Putting Lessons 206-220

Lesson 206- Lessons 203,204&205 are based on the physical restrictions of the source of motion. Better to go with it, rather than fight it.

Lesson 207-You can't ignore your stroke mechanics. Even if you describe yourself as a feel player. Develop a personal strategy-stay with it.

Lesson208-Think of feel and mechanics on a sliding scale. All Feel at one end and All Mechanics at the other. Where do you fall on the scale?

Lesson 209-Mechanics or Feel? Find a Balance. Focus your practice time on improvement of the weaker rather than perfection of the stronger.

Lesson 210-Feel players tend to have great distance control. Mechanics superior control of direction. What does your putting strategy need?

Lesson 211-Different putter designs have a different feel in motion and at impact. Putter fitting is all about matching feel with motion.

Lesson 212-Building a putting strategy? It helps to make mechanical decisions first and then focus on feel. Change mechanics=change in feel.

Lesson 213-Build a stroke you can repeat. Don't be fooled by "best way" theories. No one ever won a major copying another player's stroke.

Lesson 214 - Depending on the expert, putter path has a 5-18 % influence on direction. If so, what is the value of parallel alignment? None!

Lesson 215-Putting has different requirements than full swing. A ball rolling is different than ball in flight. You can't control the curve!

Lesson 216-Instead of forced body alignment and manipulated putter face, why not try an alignment that supports how YOU release the putter?

Lesson 217-How do you release the putter? Three basic types: Hold-lead hand dominates. Square-hands work in sync. Full-trail hand over lead. Lesson

Lesson 218-Match alignment to release. Hold - Open stance, Square - Parallel alignment, Full - Closed set up. Don't fight yourself!

Lesson 219-Match body alignment to release. Matching release to a forced posture forces you to manipulate the release of the putter as well.

Lesson 220-Putter grip has influence on the amount of rotation you have in your stroke. Feel can be misleading-better to match size to need.

Putting Lessons 196-205

Lesson196-Stroke mechanics? Use this definition to start. What body parts move and in what sequence? Verbalize your sequence as a reference.

 

Lesson 197- Ability to verbalize your putting stroke will help you be more consistent and eliminate mechanical thoughts DURING the stroke.

 

Lesson 198-Verbalize your putting stroke? Here is one example of many successful strategies. Left shoulder back - left arm through. Try it!

 

Lesson 199-An example for right sided players. Right shoulder back-Right hand to the ball. Important-Shoulder controls backswing length!

 

Lesson 200- Shoulders around spine? Verbalize as "turn back and turn through". Say it in the same rhythm and timing as you swing the putter.

 

Lesson 201-Arms swing around the spine? Verbalize left arm back and right arm through. Complicated, but if done right can be very effective

 

Lesson 202-Verbalize your stroke. Now say it to yourself. Now say it as you imagine yourself hitting a putt. Mental training of your motion.

 

Lesson 203-Source of motion influences length of backswing and follow through. Ex. Trail arm strokes are longer back and shorter through.

 

Lesson 204-Source of motion influences length of backswing and follow through. Lead arm stroke is shorter back with a longer follow through.

 

Lesson 205-Shoulders or arms around spine are most effective when the backswing and forward swing past the ball, match. Think of a pendulum.

More help for your Putting 186-195

Lesson 186-Hands are the source of feel for your stroke. Use them a lot or a little they still have the same function. Control and Feel.

Lesson 187-Poor putting? Focus on letting your source of motion swing your hands, rather than using your hands to try to control the putter.

Lesson 188-Source of Motion Review-Left Side or Right Side Dominant, Passive Arms with Active Shoulders, Passive Shoulders with Active Arms.

 

Lesson 189-Key to developing feel? Consistent use of a single source of motion. Trying to combine sources creates inconsistency-kills feel.

 

Lesson 190-For the best putters, putting is a subconscious effort. Using a consistent source of motion helps program your brain to the task.

 

Lesson 191-Program your brain part 2-Teach yourself to use a consistent source of motion at different speeds and stroke lengths.

 

Lesson 192-You can't blame you subconscious for a lack of input. The more specific and consistent the input the more effective the results.

 

Lesson 193-Practice strokes are only effective when they mimic what you intend to do. Conscious awareness to trigger a subconscious effort

 

Lesson 194- If you can't make a conscious decision about your stroke with a practice stroke, what chance to do you have on the actual putt?

 

Lesson 195 - Big difference between being mechanical in your putting stroke and understanding your stroke mechanics. Knowledge is powerful.

Daily Lessons 176-185

Lesson 176-Putting practice is not like full swing practice. Why? You're putting stroke changes speed depending on the length of the putt.

