Putting mechanics

[duckjr78]

Whenever I chip and putt now I ask myself "WWRFD?" or "What would Rickie Fowler do?" He would get up and bang the thing in like a child and if he missed he would bang the next one in on the lowest practical line.

My last three tournament rounds have all been under 30 putts and I couldnt be happier about it. My advice is to work on green reading first and ur stroke a distant second.

Penick said to "putt like a kid" in his Little Red Book. It's great advice, considering that we were all pretty dead-eye back then. It was only when we convinceded ourselves that becoming a better putter was the solution that we chipped away at what we did natrually and replaced it with what was in a book. We started to think that the putt going in actually mattered to someone other than ourselves. Usually, it doesn't even matter to our opponent. It's a rare and uncommon opponent who actually roots for you to miss a putt.

The sooner you realize that making a putt over 8 feet or so is a very difficult thing to do and stop being so hard on yourselves, the better your putting will get.

Go putting with your SW, 3i, or whatever. Find a posture you like. Then try out as many putters as possible until you find a clubhead that starts the ball on the line your mind's eye sees while you are addressing the putt. Buy that one and cut the length to fit the posture you found earlier. Last, fool around with grips until one works. Then stick with that combo for as long as you can.

Read the putt, get over it, hit the putt. There are only two possible outcomes. If you miss, repeat steps 1,2,&3. If you make, tip your cap to someone.

The second that the "importance" of the putt enters your mind, you're hosed.

 

[spktho]

The second that the "importance" of the putt enters your mind, you're hosed.

So true. Almost goes along with adding up your score with each shot.

 

[faux_maestro]

Penick said to "putt like a kid" in his Little Red Book. It's great advice, considering that we were all pretty dead-eye back then. It was only when we convinceded ourselves that becoming a better putter was the solution that we chipped away at what we did natrually and replaced it with what was in a book.

I must be the exception to the rule, I was a horrible putter as a kid. I didn't improve until I found Dave Pelz's stuff in high school. I know some people don't like him but it worked for me.

 

[Richie3Jack]

IMO, if you really want to putt better...be more conscious about where you leave your approach shot and chips. I've talked to 3 different people who have done studies on putting and each have said the same thing....golfers, by and large and regardless of handicap...make more uphillers than downhillers.

Where I think it's really crucial is from 10 feet and in. I think a lot of people think because they have a 5 footer and they miss it, that they made a bad putt. But if it's downhill, the chances of you making that 5-foot putt have diminished quite a bit. Still very makeable, but now very miss-a-ble.

It's like Martin Laird said in the latest Golf Digest....you don't need to fire at a flag because you have a wedge in your hand, being 15 feet away will do fine. I think what he's getting at that is he'd rather have an uphill putt from 15 feet than a downhill putt from 10 feet.






3JACK

 

[mgranato]

I'll bet a crisp 1 dollar bill that he makes more from 10' than from 15' (from any direction).

 

[Todd Dugan]

The most natural, repeatable putting stroke is one in which the club is swung pedulum-style. Lots of folks talk about swinging the putter like a pendulum, but they are usually envisioning the clubhead traveling back and forth OVER a straight line on the ground. But a pendulum swings in-plane. And since the pendulum is inclined, the clubhead does not move OVER a straight line, but rather, ON a straight line, an inclined plane. Letting your left arm hang naturally from the address position, it is very natural and easy to swing the arm back and forth in-plane. You could do it with your eyes closed. Good luck trying to swing your hand backand forth OVER a straight line on the ground with your eyes closed. The putter is simply an extention of your left arm, until after impact. Simpler to make the stroke a single, rather than double pendulum, by eliminating any hinging at the left wrist. And keep the axis, the upper sternum, fixed. And if the plane parallels the intended starting line, then you might as well make impact when the clubhead is travelling directly at that line, which is at the low point, the point of equilibrium in pendulum-speak.

Interestingly, the researchers from "Search" constructed a "putting machine". It swung the putter in-plane from a single fixed axis, inclined to the normal lie angle of the club. It was the "simplist" design with the least moving parts, I suppose. Needless to say, the machine worked flawlessly every time. The closest any human that I have seen come to reproducing this true pendulum-style, in-plane action is Tiger Woods. No coincidence that he has been the greatest putter that the game has ever known.

