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

Owner's Manual for Putters - The "Almost" Face Balanced Mallet

Last month we talked about the best stroke pattern for a face balanced mallet. I think I surprised a number of you by recommending a putting stroke that exits left, rather than the traditional thought of straight back and then straight down the target line. In our system, the closest to the vertical plane that would match this perception is represented by Profile 2. For a 10 foot putt, we would see 2 degrees or less rotation in the backswing, on a very slight arc, parallel to the target line. With a mallet, this arc is basically imperceptible and hence the straight back and straight through description.

As we described last month, the down side of a true face balanced putter with a center of gravity deep in the head, is that the toe often lags behind the heel of the putter, causing the face to be open at impact if the putter is swung on a parallel plane to the target line. With a cog farther from the face the slow down is enhanced. While the effect is minimal, a little open is enough to create a push - miss tendency and you Burn the Edge.

There are probably dozens of ways a player could compensate for the push miss, but three come immediately to mind. Swing away from the miss, as we described previously.  Aim away from the miss, is a common reaction for most players. We see it on the tour all the time. This fix requires a ton of practice and is a topic for another time as it is more a strategic fix than a putter fit issue.

From left to right faster rotation to slower rotation through the ball.

With the same neck to face position, face balance will move toward horizontal from left to right. 

The other common reaction is an over-active trail hand to over come the toe drag and square the face at impact. This is an issue we want to fix with putter fit. Given that every putt requires a different speed and length of stroke, trying to time impact of every putting stroke with your hands is a source of grief for countless golfers. Just look at the overwhelming number of grip shapes, grip weighting and hand positions. All in an effort to control impact position. As we continue to evaluate putting strokes and players, the most successful fits are when we find the appropriate shaft location and face balance to match the stroke and eliminate the steer.

Cameron Select Fastback 15 degrees of Toe Hang

While Profile 2 requires a very small rotation and slow rotational speed through the ball, it requires some rotation to maintain a consistent position relative to the path. We found our best success by using Scotty Cameron's concept of "almost" face balanced that you find in many of his models as the best solution. These models balance at approximately 15 degrees of toe hang, just enough to free up the feel of the putter in motion and allow the toe to keep up with the heel without any extra effort.

If you have a perception of straight back and straight through and fight a push, we would highly recommend a putter with the cog closer to the face and a slight amount of toe hang. It might be a simple solution to your problem.
Feel free to contact us at Burnt Edges Consulting for a list of putters featuring this design parameter.

Owner's Manual for Putters - Face Balanced Mallet

Several years ago, I was at a golf show wandering the aisles. There was a company promoting a golf swing technique, along with golf clubs that matched the swing strategy. As I listened to the owner of the company and his sales pitch, he made a comment that I have remembered ever since. He said, “We don’t swing golf clubs the way they were designed to be used.” I am in complete agreement, but between regulation and tradition we have what we use. As I continue to with this series of blogs I keep thinking about the comment and particularly how it applies to putting. After many years of work searching for answers, I have reached the conclusion that more than in full swing, matching design to movement has a critical influence on successful putting.

In our previous discussions we have focused on putters when balanced at a fixed point on the shaft the toe of the putter hangs below the heel. The degree the face angles toward the ground is called toe hang. When the face is parallel to the ground - as shown below left - it is commonly referred to as face balanced. As we continue to measure strokes we find the amount of toe hang a putter has can influence the speed of face rotation at impact. To improve a player’s feel in their stroke we find it beneficial to match this to the amount required by set up. Basically, the more rotation required the more we look for the face to hang toward vertical.

Easily the best-selling putter design of the past 20 years is the face balanced mallet. There are several reasons this appeals to golfers who struggle with their strokes. Face balanced promotes a low rotation pattern. We have been constantly told that rotation is bad so low rotation must be better. In addition, with a mallet, the more you can move the center of gravity away from the face, the more stable the putter is at impact on off center strikes. With this combination two things happen, first, there is less feeling of torque in your hands with an off-center strike. Also, more energy is transferred to the ball when you miss the sweet-spot. Sounds pretty good, right? More forgiving and better feel, what else could a player want? The problem we see with the one style fits all mentality happens when your set up promotes a flatter stroke plane and therefore a bigger arc. 

This pattern requires the toe of the club to move faster than the heel to maintain a consistent position to the arc. This "rotation" is a function of the distance from the ball and the putter moving on a tilted plane, and not a function of your hands! When you have an arc that requires the toe to move faster and it doesn't, this conflict of rotational requirement and rotational putter value produces a twisting feeling in your hands. Typically, a player will fight this feeling by using more grip pressure.  For many this tension can make judging distance more difficult.  When grip pressure doesn’t work, we see players result to more drastic measures. Anchored techniques were common back in the day. With the new rules we see non-traditional hand placement like the claw/pencil grip as the norm. It becomes a vicious cycle as the more the putter twists the harder it is to find the center of the putter and the more you need a “forgiving putter”.  Rather than continue to fight this battle if you prefer a face balanced mallet we suggest you use it with the Profile that best fits.

