Thoughts on Putting PDF

Thoughts on Putting ONE: 10 things I’d like you to consider 1. The PHYSICS of putting When putting, the ball will always launch in the direction the putter face is aimed at impact; not the direction the putter head is moving at impact. In each of the three illustrations to the right, the...

Thoughts on Putting ONE: 10 things I’d like you to consider 1. The PHYSICS of putting When putting, the ball will always launch in the direction the putter face is aimed at impact; not the direction the putter head is moving at impact. In each of the three illustrations to the right, the putter head is moving toward the hole, but the ball is launching in the direction the putter face is aimed – not the direction the putter head is moving. To launch your putts on your intended aim-line, your putter face needs to be SQUARE (perpendicular) to that line at impact. Therefore, focus more on the alignment of the putter face at impact and less on the back-and-forth path of the putter head. 2. Making putts is DIFFICULT When playing golf, average golfers miss 50% of their putts from five feet. The best putters in the world (those on the PGA Tour) will miss 50% of their putts from eight feet. On a flat putting mat at home, both the average golfer and the PGA Touring professional will make almost 100% of their putts from five and eight feet; but on the golf course things change. On the golf course, the ball is rolling over a surface that is seldom level; and you only get one chance at a putt that you’ve never before attempted. The ball will be bouncing over the inconsistent surface and you can only guess at the direction it might roll as it slows. As you move further from the hole, the chance of making the putt drops significantly. From 20 feet the average golfer makes only 6% of their putts and the PGA Tour player makes only 15% of their putts. While striving to become a better than average putter, keep your expectations realistic. Don’t expect to putt better than those on the PGA Tour. PhilMooreGolf.com 3. Instead of trying to make more long putts, FOCUS ON AVOIDING 3-PUTTS As the chart on the previous page reveals, no one makes very many long putts. The best putters, however, make very few 3- putts. 3-putt avoidance should be your PRIMARY OBJECTIVE. Avoiding 3-putts is achieved through good DISTANCE CONTROL; through leaving the first putt very close to the hole for an easy tap-in. Two-putting is good putting. When you try to MAKE long putts, you’ll routinely roll the putt several feet past the hole. Instead of making more long putts, you’ll only succeed in making more 3-putts! 4. When the ball stops at the middle of the hole, THE HOLE GETS LARGER When the ball comes to rest at the hole, if the center of the ball is inside the lip of the cup the ball will drop in the hole – due to the pull of gravity. Therefore, from the perspective of making the putt, it would be correct to say that the hole gets LARGER when the ball stops at the hole. 5. When the ball is still rolling forward as it reaches the middle of the hole, THE HOLE GETS SMALLER When the ball is still rolling forward as it reaches the middle of the hole, the speed of the ball can overpower the pull of gravity. Furthermore, the faster the ball is traveling, the more likely it will “spinout” of the hole instead of dropping into the hole. For example, consider the following: A golf hole is 4.25” in diameter. If the ball stopped on the lip of the cup, it could easily drop into the cup (gravity). Therefore, the “effective diameter” of the cup is the full 4.25”. If you stroked the ball hard enough to roll it 6” past the cup, the cup’s effective diameter drops to 3.8” If you stroked the ball hard enough to roll it 1 foot past the cup, the cup’s effective diameter drops to 2.6” If you stroked the ball hard enough to roll it 3 feet past the cup, the cup’s effective diameter drops to 1.4” When the ball reaches the hole, the speed of the ball determines how accurate the line of the putt must be. PhilMooreGolf.com 6. Rolling the ball faster to minimize the effect of the break is most often a BAD IDEA While it is true that you can allow for less break through rolling the ball faster, it is also true that the effective diameter of the hole gets progressively smaller the faster the ball is rolling. Meaning you have to be far more accurate, because it you miss your line even slightly the ball will “spinout” of the hole. Furthermore, on missed putts the farther you roll the ball past the hole the more likely you are to 3-putt. The average golfer is simply not accurate enough to strike putts boldly. Not only will most of the putts “spinout”, he or she will 3-putt more often. On shorter putts inside of 10 feet you should certainly strive to get your putts to the hole, but it you’re going to putt very aggressively (like Tiger Woods), you have to be extremely accurate (like Tiger Woods). Good luck with that! 7. Becoming a better putter requires that you become better at READING THE LINE OF