Rory McIlroy's putting - a disaster that could have been prevented?

[BrendanC]

It is simply not true to say McIlroy must have putted fantastically to achieve what he has done to date, though he has certainly has some rounds where he has holed putts and he can go exceptionally low - lower than most (62 at Quail Hollow, 61 at Royal Portrush as a teenager, 63 at St Andrews etc etc).

If you watched a lot of the Masters but - prior to the hook on 10 - McIlroy putted terribly on the front nine on day four and quite poorly on other days. He may have cost himself 2 or 3 shots on 10 - through the hook and the poor chipping - but he lost way more strokes on the final day through pure bad putting. And in my book his putting is what put him under pressure and made him 'over-try'. It led to the collapse.

You don't shoot 80 with a long game as good as McIlroy's was on day 4 - when it was still actually pretty useful overall - without being a (relatively speaking) fantastically bad putter.

There is some great info on what actually determines success on the PGA Tour - it is easy to over-estimate the importance of putting (e.g. Richie3Jack Golf Blog: The Statistical Importance of Driver Accuracy).

 

[wulsy]

Anyone who has experienced more pressure than a monthly medal knows that you just can't do ANYTHING any more when you loose confidence and belief. And standing there in front of tens of millions of people around the world trying to stop making a fool of yourself on greens as quick as those is not an easy thing to do.

The guy has achieved so much in a game which revolves around putting the ball into the hole. Those who claim he is a poor putter just do not understand how impossible it is to have done what he has done without putting at least very well, if not fantastically. Clearly he may putt poorly at times, and maybe his technique is a bit suspect, but on the whole he can't be a bad putter. Just like he's not a bad driver, despite hitting those two or three hooks.

 

[Kevin Shields]

Im not saying that his stroke is good or bad, just that its not the stroke that holds up or not, its the person that does.

 

[BrendanC]

Wulsly - the game is about getting the ball on the green near the hole. Or at least that is the hard (and interesting) part. If it wasn't for tee to green, golf would be lawn bowls.

Kevin - Personally, I felt that on some of those putts McIlroy almost couldn't have holed out because of his poor technique. He looked awful, his body language was like a slicer on an off day teeing off with a tight treeline on the right.: very focussed on not looking foolish, and trying to make the right moves but not having any real understanding or belief in why he was doing what he was doing.

Of course in the driving, he would step up, smack it and confidently draw it 320 odd yards down the hole and say 'watch me do that again'. Why? Cos his technique is very, very good.

Anyways - I can't say much more on this. Let's hope he sorts it out as I'd hate to see the guy involved in another Major collapse. He is only 21, so even though he probably does need to improve his game on 'off' days, he has ample time and scope to do so.

 

[Damon Lucas]

He has never overly impressed me with his stroke/mechanics. It is not 100% between the ears, imo, nor is it all his stroke. He was sweating bullets early in the round, and did well to not implode earlier. After the 10th, he was not going to mentally recover. He made some good aggressive swings which may have assauged his nervousness, but that philosophy doesn't translate to putting, because putting is so dependent on speed, from a reading standpoint, and a 'one speed, one read' standpoint. So from there it was a vicious downhill spiral, with a kid who only had 'patience' and 'one shot at a time' platitudes to rely on from his sports psychologist.

Stroke wise he does not understand the relationship between stroking straight mechanics and rhythm, in his stroke. He would give me about 6 a side, but he can and hopefully will get much better.

 

[lia41985]

'one speed, one read' standpoint...stroking straight mechanics and rhythm

Damon,
Could you please explain what you mean by "one speed, one read" and "stroking straight mechanics" and how it's different from rhythm?

 

[ms1170]

He melted down after the triple on 10. That is not a good trait, if you want to be a great player. I can't think of an instance in Tiger's or Jack's careers, where they were winning with 9 holes to play and then completely out of it 3 holes later. The television people will tell you this is a good experience that will help in the future. It may help him be a better person, husband, father, but this stuff doesn't help your golf game.

 

[Damon Lucas]

One speed, one read means that for the speed selected, there is only one line that the ball can travel on to go into the center of the cup. Likewise, for a selected line, there is only one speed that works. Except for a dead straight putt.

For McIlroy's stroke, where there is a degree of opening and closing in his stroke, he requires a certain rhythm to allow the putterface to be relatively square at impact. To answer your question, straight stroke mechanics are dependent on rhythm, but not vice versa. SSM are body and club movements. Rhythm is the relative timing and sequence of those movements.

 

[lia41985]

Thank you for the explanation, Damon!

 

[ggsjpc]

John Graham , I do not think there are any implications that some holes are bigger than others. However, some courses roll the greens after they mow them, which makes the edges feel tighter. but I am sure that there is a chart out there that rates the firmness of the edges and tighness of the 4.5 inch cup cuttings tools.

