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Putting - DO NOT Accelerate Through the Ball


iacas

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Is there other similar information like this you can also share with us?

I feel like without more information like this, practice is just a complete waste of time. I'm so glad I haven't yet wasted time practicing putting.

Whenever you're putting from the fringe, definitely make sure that the ball is a little forward.  Even if a little bit of downward stroke or level stroke works for you on the green, it's going to kill your putt on the fringe when you drive it into the turf.

Erik gave me that tip after I hit a 20 foot eagle putt from the fringe about 10 feet. :8)

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Whenever you're putting from the fringe, definitely make sure that the ball is a little forward.  Even if a little bit of downward stroke or level stroke works for you on the green, it's going to kill your putt on the fringe when you drive it into the turf.

Erik gave me that tip after I hit a 20 foot eagle putt from the fringe about 10 feet.


Thanks, that's at least one more than yesterday I now know. . .

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@Iacas....Ok, I'm a little confused here. Have you seen the Golf Channel show where they had Brad Faxon showing tips? He was specifically showing people how he wanted them to "shorten the backswing and finish longer on the follow through". He would place a coin 8" behind the ball but want the follow through to be like 12". My distance control is awful so I want to work on this. Your thoughts?

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@Iacas....Ok, I'm a little confused here. Have you seen the Golf Channel show where they had Brad Faxon showing tips?

He was specifically showing people how he wanted them to "shorten the backswing and finish longer on the follow through".

He would place a coin 8" behind the ball but want the follow through to be like 12". My distance control is awful so I want to work on this. Your thoughts?

Kind of surprised that he would say that. I know Faxon's swing instructor and he's gotten to see Faxon's numbers on SAM puttlab. Obviously his stroke would be in the "great" category where the head is ascending/decelerating coming into the ball.

Just looking at it on video, seems very pendulum like, same length backswing as the followthrough. He's not adding speed by accelerating or "hitting" the putt harder.

Mike McLoughlin

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Yeah I agree watching that video. I'm gonna see if I can find the lesson and maybe clarify but I'm pretty sure I remember him doing that drill where he was encouraging shorter backswing and longer follow thru.

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Has a bit of flip action through the ball. His left wrist has more angle in it after the strike.

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I asked Dave and one of our knowledgeable students today why so many great putters seem to promote the accelerate motion or idea when it seems to me that it can't be what they feel at all. Their best guesses were simply that it may be what they thought they were doing even though it didn't feel that way to them, or it's just the conventional wisdom and they haven't given it a thought as to whether it may be right or not. BTW, this is horrible (top right graph is the one to look at if you want to compare it to the above - also, the words aren't mine, they're from an article on GolfWRX): That guy may be a scratch golfer, but I have a hard time believing he controls his distance very well AT ALL unless he practices his putting a TON. This is well into the "craptacular" area. It's gross. FWIW, I almost never practice my putting. I don't need to. It's not a matter of "timing" in my stroke - it's a matter of simply making a backswing that's the right length. If I'm off before a round on the practice green, it takes a few putts to get the speed down.

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Interesting stuff... I am gonna have to find my SAM putt lab data from last fall and see how my info compares. Thanks for the great information. I will definitely have to try the coin drill.
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I asked Dave and one of our knowledgeable students today why so many great putters seem to promote the accelerate motion or idea when it seems to me that it can't be what they feel at all. Their best guesses were simply that it may be what they thought they were doing even though it didn't feel that way to them, or it's just the conventional wisdom and they haven't given it a thought as to whether it may be

I'm far from a great putter but there are 2 reasons I've always tried to accelerate through the ball, well 3. 1. Shorter backswing promotes better control, I.e, I seem to hit the sweet spot more consistently. 2. I try to accelerate through the ball for all shots including short chips so it seemed natural to continue that philosophy down through the putter. 3. Seen so many amateurs (myself included) decelerate through a short or fast putt and just ruin it so it's been drilled into me to always accelerate. I'm a decent putter when I'm playing regularly but distance control stymies all of us so if this can help, I'll try it. May be hard to adjust.

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1. Shorter backswing promotes better control, I.e, I seem to hit the sweet spot more consistently.

In my experience working with students, a longer, slower backswing that just "falls" into the ball is easier to control than one in which you're actively using more muscles to "shove" the putter head into the ball. A proper putting stroke, IMO, often simply "falls" onto the back of the ball.

2. I try to accelerate through the ball for all shots including short chips so it seemed natural to continue that philosophy down through the putter.

Chips, etc. have rough, and I bet if you measured you'd be surprised at how many people are slightly decelerating or coasting at the same speed on even shots like that. Typically not on full swings, or shots that involve rough getting in the way, of course.

