PUTTING CALIBRATION - PART 3

In Parts 1 and 2, I explained how putting improvement is so much more than putting mechanics, which is the entire focus of the golf industry on the part of both instructors and players and the golf media.  This fanatical focus on mechanics is so far out of line, because once your basis putting mechanics are ironed out TO A REASONABLE DEGREE, the pathway to improved putting is then to shift focus on shot by shot and putt by putt practice - without thinking of mechanics.

In Part 2, I compared putting to a basketball player practicing and grooving 3 pointers.  That is fundamental to understanding the acquisitoin of the essential "feel" for putting, based on eyesight not only in reading a putt's break but in lining up and executing the putt.  The mind's eye has to have BOTH:  (1) THE LINE READ BEFORE THE PUTT AND (2) THE LINE UP OF THE PUTT AT ADDRESS.  

You cannot putt these two crucial components together until you understand how each one of these two parts is achieved and how they interact with one another..  

1.  HOW DO YOU ACHIEVE MIND'S EYE CALIBRATION IN READYING PUTTS?  The answer is likely not satisfying to you because it is not easy.  It is acheived by hard won practice in reading putts over and over.  You keep looking for the break line and at first it does not even appear, then appears very spotily, then when you get to the "zone" at your best, you actually do read and "see" the line.  When you are totally dialed in to seeing and reading the line, you stand up over a putt, KNOWING that you have the line down and the level of confidence you have standing over that putt is, use your own adjective, "tremendous" , "formidable" , "certain" , "strong" or "in the zone."  Anyone who has ever putting really well, even for just a round or two, knows this feeling of confidence, because it is based on the fact that, at that time, you did correctly "read" the break line on the putt before standing over it.  But why is this so ephemeral?  That is the million dollar question.  And the answer is tied back to question Number 2, which actually needs to be asked in reverse before you read a putt.

2.  HOW DO YOU ACHIVE MIND'S EYE CALIBRATOIN WHEN ADDRESSING AND STANDING OVER A PUTT?  The answer to this question is a deeply crucial putting fundamental, not quite a mechanic, but a rule of the highest importance.  The reason it is so crucial and fundamenatlly important to putting is that it is the lynchpin of BOTH (1) reading the putt before executing the putt AND (2) lining up the putt accurately.  The secret is that when address the putt, you as the player MUST HAVE AND ALIGN YOUR EYES DIRECTLY ON TOP OF AND OVER THE BALL ROLL LINE.  TIGER WOODS CALL S IT THE MOST CRUCIAL ELEMENT OF GOOD PUTTING.

3.  WHY SO CRUCIAL ON EYES OVER THE BALL LINE AT ADDRESS?  The answer is that what you see in break lining up a putt cannot be translated to correct alignment unless the eyes are  over the ball.  And, the other answer is that unless you putt like that, you cannot achive "minds eye" sensitivity to lining up putts IN THE FIRST PLACE!  LINING UP PUTTS WITH YOUR EYES OVER THE BALL IS A FORM OF PRACTICE IN BUILDING CUMULATIVE SKIILL IN READING THE BREAK LINE BEFOREHAND, AND BEFORE THE PUTT EVER OCCURS!  Eyes over the ball line and practicing reading break lines go hand in hand, as a matter of both exectuion and putting practice.  That is what 99% of golfers, pros and amateurs, do not grasp.

In my next part, Part 4:   The real secret to great putting practice.

 CALIBRATION PART TWO:

In my last post, I introduced the mere concept of calibration as a vital key to having strong golf putting and short game skills.  Today, I briefly delve into the "why" of calibration, as a key fundamental.

The best mental picture analogy to explain the importance of calibration is a basketball player swishing 3 point shots from 30-40 feet out.  How do they do that?  Is there a particular "secret" mechanic or technique that is the secret sauce of that swishing skill?.

The answer if you understand calibration is a most emphatic "NO!"  Swishing 3 pointers has very little or even nothing to do with shotmaking skills or aptitude.  There is no secret "flip of the wrist" or anything else when a player makes those shots.  That is becuase when practicing those shots, a great basketball player thinks of nothing having to do with shot making mechanics or technique, because THEY ALREADY HAVE THEIR TECHNIQUE DOWN, OR ELSE ARE WORKING ON IT FOR THAT SOLE PURPOSE.  BUT HAVING IRONED OUT THE MECHANICS THEY TAKE THE NEXT STEP THAT IS A FUNDAMENTAL PART TO BE ADDED TO THEIR TOOLKIT as a separate set of putts with a separate PRACTICING PURPOSE.

What is that separete and key practice component if shotmaking mechanics is not the story?  The answer is that the player is focused solely on visualizing the shot and "dialing in" the feel and hand/eye subconcious hand-eye coordination that cements the marvelous and incredible human radar judgment of the basketball player.  The player practices building up the sense, again subconcious, of how much "umph" and shot speed needed to arc the ball into the net of the basket.  There is no slide ruler involved here.  But there is a building up a "callous" or feel for that specific shot and the practice of that shot is what grooves it out for the player.  There is no substitue of grooving out that shot with key repetitive practice that replicates that swish over and over until the player "gets it".

HOW DOES A PLAYER "GET" THE 3 POINTER?  BY REPETITIVE PRACTICE UNTIL IS IT "DIALED IN".  