THE PUTT The ability to correctly predict the direction the ball will roll as it travels toward the hole is a learned skill that few golfers make any effort to improve. Becoming better at correctly reading the line of a putt is not difficult; it only takes the willingness to learn. Approach every putt as follows: Start reading the green AS YOU APPROACH THE GREEN From a distance, it’s often easier to identify the green’s slopes and contours. You always have to be aware of pace of play. Therefore you have to learn to collect as much data as possible in a limited amount of time. You can very effectively read a putt in a very short time. Bobby Jones famously stated, “I’ve never learned anything more about a putt after the first 10 seconds”. To get a better feel for DISTANCE, view the putt from the side As you walk toward your ball, stop about 10 feet from the line of the putt (preferably on the low side of the slope) and observe the putt from the side - between the ball and the hole. From this position, you can more easily determine if the putt is level, uphill, downhill, or some combination of the three. You’ll also gain a better feel for the length of the putt and how firmly or lightly you’ll need to strike the ball. To get a better feel for the LINE of the putt, view the putt from behind the ball If time permits, walk on a path to the hole that provides the opportunity to view the line of the putt from both behind the ball AND behind the hole. From these perspectives, it’s easier to determine if the ball will roll straight, break to the right, break to the left, or some combination of the three. Your goal is to gain as much information AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. Always stay aware of pace of play. PhilMooreGolf.com Distance control is always the PRIMARY OBJECTIVE. Your primary goal is for the ball to stop next to the hole, making the next putt as easy as possible. Therefore, 80 to 90% of your green-reading effort should be directed toward the goal of rolling the ball the correct distance. As a result, a significant portion of your green reading should be done from the side of the hole. Some golfers believe that quickly pacing off the length of the putt gives them a better feel for distance and a boost in confidence. Equating one stride to three feet, they would verbalize a six stride uphill putt as, “Eighteen feet uphill”. I consider anything that boasts confidence to be a plus, as long as it doesn’t slow play. If you believe determining the length of your putts helps, do it quickly! Determining the correct line is always the SECONDARY OBJECTIVE. After striking the putt, the ball will be both bouncing and rolling over the inconsistent surface of the green. You can only guess at the exact line it will take. Therefore only 10 to 20% of your effort should be directed toward selecting the EXACT starting line of the putt. On downhill putts, always consider the break from BEHIND THE HOLE. On uphill putts the ball will stop faster and, therefore, not break as much at the end of the putt. On downhill putts, however, the ball will roll farther and break much more as it slows. For a better perspective, make it a habit to always consider the break of a downhill putt from behind the hole. Visualize the ball rolling down the hill and straight to the hole. Then, as you visualize the ball slowing, try to sense for how much and in what direction it will break. The PACE OF THE PUTT determines the line of the putt. Remember, you’re always trying to roll the ball to the hole, NOT SIGNIFICANTLY PAST THE HOLE. The slower you roll the ball to hole, the greater the ball will break; so determine the speed of the putt first, then always allow for enough break. As Bobby Jones commonly stated, “Always borrow enough”. Spend MORE TIME reading the line of short putts and LESS TIME reading the line of long putts. Average golfers, for some reason, spend too much time trying to determine the line of long putts (which they have almost no chance of making) and not enough time considering the line of short putts (which they have a realistic chance of making). After every putt, IMMEDIATELY EVALUATE how well you read every putt. You learn by experience and mistakes. Consider each putt to be a learning opportunity. Did you judge both the pace and line of the putt correctly? If not, take another look and try to better understand what you missed. Through making the effort to correctly read the putt (pre-shot routine) and then taking a moment to evaluate the read (post shot routine), your green reading skill will progressively and continuously improve. PhilMooreGolf.com 8. Average golfers struggle with DOWNHILL PUTTS Average golfers spend most of their time practicing level putts. And, because they’re always trying to make the putt, they tend to strike the ball too hard. Due to a lack of practice, they generally underestimate how quickly the ball will stop on an uphill putt, and how far the ball will travel on a downhill putt. Uphill putts are