"The Best Putting Instruction Book Ever" by Editors of Golf Magazine

[iacas]

Discuss "The Best Putting Instruction Book Ever" by Editors of Golf Magazine here.

[The Tin Man]

Chapter 1 is getting fitted with an Edel putter. (Probably a must read if your wondering about this.) The last chapter should be on getting fitted with a straight jacket, because as expected from Golf Magazine there's the Tour Teacher, Stroke Analyzer, Master Putter, Balance Expert, Green Machine, Research Brain, Change Agent, Putt Doctor, Stroke Pioneer, and Aiming Expert suggesting every putting method imaginable.

Arc Stroke, Brush stroke - don't sit these two together at dinner!  (The Brush takes the Pendulum and combines it with your legs , elbows, wrists.....)  Overall the book is pro-arc. (Makes sense to me, I can't pull off Peltz's Pendulum.)

Have the yips - maybe this book will help. Don't have the yips -  you might after trying to digest all these conflicting theories.

The section on reading greens is useful, but I would rather have a simpler book on just reading greens.

But in the end I would take this book to my desert island golf course over anything else I have in my library. (Peltz and Utley)

There's too much to choose from, so I chose a method and stick with it. This way I have a place to return and re-orientate when I get lost. (This is my advice - not in the book.)

[Clambake]

About a week ago I heard about Golf Magazine's recently released book "The Best Putting Instruction Book Ever!", so I ordered a copy through Amazon last Tuesday for $20.   With a bold title like that, I figured that the book would likely just be all hyperbole, but maybe there would be a little nugget or two inside.    However, after receiving it on Thursday and reading it cover to cover that night, I have to say it is the real deal - the title is right!

Basically, the book is a collection of ten articles from the reigning putting wizards and gurus today, and the sections dovetail together nicely.   The production values on the book are outstanding - it is printed on heavy glossy paper stock, and is full of pictures illustrating every point made.     The book also comes with a bonus DVD with 10 fixes for putting ills.

The book starts with an article by David Edel of Edel putter, and while it is sort of an advertisement for Edel putters and their fitting system, it really is full of detailed advice and explanation about how the eye perceives different shapes and angles in the putter.    Edel's detailed descriptions how different shapes are perceived as open or closed are really eye opening (no pun intended) - one that really surprised me was how just the hosel shape makes the eye interpret things differently, and viewing the pictures in the book one can see exactly what Edel is trying to point out.    Although the book only cost me $20, I have a feeling it is really going to cost me $520 as I'm really inclined to look up my closest Edel fitter now!

The next chapter is by David Wright on building a stance.    His "niche" is finding the right fit with grip size and stance, focusing on "angles of symmetry" in the body.   Some of it sounds a little far fetched, but in checking my own stance in the mirror and comparing it to what he advocates I see what he's saying.   I've worked fairly hard to achieve a comfortable stance, and it looks like what I've come up with matches his suggestions very closely - I probably could have saved a lot of trial and error if I had just read his stuff first.

Mike Adams has a chapter on how to calibrate your stroke, focused on finding your internal rhythm and tempo.   I tried his methods of finding my tempo, and I already have a metronome app on my iPhone so I'm playing with what Adams indicates should be my proper stroke tempo.   It feels really good, and now I'm trying his drills to help lock that tempo in.   Adams also nicely describes the different setups for a pendulum stroke or an arc stroke, again with nice clear pictures to illustrate.   As a big believer in balance, rhythm, and tempo in the swing, I think this chapter is probably very valuable in building a repeatable stroke.

Stan Utley contributes a chapter on mastering the arc stroke.   For those familiar with Utley's teachings there isn't any new info here, but the large color pictures really help show his tactics better than in his books.    I like Utley's simplicity and find that his arc stroke works well for me, so I'm already a fan and do much of what he says.

The next chapter is Maggie Will, and she presents a "brush stroke" method which is very different than Utley.  Her focus is to eliminate arc in the stroke and "brush" the ball towards the hole.    It is interesting see her method and Utley's methods presented back to back, and although the conflict between the methods might seem odd in a book that is trying to teach you how to putt better, the two chapters really present a nice option to the reader to try very opposing styles and see what works best for them.    Since I'm already an arc putter I'm not going to try her ideas - I'm afraid it would just screw me up - but I enjoy the intellectual exercise of understanding her points.

