Imrove your Putting with Three Protectors

[Patrick57]

I will explain this based for right handers. I apologise to lefties but they are more used to mirroring these words.

There is one very common error that causes a putt to slip past the hole and that's hitting the ball with a closed face at impact. This can be seen at every level and you only have to take note of your results or your partners and you will see this for yourself. 80-90% of putts are missed left.

In a conventional putting stroke, the putter should approach the ball from slightly inside the target line, come to square at impact and return to the inside of the target line in the through swing. During the back swing, the face should be open to this line, square at impact and closed in the follow through.

Add to this the design of most putters and this closing tends to happen a little sooner than expected, even centre shafted.

This is why I have devised triple protection for putting. You could buy a putter that has a weight system that helps but this is only one protector.

1) Address the ball with the putter face 1mm open. A simple protector.

2) Pull the putter face 1mm closer to you.

3) Focus on the back of the ball looking at the impact point but look at a point 1mm to the inside of centre.

Some of you will get this right away, others will want to know how these different protectors work. I will be happy to explain but that's enough for now or this post will be too long.

[Old1964]

Did you just make this up?

80-90% of all putts missed in golf (every level) are missed to the left?

Even if your statistic were true (which it isn't), I am puzzled that your advice is to setup to hit the ball a little more to the right? Set the putter face open a bit, make contact with the ball a little closer to the toe, and focus on making contact with the ball a millimeter inside of center.

Why not just tell the person who misses their putts to the left to aim more to the right?

Why is a "millimeter" always the proper adjustment regardless of the length or speed of the putt?

Originally Posted by Patrick57

Some of you will get this right away, others will want to know how these different protectors work. I will be happy to explain but that's enough for now or this post will be too long.

Seriously?

[Precis1on]

If you really really wanted to do something like this, just take the putter, remove the aim lines on it, and redraw them with the specs that you just stated. Not that I would EVER recommend doing something like that.

Missed putts, whether to the left or right (and I used to miss them to the right because I held off the face), can be traced to your setup and stroke (if your aim is perfect). However, I would never recommend sacrificing the aim on your putter by opening it on your setup (even if you pre-aimed, then opened it). Just move the ball 2-3mm back in your stance, and you should impact the ball before your face closes.

Now if your aim is incorrect and to the left, and you're opening up the face to compensate for it, that's a whole other issue. I've always aimed my putter at the target (and after my Edel fitting, I know that I could aim the putter I had chosen years ago), and built my putting stroke to get the ball to the hole with the proper SPEED and accuracy.

[Patrick57]

Originally Posted by Old1964

Did you just make this up?

Its my drill and years of study.

Originally Posted by Old1964

80-90% of all putts missed in golf (every level) are missed to the left?

Don't forget, I'm talking about right handers. And yes its correct.

Originally Posted by Old1964

Even if your statistic were true (which it isn't),

It is!

Originally Posted by Old1964

I am puzzled that your advice is to setup to hit the ball a little more to the right? Set the putter face open a bit, make contact with the ball a little closer to the toe, and focus on making contact with the ball a millimeter inside of center.

Yes 1mm closer to the toe and 1mm open. As 80-90% of putts miss left doesn't this make sense?

Originally Posted by Old1964

Why not just tell the person who misses their putts to the left to aim more to the right?

Because they only have one protector and are now encouraged to hit the ball wrong.

Originally Posted by Old1964

Why is a "millimeter" always the proper adjustment regardless of the length or speed of the putt?

Because the adjustments are meant to be very fine and a millimeter open, this side of the toe and this side of the ball won't send the ball far enough right of straight to effect the direction.

Originally Posted by Old1964

Seriously?

Yes!

[Patrick57]

Originally Posted by Precis1on

Missed putts, whether to the left or right (and I used to miss them to the right because I held off the face), can be traced to your setup and stroke (if your aim is perfect). However, I would never recommend sacrificing the aim on your putter by opening it on your setup (even if you pre-aimed, then opened it). Just move the ball 2-3mm back in your stance, and you should impact the ball before your face closes.

You want to do something else, and that's OK.

Originally Posted by Precis1on

If you really really wanted to do something like this, just take the putter, remove the aim lines on it, and redraw them with the specs that you just stated. Not that I would EVER recommend doing something like that.

Neither would I or have I.

