Quick Tip

‪Thinking about a new grip for your putter? Ask yourself this question. How do I move the putter, with active hands and passive shoulders and core, or active big muscles and passive hands?‬

Aiming Issues?

Aiming to the apex of a putt’s break -yellow line-forces you to strike the ball with a different face angle than your aim position in order to make the putt. Begs the question, why worry about aiming accurately if you aim at the wrong spot?

Quick Tip 5

‪Putting. What separates great from average is the ability to combine a feel with a visual perception of the task. Predict the path, create a visual perception of the path, feel the required effort. Old advice that is still valid.‬

Quick Tip 4

‪One of many things working with the #StrokeLabPutter technology has verified for me is how the total weight of the putter is distributed along the entire putter, is a major contributor to shaft angle at impact and dynamic loft. #speedcontrol #consistentlaunch #burntedgeconsulting‬

Quick Tip

In a discussion on ball launch in putting, a big contributor to a bad launch at impact is a putter head that is TOO HEAVY. Some drag the head and deloft, some drag and flip so there is too much loft. #burntedgeconsulting #StrokeLabPutters

Quick Tip

A common issue we see in good players looking to improve from 8 -20 feet is a ball launch that is too low. Compressing the ball into the turf causes problems in launch direction. #burntedgeconsulting #StrokeLab

Quick tip

‪Common problem. Trail eye dominant, ball too far forward in stance. Opens shoulders to see ball, tilts eye line left. straight line reference appears left. ‬

Round Grip Solution for Face Control in Putting

There is a theory in the instruction world that the release of the golf club for every shot, including the putting stroke, should have the same feel.

In our research we have found there is some merit to this. Players with a right to left ball flight tend to release the toe of the putter faster than left to right players, who tend to hold the release. None of this is etched in stone or a hard and fast rule, but I can tell you we have had some real success by matching putter release to full swing release, when an established player is struggling.

One of the things we have seen historically is that players with strong left-hand grips in the full swing tend to struggle with putter rotation or lack of rotation in their putting stroke. So, for them this feel is impossible.

We are convinced this is because the standard putting grip with a flat reminder on the top, forces your left thumb in a different position than any full swing shot. With their thumbs on top of the shaft, in a weaker position, the strong grip player either fans the putter wide open in the backswing moving their forearm to a more natural position, or more dangerously, twist the putter dead shut to compensate. Forcing a block push release.

When asked to have their arms hand naturally from the shoulder socket we see that for many players who utilize a strong grip, their arms hang with their hands turned so the knuckles face out. Many instructors use this measurement of the natural extension of your arm. Like the picture below but with all variants of rotation possible.






As we mentioned, because of the speed and fine motor nature of the task, the lead arm tries to return to its natural state in the forward swing. This natural extension of the arm does not match the position of the hand on the club, so face control to target becomes very difficult. Unfortunately, the softer the grip and the less you force control, the worse it gets. The opposite grip pressure of what common instruction would suggest is necessary to control the face creates tension and a loss of speed control.

The first solution we suggest is to remove the conventional grip and replace it with a round grip a little largest than you use with your full swing. We recommend larger as we are still going to grip this in the palms as you would when putting rather than in the fingers, as you might in the full swing.

You might be interested to know that Arnold Palmer won many tournaments using a round grip. He went to it often when his stroke felt out of sorts. In addition, when he did use a flat top as a reminder, he built his own using coat hanger wires place in a parallel position on the shaft and wrapping leather over that. The flat portion of the grip was never perpendicular to the face. If you are familiar with Mr. Palmer's swing, you know his grip was strong.




The trick to using a round grip with a putter is to follow this protocol.

1. Aim the putter first, before you perform any of your set up. Especially do not set your feet first. This can create a twisted feeling in your torso, when you go to aim the putter.

2. When you have the putter in the aimed position, put your hands on the putter in a manner that allows for the natural extension of your lead arm. Your lead arm is in control with this method. Trail hand is for power only.

3. After you place your hands on the club, move your shoulders to match the feeling required by your hands. Do not try to force them parallel to the target line!

4. This stroke requires a lead arm dominant movement pattern. You are going to swing the putter with your lead arm and support with the trail arm. This is very important as we do not want the trail arm to alter the left arm orientation.

5. Tip-Do not grip the club with much of a gap between your thumb and palm. A gap can create inconsistencies in how your hands move

For most players with strong grips matching the natural extension of the lead arm  usually moves the shoulders to a closed position. That is good. In the image below we will show you how this might look.




