Putting talk

[kc8kir]

I'm still waiting for the Brian Manzella guide to side saddle putting....

I hear Brian really amazed a few other instructors / good players with that method... but that's just a rumor from long forgotten posts...

 

[bcoak]

If you use an on plane stroke, and I believe that 70& of golfers (AT LEAST) should, you have to "swing left" to aim straight and hit up like you should!

Be great if you could elaborate a little more

 

[vjsinger]

I've been thinking a lot about putter design lately. I find center-shafted, non-offset putters easiest for me to aim and putt with.

I like that the sweetspot is aligned with the shaft. It makes sense to me. Contact feels much more solid.

The center-shafted putter is also easier for me to look at. Nice and simple. I find double-bend putter shafts to be disorienting, and most plumber-neck hosels make the face look closed.

The thing I like most about the center-shafted putter is that it makes it very easy for me to trace a straight plane line. I just keep the tip of the shaft pointed at the line throughout the stroke, though it does move off for longer putts.

As far as stroke type is concerned, I think I'm fairly SBST. It's just how I putt, there's been no conscious effort to avoid an arcing stroke. Opening and closing the face feels unnatural, so I just let the putter swing while making sure that the face angle stays perpendicular to the plane.

Lately, I've been experimenting with more of a side sadde stroke. It's not Sam Snead side saddle, but I'm standing more open to the line with a narrower stance and just trying to brush the ball to the hole. I have a 38-inch putter with a long grip that I hold split-handed, ala Happy Gilmore (I'm starting to think that movie may end up as one of the greatest golf instructional videos of all time).

It's been lethal on short putts, but I have to remind myself not to get too flippy with the brushing. Tracing a straight plane line helps.

As far as D-plane/swinging left is concerned, I'm content to leave that alone unless I really start to have problems. My stance is that if I'm rolling it well, there's a decent chance I'm already conforming to at least some of the D-plane imperatives.

I have a TM spider and find it hard to aim as well, probably the shaft. I putt with a SBST stroke. I'm trying to narrow down what head design/shaft I want, but I don't really want to aquire alot of putters. Did you go to a club fitter/builder or did you just do the old trial and error method of finding the right putter for you?

 

[niblick1]

Be great if you could elaborate a little more

See this: http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/...n-regarding-low-point-face-angle-sheriff.html

 

[mgranato]

Did a little tooling around today on the green to come up with a live example of the chart Richie posted about true aiming vs. apex aiming. The specs for this putt are:

• 10' from ball to hole
• Putt was from 8:30 relative to the 6:00/12:00 fall line
• 11' green speed
• 3% slope by hole
• Aim point was 16" above top edge of hole
• Apex of roll was aprox 5" above the ball/hole line
• Apex was in the first 1/3 of the putt
• "putter" was a stimpmeter rigged to a tripod

The red represent what would happen if the putter was aimed at the apex and the stroke made without any manipulations.

 

[puttmad]

Vid won't play...

 

[mgranato]

My bad, it should work now... very riveting stuff

 

[dominicscaife]

Interesting experiment.

Out of say 50 attempts did all 50 go in?

Seve used to always say perfect putts can miss so I'm wondering what % of 'perfect putts' actually miss due to green inconsistencies and other factors.

Of course using man-made turf stimping 11 is pretty smooth so probably less dispersion than your average grainy Thailand 8-9 stimping greens.

 

[mgranato]

Interesting experiment.

Out of say 50 attempts did all 50 go in?

Seve used to always say perfect putts can miss so I'm wondering what % of 'perfect putts' actually miss due to green inconsistencies and other factors.

Of course using man-made turf stimping 11 is pretty smooth so probably less dispersion than your average grainy Thailand 8-9 stimping greens.

Didn't try rolling 50 balls, but you're correct about 'perfect putts' don't always equal a make. The problem I've found with rolling numerous putts from one location with this kind of setup is that pretty quickly the balls start creating a "track" to the hole. More so on real greens but it does happen on the fake stuff too.