Face-On Putting Solves Anchoring Rule Dilemma

As someone who has tried just about every putting method (legal and otherwise), I can attest that there's a lot to be said for face-on putting, especially as it's done using the GP Putter.

The GP Putter is entirely legal now--and under the USGA prohibition of anchoring to go into effect in 2016--because of the way it is designed and the method recommended for its use.  As I see it, face-on putting has two big advantages:

1.  You are using both eyes to align your stance and the putter with the ball and your intended target line instead of just your dominant eye, which traditional putting relies on.

2.  The motion of the putter stroke is forward, not sideways, so a twist of the wrist is almost impossible, making for a truer club path.

But don't just take my word for it. This video https://vimeo.com/90035278 with Pat Dionne, the inventor of the GP, tells a lot more about it than I can.

You can find all the technical details, more videos, and ordering information at www.face-on-putting.com.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Bill Smittle's Putting Palace

Bill Smittle demonstrates putting science technology

We all know that every missed putt is a stroke lost forever while an errant drive can be wiped from the scorecard with a good recovery shot. We also know that putting amounts to about 50% of our scores. So why do we spend hours on the range whapping the big stick and just minutes on the practice green wafting the flat one?  Maybe it’s because we don’t know how to practice our putting—or even what a good putt looks and feels like in the first place!

Bill Smittle, head professional at Scarsdale GC, went to England to study the latest putting techniques at the Harold Swash School of Putting Excellence, which may sound like someplace Harry Potter would go to play mini golf but is actually the home of teachers who have sharpened the putting skills of leading European players like Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Henrik Stenson, and Martin Kaymer. Smittle returned a as certified instructor in the putting (and teaching) techniques that helped the Euros to carry home the Ryder Cup in 2012.

He’s created a state-of-the-art putting studio to analyze student’s strokes using numerous high-tech tools like Science & Motion’s Putting Lab that uses ultrasound to measure and analyze 28 different putting stroke parameters. When I went through a session with Smittle, I found out that my aim was 2.3 degrees closed to the perfect line and my stroke was 2.2 degrees open—which sounds like it would send the ball on the correct path but actually gave my putts some hook spin (not a good thing). Those were just a couple of the significant flaws that need correction in my putting setup and stroke.

“We’re not trying to build a perfect stroke,” Smittle says, “but rather to give you a consistent one. Most three-putts are because the player hits the first putt the wrong distance.  If you don’t strike the ball with a consistent strike, you can’t control your distance.” That consistent strike includes hitting the ball at the same place on the club face, keeping the club face square to the line, putting the right amount of top spin on the ball, swinging with the proper amount of force….you get the picture. It’s a science.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Did It Cure My Yips?

Most of us fight errant swings from time to time. Heck, some of us consider a swooping slice a perfectly NORMAL ball flight! We curse, grimace, or just shake our heads in dismay when the ball doesn't go where we intend or hope.  Everywhere, that is, except on the green. Then, we expect--as we should--that every putt is going to go in or stop near the hole. Especially the short ones.

That's why the yips can be so devastating. There's nothing more debilitating than standing three feet from the cup and watching your ball scoot four feet past without even a sniff of the hole. I've had that feeling several times this summer and my scores have certainly shown it. I tried different putters, numerous techniques and drills, and have twisted my hands into so many grip configurations I couldn't begin to count them, let alone repeat one that works.

Then I put a Secret Grip by Boccieri on my favorite mallet. I don't want to speak too soon, but I think the yips may be gone. I've played three rounds with it so far and seen my putt count sink decisively.  Coincidence? Maybe--but I don't care as long as I get relief.

 

The Secret Grip weighs 155 grams, or a little more than twice as much as a regular grip. It has a 17-gram tungsten back weight in the tip and uses a 40% heavier compound for the grip itself. It's also somewhat oversized, although not as big as the fat grips many players use. I asked my buddy Steve Kurnit at DD Custom Golf in Elmsford, NY, do some before and after measurements when he put the grip on my putter and he reported that my wand weighed 18 3/8 ounces with my old grip and 20 7/8 with the new one. The swing weight changed from C-8 to B-4.

I felt the difference right away, of course. The club head felt lighter even though the grip was heavier, which sent a signal to my wrists that they don't need to give the club a little extra "umph" as the head approaches the ball. The idea is that the heavier grip encourages you to use the larger muscles in your body to make your stroke. That helps quiet the finer muscles in your wrist that gives your stroke the twitch that we define as the yips.

