Jack Nicklaus Putting style

[golfbulldog]

ANy comments about his technique - the pictures are from "Golf My Way".

Posture






He describes that he likes head over ball-target line but actually being behind the ball, not head directly over it. Crouching with right shoulder low. He descrives keeping the left shoulder still ( feeling - ? real) during the stroke as a means of keeping head still.

Motion





He describes a right arm piston motion - accumulator 1 - with "my chief 'touch' finger is the right forefinger, and i curl it onto the club in such a way that its middle knuckle points down centrally between my heels. This is a safeguard against pulling or pushing the ball offline..."

He also liked ball position "opposite my left toe on a level putt"...

I have tried this set up and stroke ( very similar to the TGM stroke for putting described as an option in 3rd edition) and it has improved by putting confidence so much!! on carpet at least!!.... the chair leg has never been so battered and bruised!!

A real sense of left wrist flat and hinge action ( angled) and descending blow ( like in Brian's article "rolling the rock" )

Anybody else got any comments / experience?

 

[Dana Dahlquist]

I know a few guys who teach this and a very good putters. Ben Doyle I know is a great putter too. Brian knows the goods on that.

 

[golfbulldog]

I know a few guys who teach this and a very good putters. Ben Doyle I know is a great putter too. Brian knows the goods on that.

Yes, i watched Ben's video with the putting section at the end - really good stuff. Hope that Brian can add some thoughts later.

Jack certainly holed enough putts doing it his way...

 

[birdie_man]

Wow GBD you da man.......thanks for the images.

I put almost exactly like Nicklaus.......never tried to copy him......but it's almost exactly the same (maybe less bent over) and up to this point it has worked very well and for me better than anything else.

 

[puttmad]

....

A real sense of left wrist flat and hinge action ( angled) and descending blow ( like in Brian's article "rolling the rock" )

Anybody else got any comments / experience?

I like Jack's technique. The fact he didn't rely on shoulder movement as today's golfers do (and still push and pull putts at the wrong time too often, after thousands of hours practicing not to do it!...).
Also, the fact that he allowed his right hand to be in total control of both the speed and the angle of the blade at impact...
I think maybe a lot of today's players could benefit by taking a step back from today's modern mechanical teachings....

A friend of mine has used this all his golfing life and he putts very well...

Think you'll find at impact Jack's club was travelling level or even slightly upwards (note swing arc next to the first pic in "Motion") That would help promote true "roll" to keep the ball on line....

Good pics BTW...

 

[birdie_man]

I love it man....I don't consciously use my right forearm for anything but putting....but when I switched, for me it was an immediate improvement. Distance control.....line.....hitting it solid. I've refined it and still refining a bit but it's been great so far. Everything else I try just doesn't seem to do it for me. Up to this point anyway.

 

[puttmad]

...

I love it man....I don't consciously use my right forearm for anything but putting....but when I switched, for me it was an immediate improvement. Distance control.....line.....hitting it solid. I've refined it and still refining a bit but it's been great so far. Everything else I try just doesn't seem to do it for me. Up to this point anyway.

Birdie,
Note Jack's comment about aligning the flat of his right hand with the putterface..
Mega important. It means you can "hit the ball with the flat of your hand" to get exact blade position at impact...

 

[Leek]

While his style is anything but traditional, there is a lot of good stuff in it:

1. He can see the hole with binocular vision. It will improve his feel for distance.
2. He is using his index finger to control the putter. Almost everything else artistic is done with the tip of the index finger: painting, drawing, violin bow, fingering of any stringed instrument etc.
3. He is really using one arm and hand. Once again, can you imagine Van Gogh trying to paint while controlling the brush with two hands? Can you write a paragraph while writing with both hands controlling your pen?

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Birdie,
Note Jack's comment about aligning the flat of his right hand with the putterface..
Mega important. It means you can "hit the ball with the flat of your hand" to get exact blade position at impact...

Puttmad, who in your opinion was the best putter ever?

 

[puttmad]

....

Puttmad, who in your opinion was the best putter ever?

hard to say Jim.
For one I haven't (didn't) see them all...plus conditions have changed over the years..

Bobby Locke, Bobby Jones..Bob Charles (they are all Bobs!)..and of course Jack made a few...Seve was good....Brad Faxon, pretty good )).
There's loads of them....
Kevin Na looks pretty good too, one for the future?...

 

[golfbulldog]

I like Jack's technique. The fact he didn't rely on shoulder movement as today's golfers do (and still push and pull putts at the wrong time too often, after thousands of hours practicing not to do it!...).
Also, the fact that he allowed his right hand to be in total control of both the speed and the angle of the blade at impact...
I think maybe a lot of today's players could benefit by taking a step back from today's modern mechanical teachings....

A friend of mine has used this all his golfing life and he putts very well...

Think you'll find at impact Jack's club was travelling level or even slightly upwards (note swing arc next to the first pic in "Motion") That would help promote true "roll" to keep the ball on line....

Good pics BTW...

Jack states that he hits it level with the stroke... but the stroke is so much better FOR ME with a slight descending blow ... i have only tried it with a YES Tracy putter... don't know whether the "C-grooves" make a difference?? But the ball is really rolling well for me....

Will try with my 2-ball blade putter and see what happens...

 

[vjcapron]

Note how his head is level to the ground - eyes and chin are at the same level. His eyes are not gazing over his cheeks. This head position allows the eyes to peer straight out of the eye sockets. From this position, a swivel of the neck allows the eyes to trace the starting line of the putt without moving the eyes around in the head. Geoff Mangum would approve.

 

[golfbulldog]

Note how his head is level to the ground - eyes and chin are at the same level. His eyes are not gazing over his cheeks. This head position allows the eyes to peer straight out of the eye sockets. From this position, a swivel of the neck allows the eyes to trace the starting line of the putt without moving the eyes around in the head. Geoff Mangum would approve.

good point - really horizontal neck position.