generally not a big problem, because average golfers tend to strike the ball too hard anyway. On uphill putts the firmer strike actually works to their advantage. On downhill putts, however, the firmer strike leads to three putting, as the first putt will tend to roll well past the hole. 9. You should address the ball in a manner that INCREASES your chance of making SQUARE AND CENTERED CONTACT There is no perfect putting grip, posture, ball position, or stroke. The goal is to comfortably setup to the ball in a manner that will allow YOU to most easily make square and centered contact with the ball. You’ll find it beneficial when your setup position includes the following: Your eyes over the ball – so you can better square the clubface to your start-line and most easily return the clubface to square at impact. The ball positioned forward of center stance but inside the left heel – so you can easily strike the ball with a SLIGHTLY ascending blow. A grip that minimizes face rotation – making it easier to consistently return the clubface to square at impact. Very relaxed hands and quiet mind – making it easier for your hands to respond seamlessly to your intention of rolling the ball to your aim point. Comfortable posture – you should feel no strain in your low back. Comfort breeds relaxation. Don’t be overly concerned with the alignment of your feet or shoulders. Instead focus primarily on aligning the putter face square to your start line. While maintaining the single-minded intent to roll the ball straight to your AIM- POINT, allow your body to comfortably settle into position. PhilMooreGolf.com 10. Consider using the REVERSE OVERLAP putting grip When putting, it’s best to use a grip that is different than your full swing grip. Your full swing grip should promote the increased face rotation that’s needed to maximize club head speed. Your putting grip, on the other hand, should promote feel and minimize face rotation. On the PGA Tour, the most popular grip is the “Reverse Overlap”, as preferred by both Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. The right palm faces the target, with the thumb and all four fingers of the right hand on the shaft. The left forefinger overlaps the fingers of the right hand, as illustrated here by Tiger Wood’s grip. With the palm of the dominate right hand you can sense the square putter face through the stroke. The left hand provides stability. Some feel they gain face control through extending the right forefinger down the shaft, which is perfectly fine. TWO: 12 thoughts about your personal PUTTING ROUTINE 1. First select your AIM-POINT You first read the green in an effort to determine if and how much the ball is going to break. If you determine the ball is going to break about a cup (about 4 inches) left- to-right, your AIM-POINT would be 4 inches to the left of the cup. You would then address the ball and square your putter face to your AIM-POINT; NOT TO THE HOLE. The hole should actually be out of your field of awareness. 2. BEFORE ADDRESSING THE BALL, verbalize your exact aim-point, quiet your mind, and relax your hands. With every golf shot, before addressing the ball it’s very important to establish your AIM-POINT, quiet your mind, and do something to relax your body. From your address position (with your eyes over the ball) the line of the putt will sometimes look different. This won’t happen often, but when it does it’s best to back away from the ball and look at the putt again. You don’t want to send conflicting signals to the brain. Remember, you’re just guessing at your AIM-POINT, so don’t overthink it. Just make your best guess, say it out loud, and then stay 100% committed to it. PhilMooreGolf.com 3. OVERTHINKING the line of the putt creates DOUBT AND TENSION Overthinking the line of the putt serves no purpose because there are too many variables that are out of your control. Furthermore, if you stare at a putt for an extended period of time, you’ll start imagining breaks that aren’t actually there! Always remember, you’re just guessing at the line, so stay relaxed and keep the green reading process as simple as possible. More importantly, being overly concerned with the line detracts from the time spent considering your primary goal – ROLLING THE BALL THE CORRECT DISTANCE. 4. Always roll the ball to your AIM-POINT Form the intention to roll the ball directly to your aim-point. If you determine the AIM-POINT to be four inches to the left of the hole, you roll the ball directly to that point. If you read the break correctly, when the ball slows it will roll slightly to the right and into the cup. If you miss-read the line, but hit the putt the correct distance, you’ll be left with an easy tap-in two-putt. Consider either result to be “good enough”; two-putting is good putting. 