3. Seen so many amateurs (myself included) decelerate through a short or fast putt and just ruin it so it's been drilled into me to always accelerate.

I've seen far more of the opposite. You may have seen people who "brake" the putter, but that's often because they've over-accelerated.

I'm a decent putter when I'm playing regularly but distance control stymies all of us so if this can help, I'll try it. May be hard to adjust.

It's a "feel" so it may not work, but try to make a long, slow backswing and just let the putter head and your arms "fall" down into the golf ball. Just let gravity drop the putter head on the ball, without any muscle activity (there will still be some, but most report that they don't "feel" any).

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
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3. Seen so many amateurs (myself included) decelerate through a short or fast putt and just ruin it so it's been drilled into me to always accelerate.

I know @iacas has said that he sees more of the opposite, and I'll defer to that because there is no doubt he also just sees a crap ton more putting strokes than me, but my first thought on the Faxon thing was related to this.

The (very) few samples of bad putters I know fall more into this category.  They don't vary their backswing length based on the putt length or shot length (true about chips, bunkers shots, etc as well), so they try to control their distance with the through swing.  On longer putts or uphill putts, they go ahead and give it a decent length follow through.  They very well may be accelerating, but I don't know.

But on the downhill, short, or delicate putts, their MO is always the same;  don't shorten the backswing, but just try to control speed with a pathetic attempt at shortening or lengthening, or speeding up or slowing down, the through swing.

Because of that, my guess on the Faxon tip was simply that he was suggesting that even though same distance back and forth was ideal, that perhaps he'd seen more bad putters with the stubby through swings and figured the best way to generalize a tip for the masses would be to cheat the other way.  Along the same lines as the Haney "let's teach then how to hook to get rid of a slice" type method.

That was my first guess, at least.

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Could be, Barney. My kid takes too long a backstroke on short putts.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
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Damn phone, sorry bout that. Anyway, yes, it's a good swing thought, pendulum. Gonna give it a whirl. Thanks very much.

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Thanks for posting.  Good read.  I have a question about putting that maybe a little off topic, but couldnt find the answer else where.  What should weight distribution be?  I tend to put a little more weight on the front foot and was wondering if this is the norm.  Thanks

Hopefully I'm better tomorrow

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Thanks for posting.  Good read.  I have a question about putting that maybe a little off topic, but couldnt find the answer else where.  What should weight distribution be?  I tend to put a little more weight on the front foot and was wondering if this is the norm.  Thanks

OT yes, but the answer is that somewhere around 50/50 would be pretty average, though not at all a "rule" or "requirement." More of a loose guideline.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
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I asked Dave and one of our knowledgeable students today why so many great putters seem to promote the accelerate motion or idea when it seems to me that it can't be what they feel at all.

Yeah I think there is the perception the average golfers decelerates or "quits" on putts. I think short back and accelerate through makes people feel confident or committed while a pendulum stroke feels "weak". Kind of like hitting a pitch shot, feels lazy while a full swing feels more structured.

It's a "feel" so it may not work, but try to make a long, slow backswing and just let the putter head and your arms "fall" down into the golf ball. Just let gravity drop the putter head on the ball, without any muscle activity (there will still be some, but most report that they don't "feel" any).

That's a great way of describing it. It's not easy at first to "let go", lengthen the backstroke and let it fall but when you do it the ball really comes off the face great. Much better roll and sounds super solid.

The (very) few samples of bad putters I know fall more into this category.  They don't vary their backswing length based on the putt length or shot length (true about chips, bunkers shots, etc as well), so they try to control their distance with the through swing.  On longer putts or uphill putts, they go ahead and give it a decent length follow through.  They very well may be accelerating, but I don't know.

Agree, I think if we were to go down to the local golf course and measured 100 golfer's putting strokes, there would be a lot of accelerating strokes.

Mike McLoughlin

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This is great information. One question is how does this fit with golfers who one day have great speed control and the next struggle with it, ie me. Do you think their speed profile is different day to day, or they struggle with the speed of the greens that day? So basically does my profile goes from good to not as good one Saturday to next? Or is the profile consistent but the speed judgement is bad.

Michael

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This is great information. One question is how does this fit with golfers who one day have great speed control and the next struggle with it, ie me. Do you think their speed profile is different day to day, or they struggle with the speed of the greens that day? So basically does my profile goes from good to not as good one Saturday to next? Or is the profile consistent but the speed judgement is bad.

Your profile is almost always bad. Some days your compensations or timing are better.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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