In the Burnt Edge System, the lowest rotational requirement is found with a Profile 3. This is a player who uses a shorter putter in length, bends more from the hips to get his eyes directly over the ball. They tend to play the ball more forward in their stance and hold the putter square with the back of their left hand at impact. Their shoulder alignment is square to slightly open. The same with their feet. With this type of putter open is preferable to closed or perfectly square. The more the path moves to the right, the more the toe of the putter must release or rotate to find square. Because the putter fights a release we see the lead hand in combination with a shoulder rotation as the source and sequence of movement. No trail hand effort, face balanced mallets do not work well when you try to hit the ball with the trail hand. Speed control is better produced by tempo and shoulder rotation. 

P.S. If you currently use a face balanced mallet and are struggling. Try our suggestion, move closer to it, move the ball forward and open your stance. The results may surprise you.

Owner's Manuals for Putters - Anser/Newport

Over the course of golf history there have been several iconic putter designs. But none have been replicated more than the Ping Anser and Anser 2 model. Every putter maker from boutique to major manufacturer has a version of these designs in their product mix. As more than one industry insider has told me, “You have to have one.” To give credit where credit is due, Thanks to Tiger Woods, I firmly believe this model is the best-selling design type of all time.

Toulon Garage San Diego No lIne

Even with the vast number of different designers offering their version of the design to the public, the basics remain the same. Full offset neck, often referred to a mechanical or “plumbers” neck, moderate 45 degrees of toe hang along with the iconic heel and toe weighting. The toe hang might vary depending on the designer’s choice of neck and blade length, but normally within the parameters of what would be required by a moderate arc.

One of the things we found surprising as we started to match successful strategies to this putter, is that while it is by far the most common choice of design it is in no way the most versatile. The most successful strokes, when measured are specific when you look at the averages. Path one – two degrees right for a right-handed golfer and face less than one degree closed at impact. You might be thinking, these are successful numbers for any putter, but the measurements of the successful users of this model all had these tendencies. In our system this is a Profile 4.

One dominant tendency we saw in the measurements is for the putter to swing in a closed position relative to the path. Two potential reasons. First there is a tendency for right eye dominant players to aim the line in the cavity left. We like to start with no line. Personally, I think it is a function of the plumber’s neck. Byron Morgan has built many putters for my clients with the same offset and toe hang, and we did not see the same closed to the path tendency. Could be look, could be feel, but the stats are straight forward.  In fact, we have seen the same closed to path tendencies in mallets with a plumber’s neck as well.

Top Ten World Ranking Profile 4

When we measured players prior to the Tiger Woods phenomenon, we saw a number of strokes in the Profile 3 and 6 categories. Arc’s that swung straight back on the back-swing and followed the plane to finish left on the follow through. Some used the Anser/Newport but with the ball much farther back in the stance to compensate for the closed face. They found the earlier impact is in the arc the less closed the face to the target line. Then two things happened. Instructors started to recommend a ball forward position to allow you to hit up on the ball, with the hope of producing a better roll. But in my mind, it was Tiger describing his stroke as a high hook that turned the tide. Ball forward, arc tilted right, Newport design. Please remember that even though the arc is tilted to the right, because of the arc in the stroke, the path direction maybe perfect at impact. But the probability of the face being slightly closed to the target line are better than good. So fr many the more you tilt the arc the more likely you are to be sqaure at impact.

Profile 6 Straight Back to Left

In our other reviews, I have given you other Profile options. The Anser/Newport is not that versatile. The putter gets too shut in the back swing for a Profile 1, forcing a block push release. In the Profile 7, it can be hard to rotate enough. Open face at impact. In all the other profiles there are several manipulations required to get it to work. In these instances you see similar head shapes, but with modified necks. Or more common a player who struggles to find consistency. Don’t fight it. Use Profile 4.

Podcasts with BurntEdgesConsulting

Thanks to Tony, Mark and Matt for including me! Please be sure to follow these podcasts. Great information on all aspects of the game.

https://pluggedingolf.com/podcast-episode-25-bruce-rearick-putting-guru/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-mark-golf-podcast/id1096925460?mt=2&i=1000417106050

http://gameimprovementgolf.com/087-natural-putter-fitting-bruce-rearick-interview/

http://gameimprovementgolf.com/091-putter-design-insights-bruce-rearick-interview/