Sunday, November 24, 2013

Putting Lessons 76-85


Lesson 76-Practice with an awareness of feel is very important. Feel is what allows us to repeat the motion. Mechanics + Timing = Feel.

Lesson 77- Hold or release-Up tempo or Slow. Long stroke or short. Identify what works for you in what combination is how you develop Feel.

Lesson 78-Practice feel. Use dry erase maker and mark the back of the ball -dime size- Hit the putt. Check the marks. Did real match feel?

Lesson79-Working on alignment is not always about perfectly parallel. In putting a little closed or open can be a good thing. Find your way!

Lesson 80-Face 82% of Direction the Path 18%. Never assume the face swings square to the path. Use path to offset the position of the face.

Lesson 81-You have to assume your stroke has some arc! The more vertical the stroke plane the straighter the appearance, but it still arcs.

Lesson 82-The idea of a diagonal alignment is as old as golf. Modern technology proves it is the most efficient way to play. Putt or Swing.

Lesson 83-A closed or open stance in putting is not something to automatically fix. It might be the best thing you do, if you know why?

Lesson 84-Use your stance to assist your release of the putter. Open stance slows rotation at impact, closed helps increase rotation/release

Lesson 85-Cant say enough-Face angle at impact is 4 times more influential than direction of path. Face position relative to path tells all!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Putting Help Continued


Lesson 66- Spend some time practicing mechanics without judging the result. Use impact tape to judge consistency.

Lesson 67-Absolute must! Make green reading part of every putt-Practice or in Play. Make the process of setting up to what you read a habit.

Lesson 68-Good aim does not guarantee accurate impact. Problem is reaction to putter balance and offset during the stroke. Blame the putter.

Lesson 69-A test to see if your putter works with you or against you. 

On a flat surface with no break AND NO TARGET, take a piece of masking tape 1 inch X 4.5 inches and put it on the green. Now take your putter and set it so the leading edge matches the long edge of the tape. Put a ball down and from this position make a stroke. Repeat the procedure 5 or more times. Try as best as you can to make the same stroke each time. Since there is no target there is no need for a correction.

Once you have a pattern, leave the golf balls on the green. Tie some string to a tee and bisect the tape on the ground  so when you extend the string it is perpendicular to the tape and on a similar line to the rolling golf balls. Where are the golf balls relative to this line? If they are predominantly left or right then you can assume there is a conflict between you stroke and the putter.

Lesson 70-Did you try the test lesson 69?  What was your result? Don't change stroke, find the right putter.

Lesson 71- When choosing putter-you get what you settle for. Discover what you need and then find a company that builds that putter for you.

Lesson 72-Preparation is visual, stroke is feel based. Best way to develop feel is to make the strokes for Lesson 69 with your eyes closed.

Lesson 73-Practice for feel. Eyes closed and focus on the movement of the toe of the putter. Never let the heel move faster than toe.

Lesson74 - Develop a feel for square at impact. Focus on the position of your hands. If it feels awkward check the grip. Is it on correctly?

Lesson 75-How much feel are you will to trade for putter forgiveness? Learning to control your hands in the stroke requires accurate feel.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Lessons 56 through 65


Lesson56-Maintaining a consistent club position to the path means a consistent hand position to the path-not the target line-common mistake.

Lesson 57- Path shape of the putter swing is a delivery system to impact. Big Arc or No Arc,There is no best way! Best? Your natural stroke.

Lesson 58-Most putting problems come when we try to match a method that doesn't suit our tendencies. Don't always fight what seems natural.

Lesson 59-Review-Stroke mechanics-Eyes tell you where to stand. Fit putter to that set up. Identify a source of motion, use it consistently.

Lesson 60-Target location and set up is a visual process. The stroke is a mechanical process. You can't aim a moving object-swing not steer

Lesson 61-We react to what we see, but it takes 200ms to process. Average forward swing to impact takes 350ms. Can't fix a stroke in motion.

Lesson 62-Visual interference or reacting to what we think we see will ruin your putting stroke. Practice mechanics with eyes closed helps.

Lesson 63-Narrow focus can create anxiety and tension. Observe all, focus on nothing. Blank stare and a still head enhances feel of the putt.

Lesson 64-Many missed putts due to unnecessary correction of an anticipated miss. Learn your stroke then make that stroke with confidence.

Lesson 65-Confidence comes from practice. Best practice focuses on consistent setup and source of motion. Practice "how" to conquer "where".

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Daily Putting Lessons 46 - 55


Lesson 46-Relate length of stroke to time. Practice. Count 1-2-3 at your natural pace. Start putter first and then count-Hit the ball on 3.

Lesson 47-Putter loft at impact influences ball speed off the putter, which determines how far the ball rolls. Focus on where more than how.

Lesson 48-Our research with Puttlab shows better players deloft ( forward shaft lean) the putter on longer putts. Less loft = more speed.

Lesson 49-Better to control loft of putter at impact than force acceleration looking for correct speed. Forced strokes = random results.

Lesson 50-Better to tilt posture than move hands to control loft at impact. Weight on Back foot = More loft. Front foot = Less loft.

Lesson 51 - When you understand and use a single source of motion consistently, you are better prepared to adapt to changing conditions.

Lesson 52- You can't change how a ball rolls! You can influence when and where it starts to roll, but that is all the influence you have.

Lesson53-Once a ball begins to roll, where it goes is out of your control! Gravity and friction take over. You control the start not finish.

Lesson 54-Focus your efforts on hitting the ball in the middle of the clubface.  Path direction is only an issue with off center strikes!

Lesson 55-The desired result of a consistent path is to hit the ball on a consistent point on the clubface. Not to control direction!