5. Stay 100% COMMITTED to your AIM-POINT While being aligned at their aim-point, golfers tend to become overly concerned with actually making the putt. As a result, they’re unable to get the hole out of their field of vision. This mindset often leads them to subconsciously manipulating the club face during the stroke and inadvertently launching the ball on a line closer to the hole. And, for that reason, they very often miss putts on the low side of the hole. 6. Consider all putts to be STRAIGHT PUTTS You don’t hook or slice your putts; all of your putts are STRAIGHT. Your intention is to always roll the ball STRAIGHT to your AIM-POINT and allow the slope of the green (gravity) to determine the ultimate path of the ball. PhilMooreGolf.com  7. Stay always aware of your grip pressure – it should be RELAXED THROUGHOUT THE STROKE Anxiety will create tension in your hands and greatly inhibit your ability to make a fluid stroke. Grip the putter so softly you can sense the full weight of the putter in your hands. If you feel your hands tightening, it’s because you’re thinking; relax them before stroking the putt. 8. AVOID practice strokes Practice strokes serve no purpose other than to stimulate mechanical thoughts, create confusion, and cloud your intention. Once you’re able to clearly visualize the putt in your mind, address the ball and stroke the putt confidently. If you feel you have to make practice strokes to relax your hands, do it from behind the ball while LOOKING AT THE HOLE – NOT THE PUTTER HEAD. And do it ONLY with the intent to relax the hands or SUBTLY FEEL the intended strike. 9. Never attempt to CONSCIOUSLY CONTROL your putting stroke You innately know how to squarely strike the putt and get the ball rolling at the proper pace. Your hands don’t need your guidance. The truth is, even when putting, your hands move faster than you can think. Any attempt to consciously control their motion will only serve to destroy the balance and fluidity of the stroke. Avoid listening to the chatter in your head. Instead, strive always to give your complete trust to your eyes and hands. I love to recall the very insightful advice of the mystical caddy Bagger Vance, in Steven Pressfield’s wonderful book, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Bagger Vance tells his nervous golfing friend, Rannulph Junah, “You’re in your head Junah, I need you to come down into your hands. Listen to me. Intelligence, I have told you, does not reside in the brain but in the hands. LET them do the thinking, they are far wiser than you are.” 10. Strike every putt without hope or fear and ACCEPT IN ADVANCE whatever the outcome might be The legendary Canadian golfer, Moe Norman, defined golf as, “Hitting the ball to a defined target area, with the least amount of effort and an alert attitude of indifference”. PhilMooreGolf.com  Moe, who is considered to be possibly the greatest ball striker in the history of the game, felt that the more you cared about the result of the shot, the worse the result would be. And, conversely, the less you cared about the result of the shot, the better the result would be. He referred to this theory of his as, “The theory of Positive Indifference”. Ben Crenshaw, who is universally considered to be one of the greatest putters in the history of the game, shared a similar opinion. Ben referred to himself as a “fatalistic putter”. He felt that after the ball left the face of the putter there was nothing he could do about it, so he didn’t worry about it. He just focused on doing all he could do prior to the strike; and remained fine with whatever the result might be. ACCEPTANCE is a powerful mindset that every golfer should adopt. Truthfully, no one can control the ball after it leaves the club face, so why worry about it? Worry only creates tension, and according to Bobby Jones, “Tension is the golfer’s greatest enemy”. 11. Remember, you can’t control your FIRST THOUGHT As you approach a putt, you’ll often experience a negative or fearful thought. It might be, “I’m bad at short putts”, or “I always hit downhill putts to hard”, or “I’ll never be able to 2-putt this”, or “I’m going to miss this”. It’s important that you don’t give this thought energy by holding onto it; as that would merely attract supporting negative or fearful thoughts. The good news is that you can control your second thought! Just smile, allow the thought to pass, clear your mind, and move through your routine. With a quiet mind, accept any result as being perfectly fine, and stroke the putt confidently without hope of fear. 12. Never miss a putt IN YOUR MIND Jack Nicklaus said he never missed a putt in his mind and you shouldn’t either. Your last thought should always be positive. Why not? Before starting your stroke, make it a habit to always see the ball rolling directly to your aim-point and then into the hole. Hold that image, trust your eyes and hands, and stroke the putt confidently. PhilMooreGolf.com THREE: HEADS UP Putting 1. There are SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS with the conventional method of putting When putting, golfers are traditionally taught to look directly at the ball and keep their head very still. They are