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!

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.

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".

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!

Putting Lessons Continued...

Lesson 36-Body alignment when putting is only important as it pertains to delivery of the putter at impact. Match alignment to your release.

Lesson 37-Match alignment to release? Closing the putter at impact? Set up closed. Hold the finish with the putter face up? Open your stance.

Lesson 38-You don't putt with your feet. Position your feet to balance your stroke NOT to determine direction the ball will leave the putter

Lesson 39-Great putters control impact. Poor putters worry about aim/alignment. Best Lesson? Teach yourself the feel of square at impact.

Lesson 40-Source of motion moves the hands. Hands control the putter. Controlling direction requires a knowledge of this relationship

Lesson41-Active or passive, the hands control the putter at impact=control direction ball leaves. #Consistent position to relative to path

Lesson 42-Putting stroke will work better if the hands only have one job-position of the clubface. Never accelerate putter with your hands.

Lesson 43-Source of motion swing the hands and hands control where face is pointed. Source of motion controls speed!! Never hands.

Lesson 44-Key to speed control is the ability to make the proper length stroke, for the distance required, without changing tempo or timing.

Lesson 45-Valuable knowledge-How long does it take from the start of your putting stroke until impact? Devices can measure this for you.

Daily Putting Lesson Continued

Lesson 26-You can't judge random. If every stroke is a little different the results will be as well. The best way is the most consistent way

Lesson 27-Looking for a consistent stroke? Starts with distance from the ball. Putter is a yardstick. Putter first, then build your stance.

Lesson 28-Track your results. A consistent miss is easier to fix than random make. Never change your mechanics based on inconsistent results!

Lesson 29-Dont separate stroke mechanics and green reading. Mechanics and tendencies influence the read. Example? ball speed and break.

Lesson 30-If the stroke is consistent the results will be consistent. Consistency eliminates guess work. Random fixes always fail.

Lesson 31-4 sources of motion. Left side/arm, right side/arm, rotate shoulders with passive arms, swing arms with passive shoulders. Choose!

Lesson 32- Combine sources of motion? NO Example, Left arm starts then stops as shoulders take over. Putter gets stuck and right hand flips.

Lesson 33-Conflicts in mechanics=missed putts. If you cant identify single motion source you are using more than one! Easy to fix. Pick ONE!

Lesson 34-Missed putts are easy to analyze. It is either speed or direction. When you judge the reason KNOW why dont ASSUME why.

Lesson 35-Analyzing misses. NEVER FORGET the ball goes where the face is pointed. Path Direction has minor effect! Control face not path.

Robot Testing for Putter Accuracy.

Twice in the same day I read where someone used a robot to test the accuracy of putters. I don't know if this post is necessary but it will contribute to my own mental health and so I write.


Using a robot, when a ball is struck on the sweetspot and all other launch conditions are the same,  regardless of putter design the ball will react in a consistent manner as far as direction. So a high moi mallet and bullseye type blade will show the same results as far as direction the ball starts. Whether the robot swings on an arc like the Iron Archie robot developed by The Putting Arc people or on a vertical plane as developed by Dave Pelz's Perfy. Once the robot is calibrated to position the face correctly and each putter is positioned in the same manner the results will be the same. Consistent path direction, face angle and strike location = a consistent start direction. So any claims must start with the qualifier that results are based on your stroke never changing. 


So for testers to assume that putter design is not a factor in a human's ability to start the ball online is not applicable!!!! Why? Because robots make the same motion regardless of the implement attached and the balance has no influence. So once the robot is calibrated to make a stroke it wouldn't matter what you used as long as the face angle at impact remained the same. 


Humans will react to feel. I have miles of measurements that show over a short period of time how humans react to putter balance. The stroke changes based on what the player feels during the motion.


I spent some time recently with a very high level player. He has always struggled with his putting. After spending some time discussing his stroke, I made the suggestion to change putters to match the rotational requirement of his stroke. Feel now matched consistent mechanics. From the last conversation it sounds like it is going to work.

I guess my point is this. Don't let a marketing pitch or "experts opinion" keep you from being the best player you can be. The only testing that truly counts is the testing you do for yourself. 

Every putting stroke has a rotational requirement to control the face of the putter. Every putter has a rotational value. These values are measurable and predictable and when they match it is easier to swing the putter in a consistent manner. 

Every putting stroke as a directional bias that helps the player match the arc of the stroke to the target line at impact in a different manner. This mesh point of path, target line and face position is influenced by the offset of the putter and then fine tuned by the weight. Overall and distribution.

Get them all to match YOUR stroke and you are on your way to success.

Bruce