If the lead arms hangs in a closed position, and we follow the instructions as suggested. We should see a body alignment and predicted stroke path shown above. Red is shoulders, gold feet, green head and purple the predicted path. This is Profile 7 in our system. The most famous Profile 7 is Ben Crenshaw.

At this point we are ready to hit some putts. Before we try to make everything, we want to see if we have the set up dialed in. Use of swing/stroke thought of Left arm back and Left arm through.

Find a 10-12 foot putt. Hit the putt with your eyes closed. It works better if you have a partner, so they can pull the ball away before you see the results.

• If you hear the ball go in the hole regularly, you have it correct no change necessary.

• If your helper says you are consistently left of the hole, your grip is too strong. If you are consistently right of the hole the grip is not strong enough.

• If it is difficult to finish the stroke, and you feel the right hand trying to help to finish, or you can’t seem to grip it strong enough to correct a right miss, see the next slide.

If you feel it is difficult to finish the stroke the common practice is to open the stance.

You must maintain the grip with natural extension you established in the original set up. No other options are available. What you end up with is a strong left hand grip, but you have moved the path to a "parallel to target" orientation by turning your body to the eft. In this case now a Profile 8.




If you find this is necessary to be able to swing the putter freely with your lead arm, repeat the previous test from the new body set. The difference in the grip should be subtle. When you find the correct lead hand position mark the position of the left thumb on the grip.


It is probable that your new hand position on a round grip, with the open stance is the most likely combination.

I will be the first to admit this goes against just about every aspect of putting instruction. But if you have had to resort to a unconventional grip to control the face, this might be the answer.

If you need some help, we have just opened up another round of online instruction. Send me an email or fill out the contact form if you are interested.

DIY Putter Fitting - Understanding Hosel Design

2019-07-08 07:43:22-04

130 – Putter Hosel Designs 101! – Bruce Rearick Interview

Understand Putter Hosel Designs And Improve YOUR Putting Performance! Welcome to Episode 130 of THE Golf Improvement Podcast!  Dedicated to sharing useful information on true custom club fitting, short game improvement, and effective practice techniques.  I Create EXCEPTIONAL GOLF CLUBS – You SHOOT LOWER SCORES! Show Notes:   Welcome back Bruce Rearick from Burnt Edges […] The post 130 – Putter Hosel Designs 101! – Bruce Rearick Interview appeared first on GAME IMPROVEMENT GOLF.

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Owner’s Manual for Putters – Fitting an ArmLock

Based on the number of people who have reached out to me about arm lock putters, I am going to assume many of you reading this article are thinking of giving it a try. More so than many other equipment strategies, there are some specific things to consider before you try.

1. You can’t just grab any length armlock putter and contort yourself to it, the putter must be fit to you.

I know you are thinking, Yes Bruce, you say that all the time about any putter. Yes, but in this case more than any other design strategy, putter length and lie are critical. It isn’t about just making the putter longer. If you do that, the odds are you will feel twisted, and fight alignment issues over the ball.
Find a comfortable putting posture with the ball in the position you see it best. Then bend your arms at the elbow a little, so that both forearms point toward the ball. Now measure from a point 2 inches below the elbow to the ball. This is your putter length for arm lock.

2. Make sure the putter soles properly on the ground at this length and ball position. It will not likely be your standard 70 degree lie angle. Having the putter sit flat on the ground is important with any putter, but it is critical with an arm lock, you can’t change elbow bend without hitting it fat, and you don’t want to change spine angle to hit the ball.

3. Take a picture of your set up, face on, with your hands touching in front of you. Load the picture in Power Point and draw a vertical line up from the ball. Now copy that line. Align it with the ball and rotate the line so it starts at the ball and aligns with your lead forearm. This measurement is the minimum amount of loft required for your putter. So far it has been different for every putter we have fit. The following example is a 6° deloft. It would require around 8 degrees of loft on the putter.

As we now have a static fit, how would you decide what type of head design works for you?

1. Check your shoulder alignment from your new set up. You will have a tendency. Some of you will be more comfortable a little open. Some of you a little closed. A few of you might even be parallel, but I will warn you this has been the exception and not the rule. Again, the reason is the forced position of the arms, your visual preference, and to some extent the influence of your dominant arm.

2. If you are open, look to putter head designs with minimal if any offset, or the face forward designs, like BioMech.

3. If tend to be closed, you are looking for offset heads. Bettinardi is a leader in this strategy.

4. The farther you lean the shaft forward, the more you will want to avoid big mallets, unless they are designed with the face in front of the shaft. You want the sole of the putter to be parallel to the ground. If the mallet tilts forward, getting the ball to roll correctly is very difficult. This is true for every style but again exaggerated by an armlock.