also commonly instructed to stay still and not “look up” until the ball is well on its way to the hole. Selecting a good aim-point is important, but holding that aim-point in your mind until the ball is struck IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT. The problem is that it becomes difficult to hold the image of the target in your mind while you’re staring at the golf ball. Furthermore, the longer you stare at the ball, the more the image of the target will fade from your mind. To make matters worse, when staring at the ball it becomes almost impossible to not consider movement of the putter head; which, most commonly leads to some degree of conscious manipulation. In addition to that, shifting your focus from the target to the ball will commonly lead to a shift of INTENTION. Your intention can easily shift away from the goal of rolling the ball to your AIM-POINT, to the new goal of making a perfect putting stroke. While related, these two intentions are not the same and your ability to control the speed of the putt will suffer significantly. The process of creating the putt should be target oriented, NOT STROKE ORIENTED. In other words, you goal should be to make the putt, not create a perfect putting stroke. 2. Why I believe HEADS UP is a better way to putt Heads Up is a style of putting in which the golfer looks at the AIM-POINT instead of the ball. In this illustration, the Heads Up golfer is looking at the Far Target (AIM-POINT) and not the Near Target (ball) Golf is a target game, and when putting the target is your AIM-POINT. After selecting the AIM-POINT, distance or speed control should be the primary objective. Extensive testing, with thousands of golfers, has proven conclusively that staying focused on the target throughout the stroke improves distance control. PhilMooreGolf.com 3. How can you make square and centered contact with the ball if you’re LOOKING AT THE HOLE?? Golfers have always assumed that they would have to look at the ball to make square and centered contact with it. This is a false assumption. For example, playing the piano is far more difficult than simply returning your putter face to a square position at impact. Yet, the pianist focuses on reading his music when playing, not on his hands or fingers. And an efficient typist would never look at her fingers to insure each was striking the correct key. A singer in a band focuses intently on the lyrics of the song he is singing, while giving no conscious thought to how his hands are playing the instrument (guitar, piano, drums). Making square and centered contact with the ball while looking at the hole IS NOT DIFFICULT AT ALL. It requires only the small amount of practice needed to gain confidence. 4. How do you BEST PRACTICE Heads Up putting? I have my students first learn Heads Up putting at home on their putting mat. They assume their address position in the normal manner, through looking at both the ball and the hole. Settling into their comfortable posture, they position their eyes directly over the ball and square the face of their putter to the aim-line. While looking at the ball, I have them sense the square putter face with the palm of their relaxed right hand. Then I have them shift their focus to their AIM-POINT (the exact center of the hole) and visualize the ball rolling over their AIM-POINT and dropping into the center of the hole. Finally, when they feel ready, focused only on their AIM-POINT they roll the ball into the cup. During the stroke, I want them to mentally step aside and allow their hands to move freely as a seamless response to their intention to roll the ball to their AIM-POINT. But, I also want them to maintain an AWARENESS of the putter face staying square to the aim-line throughout the stroke. I want them to feel the square putters face with the palm of their right hand. PhilMooreGolf.com  There is a subtle but huge difference between TRYING to consciously force something to happen and FEELING something that is happening in the moment. I don’t want my students to TRY to keep the putter face square; I only want them to FEEL the putter face staying square with the palm of their right hand. This FEELING serves to keep their focus centered in the present moment. Once they’re able to regularly make 5 out of 5 putts over their AIM-POINT and into the center of the cup from three, five, and seven feet on their putting mat, I have them train on the golf course practice green as well. 5. How do you practice putting AT THE GOLF COURSE? At the golf course, I no longer want my students to practice hitting straight putts. They’ve done that at home – they know how to hit straight putts. Instead, I want them to focus exclusively on distance control, green reading, and their putt creation process (their routine). Remembering always that their goal is 3-putt avoidance, I have them practice a series of different 15-foot putts (five paces). Their goal is to play six holes in a row without a 3-putt. If they do 3-putt they have