Lesson - 8

Putting. (Changed - 06/04/2010)

This lesson will teach you how to dramatically improve your putting .

Like the full golf swing, the putting stroke also is a pendulum action i,e, as soon as the putter head head moves away from the ball into the back swing movement the putter head it lifts away from the ground, in the down swing movement it returns to ground level, but as soon as the ball is struck the putter head immediately begins to lift off the ground.
You cannot swing the club head so that it remains the same height from the ground throughout the movement, you can make the swing movement more elliptical but you bring into the swing movement the chances of making more errors.

Therefore most accurate putting action is based on a simple pendulum movement which moves the putter back and forth on the straight to the target line whilst the putter face is held square to the target line and whilst the head is head is a permanent position over the ball.

So in theory the process of putting the golf ball on a well prepared piece of turf should be the easiest part of the game of golf.

Unfortunately golfers as a general rule have never been able to discover a consistent putting style, consequently we all adopt different styles of putting which we use until it develops a few flaws, we then create a "new" putting stroke which works for a while and on and on it goes, therefore we are forever tinkering with the putting method.

However like the other parts of the golf swing, it only requires an understanding of the basic movement of the putting stroke to be able to eliminate a lot of the mistakes that are made, therefore use the pendulum action to your advantage.

Set Up

The stance you should adopt for my technique is almost identical to the stance required for the full golf swing except that the body is arched over the ball so that the eyes look directly down on the target line, but with the left eye positioned slightly behind the ball.

The feet should be placed slightly closer together than the full golf swing stance and the weight of the body should be equally balanced over each leg throughout the putting movement.

However it is the set up of the upper body that is the key to being able to putt well.

Therefore whilst holding the putter with the arms held at a more than slightly bent positions, form the muscles of the shoulders, the chest, the upper arms, the upper back and the forearms and the wrists into a taut condition thus forming the complete upper body unit and the putter into a very tightly held unit -- so that any rotational movement of the shoulders, regardless how minute this movement may be, it will immediately cause the putter head to move.

( When you understand how the whole upper body unit is held in order to perform the putting stroke you will then understand how the whole upper body unit should be held during the full golf swing, but obviously during a full golf swing the wrists are allowed to cock during the back swing movement.)

Ball Position.

The ball position should be just left of centre of the stance, but with the left eye directly over the line of the putt but slightly behind the ball position, but importantly, once this position is set, it is vital that the position of the head is held until well after the ball has been struck.

Putting Action.

Therefore whilst the compact upper body unit, the arms and the putter are held together as a very solid one piece unit, simply rotate the whole unit so that as the shoulders rotate, the putter head also moves away from the ball position but the head remains fixed in a position so that there is no lateral movement.

However as the putter moves away from the ball, keep the putter face square to the target line throughout the back swing movement -- and then whilst focusing your eyes on the back of the ball, simply rotate the whole compact unit towards the target area during the down swing movement so that as the shoulders rotate, the club head immediately moves - continue in this fashion until the putter head makes contact with the ball.

Therefore throughout the back swing and the down swing movement the putter head has moved at the same speed as the shoulders.

Therefore as soon as the putter head makes contact with the ball, continue to rotate the whole compact unit towards the target area at the same speed as the putter head, thus keeping the putter head square to the target line for that extra few inches as it moves through the contact area but allowing the putter head to immediately lift away from the ground - do not try to keep the putter level with the ground.

Unlike the full swing where the bottom of the swing arc is reached well after the ball has been struck, the putter head makes contact with the ball at the precise moment the putting reaches the bottom of the swing arc and it is important to remember this point.

This first video shows how most golfers putt, and although the shoulders are controlling the movement of the arms, there is a slight lack of control of the arms as the putter head moves through the contact area, thus allowing the club face to change its alignment at the precise moment contact is made with the ball -- result - unpredictable.

Now in the second video the the whole upper body unit, including the arms and the putter are held very tightly together as a solid one piece unit whilst the putting stroke is performed, with the both upper arms firmly held against the side of the body at all times, but notice how the putter head lifts away from the ground immediately the ball is struck - which is the bottom of the swing arc for the putter..

This action can only be successfully performed by keeping the chest, the upper arms, the upper back and the forearm muscles and the wrists in a taut condition and the head head firmly in position without any lateral movement.

This will ensure that the putter head will instantly move in complete synchronisation with the rotational movement of the shoulders.

Therefore the key to accurate putting is to ensure that you keep the head positioned so that the left eye remains over the line of the putt but slightly behind the ball whilst the rotational movement of the whole compact upper body unit performs the putting action with a pendulum movement.

Once you understand this action you will notice a dramatic increase in the accuracy of your putting.

THE PUTTING STROKE.

First of all I concentrate on setting up my stance so that I am looking directly down to the line of the putt.

As I perform the putting stroke, I keep an even tempo of the rotational movement of the shoulders which controls the movement of the putter right through to after the ball has been stuck, but importantly I continue to focus on the ball to such an extent that first of all I actually see the putter make contact with the ball, but I also keep the eyes focused on the spot where the ball was resting so that I can see the ball moving away from this spot.

These are the keys to being able to putt very well:-

1) Keeping the muscles of the upper body, the forearms and the wrists in a very taut condition so that as soon as the lower back muscles force the upper body unit to rotate into the back swing movement, the arms and the putter head immediately move smoothly away from the ball -- and then simply using the lower back muscles to rotate the whole unit including the arms and the putter as a solid one piece unit back into the contact area.