 

Lesson 177-Feel for distance is developed in two ways. Mechanical or visual. It helps to know which you use to create productive practice.

 

Lesson 178-Example of mechanical feel? Pacing off putts to get an exact distance to the hole. Measurement triggers appropriate mechanics

 

Lesson 179-Visual feel? Letting your vision tell you how far. Easy to tell by the player who constantly looks from the ball to the hole.

 

Lesson 180-Think of feel on a sliding scale. Visual/perceptual at one end and mechanical at the other. Where do you fall on the scale?

 

Lesson 181-Hard to be a good putter if your concept of feel is at an extreme end of the scale. improve by finding a balance between the two.

 

Lesson 182-When practicing don't avoid your weaknesses. Visual players should understand mechanics. Mechanics should improve perception

 

Lesson 183-Feel is combination of how you judge distance, direction and create the appropriate putter speed and face position at impact

 

Lesson 184-How do you judge distance on the putting green? Is it accurate? If visual beware of illusions built into the green to fool you.

 

The Next Ten Lessons

 Lesson 166-Uncommon knowledge? Understanding what works for you. Study your mechanics. Start with your source of motion. #Lesson31

 Lesson 167-More "forgiving" should not be your default position if you are looking to improve your putting! More forgiving=Less feedback.

Lesson 168-If you can't feel the location of the strike on the face of the putter, how can you make a correction? Too much of a good thing?

Lesson 169-Good balance + a consistent source of motion=a consistent strike pattern on the face of the putter. Common trait of best putters.

Lesson 170-Winter practice? Roll ball online (direction) with different stroke lengths (speed). Use impact tape-find a consistent strike.

Lesson 171-Use indoor practice time to perfect a consistent source of motion. Single arm, arms together, shoulders around spine. Pick one!

Lesson 172-A common mechanical conflict? Start the putter back differently every time. Success starts with consistent motion sequence.

Lesson 173-Making 1000 putts in a row indoors is no help unless you can adjust. Results don't count unless you understand the process

Lesson 174- Putting is a pass/fail exercise-no second chances. Repetitive practice on the same putt only teaches you how to make that putt.

 

Lesson 175-Learning to be a good putter might be more about knowing why you miss a putt than it is about why you make one. What goes wrong?

Putting Lessons 156-165

Lesson 156-Never change mechanics or read based on a single miss. Consistently wrong is better than randomly correct. You can't fix random.

Lesson 157-Putters have a rotational value defined by shaft axis to face, offset, distribution of weight and location of cog in putter head
Lesson 158-Arc size defines rotation. It heps to match grip size to rotation requirement. Bigger for less rotation. Smaller grip for more.

 Lesson 159-Some of the great putting strokes of all time use more rotation than required by their path. Shoulders-arms-putter move in sync.

Lesson 160-SBST motion is simply an arc plane tilted upright. Perception of stroke must match posture. Don't force the arc.

Lesson 161-Don't be fooled by terminology. SBST sounds good, but in reality a very unforgiving method. Arc is more forgiving than straight.

 Lesson 162-All putting strokes are rotary. Even those on an upright plane with the visual appearance of sbst. Think rotation-not path shape.

 Lesson 163-Don't make changes based on illusions. Deal with the facts to avoid conflicts. Most common conflict? Perception of a sbst stroke.

Lesson 164-Before you can putt instinctively you must make a conscious effort to learn the task correctly. Putting is not an inherent skill.

 Lesson 165-Common knowledge leads to common application of knowledge. Uncommon knowledge is what separates the great player from the common.

Putting Lessons 146-155

Lesson 146-Position the putter first! The reason you should have the proper putter fit. Putter must match where your eyes tell you to stand.

Lesson 147-No method is so superior that it is worth fighting your vision. Never force the set up. Let your eyes tell you where to stand.

Lesson 148-Most putting issues are a result of visual conflicts. Where do you see it best? You can't copy someone else find your own set up.

Lesson 149-Good putters allow the putter to rotate as required by the putter path and then let the stroke path bring the putter to square.

Lesson 150-The putter path creates rotation and not the player. Keeping the putter-face consistent to path direction is more efficient.

Lesson 151-Hardest thing to do in putting is to not react to feel. The putter opens and closes naturally. Let it happen. Re-active fix=miss.

Lesson 152-The better the player the more sensitive the feel. Mid stroke corrections never work. Reaction is random. You can't fix random.

Lesson 153-Conformity ruins creativity. Without creativity there is no excellence. Don't let common advice ruin your chance to excel.

Lesson 154-When you miss a putt something obviously went wrong. Be very slow to make a judgement. The "fix" is often worse than the mistake.

Lesson 155-When you examine a miss remember the following. Short is a probably a miss-hit not a mis-read. Blaming your read is the easy way.