Finding the Correct Putter to Improve Ball Roll.

I have spent more time than I should thinking about the concept of the ball rolling "better" or many of the other invented terms to get you to think you have a problem with your putting. 

I once saw an advertisement for a new golf club that stated "we don't swing the golf clubs in the manner they were designed". In a subtle way I think that is true. A perfect example of this would be a player moving to a flatter one plane move with clubs that are bent upright. Sorry but Jack Nicklaus could not use Ben Hogan's clubs.


Bruce Blades by Byron Morgan

In a way, a similar comparison can be made in putting. Anyone who has seen our research sees immediately that the design features of a putter can influence how you swing the putter. In very simple terms if the shaft and position of the putter head relative to the shaft do not fit the plane of the stroke the putter becomes unbalanced in motion. The reaction of the player is to tense up or attempt to steer the putter to make it go where the player wishes. This tug of war, however subtle result in burnt edges at best and the yips at worst. 

As I continue to teach and preach about the mechanics of putting, it is very apparent that when the technique matches the putter the ball leaves the putter in the most efficient manner. Giving the player that good roll impression. When the putter is unbalanced to the stroke and the steers and tension sets in,  the ball no longer comes off the putter cleanly. Example, Ben Crenshaw would not get the "roll" he desires with a face balanced mallet. Neither would Tiger with a heel shaft mallet. The putter does not match the arc plane of the stroke!

When I have a discussion with the manufacturers about this, they readily admit they cannot build putters specifically for each golfers tendencies. Their solution is to create extreme design features of loft and weight to counter the steer. In effect they numb the feel of the stroke to the player and the putter swings the player. Or they create an artificial launch condition based on the most common problems.  Here is an example. The most common problem we see in stroke mechanics is what is called an "add loft" situation. The player increases the loft of the putter at impact -hands behind the ball-to the point the ball jumps up or bounces before it begins to roll. So some smart putter designers build a putter with reduced loft to counter the the added loft situation. It improves speed and how the ball comes off the putter, but did the player get any better? I am not sure that better results from a complicated stroke is a reliable way to improve. It surely limits the ability to improve.  


I understand from a players point of view that this might make the game easier but there is a limit to your success. So much of putting is feel and touch that to numb that feel has to limit your opportunity to find out how good you can be. With good players I call this the wall. 


So my contention is too find a putter that matches your stroke and ENHANCES THE FEEL rather than limiting it and the ball roll will take care of itself.

Marketing or Function in Putter Design?

Over the past month I have done a few seminars with more coming this month as well. The days are much the same. I start with an explanation of my system, how to determine the type of stroke that best fits your body type and set up. Then how to find the best putter to fit that stroke. Te afternoon is then spent doing private sessions for individuals. I have been doing this for a number of years now and the story has not changed much, if at all. In short 


1. Putter path shape is determined by posture.
2. The best golfers in the world use putting strokes where the face of the putter maintains a consistent position relative to the path. Please note I didn't say square to the path, I said consistent position.
3. In order to maintain this relationship, every stroke has a rotational requirement based on shape of the path. The bigger the arc the more rotation required to be consistent to the path. Smaller would require less.
4. Every putter has a rotational value, based on putter design. TOE HANG IS NOT AN ACCURATE MEASUREMENT OF THIS REQUIREMENT! 
5. Success comes when the putter matches the stroke and the stroke remains consistent.


Basically it is a discussion of identifying the difference between a natural rotation and manipulated rotation. We know from the data, followed now over an extended period of time that manipulated strokes do not work over the long haul.The constant argument of low rotation strokes on upright planes being better or worse than high rotation strokes on flatter planes is silly really.  There have been great examples of each. 


The following is an example of how putter design can cause a problem in your stroke. I have been questioned at every seminar about a new visual scheme from one of the big manufacturers. Quite a number of times these putters have been part of the private fittings. The following is an example of what we are seeing in the measurements.


Based on the data compiled from over 2500 players, the following is an illustration of the average path shape of those players. If you are a Putting Arc user the shape might look familiar. Current marketing terms would describe this as a slight to moderate arc depending on technology. We measure the arc, and for my clients this is a 9 degree arc. The actual number is 8.4. The putter design is from my data on the design best balanced for this shape. Byron Morgan's DH89, and most other Anser styles fit this path shape.


On the top you see an example of a consistent position of putter to path. One that we would see if we built a robot designed to swing the putter on this path. Iron Archie from Putter Arc people is an example.