As always you can contact me directly if you have any questions.

DIYPutterFitting 12

As you decide what putter works best for your visual strategy and movement patterns, try to avoid assumptions based on marketing labels. Everyone is different. Look for the details that makes you unique. Fit to your needs rather than generic concepts. 

DIYPutterFitting 11

The correct putter length is critical to a balanced posture. Very hard to stay still over the ball if you are on your heels, or too much over your toes. We fit length with the players eyes closed. Fun to watch the posture change as they try not to fall down.

DIY Putter Fitting 8-9-10

‪
8 - Pertaining to the concept of when the ball starts to roll. Critical to speed control. Be sure to consider the green conditions you play. A putter fit to indoor carpet might not be a good fit outdoors.

9-If you use technology to aid your putter fitting goals, beware of a tendency to exaggerate the data. Look to a fit that centers the strike and influences a consistent face to path orientation. The rest will take care if itself

10 - I have received lots of comments about ball roll. My public response is that the sooner you realize the ground creates the ball roll and not the putter, the sooner you can worry about the things that matter. Ball speed when it does begin to roll and direction.

#DiyPutterFitting 7

As you fit the length and lie of your putter, chose the length first. If you need to adjust the lie, be sure to consider the influence the bend will have on your putter design. Finally, if you do have to bend for lie, remember to install the grip after you bend the putter as bending can change the orientation of grip to face.

DIYPUTTERFITTING 6

I find it interesting that putter swing weight is not a concern for many oem’s. Yet Tiger insisted his Newport weighed D2. I think the greatest value of counterweighting is the ability to help get the swingweight correct.

DIY Putter Fitting 5

One of the key components of a good fit is to match what you feel to what you see. It is the reason our vision test is our primary concern. For the DIYer it is about finding where you see it best, then matching your posture and grip placement to match what you see. So many times I watch a player meticulously aim the putter, only to move the putter because their hand position or posture doesn't feel "right" based on what they see. In addition, I can't tell you how many players have told me about their best set up, only to then tell me that they didn't use it because it "wasn't the right way". 

The best thing you can do for your putting is to start with the idea that there is no right way only what works best for you.

These are 3 of countless options.

DIY Putter Fitting 4

Where you need to position the ball relative to stance is much more efficient way to determine your aim strategy and accuracy than putter visuals. Where do you see it best? Never let a fitter move your ball position without consideration of what that will do to your ability to aim the putter and your perception of ball path.

As always join the discussion at https://puttertalk.com/community/threads/diy-putter-fitting-4.40893/

DIY Putterfitting 3

You can make a very strong argument that how you place your hands on the putter, and the grip style you use, have as much influence on aim as your vision. Do you twist your arms to match what you see? If so you need a different grip.

The problem comes from how your arms attach to the club. Just because you have a reminder or flat portion of the grip square to the face, that doesn't mean your arms fit that orientation. There are a couple of tests. The easiest one is to grip the club in an aimed position. Now close your eyes and hold the putter up off the ground so your arms have to support the weight of the club. Now open your eyes. Has the putter turned left or right? If so you have a situation where the natural orientation of your hands and arms don't match what you see. Typically, when you go in motion your arms and hands will move to the point of least stress. This might twist the club to a position that is not square to the target line.

One of the least popular suggestions I make, is to suggest a round grip on your putter. In most cases this is the fix for this issue. This eliminates the problem of your feel for square not matching what square looks like. Just aim the putter. Put you hands on the grip, then hit the putt. Look for a consistent miss. You might have to adjust how you place your hands, but at least the grip orientation will not interfere with your adjustment. You can do the same thing with a reminder grip, but the chances of getting your hands to match the grip when you adjust, are few.

I know this might sound "out there" but think about this. Why do some players constantly change how they place their hands on the club? Or change to claw or left hand low. After years of solving this with a round grip, I have come to the conclusion that what they feel doesn't match what they see.

As always join the discussion at www.puttertalk.com

DIY Putting Advice

Three important factors in fitting that are normally lumped into a generic toe hang description. First to look at the distance of the shaft axis from the toe of the putter. Second, where is the center of percussion relative to the shaft axis, Finally how does that influence to position of the face relative to the sweet-spot path. Basically this analysis will help you understand why you hit pulls with some putters and pushes with another.

