with your putter. It could all be founded in a popular misconception about the geometry of impact. If so, get into, believe in 2-C-0 and Hinge Action........ To my mind much of the book is extrapolated from 2-C-0. Like Homer worked backwards from Impact. You'll notice that Steering has a reverse relationship to 2-C-0 and "Inside out Impact" etc.
Even Homer was a victim of Steering, the "seems as if it should work", false logic of golfs impact geometry. He noticed he complied perfectly to the correct geometry when striking dandelions in his yard..........the presence of the ball does strange things to our heads and so I try to ignore it as much as I can. I personally take the putter back as soon as my eyes return from the hole ...........no pause. Its something that Brad Faxon and other do. It sure smoothes out the stroke. Its harder to Steer something you're not paying much attention too.
I like to rapidly lob balls underhanded to holes of various lengths on the practice green. I stand in the middle of the practice green and wheel around , lobbing balls in different directions like Clint Eastwood in a speghetti western gun fight. Then I do the same with one arm on the putter, then I go to my normal two armed stroke. It wouldnt be much of an athletic achievement to lob or bowl the balls close to their respective holes without much thought..........I try to bring that line of thinking into my putting stroke, to learn from that drill.
Its automatic and very intuitive. "Natural" if you will. We are "wired" to do incredible things like this so why over ride it all with ponderous introspection and critiquing.
I havent read Brad Faxons book on putting but I have a feeling he does something along these lines. Im afraid to read it actually , 'cause I dont want to change anything or become too conscious of what Im doing. I saw Davis Love doing the rapid fire, various holes drill on the practice green after the third round of the Memorial Tournament last year.
I learned much of this from a friend of mine who is crazy good with his old Ping Anser. Damn him, he's good with that thing. Im always threatening to break it in two on him. Bend it over my knee or jump on its head.
speed and line without getting bogged down with my own thoughts is putting while looking at the hole. It really gets me in tune with the target, and it translates well to the "putt to the picture" technique O.B. was talking about.
Yup. You dont look at the dart when you're throwing it.
It was doing this drill you mention above that got me going on starting back just as my eyes returned to the ball. I didnt really want to look at the hole when putting , although Johnny Miller did it on a whim while firing a 63 or what ever it was to win the US Open. Sometimes the putter head is even swinging back just a bit before my eyes get back to the ball.
I was in a member guest tourney the past two days. At the end of one of the day the back shop guys set up a 60 foot downhill , triple breaker putt for fabulous cash prizes. You were allowed one practice putt and then two real putts. Of the one hundred or so guys who participated only three putts where holed...........and all of them were non official practice putts! My explanation ...............Homer Kelley and his dandelion. Steering. Moe Norman talked of a "healthy indifference".
You've got options of course, lots of them. Jack could stand over a putt forever.........
Something that Yoda told me last year after a succession of missed or dribbled putts. Like you I have issues with distance control on the greens due to a long putting stroke (funny how I have a long swing in the full game too!)
Anyways hopefully I have remember it right
1) 5 feet and in - bottom of the back of the cup
2) 5 feet to 10 feet - middle of the back of the cup
3) 10 feet to 20 feet - top of the back of the cup
4) 20 feet to 30 feet - one foot radius around the cup
4) 30 feet upwards - 3 foot radius around the cup
Its helped with my short range putting as you are aiming to hit the putt with enough strength to hit certain parts of the cup.
Hopefully Yoda will correct this if I got it wrong.
Alex
Something that Yoda told me last year after a succession of missed or dribbled putts. Like you I have issues with distance control on the greens due to a long putting stroke (funny how I have a long swing in the full game too!)
Anyways hopefully I have remember it right
1) 5 feet and in - bottom of the back of the cup
2) 5 feet to 10 feet - middle of the back of the cup
3) 10 feet to 20 feet - top of the back of the cup
4) 20 feet to 30 feet - one foot radius around the cup
4) 30 feet upwards - 3 foot radius around the cup
Its helped with my short range putting as you are aiming to hit the putt with enough strength to hit certain parts of the cup.
Hopefully Yoda will correct this if I got it wrong.
Alex
Pretty sure this is right. I heard Lynn and Collin Neeman discussing this at Cuscowilla.
Personally, I find extensor action to be a huge factor in adding structure and consistency to my putting stroke - short to long putts. Once your mechanics are consistent and reproducible, feel and confidence comes quickly.
I think it is helpful to have softer hands as that gives me better feel for distance. I use right underhanded throw imagery to get that feel. I also use vision. I look at the ball and then the target. I monitor how much I have to turn my head to see the target and then put that into my brain computer. That helps me with distance. I don't know why, but the amount of head turn seems to help my distance computer. My problem is not lagging but those 6-8 foot birdie puts.
Try float loading with your stroke. This will give you a better feel for lag pressure,sweet spot and distance control. I like to float load when practicing and or playing a casual round.
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