Tiger's Putting

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Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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Tiger is a great ball striker but what makes him one of the best of all time is his putting. I am revamping my putting stroke and I am using Tiger for the model. I would like to discuss his putting technique in this thread. One of my observations is his setup, if you listen to pop golf they tell you to have your forearms in-line with your putter shaft but Tiger's is not. I also notice that his arms don't hang straight down he has his hands really close to his body. I think this almost gives you a straight back straight through stroke, although he claims to put on an arc. Tiger's ball position is very close to being in the center and he has a very narrow stance. Anybody care to comment?
 
dashfan87

dashfan87

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Matt F. said:
Tiger's ball position is very close to being in the center and he has a very narrow stance. Anybody care to comment?
Click to expand...

I have been putting with a narrow stance for a few years now... every now and then Ill go back to a wider stance, and I hate it... I find that my ability to see the line and make a good stroke is MUCH better when I use a narrow stance.
 
Steve Greffen

Steve Greffen

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I tried to look at it closely too and noticed a few things. It appears that he has the upper part of his arms closely attached to his chest...no free swinging arms. Noticing his short putts he has a shorter stroke that almost seems to pop the ball creating a very straight line to the hole. This requires a very precise contact with his putter to the ball in the center of the face and requires the club to be square at contact. I really think this is his secret as he hardly ever misses the 3-4 footers which doesnt sound impressive but kills many other player's rounds (can anyone say Phil!!??)

You may think it looks like a straight back straight through stroke but I think it is because of the shortness and boldness that he has during his putts. And that shorter stroke will appear straighter than a longer smooth stroke. I am also interested in other views but having tried to replicate it, that was hard not only for me but for some of my students that have more feel associated with their stroke. Not saying that Tiger doesnt have feel, just that his feel is more aggressive than most.
 
Steve Greffen

Steve Greffen

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It appears that he has the upper part of his arms closely attached to his chest...no free swinging arms.
Click to expand...

This would make the hands seem close to the body too and be pretty consistent with a narrow stance.
 
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Wallop

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I'm also trying to use Tiger's putting setup. I have putted with an arc stroke for years and under pressure I would take the putter too far inside. By setting up with my hands almost brushing against my pants it makes it almost impossible to take it inside. I think Tiger is an arc putter - I can see the face open in the backstroke - he's just very short and precise with his putts.
 
Richie3Jack

Richie3Jack

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From what I've heard, Tiger owns 2 SAM Puttlabs. And from what I've heard, his stroke actually scored pretty mediocre on the Puttlab. However, his consistency was supposedly downright excellent.

Believe it or not, Loren Roberts' stroke didn't score all that great on the SAM Puttlab...but like Tiger, he's extremely consistent (http://www.samsports.us/PuttLab Data/LorenRoberts.pdf)

So you take great consistency and a great ability to read greens and I think you're quite aways along to becoming a really good putter.



3JACK
'D-Plane is Alive and Well in Putting'
 
K

Kevin Shields

Super Moderator
I understand the interest,in fact ive looked at his stroke plenty live. But honestly,its just standard stuff. Right out of Utley's book. What makes Tiger a great putter is his incredible green reading, speed control and his Green Beret/Hypnotist training in his childhood. No doubt.
 
vjsinger

vjsinger

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Who cares.....I mean..I'm not trying to diminish Tigers Technique, but how about this..Why did Jordan shoot the Basketball so well, why does Kobe?? Why..Because they look at the target and they make the ball go their, they sure don't think about their forearms and wrists. I don't know alot about golf, but I do know that tiger probably is not aware of where his forearms are and this and that...unless some goofball instructor tells him where they are. You know what tiger knows..he knows that the ball is going where he is looking..just like Jordan,just like Kobe. I think he makes putting a feel/touch thing..thats why he is so good at it. I think he literally putts to the picture, like Earl taught him, and that's what he thinks about..he makes it athletic..maybe that is what we should take from Tigers stroke.
 
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adamscot89

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you can study Tiger's putting all day but putting is all feel and unless you hit 1,000 putts a day then you won't putt like him. Just practice putting as much as you can, check out The Sheriff that Brian has for sale on his website, I've used it before and you really get a great feel for your stroke.
 
Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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I am sorry guys but you don't WILL the ball in the hole. You may practice all you want but if you have a faulty technique its going to be spotty at best. I will give you Tiger has the ability to control his nerves and block out all other distractions to allow him to perform but he still has a flawless technique. I am positive Tiger knows where every part of his body is at or he wouldn't be setting up exactly the same way each time plus he wouldn't own a SAM putting machine.

What seperates Tiger from all the other golfers is his ability to hit pure putts all the time. If you watch his ball his line on the ball always goes end over end, no wobble, thats what I am trying to figure out. I realize that is only one part of the equation, you still need to get the speed right and read the green correctly. I practice putting a ball with a line around the equator and you must match the face and path perfectly square to the line or it will not go end over end seamlessly. I have rigged up a putting machine that allows me to have the correct path every time and I can roll the line on the ball great. I then go to hit balls with out the machine and the accuracy is only about half. I have been putting hundreds of balls a day for the last month, I thought the contraption would ingrain the correct putting stroke but it hasnt.

I am convinced you must have sound fundamentals to be a great putter and why not examine and study the best putter out there. I have improved my golf swing tremendously the last couple of years by breaking down the golf swing and understanding what all the parts are doing and the cause and effect of doing different things, it only makes sense to me to do the same to the putting stroke.

I am positive Tiger knows his forearms are not in line with his putter shaft, why not? Is there an advantage? Does it just feel better that way? I figured you guys on here would love to break down Tiger’s putting stroke and see what makes it tick.
 
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Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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IVE BEEN DUPED AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, I have two mirrors setup so I can see my face on and down the line views and after watching a bunch of Tiger's putts I tried to setup just as he does with a little bit of angle between putter and forearms. I have tried this before but it never felt right. I decided to grip the putter more in the fingers than in the palm, I was shocked!!!!! It set me up just like the same angle Tiger has and the feel was incredible. I have listened to pop golf forever telling us to grip the putter in the palm and match the forearm to the shaft, well, you lose a ton of feeling and sensitivity doing that. I went down to the basement to hit some putts and hit one pure putt after another with great touch. I would bet Tiger grips the putter in his fingers and not up under the thumb pad.
 
Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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Not under his heel pad but not under his thumb pad somewhere in between. Do you have a pic of his putter grip?
 
Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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Just found this excerpt from his book:

In his popular instruction book How I Play Golf, which remains on the retail shelf seven years after its original printing, Woods offers the following insight regarding his approach to the putting grip: “The handle of the putter runs under the butt of my left hand. Most players like the handle running straight up the palm so the shaft is parallel to the left forearm. My grip is unique this way, but I believe it gives me a little extra feel and gives me freedom in my wrists when I need it.”
 
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