The next chapter is by Mark Sweeney, the AimPoint wizard, and he does a very nice explanation of what AimPoint is all about and how it works.   Having followed the AimPoint discussions here in TST I've bee a little confused at times what it was really about, but after reading Sweeney's chapter it is crystal clear.   And I think my $20 book that went up to $520 after an Edel putter will now go up to about $920 after a couple AimPoint clinics.

Mike Shannon has a chapter on how to aim at the right spot, focusing on the difference between analytical (linear) putters and feel (nonlinear) putters.   I recall an article by him in Golf Magazine about a year ago and thought his approach made a lot of sense, and in this book he amplifies considerable on that article with some excellent pictures demonstrating what he means.    I feel there is some really good advice here in how to aim.

Next up is an article by Scott Munroe on the long putter.   I frankly have not read this as I'm very comfortable with my current normal length putter, so I can't comment on validity of what Munroe discusses.

Craig Farnsworth, the "Putt Doctor", contributes the next chapter on how to practice for improvement.   Having just read his book "The Putting Prescription", I really like his stuff and his research into how our mind interprets the visual cues and ingrains in a stroke with practice.   Farnsworth has some solid drills and mental tips - again, really good stuff.

The final chapter is by Marius Filmalter, one of the latest to suddenly start seeing top exposure in the golf publications.   Filmalter has a life of research in the putting stroke, and is the inventor of the TOMI and SAM putting lab equipment, and the simple thing is this guy knows his stuff.   Filmalter has extensive research into the yips, and what he has learned is applicable not just to those afflicted with that dreaded syndrome but to anyone who wants to putt consistently, and presumably those who never want to get the yips.     Filmalter's advice is truly golden in my opinion, based in science and research in a way that goes beyond what Pelz has studied.

For those who have bothered to read this far, I hope you'll find this helpful.   In my opinion this is really the defining publication available on all aspects of putting.    As you can see from the chapter descriptions, the book guides you through getting the right putter, getting the right stance and tempo, figuring you what stroke is best for you, teaches you how to read greens more effectively and then aim properly to the line you've determined, and add add in some drills to help ingrain all this and some fixes for when things go awry.     This is truly an outstanding publication.

A final footnote.    I've only had the book a few days, but I played twice over the weekend and tried to incorporate some of the teachings on green reading and aiming during my rounds.   Going into this weekend I've been a fairly poor putter, usually with several 3-putts each round and rarely knocking in anything longer that 4-5 feet.    But in two rounds on courses with tricky greens, I didn't have a single 3 putt.   Today I played Torrey Pines South and although my ball striking was quite poor , I shot 78 by sinking putts from everywhere to save par and make a few birdies.     Torrey's greens are notoriously hard to read, but using the AimPoint techniques (even without charts - just followed the basics such as finding the zero line) I didn't have a single misread.      That book that cost me $920 ($20 for the book + $500 for an Edel + $400 for a couple AimPoint clinics) is going to make me money as I start lightening the wallets of my playing partners!

[lifestudy]

Mike Adams' interesting article "Find your Personal Tempo" doesn't explain logic of counting walking paces over 45 seconds and using the result as input to a metronome which provides outputs in (BPM) beats per minute (60 seconds!!). How did he arrive at 45 seconds - why not count steps over 60 seconds??

Arc versus pendulum methods: which is most used on the PGA tour?

Thanks.

[x129]

Last sample I saw had the arc stroke being the most common.  I am not sure I would read too much into that. It might be because it is better but it is also possible that it was just the most popular stroke among teachers 10-20 years ago

Originally Posted by lifestudy

Mike Adams' interesting article "Find your Personal Tempo" doesn't explain logic of counting walking paces over 45 seconds and using the result as input to a metronome which provides outputs in (BPM) beats per minute (60 seconds!!). How did he arrive at 45 seconds - why not count steps over 60 seconds??

Arc versus pendulum methods: which is most used on the PGA tour?

Thanks.

[lifestudy]

Thanks about prevalence of arc putting, but the main part of my question:

Mike Adams' interesting article "Find your Personal Tempo" doesn't explain logic of counting walking paces over 45 seconds and using the result as input to a metronome which provides outputs in (BPM) beats per minute (60 seconds!!). How did he arrive at 45 seconds - why not count steps over 60 seconds??

[Kirst705]

Hi guys, I'm new...just been browsing the forum and found this thread. I usually get given some kind of help/guide book from my uncle every Christmas, and this year I asked for this (and a couple others for other stuff), then found an old, really bad review of it. Most here seem good though. So now I'm conflicted.

Gonna head off and try find the link to the review to put up here...