I found that the heavier grip took a little getting used to, but the more I use it, the more I like it. Distance control is steadily improving and, best of all, those spasmodic jabs have disappeared. Do I make every putt? Of course not--but I feel like I can.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Look At the Target for Putting Distance Control

Debbie Jacobs-Dungee from the Round Hill Club offers a great exercise for mastering distance control on your putts in this video with Anthony Renna of Five Iron Fitness.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Unique Take On Putting Aid

Who says there's nothing new under the sun? There's a cute new gizmo to replace that clunky old putting cup you've got in the corner of your office or den. It's the Putt-A-Round Ball Target, which, as the name implies, catches balls from any direction--assuming they're hit to the cup, of course. Check out the video to see how they work.


Putt-A-Round comes in several color and flag combinations. You can even get a custom flag with your own design to make a great gift for somebody who has everything.  Prices start at $39.97 from Anne Stone Products.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Simple, Effective Putting Drills

Putting drills...yech! But the next time you wobble a three-footer past the hole instead of into it, you'll wish you'd practiced with this simple, effective putting exercise from Paul Kenney from Rockrimmon CC and Jason Caron, from Siwanoy CC. It's another episode of "Golf Tips from Around the Met" produced by Five Iron Fitness.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Simple, Effective Putting Drills Will Lower Your Scores

Here's one of the best drills you can do to sharpen your putting stroke. Jason Gobleck from Westchester Hills in White Plains demonstrates how to insure a square set-up and an accurate stroke in this video from Five Iron Fitness.

Golf Tips From Around The Met is just one of the many ways Anthony Renna from Five Iron Fitness helps golfers--pros and ams alike--improve their games.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Make Every Putt?

Like every golfer, I've been waiting my entire life for this book: How to Make Every Putt: The Secret to Winning Golf's Game Within the Game, by Dr. Joseph Parent. If it delivers on the title, this book is worth a fortune to every golfer in the world.

And it does, if you accept Parent's definition of "making a putt." The book focuses on the mental and physical challenges of putting, building on the author's previous book on the subject, Zen Putting. As you might expect, while there are plenty of drills and practical  hands-on advice, much of the book is about how you think--or preferably don't think--about your putting stroke.  That all relates to the author's definition of "making" a putt, which he says is, "The ball starting out on the line you chose, at the speed you wanted, with what you felt was a good stroke."  You may have noticed that there's nothing in that definition about the ball going into the hole.

Parent explains that apparent contradiction by saying, "The secret to making every putt is to focus only on successfully executing your routine and stroke, not letting your concern about the outcome of the putt interfere with how well you're doing that. Take care of your process and let the results take care of themselves."

Putting aside the epistemology of his approach, Parent's book has a wealth of sound advice on how to read greens, judge speed, establish a productive routine, and much more. He also offers a wealth of drills, many of which are made available online through handy QR codes that take you to instructional video clips online. If you're QR-impaired, you can just go to www.zengolf.com to learn more.

Parent has coached hundreds of pros and competitive amateur golfers including Vijay Singh and Cristie Kerr.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Putter Ban No Big Deal, According to Study

Most amateur golfers care about the putter anchoring ban just about as much as they did about the change in wedge groove rules--not so much--according to a study by Golf Datatech LLC, an independent research firm for consumer, trade and retail golf trends.  The company has released a study to evaluate the reaction of “serious golfers” to the U.S. Golf Association’s proposed new ruling that would prohibit anchoring the putter to the body while making a stroke. They report that a majority of golfers surveyed feel that their game will not be impacted by the rule, while the small percentage who use a long putter will continue to play with it as they please regardless of the ruling.

The study was based on responses from 1,766 randomly selected golfers drawn from Golf Datatech’s exclusive Serious Golfer Database, who play an average of 68 rounds per year with an average handicap of 14.3.

“This is such an explosive topic in golf that we felt the industry needed a benchmark for evaluating the opinion of the game’s most avid players,” said John Krzynowek, Partner, Golf Datatech. “On a practical level, the proposed ruling on anchoring putters has minimal impact on most amateur golfers, as only 5% use a long putter, and the majority of serious golfers don’t believe long putters aid in the putting process. Overall, however, the debate over long putters has far more to do with a few elite professional players and less to do with the game as played by the average golfer.”

Key findings in the Golf Datatech study on the Anchor Ruling for Putters include the following:
•         Among the respondents who had an opinion about whether or not anchoring the putter makes it easier to putt, 45% feel that anchoring the putter makes it easier to putt, while 55% believe anchoring the putter does not make it easier.
•         60% of respondents believe that the governing bodies of golf should ban the anchoring of clubs to the body, while 40% believe they should not.
•         62% of respondents do not believe the anchoring ban will cause some amateur golfers to enjoy the game less.
•         If the proposed rule is enforced in 2016, 31% of current long putter users will continue to anchor their putter, while 31% will not anchor against their body, and 38% will switch to a conventional putter.