to start over, with the intention of not leaving the green until they’re able to play six different 15-foot holes consecutively without a 3-putt. As they progress and a 15-foot two-putt becomes relatively easy, I want them to move steadily back. First from 18 feet (six paces) and then from 21 feet (seven paces). To solidify their routine, I want them to approach each putt with the same mental intensity they would apply when playing golf. BEFORE addressing each putt I want them to read the green, select an AIM-POINT, verbalize their AIM-POINT, and quiet their mind. When addressing the ball I want them to first SQUARE the putter face to their AIM-LINE with only their right hand and FEEL the square putter face in the relaxed palm of that hand. Then I want them settle into a comfortable address position while looking at their AIM- POINT and with the ball positioned directly under their eyes and just forward of the center of their stance. I don’t want them to be overly concerned with the alignment of their shoulders or feet as that would distract from their primary goal of squaring the putter face to the aim-line. I just want them to allow their body to comfortably settle into the shot while looking at their AIM-POINT. PhilMooreGolf.com  After addressing the ball After assuming a comfortable address position, I want them to shift their attention to their AIM-POINT and form the single- minded intention to roll the ball directly to that point. During the stroke I want them to mentally step aside and allow their hands to seamlessly respond to their single-minded intention to roll the ball to their AIM-POINT. I want them to stroke each putt confidently, with a quiet mind and without hope or fear. After the ball comes to rest I want them to determine how well they read the putt and, if they miss-read the putt, try to understand what they missed. The goal is to develop an effective personal routine that the student can take to the golf course. FOUR: BAD ADVICE you’ll often hear You should always remember that the average golfer is a poor putter who loves to give advice. Try to ignore the following five words of wisdom… Never up never in The average golfer loves to point out that a putt that stops short of the hole has no chance to go in. He forgets, however, that he’s constantly three-putting because his first putt stops well past the hole. Two putting is good putting, three-putting is not. Never leave a birdie putt short Following this poor advice, the average golfer most commonly strikes the birdie putt so hard that it has no chance of going in. Frustrated, he then proceeds to miss the 3 or 4 foot putt coming back, and ends up making a needless bogey. You should play a birdie putt just like any other putt. Always TRY to swing the putter head straight back and straight through Remember, the alignment of the putter face at impact determines the launch direction of the ball – NOT THE PATH OF THE CLUB HEAD. Trying to consciously control the PATH of the putter head is a complete waste of time. Remember, even when putting your hands are moving faster than you can think. Just look at the hole, feel the alignment of the putter face in the palm of your right hand, and stroke the putt with confidence. Trust me, your body is far smarter than you are. PhilMooreGolf.com Always keep your head very still Thinking about any part of your body only serves to create tension and destroy balance. Just look at the hole, keep your hands relaxed, and stroke your putt confidently. Forget about your head. Just relax and let the stroke naturally unfold. Always perfectly square your shoulders and feet to the line of your putt Forget about your body and just focus on squaring the putter face to the line of your putt. Thinking about any part of your body creates tension, the exact thing you’re trying to eliminate. You’ll putt much better if you buy a new expensive putter Unfortunately, regardless of how much you spend, the new putter will not read the green, square itself to the line, and stroke the putt. All you can do is play with a putter built to specifications (loft, lie-angle, and shaft length) that compliment your setup position and stroke. PhilMooreGolf.com FIVE: Putter Fitting When the shaft length, the lie-angle, and the loft of your putter each complement your setup position and stroke, it’ll become easier to make square and centered contact and launch the ball on your intended line. Therefore, you’ll putt better. Adjusting putter specifications is something I do every day. Here’s what I do: I adjust the shaft length so the student can comfortably get their eyes over the ball. This makes it easier to square the clubface to the aim-line at address. I adjust the lie angle so the putter sits flat on the ground. This makes it easier to make centered contact. I adjust the loft to better complement the student’s stroke. This makes it easier to effectively launch the ball out of its resting place and get it rolling forward as quickly as possible. PhilMooreGolf.com