On the bottom you see an example of the reaction caused by the visual effect of the putter design. After the 5th player in a row did the exact same thing, I felt it was safe to comment. Notice how the putter maintains a consistent relationship to the target line but twists in a clockwise rotation moving forward in relation to the path. The player has to manipulate the putter to maintain this position. So his vision fights is body and the consistency of the stroke suffers. Hot and cold at best. The maker of this putter has some that work better for low rotation strokes but at best, the market for very low rotation is about 18% of all golfers. The customer might think they have such a stroke, but the data is clear that many are in conflict. The perception of their putting stroke is different than the mechanical requirements of their posture. Just another example in my opinion of marketing over function. BTW the complaint is they push the short putts and pull the long ones.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR USERS OF ANCHORED PUTTERS

Late last summer after a friend challenged me to find a substitute for his anchored putter -he didn't want to branded as a cheater- so I went to work with my PuttLab to see how the putter swung when anchored and if I could find a mechanical or design substitution that would work in the same manner. Here is what I found.

Those who I interviewed and measured used an anchored putter to solve one or both of two problems.

1. Those who flip the putter at impact. Flipping is most commonly caused by a shoulder driven stroke. The shoulders rotate or turn on the backswing, but quit on the forward swing. In an effort to keep the putter moving, the right hand kicks in to finish the stroke. The lower hand on the club working against the top hand and the putter flips.

2. The other problem comes for those I call the reverse rotators. These players shut the putter or toe it in on the backswing. This is a common problem for players who are mechanically positioned to swing the putter on an arc, but try to keep the putter square to the target line on the backswing. Since the path doesn't match target line in an arcing stroke the putter gets twisted in the motion. To square the face at impact you have to "untwist". Shut to open is the opposite rotation pattern as the body and so more difficult to time.

We know from our research that we can influence the stroke and rotation patterns of a player with putter design and weight. So we went to work to answer this question. Could I find a combination of putter design and weight, that when combined with the proper fit could influence the player in a way that they could get a similar feel in the stroke the get when the putter is attached? The answer is yes.

After a couple of months of experimentation and the preliminary results are in I am really excited about the results. In this case I can't divulge what we do to achieve the results, because it is a combination of fit - most important-weight distribution, and design. Each one is a little different. Once the fit and weighting are determined there is a period of instruction on how to use the putter. The technique and putter build to replace the broom method different than the technique and set up of the putter for the belly guys.

In conjunction with my home club the Plymouth Country Club, Plymouth, Indiana we are offering the putter I have built.

Since the fit is a mandatory part of the putter it is included in the price. Also included is a consulting contract with me. What the consulting contract means is that I will walk you through the process of do's and don'ts in using this putter and make myself available on a personal level for a period of 6 months. If we get the chance to meet in person there will be no charge for the visit. This allows me to help you go through the process of building the stroke that works most efficiently with your new putter.

Those who frequent the site and have signed up for the online courses know how we accomplish this online and I will let them comment on whether the information is of benefit or not.

Cost of the putter from me is $175.00.

At this time I am not retro fitting other models. I can however work with Byron Designs as Byron can and does build putters to my students requirements and recommendations. The price of the Byron is depending on the price from Byron and an up charge to finish the fit and build.

You can pm me for contact information or feel free to call me. My office number 574-540-2309

 

Golf Advice-A Different Perspective

This past summer I have become a fan of The Dan Dakich Show on the ESPN radio affiliate in Indianapolis, 1070 The Fan WFNI. One of the reasons I enjoy his show is Dan's ability to use the sports issues and developments of the day as teachable moments to help his audience in their day to day lives. Once a coach always a coach. One of the things I hear Dan stress on a regular basis is that the key to success in sports, business or really any aspect of your life is to make a consistent effort in whatever you do, every day.

As I have thought about this over the course of the summer, I have found that not only is it great advice in how you determine to live your life, but that it has major applications in the fun, but probably less important aspect of playing a round of golf.  I have been fortunate in my life to be able to make a living by promoting a game. Currently by promoting the Pete Dye Golf Trail, but throughout the majority of my career to promote golf as an instructor.  I learned early on that the game is more fun for my students when they play better. In an effort to play better golf I have found we are tempted to try all manner of things. Often trying something new on almost every shot. So much so, that when we do hit a good shot we have no idea what we did to produce the improved results.

My suggestion is to use the Coach's advice and make a consistent effort. Do the same things every time you hit a golf shot. Even down to making the same swing in the same sequence of motion, regardless of results. Will you miss some shots? Of course, we all miss shots regardless of skill level. But by recognizing the effort and trying to repeat it in every swing, we can learn something about our swing and making educated changes as opposed to random moves.

One thing you can do in the off season to help is to try and verbalize your swing. Tell yourself how you swing the club. An example would be as a right handed player , my left arm starts the club back as my hips clear out of the way. When the club gets past my back foot I start to use my shoulders to finish the backswing. To start back to the ball, I start my downswing with my knees, clearing the way for my arms and hands to swing the club to the ball. There are countless number of combinations so the best way to start is to describe simply what you do. Don't worry about right or wrong just identify what you do. Two good things will happen. It will be easier to identify the need to make a change for improvement and when you indentify that need, you will have a guideline to base your decision. More important you will have the basis of making the consistent effort that is a key to successful golf game.

Play Swing or Play Golf

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to attend the opening of the Harbor Shores Golf Club in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Designer Jack Nicklaus was joined by Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller for a clinic and a round of golf. The clinic began with Tom Watson explaining his beginnings in golf. He described how his first lesson came from his Dad. Mr. Watson showed young Tom how to hold the club, how to make the ball curve left and how to curve the ball curve to the right. He taught him how to hook and slice it on the very first day and then how to use that knowledge. Not one way to stand, or the proper positions during the swing, but how to control the clubface and make the ball curve.

As a former employee of Arnold Palmer I was well aware of the story of Mr. Palmer’s first lesson from his father that was in essence the same story. What I didn’t realize was that the first lessons for Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus were the same as well. They were taught to hit shots, not how to swing a club. Experiment, not with the thought of good or bad, but with the intention of gaining information by experience. All of these Hall of Famers started the game with the concept that to play successful golf requires a variety of shots.

#7 The Fort Golf Course and Resort

I think for many inexperienced players the idea of a shot curving is considered a negative thing. Poor shots curve and good shots go straight. The truth is just the opposite, most golf courses are not built to be played effectively with a straight ball. Using the member courses of The Pete Dye Golf Trail as examples, each requires different types of shots to get around the golf course successfully. The mastery of Mr. Dye's build strategy is that each hole is a puzzle to be solved and more easily solved if you can bend the ball around some of the trouble.

Over the course of the offseason we will continue this conversation of strategic play and how it will benefit your scores as you challenge the Trail next season.

The difference between Anchored and Conventional Putting Strokes

The decision has been made and golf's governing bodies have decided that using a putting method that anchors the putter to the body is not an appropriate way to putt. As I read article upon article about the reasons for banning the anchored method, I rarely see comments about the actual benefit of using a belly or broomstick method. Personal opinions and emotional reactions dominate the conversation. So utilizing the data I have accumulated over the past 8 years with my SAM PuttLab, I went back and took the time to research the differences of conventional and anchored method.  Here is what I found.

The Anchored Method creates a more stable relationship of putterface angle to path shape and direction. In other words it is easier to keep the putter square to the path of the putter. The drawing below shows two lines. Black is the imaginary line to the target and the red the path produced utilizing a Putting Arc Training aide. I used this particular example because I consider it the average stroke path and for the sake of this discussion helps describe the impact of the anchored stroke. Please do not consider this an optimal stroke. The optimal stroke is the one produced by your posture and set up. It might have a smaller arc or bigger arc, and it will definitely have a directional bias. The arc tilts, but that is a discussion for another day. The important point is that almost all putting strokes travel on an arcing path. The true straight path is very rare. Less than 3% of our database.

 

In  the next drawing I have added the putter position of the player who struggles with a conventional length putter. This is the common problem that forces unusual or extreme methods. The player attempts to keep the putter square to the artificial target line -black- rather than the true path created by posture and set up - red. To keep the putter square to the black line the player must manipulate the putter by twisting in a counter clockwise direction on the backswing ( closing )and then reversing the motion (opening) on the forward swing. Timing the rotation so the putter returns to square to the black line at impact.

 

The natural or non-manipulated  action of the putter would be to remain in a constant position to the path of the putter. This is shown in the following illustration. Without manipulation or twisting the putter remains square to the path -red. Visually this looks like it opens and closes during the stroke. But the appearance is only because we reference the stroke to an artificial line not connected to the motion. By staying sqaure to the mechanically purs path it eliminates the timing requirement of the stroke. When the path matches the target line the putter is square to both. Reducing the need for perfect timing or over controlling the putter.

 

 

 

You can teach yourself this twisting motion with countless repetitions and by uses directional aides. In fact most drills and aides are built to hone the twisting motion. The problem is that under the pressure of competition, no matter how much you practice, structural mechanics will overcome so called muscle memory.

So for those who lose the timing of the twisting stroke, anchoring the putter becomes the solution. Anchoring the putter now forces the putter swing in sync with the rest of the body maintaining the relationship of putter to mechanics.

This is the only mechanical advantage of the anchored stroke, and once the player understands the advantage, he has a better understanding of the putting stroke in general. I think that is why we have seen a lack of concern in many of the players who use the anchored stroke. The change showed them the solution to their problems with a conventional stroke.

Better Timing for Better Putting - Part 2

Warning - If you are looking for a simple solution to your putting problems the following is not for you.

When I worked with the people at Science and Motion, I had the opportunity to ask the inventor of PuttLab, Dr. Christian Marquardt what he considered the most important parameter PuttLab could measure. His answer was quick and clear, rhythm and timing. In our subsequent studies, we see the truth of his claim every day.

With our last post, we talked about the importance of maintaining a consistent time to impact when making a putting stroke, using stroke length within a consistent time, as the best way to judge the distance the ball would roll. However, the first post relates only to half the story. To lead into a discussion on the other aspect of timing importance lets start with a claim of my own.

The most important fundamental in the mechanics of putting pertaining to direction, is a consistent relationship of face to putter path. Notice I did not say staying square to the path, a popular marketing term, I said consistent relationship of face to path. Some of the most successful stroke mechanics are have faces open, or closed to the path. But, in all successful strokes the relationship remains consistent. It is the twisting of open to closed, or worse, closed to open along the path of the putterhead that causes directional misses.

All putting strokes rotate around a fixed point. If the putter is anchored the anchor point is the fixed point. With a conventional stroke, this point is typically at or below the base of the neck where the shoulder blades intersect the spine depending on arm motion and wrist flex. Since there is a fixed point and the putter swings around this point, all paths the putter follows are naturally circular in motion. If the plane of the stroke is up-right the putter will appear to swing on a straighter path. If the ball is positioned farther from the player creating a flatter motion plane then the putter will appear to arc. We believe it to be fundamental to success to stay on plane in your stroke.

So for any stroke there is a rotational requirement to maintain a consistent face to path relationship during the stroke. Some strokes are low rotation, some are intermediate, and some are high. However, all have some face rotation depending on the size of the arc and the stroke length.

The next concept to understand is that the actual amount of rotation is relative to stroke length. So for example, a low rotations stroke might have 2 degrees of backswing rotation on a short stroke, 4 degrees on a medium length stroke, and 6 for a long stroke. A slight arc might be show 4, 6 and 8. A big arc can be as much as 6, 8 and 10 or more. It is important to realize that these are examples and not guidelines. What is important is what amount of rotation keeps the putter relationship to path consistent.

By keeping a consistent time to impact the putter relationship to path remains consistent. If you use the diagram above as an example, If each image represents the length of the backstroke, the time to reach the length of stroke is consistent. For example it may take about 2/3rds of a second to the end of each backswing. Upon return you might find that it takes about 1/3rd of a second to return to the ball for each length. The rate of rotation of the putter ties directly to the speed the putter moves. slow speeds = slower rate of rotation, faster speeds = faster rate of rotation. so as the putter changes speeds to meet the time requirements, the rate of rotation adjusts as well. Returning the putter back to the approriate position at impact. So if the length/speed relationship is inconsistent, the rotational speed is inconsistent as well, creating the twisting or instability we mentioned earlier. I know it is sounds complicated, but in application it is actually more simple. Consistent time over variable distance is easy to conquer. If you chose the length of the stroke our internal clocks maintain the time relationship. In golf terms, we view this as a natural tempo. This timing or tempo will only change by choice or circumstance (nerves), and when left alone will remain constant. It is this constant that can work to our advantage. in another post we will give you a variation on this method that involves one length backswing with a varible length follow through. More variables to conquer than the equal length back and through method, but with some knowledge can be a successful strategy as well.

At the end of the day the combination of consistent time over varied stroke length allows us to control both speed and direction. Our ultimate goal when putting.