I'll ask around and let you know what I find.

 

[birly-shirly]

[...]

When McIlroy plays to a +7 or +8 handicap from 100 yards plus (guess), and putts like a 10 handicapper from days one to three and an 18 handicapper or worse on day 4, it is worth looking at why.

Is there a Manzella putting matrix? Where would McIlroy be on it? What kind of ideas/information could help him?

Putting is just as much a science as the full swing, but some people are talking like it is a black art.

I could easily seem him switching to something like what Adam Scott is doing, and a visit to Stockton should certainly be on the agenda.

If he doesn't make serious changes, this problem will keep hurting throughout his career.

Brendan - I know you're not hating on Rory. I hope he recovers well from this too.

FWIW - I don't know that the deterioration in his putting was markedly worse than his ball-striking. His play down 10 was pretty shocking, and his reaction to his second snapper off the tee looked like he just didn't know where his ball was going any more.

As far as his putting goes, Rory himself said in an interview that he'd basically lost confidence in his read and judgement of pace.

I don't think I agree that putting is as much a science as the full swing - unless your thinking is that the full swing is much less of a "scientific" endeavour than many folks seem to think. If you line up with the de la Torres and Neuro-Learning Mike Hebrons of the golf world, then that's cool, but I don't really think that's what you meant.

I do agree that putting and driving are equally "scientific" in that where the ball goes is the result of physical forces and alignments at impact - but I really think that touch and feel and accuracy in putting are more learned skill than mechanics.

Interestingly, Stockton, who you mention - seems to agree if his book is anything to go by. He seems much more interested in green-reading, visualisation and touch than in stroke mechanics. He says he likes a slight loop in the stroke, because it feels more intuitive and less mechanical. He even says that his personal preference is for a loop to the outside, which I don't think I've ever heard anyone else recommend. I'd say he was way less prescriptive about stroke mechanics than Pelz, or Utley for that matter.

Lastly, call me old fashioned, but I'd hate to see a young guy like Rory with a long putter...

 

[BrendanC]

From what I know, one of the first things Stockton would do is bend him over more at the hips......funny enough, Rory used to putt without a practice stroke when he was younger.

Putting can be discussed within various language frames - as art, science, mental challenge etc etc.

I guess it up to the teachers and gurus to go understand the science, test out what works in real life and distil into use-able info for the rest of us...... (seriously, I'd love it if there was a Manzella Putting Matrix).

I think there are many technical points that can improve putting. The deceptive thing is that anyone can hole a putt from time to time and nobody whiffs or slices....well mostly.

The equivalent to poor quality full swing instruction to me is the 'rock your shoulders' and 'use the big muscles' putting stuff that is still very popular with teachers when they are forced to talk about putting. Certainly here in Ireland, all of the younger teachers seem to parrot this stuff. Dave Pelz should also take a share of the blame.

The best putter is (still) Tiger: his little right hand release (discussed in the only really worthwhile chapter in his book 'How I Play Golf') is what gives his putts that amazing capacity to hold the line, track and drop in at perfect speed. IMO, he does it with a little 'toss' (a la SD 2.0) and it is the closest thing to a magic move there is in putting.

Bobby Locke - the greatest putter ever? - has a HUGE right hand release.

Off topic...but oh well!

 

[rogerdodger]

In putting, the less the butt of the putter moves, the better I putt. Allowing the wrist to release a little helps significantly with distance control.

 

[BrendanC]

Good perspective on benefits of eyes over ball/face pointing at ball.

Also critiques/outlines flaws with eyes inside ball practices.

DEAD-EYE PUTTING

 

[leon]

Good perspective on benefits of eyes over ball/face pointing at ball.

Also critiques/outlines flaws with eyes inside ball practices.

DEAD-EYE PUTTING

This is good stuff. Never really thought too much about where my eyes are, which might explain why I'm such a terrible putter - I often have more 3 putts that 2 putts in a round! Tried eyes over the ball at the weekend and hit every putt on line. If I'd had the speed right I reckon I would have made them all. Thanks for posting this, you have no idea how much fun I had rolling em in.

 

[dbl]

you mention - seems to agree if his book is anything to go by. He seems much more interested in green-reading, visualisation and touch than in stroke mechanics. He says he likes a slight loop in the stroke, because it feels more intuitive and less mechanical. He even says that his personal preference is for a loop to the outside, which I don't think I've ever heard anyone else recommend.

Birly...interesting. In the Valero 4th round coverage the announcers mentioned that Cameron Tringale had been analyzed on a putting system I think at Titleist...and they saw a loop, and he took it out. You wonder sometimes.... The announcers were like "let's see how he's doing with it..." and missed that particular 14 footer.