 

[Richie3Jack]

I'll bet a crisp 1 dollar bill that he makes more from 10' than from 15' (from any direction).

From any direction?

I'll take that bet..and you'll owe me.




3JACK

 

[dbl]

The most natural, repeatable putting stroke is one in which the club is swung pedulum-style.

I know you try to back that up with a 30 year old book, but I think you have spoken a bit authoritatively where it isn't warranted. If you had added a IMO or "For many people".."pendulum putting is the most repeatable" it would be easier to read for the uninitiated. Of course repeatability would have to be a goal the golfer himself prioritizes and chooses. Someone from a certain distance who makes 70% of putts using a non-pendulum semi-repeatable stroke might prefer his own stroke to a repeatable pendulum one where he makes only 60%.

 

[mgranato]

...Tiger Woods. No coincidence that he has been the greatest putter that the game has ever known.

Simma donna. C'mon.

You can't go all techy, sciency, and roboty only to throw this little gem in there at the end. Has your cable been out for the last 3 years?

 

[Damon Lucas]

Dbl, don't worry, Todd D does speak very authoritatively on the basis of the yellow book, but a few simple questions that he hasn't considered would include,
1. Is the whole left arm and shaft in a straight line?
2. Is the left shoulder joint a socket joint, and how does that relate to planar, pendulum strokes?
3. What is the role and influence of the a) right shoulder, b) chest, c) right elbow, d) different clubheads/sweetspot locations?
4. Does the lag created in the takeaway and transition affect low point and clubface at impact in his method?
5. Where is lowpoint and why?
6. How does his method relate to the mechanics of distance control, and aim?

Why hasn't he moved on from TGM? Does he not read anything written in the last 40 years?

 

[BrendanC]

Went left hand low recently.

Putts have that 'Harrington roll' on them - you can hit putts with authority but know they won't race by.

No idea why, and based on what Otto and Richie have said it is probably best not to think about it!

 

[Todd Dugan]

Dbl, don't worry, Todd D does speak very authoritatively on the basis of the yellow book, but a few simple questions that he hasn't considered would include,
1. Is the whole left arm and shaft in a straight line?
2. Is the left shoulder joint a socket joint, and how does that relate to planar, pendulum strokes?
3. What is the role and influence of the a) right shoulder, b) chest, c) right elbow, d) different clubheads/sweetspot locations?
4. Does the lag created in the takeaway and transition affect low point and clubface at impact in his method?
5. Where is lowpoint and why?
6. How does his method relate to the mechanics of distance control, and aim?

Why hasn't he moved on from TGM? Does he not read anything written in the last 40 years?

Damon, not sure why you have tagged me a "TGMer". Almost none of this is in that book. But I have spent considerable time and effort studying the mechanics, bio-mechanics, and geometry of a pendulum-style, in-plane stroke.

So I'll answer your questions
1. No, the left arm and shaft need not form a straight line. That doesn't change the fact that the arm and shaft can operate as a single "bob", in-plane.
2. The left shoulder joint is a ball-and-socket joint, so the left arm will naturally rotate as it swings in-plane. Torso rotation will rotate the arm/shaft also. These are simply the results of the human reproducing, naturally, and as near as possible, the action of the model, a clock pendulum.
3, 4, and 5. For a clock pendulum, the point of equilibrium, the low point of the bob's travel, occurs when the bob becomes in-line with the axis of rotation. For the golf stroke, eliminating the axis of the wrists for closer to a single-pendulum action, that leaves the axes of the left shoulder and the upper sternum. Just like in any golf stroke. Left arm swing forward can ensure Low Point at the desired location. In a torso rotation-only stroke, low point is opposite the upper sternum.
6. These are only the mechanics of a pendulum-style, in-plane stroke. But, the distance the rod swings back with a pendulum has a direct correlation to the speed of the bob at the point of equilibrium. And obviously, the clubface should be sqaure to the plane and Intended Starting Line at address.

I sense the clear challenge, but I welcome it, as I have put considerable effort into a full examination of the mechanics involved. It wasn't hard, really. Just simple mechanics.