For more information or to get a copy of the Club Anchor Ruling study, call 888-944-4116 or visit www.golfdatatech.com.


Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

What Great Putters Do

A guest post from Kevin Sprecher, Director of Instruction at Sleepy Hollow CC.

Kevin Sprecher

Great putters are not born, they are individuals who work hard on their skills and have excelled. All great putters are not alike.  However, they do have a few things in common. First, great putters believe they are great. They have tremendous confidence in their ability. Second, they hit the same spot on the face consistently. It’s usually the center but many hit it off center, just the same spot all the time. Hitting the same spot consistently aids in speed control. Third, they are comfortable with their setup and setup the same way every time. Fourth, they read the greens correctly. Fifth, they consistently start the ball on their target line. Lastly, they have great speed control.

If you want to become a great putter work on try these drills:

1. Use impact tape to see where you strike the face of the putter. Try to hit an area smaller than the top of a tee.
2. Work on a comfortable setup position. Use a mirror to work on alignment, distance to the ball, posture and balance.
3. Practice reading greens. I find it easier to read a green when I know where the straight putt is located. Walk to the right and left of your ball and find the straight putt. This helps you to decipher the break.
4. Use a chalk line to practice rolling the ball on your target line. Snap a 15’ line down and hit putts in three foot increments. This drill also helps with club face alignment.
5. Practice hitting several putts the same distance. Take five balls and putt them to an area (not a hole). See if you can get all the balls within a club length of each other.

If you are successful with these drills your putting will improve and your confidence will grow. If you are still struggling consult with a PGA golf professional.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Pelz Plays Games

The day before I read Dave Pelz's Putting Games, I played in a scramble where all four members of my team--none with a handicap over ten--missed the same basically straight five-foot birdie putt. As you might imagine, I opened Pelz's book with more than average interest. I wasn't disappointed.

Putting Games is all about developing the skills to make more putts. The first section is diagnostic, the second covers stroke mechanics like aim and face angle, while the third is about developing touch and feel. Pelz painstakingly describes seven games you should play to measure your performance so you can map a route to improvement. They are all played with twelve balls and address nearly every putting circumstance from the dreaded three-footer to sixty-foot lags.

As you would expect given Pelz's background as a NASA scientist and perhaps the most data-driven golf instructor in the business, the "games" rely heavily on measurement and data analysis. they also make extensive us of some of the many training aids Pelz sells. This approach will clearly appeal to analytic golfers, but the games will also help more "feel" players improve their putting performance as well.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Brad Faxon's Putting Wisdom

Eight-time PGA Tour winner Brad Faxon shared his thoughts on putting with an eager audience of PGA club professionals at the Spring Education Forum presented by the Metropolitan Section of the PGA this week. In a golf world awash in mechanics and digital diagnostics, his words were refreshing, to say the least.

photo courtesy of the Met PGA

"Players spend too much time working on their stroke and not enough time hitting the ball into the hole," Faxon said at the beginning of his conversation with NBC's Jimmy Roberts.

Faxon went on to say that there aren't really many absolute fundamentals in putting. "Everyone grips differently, especially these days. Where you aim your feet, where your eyes are over the ball, do your shoulders have to be square? Not necessarily. You don't even have to hold your head still," Faxon said as he talked about the many variables he's seen among the great putters he's observed.

There are some things he recommends, though, and they're hard to dispute. "You can have the best stroke in the world, but you'll never be a great putter unless you have confidence," he said. "You have to look at the putt and know you're going to make it." He adds, "You can't be afraid to miss. As long as I give the ball a chance to go in by executing well, I know I will make a lot of putts."

Setting the mental aspect aside for a moment, Faxon talked about keeping his arms soft when he putts. Many players, myself included, try to putt with soft hands, but Faxon points out that your arms need to be relaxed, too, if you want to take tension out of your stroke. You need to hold the putter just firmly enough to keep it from twisting--maybe a three on a scale of ten.

When it comes to practice, he stressed the importance of working on your pre-shot routine as well as your stroke. His routine, like that of all good players, doesn't vary, nor does it take all day. "I start lining up my putt as soon as I walk on the green," he says. "Subconsciously, I know which general direction it's going to go. I look at the putt from both sides of the hole, then put my ball down with the center line on the path I want it to follow. I visualize the curve of the line."

"Once I have my read, I don't waste time," Faxon continued. "I walk up to the ball from behind, take a practice stroke to feel the length before I take my stance, put down the putter face, take one look at the hole, and go."

During his PGA career, Faxon was known as one of the best putters in the game. He led the PGA Tour in Putting Average in 1996, 1999, and 2000, the year when he set a single-season record with an astounding 1.704 putts/greens in regulation. It was great to hear him say something I've always believed: "Putting should be the easiest part of your game."

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf