A lot of people use foot spray for their irons/woods, but it’s also a good idea to use it on your putter as well so you can see your tendencies.
2 Likes
Never even thought of this. I was using hair ties. Put them on either side of the sweet spot just enough room for center contact with the ball, great feedback instantly. Guess I’ll try the foot powder too.
1 Like
That’s a great idea as well! Putters are more forgiving than they used to be, but if you struggle with consistent strikes it will definitely inhibit your ability to control speed, which IMO is the most important putting skill.
2 Likes
What type of stroke do you all think is the best to control speed with? Like a short, accelerating pop? Or a long, slow, smooth, zero acceleration stroke? Some other way to describe it? I always thought you were supposed to accelerate into putts but have been seeing things recently that suggest the best way to roll it and control the speed is through a zero acceleration stroke. I also saw something recently where Brad Faxon said the best putting tip he ever got was from Ben Crenshaw who told Faxon to make his follow through shorter than his backswing, which is also opposite of what I thought!
Anyway, I’m sure this is personal preference, but maybe there is a scientifically objective best way, at least in terms of length of stroke and acceleration (or lack thereof), to control speed?
Just went to putting green to experiment and I’m not sure as of the moment. I do know controlling speed is not easy though, especially if you pick out a very specific target (like the back edge of the hole), and it’s something that can and should be practiced for a lifetime! Trying to stop it exactly on a dime distance-wise can show you just how far off you are! But also, aim small, miss small. I’m sure although I was missing my tiny target by why seemed like a lot, it was probably better than my distance dispersion when I’m not thinking about speed as much and overly concerned with line…
Looking forward to some drills to quantify some progress in speed control.
I’d be super interested to hear is there is an answer to this from any of the experts lurking about. In my mind, there really is no answer in that it’s going to be what works best for each individual. Seems like a lot of the thinking these days is much more on improving the consistency of the stroke (through arm lock putters, different grips, etc.) as opposed to focusing on a specific stroke type. Personally, I have a mild arc/mild acceleration stroke and it seems to work okay for me.
Not a drill but I play a lot of different courses and my warm up routine lately is to really focus on speed and ignore line before the round. I aim towards a target but don’t do my normal green reading. I spend my whole time dialing in mostly 10’ and 30’ putts with a couple of long putts around 50’. I feel like if I can really calibrate 10’ and 30’ I can compensate while on the course with a little more and a little less depending on slope and distance. The 10’ of course I always want to be long - the 30’ I just care about stopping close to the hole. I use 2 balls so if the first is short or long, I can try again to get closer to the right speed.
Unless I purposely go very early to practice putting beforehand, I feel like lining up and trying to knock it in the hole is more likely to hurt my confidence than be helpful and thinking about mechanics or the “why” I missed it is counterproductive. If I plan on spending extra time outside of a round on putting, I’d rather do it after the round.
1 Like
I like to swing it like a pendulum. With a pop stop at ball strike, much like Justin Thomas.
1 Like
Haven’t read all the responses but one thing I’d say if you’ve played other sports - look at the hole when practicing to “feel” the distance.
All other sports you look at what you are throwing/ hitting to. If you’re athletic and have played other sports I highly recommend practicing while looking at the hole.
My last practice swings before hitting a putt for real are looking at the hole
3 Likes
This is mostly what I’m focused on in my routine on the greens, great point!
Jon your love for SeeMore putters took me to their site and now I’m going down that rabbit hole! They have a cool podcast called “The Putting Couch.” I’ve listened to a few episodes and I like it. Anyone else listened to this podcast?
Also, I headed over to MyGolfSpy for their review of 2020 putters. Looks like all their top choices for blades (which I have always played) were all one piece construction, with the EvnRoll having the Sweet Face technology milled into it. Looked also like mid-blades are gaining in popularity, as they seem to combine some of the best of both the blade and the mallet technologies.
What do you all think? Are some putters and technology better than others for controlling speed?
1 Like
I don’t think one type is better than another for controlling speed. I feel like I generally have good speed on my putts. I grew up with a blade, then switched to a small mallet, and now have a bigger mallet. The changes were never driven by needing to get better speed control and all about feel over the ball and having confidence in the stroke.
I think you have to go for skill development and see how you self organize
What internal “metronome” allow you to strike it solidly and perform the 30, 40, 50 drill with the best results?
Maybe more importantly, what visualization, routine and focus get you the best results?
I recently watched a clip of Azinger talking about how he visualizes something “above the ground” like a styrofoam cup or bait bucket for lag putts
His image is the golf ball softly kissing that object he imagines above the ground. This is what I am currently doing and trying to completely get out of my head.
Get that image in my head and get obsessed with the rhythm and feelings in my body to execute. Working really hard to be detached
2 Likes
I think the first step in distance control is quality of strike as others have mentioned. After that, I think the majority of distance issues are related to uphill/downhill reads.
Think about it like this: On the practice green how many times does your second or third attempt at a putt go drastically different than the first? I’d guess you’re hitting consistently enough with modern putter technology, so i think it comes down to knowledge about the putt itself.
2 Likes
CG on the putter and squaring the face at impact will have a greater influence than construction.
This has about 10% truth to it. The old XG insert was soft (I watched them replace Sneds in the tour dept). Pros take 10’s of thousands of putts with a putter, in the same exact spot. For the club golfer like us, the reason an insert like a white hot would fail is you didn’t take care of it.
I’ve always worked on the throwing a ball adage; you see and somehow know exact force to get the ball to the catcher.
Same with putting, I pick my line, step over ball and I stare at hole while swinging putter to get feel, then i address and hit.
1 Like
This works great as long as you know if you are flat, uphill, or downhill. I spot aim based on the slopes and let my body figure it out. See, Feel, Trust
2 Likes
Agree, it massively helps if its your home course and you know the breaks.
I also find its good for those long putts you just want to get close
I am the guy who hits thousands of putts. When I was prepping for putting tournaments I averaged 700 hours a year on the putting green, which is about 2 hours a day. So I caved mine in. So my information and experience is 100% correct. Even now I spend about an hour a day on the putting green. For the average weekend golfer… soft inserts are probably not an issue, unless you hold onto the putter for years.
1 Like
You my friend are the rare exception. That. Is. Incredible. Do you have your own green?
XG is a way different animal than the original white hot, dfx or white hot pro. Thinking it was built off the rule 35 polymer.