 

[Damon Lucas]

Hi Todd,

Lots of talk about pendulums, not much about the biomechanics of the human body. So is the plane to which you refer one that goes through the wrist, the elbow, the shoulder(s), the sternum, some combination of the above, or none of the above. When you define the above, how do the other body parts influence the stroke?
How does the right hand being attached to the grip affect the amount of the rotation? What about the torso rotation? How does it affect the amount of clubface rotation?
What is the axis of rotation? How does one keep it fixed? Return it to the 'starting' point?
Does the swinging putter have any effect on the body/left shoulder/left arm?
Why does there have to be a plane? Do you think that the different body parts might not cooperate? What about uneven slopes? Do they affect your free swinging pendulum?

 

[Scott P]

There is nothing more disheartening than putting badly. It sucks the life out of your game and it's impossible to be a good player unless you're a good putter. No matter how well you hit it from tee to green, you have to make the putt. A 300 yard drive down the middle....a pure 7 iron to 10 feet.......and miss the putt. Your playing partner hits a 50 yard off line drive, chunks a 5 iron to 80 yards short of the green, hit's his wedge to 10 feet.......and drains the putt. You both walk off with a 4. He's pumped....you're so mad you can't breathe. It finally got to the point that I hated the game. All the hours and hours of practice every day for years felt like a complete waste of time.

I'm rapidly getting to the same point. My putting frustrations have reached an all time high, it's to the point where I don't even want to play golf anymore. I'm experimenting with long and belly putters in hopes something will help even just a little bit.

 

[Todd Dugan]

Hi Todd,

Lots of talk about pendulums, not much about the biomechanics of the human body. So is the plane to which you refer one that goes through the wrist, the elbow, the shoulder(s), the sternum, some combination of the above, or none of the above. When you define the above, how do the other body parts influence the stroke?
How does the right hand being attached to the grip affect the amount of the rotation? What about the torso rotation? How does it affect the amount of clubface rotation?
What is the axis of rotation? How does one keep it fixed? Return it to the 'starting' point?
Does the swinging putter have any effect on the body/left shoulder/left arm?
Why does there have to be a plane? Do you think that the different body parts might not cooperate? What about uneven slopes? Do they affect your free swinging pendulum?

Wow, lots of questions. Here we go....The plane is established by the shaft at address. The forearms should be on the plane at address, and virtually all great putters do this. The shaft need not be in-line with the left forearm on the plane itself. Virtually no great putters do that. But it is essentially the club which is swung in-plane. The body simply reproduces as naturally and closely as possible the action of the model. You raised a good point of whether it is the sweetspot which is swung in-plane or the shaft. Honestly, I haven't gotten to the bottom of that one. But the dreaded yellow book suggests that it is the shaft that rotates around the sweet spot, not the sweet spot around the shaft. If true, a MAJOR misunderstanding among the "experts". I recommend and use a face-balanced putter so both are on the plane, making it a moot point. Powering the stroke with primarily independent arm swing, the left forearm is on the plane until Low Point, when the right is on the plane. The clubface will rotate on the plane due to the rotation of the torso and natural "roll" of the left arm. Unless you use that silly "vertical hinging" to offset it. This is a MAJOR misunderstanding of most all of the putting gurus. I suppose these are the same guys who think the clubface can/should stay squre to the arc for a full swing also. Tiger Woods is not keeping the clubface sqaure to the arc. This is easily proven with a "t-generating" laser module. There should be no independent rotation of the left wrist in the stroke either. No need for an extra moving part. I operate under the mechanical principle that a simpler machine, with less moving parts, is more efficient and less prone to failure. The axis of torso rotation, the upper sternum, should remain fixed. Again, no need for an extra moving part. In a stroke powered by Torso rotation only, the Low Point is in-line with the axis, the upper sternum. In an arm swing-only stroke, the Low Point is opposite the Low Point of the Hand Arc (assumimg no hinge at the wrist) and is adjustable by the player. Personally, I position the ball slightly forward of the upper sternum and swing my hands down to their Low Point, in-line with the back of the ball, at Impact. I also advocate start-up and impact with the shaft vertical, using the "designed" loft of the putter as the Dynamic Loft and the Spin Loft, as the Attack Angle is 0* (Point of Equilibrium). There doesn't have to be a plane. But I can make a pretty strong case for why its the most naturally repeatable technique
1. Its what Jack and Tiger do.
2. You could swing your inclined arm in-plane with your eyes closed......literally.
3. It's the way your arm moves in any force-generating athletic motion (pitching baseball,skipping stones)
4. Its the way the clubhead swings through the Impact Zone in a swing of any force
5. Its the way you would design the simplist machine/model