HOW DOES A GOLFER "GET" A PUTT TO DO THE SAME?  BY REPETITIVE PRACTICE UNTIL THE PUTT TO BE MADE IS "DIALED IN."  THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR WHAT IS NEEDED TO GROOVE OUT A PARTICULAR PUTT.  BY PARTICULAR PUTT, I MEAN A SPECIFIC 1 FOOTER, A 3 FOOTER OR A 6 FOOTER OR EVEN PERHAPS A 9 FOOTER.  THAT PRECISE PUTT MUST BE GROOVED AND INGRAINED WITHOUT ANY FOCUS ON MECHANICS! All of the focus is on the "feel" of the putt and the "seeing" of that SPECIFIC putt's break.

In the next segment on this key topic, I will explain how "getting" it on the putting green can be achieved, and how you will know if your 3 foot or 6 foot putt is dialed in or calibrated.  Is there a way to know?  The answer is most certainly YES.

 GOLF CALIBRATION IS KEY

Calibration is the key achievment a young competitive golfer must attain to move into the level of top flight short game skills.  Calibration is the key to effectively become a factor in tournament play.  There is calibration in putting, and calibration in short game skills.  In the next few weeks, I will lay out the steps and practice routines needed to achieve putting and short game calibration.  But the fundamental knowledge skill is calibration.  The pros know that for sure.  Amateurs, even very good college golfers, or others with low digit handicaps often have no clue what calibration is.

Without calibration, the competitive golfer will not be able to push his or her golf game to a consistent level of scoring.  With calibration understood, embraced and incorporated into one's golf game, a golfer's competitive scoring ability can be continualy boosted to move to an elite level of tournament play, whether that be at the local level, the state level or the national amateur level of tournament play. 

Young high school golfers who want to play scholarship golf at a college or university must understand calibration to succeed.  College golfers who want to be the best golfer they can be cannot short cut the process of calibration to move into the elite ranks.

Next week, I will explain what the difference is between short game "feel" and "calibration".  

THE KEY FUNDAMENTAL TO A GREAT GOLF SWING

I have to admit that used to not think David Leadbetter was that good a golf swing teacher, but I  just saw this.  I now have to agree he is a great teacher - because this is one of the absolute key fundamentals of the golf swing.  This is probably the most important swing secret of all.  And it is so basic, and it dispenses with all the band aids and quick/trick fixes.

 

If you can adopt this movement, your swing fundamentals will be exponentially improved.  You can totally copy a tour swing this way with your own body motion.

 

Curtis Elliott 

See this link:

https://shop.leadbetter.com/blogs/news/learn-the-proper-turn

 

 A FEW PUTTING THOUGHTS

It is time for a few solid putting thoughts.  This is not about putting practice. I have said it all in another post.  But here are some stroke improvements to consider:

1.    The way to keep your head still while putting is to keep your hips still.

2.     The 100% effective way to cure your yips is very simple.  Without a golf ball and in the comfort of your home, simple practice stroking your putting stroke back and forth as smoothly as you can with very slight acceleration on the down stroke.  Swing your putter back and forth, back and forth, looking solely at your putter blade and watching it square up at impact wiht any hand or wrist motion at all.  Practice this for 5 minutes back and forth like a pendulum each night for at least 3-5 nights a week.  After a couple of weeks, your putting yips or jerks will disappear forever.  Unless you give this a try, please do not argue wiht the solution.

3.    Get your eyes over the putting line for the ball.  Buy a putting mirror and do it.

4.    Propel your putting stroke wiht your rocking shoulders - or rocking sternum.  All else is fluff.

Wind Play

THIS WAS INITIAL POSTED IN 2019 BUT IT BEARS REPEATING!

The Golf Channel recently published a statistical study that is surprising for most golfers encountering the wind.  Most folks believe 1 or 2 clubs will do it.  But the pros know better and so should you!

In order to be a good player in the wind, you must fully understand how powerful the wind is. The study indicates that for every 10 miles per hour of headwind, you should take at least two (2) extra clubs.  For a headwind of 20 miles per hour, you should take four (4) extra clubs!

The secret to playing in the wind is to not underclub yourself and not swing harder but EASIER than normal.  So when you take 4 extra clubs in a stiff headwind, a smooth three quarter swing should do the trick.

Most golfers over-swing and take vastly too little extra club.  Try taking as much club as you feel you  need to make a smooth three quarter swing, and do not ever again be intimidated by the wind!

Rock Solid Pathway to Putting and Short Game Success

 There are many full golf swing fundamentals - grip, set-up, posture, ball position, balance, takeway, backswing, swing plane, shoulder turn, hip turn, impact, tempo and follow-through - and two or three ideas from expert instructors for each aspect of that.

But, if you are looking for one sure pathway to develop your short game and your putting skills and capabilties to a potentiall world-class elite skill level, the practice routines in Chapters 8 and 9 of my book, "Breakthrough in Golf" are it.

I promise your short game and putting will go to an entire new elite level if you adhere to these practice routines.  These are fantastic practice routines for young golfers in high school or college who really want to build top in class scoring skills, and who have the time to work on their golf games!

These two chapters are perfect for the competitive young golfer who truly wants to build a first class short game and putting ability.  You will amaze yourself at how good you can become!