Try to avoid the mistake of using another player or teachers example to influence your decision. Especially avoid the one style fits all mentality!

Three important factors in fitting that are normally lumped into a generic toe hang description. First to look at the distance of the shaft axis from the toe of the putter. Second, where is the center of percussion relative to the shaft axis, Finally how does that influence to position of the face relative to the sweet-spot path. Basically this analysis will help you understand why you hit pulls with some putters and pushes with another.

Three important factors in fitting that are normally lumped into a generic toe hang description. First to look at the distance of the shaft axis from the toe of the putter. Second, where is the center of percussion relative to the shaft axis, Finally how does that influence to position of the face relative to the sweet-spot path. Basically this analysis will help you understand why you hit pulls with some putters and pushes with another.

Try to avoid the mistake of using another player or teachers example to influence your decision. Especially avoid the one style fits all mentality! Follow the conversation...

https://puttertalk.com/community/threads/diy-fitting-tip.40871/

Return of PutterTalk.com

Early on in my putting strategy and fitting research, I would post some of my findings on a collector's forum called PutterTalk.com. It gave me the opportunity to present my views, and discuss the merits of the research with other advocates. Which is all a fancy way of saying I got ripped pretty good. The discussion on eyes over the ball was a beauty. But I continued, and if it weren't for that forum I would have never been presented some of the opportunities I have had to meet and share information with players and instructors from around the world. I will always be grateful.

I am so pleased to see the "new' version of "PutterTalk" and very proud they have asked me to be a contributor. I still plan to post here, but hope to broaden my approach to all aspects of the game. Maybe share a little more of the gems that Mr. Palmer shared with me in our practice sessions at Latrobe. To read my first two contributions click the link below the logo.

https://puttertalk.com/instruction/

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Distance Control

It is much more important to know how a specific distance feels than how it looks. If you can roll a ball a described distance with your eyes closed you know you are on the right track. That is why we want the putter to match the stroke. We want the putter that is best matched in weight, and face balance so there is no interference to the motion. 

Putting Strategies - Artist or Engineer?

Over the course of my career I have encountered thousands of people who play golf on a serious level. Not all of them tour caliber talent, of course, but regardless of skill level, serious none the less. One thing that is apparent immediately is how personalities play a major role in how they all approach the game. How do they choose equipment, what do they look for in a lesson, what appeals to them from an information standpoint, even how do they choose to practice?  I have found this to be especially true in putting. I think there are two basic categories of personalities. You have what I call the Artists. These are players that describe their putting stroke as how it feels. Putter-weight, feel off the face and stroke tempo are typical concerns. Then you have the Engineers. They think in technical terms like launch angles, skid to roll ratios, face to path and path to target. The Engineers want to know what kind of technology you use and what it would tell them. The Artists would rather not use it or know.

Back when I was doing some traveling, introducing PuttLab to golf instructors and players, these categories were obvious from the start. My first professional event was in New York on the Champions Tour. I set up my PuttLab and it was fascinating to watch the separation of the two groups. There were those who couldn’t get enough information and immediately judged their results as good or bad based on numbers they had never seen before. Just as big was the group that cut a wide berth, as if coming within certain distance of the technology was going to influence their skills and results.

When I speak about these concepts I am always asked, “Can you be both?” The answer is, of course, but initially I think it is critically important to understand how you perceive the best way for you and what direction you need to travel to find an optimal state of mind and function. I often joke and say what you really want to be is an architect. Creating art from an engineering standpoint. Or having the ability to see art in the function.

This form of player analysis has served me very well. It helps me ask specific questions rather than make generic statements. I look for conflicts. For example, an Engineer who is tall and stands off the ball, fit to a longer putter, might struggle to find a low rotation pattern along a minimal arc.  So, if he was fit with a high MOI face balanced mallet at 36 inches, 2 degrees flat, he might struggle with a low rotation, minimal arc, pattern he prefers. That is where the Burnt Edge System kicks in. Let’s find out what you need. All the time keeping what you like or prefer in mind as we progress. As people learn more about the Burnt Edge System there are number who want to put everything in absolutes. It doesn’t work that way. The player determines the absolute, not me.

For those of you that follow my work, you know I took a bit of a break over the holidays to decide what direction I wanted to take the concepts we have developed. The decision is made, and my hope is to be more diligent in bringing the concepts to you through this blog. Email anytime and if you are interested in personal help in the process the annual program is still in effect. https://bargolfinstruction.blogspot.com/2017/09/ten-years-ago-i-was-part-of-team-that.html