If you know my teaching philosophy or have taken a putting lesson from me before you probably have heard me say this a hundred times. Putting is an art form and not a science... BUT there are a few technical aspects of the putting stroke that all great putters have in common. When I say putting is an art form and not a science I am talking about the fact there is no one "correct" way to putt. Just like the greatest artists of the world di Vinci, Van Gogh, Warhol, Michelangelo etc. had their own styles to produce a masterpiece so do the greatest golfers of the world when it comes to putting styles. BUT...you knew it was coming, you need to follow some basic rules to be a consistent roller of the rock.
Take a look at the picture of one of my students. Jeff has had a lot of struggles on the putting green. He came to me bothered by the fact that he is so inconsistent on the green he has no idea whether the putt will miss left, right, short or long. He explained to me that his actual stroke always feels similar but his contact with the ball is all over the map. After a minute or so watching Jeff putt to a target it was very evident where his inconsistencies were coming from. Take a look at the picture of Jeff at address and through impact. The first change we made was ball position. His ball position was too far back in his set up to a point where at impact the putter was still travelling down at the ball. A good thought is to keep the ball under your left eye (as a RH). This is put the ball in a better position for the natural stroke of the putter to catch the ball at the proper spot in the swing arc.
The second issue Jeff was dealing with was his active upper body through impact. In simple terms he was very quick to lift his chin and upper torso to watch the ball. Remember, you have no control over the ball once it leaves your putter (unless your Superman) so why watch it? When you follow the ball not only does your head move but you also pull your entire upper torso out of the putt. All of this leads to very inconsistent putter face contact and inevitably poor control.
If you find yourself struggling with this same problem here is a great drill for you. Put a quarter on the green then place your ball on top of the quarter. Take your normal stroke but instead of watching the ball after impact keep your focus on the quarter for at least 3 seconds. This will keep everything down through the entire putt which will lead to consistent contact with the center of the putter face. If you are still struggling on the putting green please contact me or your local PGA Professional.
T.J.
Take a look at the picture of one of my students. Jeff has had a lot of struggles on the putting green. He came to me bothered by the fact that he is so inconsistent on the green he has no idea whether the putt will miss left, right, short or long. He explained to me that his actual stroke always feels similar but his contact with the ball is all over the map. After a minute or so watching Jeff putt to a target it was very evident where his inconsistencies were coming from. Take a look at the picture of Jeff at address and through impact. The first change we made was ball position. His ball position was too far back in his set up to a point where at impact the putter was still travelling down at the ball. A good thought is to keep the ball under your left eye (as a RH). This is put the ball in a better position for the natural stroke of the putter to catch the ball at the proper spot in the swing arc.
The second issue Jeff was dealing with was his active upper body through impact. In simple terms he was very quick to lift his chin and upper torso to watch the ball. Remember, you have no control over the ball once it leaves your putter (unless your Superman) so why watch it? When you follow the ball not only does your head move but you also pull your entire upper torso out of the putt. All of this leads to very inconsistent putter face contact and inevitably poor control.
If you find yourself struggling with this same problem here is a great drill for you. Put a quarter on the green then place your ball on top of the quarter. Take your normal stroke but instead of watching the ball after impact keep your focus on the quarter for at least 3 seconds. This will keep everything down through the entire putt which will lead to consistent contact with the center of the putter face. If you are still struggling on the putting green please contact me or your local PGA Professional.
T.J.
No comments:
Post a Comment