 

[Todd Dugan]

 

[duckjr78]

Wow, lots of questions. Here we go....The plane is established by the shaft at address. The forearms should be on the plane at address, and virtually all great putters do this. The shaft need not be in-line with the left forearm on the plane itself. Virtually no great putters do that. But it is essentially the club which is swung in-plane. The body simply reproduces as naturally and closely as possible the action of the model. You raised a good point of whether it is the sweetspot which is swung in-plane or the shaft. Honestly, I haven't gotten to the bottom of that one. But the dreaded yellow book suggests that it is the shaft that rotates around the sweet spot, not the sweet spot around the shaft. If true, a MAJOR misunderstanding among the "experts". I recommend and use a face-balanced putter so both are on the plane, making it a moot point. Powering the stroke with primarily independent arm swing, the left forearm is on the plane until Low Point, when the right is on the plane. The clubface will rotate on the plane due to the rotation of the torso and natural "roll" of the left arm. Unless you use that silly "vertical hinging" to offset it. This is a MAJOR misunderstanding of most all of the putting gurus. I suppose these are the same guys who think the clubface can/should stay squre to the arc for a full swing also. Tiger Woods is not keeping the clubface sqaure to the arc. This is easily proven with a "t-generating" laser module. There should be no independent rotation of the left wrist in the stroke either. No need for an extra moving part. I operate under the mechanical principle that a simpler machine, with less moving parts, is more efficient and less prone to failure. The axis of torso rotation, the upper sternum, should remain fixed. Again, no need for an extra moving part. In a stroke powered by Torso rotation only, the Low Point is in-line with the axis, the upper sternum. In an arm swing-only stroke, the Low Point is opposite the Low Point of the Hand Arc (assumimg no hinge at the wrist) and is adjustable by the player. Personally, I position the ball slightly forward of the upper sternum and swing my hands down to their Low Point, in-line with the back of the ball, at Impact. I also advocate start-up and impact with the shaft vertical, using the "designed" loft of the putter as the Dynamic Loft and the Spin Loft, as the Attack Angle is 0* (Point of Equilibrium). There doesn't have to be a plane. But I can make a pretty strong case for why its the most naturally repeatable technique
1. Its what Jack and Tiger do.
2. You could swing your inclined arm in-plane with your eyes closed......literally.
3. It's the way your arm moves in any force-generating athletic motion (pitching baseball,skipping stones)
4. Its the way the clubhead swings through the Impact Zone in a swing of any force
5. Its the way you would design the simplist machine/model

That's great Todd, but what if that isn't the best way for a particular person to putt? It's not the way Ben Crenshaw putted. Or Bobby Locke. Or Bobby Jones. C'mon, the list goes on and on. You could even argue that it's not how Jack putted.

There is no "perfect" way to putt simply because it is almost entirely "feel" based. There is a "weight" to the stroke that can't really be quantified.

Tell me, have you ever seen two elite dart throwers use an identical, standard motion? Won't happen. The "perfect" stroke just ain't for everyone.

 

[faux_maestro]

So, we trace a straight plane line, impact/separation at low point with a square face, ball go straight?

 

[otto6457]

I'm rapidly getting to the same point. My putting frustrations have reached an all time high, it's to the point where I don't even want to play golf anymore. I'm experimenting with long and belly putters in hopes something will help even just a little bit.

Hey Scott

I'm here to let you know that there is better putting out there for you. I just can't tell you where you will find it. In my case I finally let the guy I trust more than anyone in golf tell me what I needed to do. That's the only option I had left if I was going to come back and play.

Good Luck Scott and hang in there.

 

[Todd Dugan]

So, we trace a straight plane line, impact/separation at low point with a square face, ball go straight?

Yes, that's right. Straight down the Intended Start Line, which should parallel the Plane Line.