2) Focusing on the face of the putter to ensure that it is square to the target line before forming the upper body into a compact one piece unit and keeping the face square to the target line throughout the putting action.

3) Keeping the head positioned so that the left eye is directly over the straight to the target line, but positioned slightly behind the ball.

Imagine the whole unit comprising the shoulders, the arms, the wrists and the putter welded together as a solid one piece unit and hold it like this throughout the pendulum putting stroke.

An important aspect of the putting stroke is that once you have decided the line of the ball, you must rely on the mechanical movement of the putting stroke and perform the complete putting stroke whilst the head is directly over the target line, the eyes remain fixed on the ball position and the head firmly positioned slightly behind the ball.

This means that once you have fixed your focus on the ball position, despite the fact that the ball will move away from this position as the putter makes contact with the ball, your eyes must not follow the movement of the ball, the eyes must remain fixed on the original ball position so that you see the ball move away from this position.

It is difficult to programme yourself to simply maintain a smooth swinging movement of the putter as it moves into and through the contact area and not allow the eyes to follow the ball after it has been struck, but master these two techniques and you will reap the rewards.

Gripping the Putter.

The grip that I use is a conventional grip where the back of the left hand is facing the target.

The position of the hands is also conventional, for example, overlap grip with the right hand lower than the left hand.

Both hands grip the putter very lightly whilst the muscles of the chest, the upper arms and the forearms held in a taut condition but with the right upper arm held firmly against the side of the body. The wrists and the forearms are held in a taut condition and therefore whilst holding the arms in this condition, the putter is seen as an extension of the arms.

The main reason why the putter face either "closes" or "opens" at the moment of impact is because the golfer is trying to keep the putter low to the ground instead of allowing the putter head to lift away from the ground immediately the ball has been struck.

Ttherefore whilst carrying out the putting stroke it is very important that the shoulders, the arms, the hands and the putter remain totally fused together throughout the movement and the right upper arm remain firmly against the side of the body.

Control the length of the putt by simply controlling the length of the back swing movement and then using the pendulum action of the compact upper body unit to swing the putter head into the contact area, whilst keeping the putter face square to the target line.

This is where the practice strokes are important, they mentally prepare yourself for the actual process of putting.

Head Position.

To check whether the head position is correct at the address position, if you drop an imaginary plumb line from your left eye down to the ground, two things will indicate the correct position:-

1) The centre of the plumb line weight should be hovering directly over the target line.

2) The plumb line weight should hover over a position about two inches behind the ball position.

Finally, whatever type of grip that you favour, the important things to remember is that you must hold the shoulders, the arms and the putter firmly held together as a compact one piece unit as if welded as one, and also reinforce the stability of the unit by keeping both upper arms firmly against the side of the body, the elbows held close together and the muscles of the arms in a firm condition, so that it is the rotational movement of the shoulders that causes the arms and the putter head to move back and forth, but importantly it is essential that you watch the ball whilst the putting stroke is performed and maintain the head with "pin point accuracy" about two inches behind the ball to the completion of the putting stroke.

Practice strokes.

Adopt a habit of practising the pendulum putting stroke whilst the whole unit is held together as a solid one piece unit, but importantly focus intensively on the face of the putter.

This practice routine does two things for your putting action, first of all it programs your body with the correct movement, but importantly it allows you to concentrate solely on watching the ball whilst you practice the action of maintaining a smooth movement of the putter head.

Most golfers allow the eyes to follow the movement of the ball as it rolls towards towards the target point.

However if you wish to dramatically improve your putting technique, it is absolutely vital that you totally concentrate focus on the back of the ball as you perform the putting stroke.

This means that despite the fact that the ball will move as soon as the putter makes contact with the ball, you must continue to concentrate on looking at the original ball position so that you actually see the ball move from this position, do not allow the eyes to follow the movement of the ball or allow the head to move in a lateral fashion.

As you make your practice strokes, keep your head in the original address position and in the Fixed Frontal condition and totally focus on the ball.

Make about four or five practice movements prior to attempting to strike the ball.

Further, if you are keeping the eyes directly over the target line and rotating the shoulders correctly, you will also notice that the swing path is perfectly straight, and the putter face remains square to the target line, therefore to move the ball on the line you intend, you have to visualise the putter being swung along the target line whilst the putter face is square to the target line.

Once you have decided on the path that your ball will need to take, you must then concentrate all your efforts on using the rotational movement of the shoulders to make a smooth pendulum action swing of the putter, keep your head well behind the ball position and in the Fixed Frontal condition, keep the eyes totally focused on the ball and rely on the mechanical movement of the putting stroke and trust your judgement on the line of the putt.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your eyes totally focused on the ball position as the putting stroke is performed and to continue to keep your eyes focused on the original ball position whilst the putter lift away from the ground as the putter head moves through the contact area, so that you actually see the ball move from this position -- do not allow the eyes to follow the movement of the ball.

The value of a single putt is equal to the value of the longest drive.

If you can get on the green in regulation figures, it is essential that the first putt ends up either in, or very close to the hole.

In order to keep the putt on the line that you choose, it is vital that once you have aligned the putter face with the target line, fully focus your eyes on the ball whilst the putter moves into the contact area, but importantly you must continue to maintain this focus on the ball position as the putter moves along the target line, whilst keeping the putter face square to the target line -- The eyes must not be allowed to follow the movement of the ball.

Discipline yourself to focus at the spot that the ball is positioned and hold this focus so that you actually see the ball move from this position and your putting will improve dramatically.

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