Originally Posted by Precis1on

Now if your aim is incorrect and to the left, and you're opening up the face to compensate for it, that's a whole other issue. I've always aimed my putter at the target (and after my Edel fitting, I know that I could aim the putter I had chosen years ago), and built my putting stroke to get the ball to the hole with the proper SPEED and accuracy.

Incorrect aim is an other subject. I am basing this on aiming correctly.

[EverythingGolf]

lol...1mm, I have a hard time measuring that with a ruler!

[Precis1on]

Wouldn't it be simpler then to just move the ball back in your stance then? There's no reason to aim, then adjust the club, and then regrip the putter. Unless there's something profound that I'm missing about opening the face of the putter. Tapatalking, sorry for typos and autocorrect.

[Patrick57]

Originally Posted by EverythingGolf

lol...1mm, I have a hard time measuring that with a ruler!

I think you are starting to get the gist!

[Patrick57]

Originally Posted by Precis1on

Wouldn't it be simpler then to just move the ball back in your stance then? There's no reason to aim, then adjust the club, and then regrip the putter.

Unless there's something profound that I'm missing about opening the face of the putter.

Tapatalking, sorry for typos and autocorrect.

You really want to do something else and really that's OK.

[iacas]

Uhm, yeah...

Originally Posted by Patrick57

Its my drill and years of study.

I call bullshit on this. 80-90% of putts are not missed left for right-handed golfers. Absolutely not.

And that's all I have to say about that.

P.S. Patrick, be honest: you're the only golfer in your study, huh?

[kurisu]

Ok, that's some awesome awesome single person study you're publishing here. Thanks for that, I needed something to open my eyes this morning. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the metric system world, millimeter is a unit of distance. So how am I supposed to open the club face 1mm? With a can opener? By the way, does your statistic mean that your putts go 20-10% to the right when your face is open -1mm?

[Patrick57]

Originally Posted by iacas

Uhm, yeah...

I call bullshit on this. 80-90% of putts are not missed left for right-handed golfers. Absolutely not.

And that's all I have to say about that.

P.S. Patrick, be honest: you're the only golfer in your study, huh?

Give me a figure for misses to the left? 50% 60% 70%

I have worked in depth with this. Its a sort of OCD thing.

[Patrick57]

Originally Posted by kurisu

Ok, that's some awesome awesome single person study you're publishing here. Thanks for that, I needed something to open my eyes this morning.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the metric system world, millimeter is a unit of distance. So how am I supposed to open the club face 1mm? With a can opener?

By the way, does your statistic mean that your putts go 20-10% to the right when your face is open -1mm?

1mm = roughly 1/26" and no with a very sharp razor blade. No they go straight.

[Old1964]

Originally Posted by iacas

Uhm, yeah...

I call bullshit on this. 80-90% of putts are not missed left for right-handed golfers. Absolutely not.

And that's all I have to say about that.

P.S. Patrick, be honest: you're the only golfer in your study, huh?

I am a right-handed golfer who doesn't miss 80-90% of my putts to the left! Therefore, your statement is not true (B.S. as observed above).

Your premise is not valid. If you can't understand acknowledge this, that is sad, but it will qualify you to run for public office!

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Patrick57

Give me a figure for misses to the left? 50% 60% 70%

Patrick, this one takes the cake so far.

If you'd truly studied things, you wouldn't be giving a range of values as broad as "80-90%" and you wouldn't say anything like "Give me a figure for misses to the left."

Here's a figure: of all putts missed by golfers which reach the hole, 49.8% are to the left and 49.8% are to the right. 0.4% miss on both sides because they lip out and go around the cup partway! (Where's my cymbal and drums for the "ba-dump-bump?")

In no way at all do I believe your stats.

P.S. We've fit plenty of people who aim right. Some of them overcompensate and pull putts. Some don't and push them. Others still aim right on left-breaking putts and aim left on right-breaking putts.

Originally Posted by Patrick57

1mm = roughly 1/26" and no with a very sharp razor blade. No they go straight.

That misses the point that inches and millimeters are distance measurements, not angular measurements.

P.S. Oops. Forgot I had said all I had to say. I'm shushing now. Sorry. Tough to resist the hilarity of this thread, though!

[kurisu]

1mm = roughly 1/26" and no with a very sharp razor blade. No they go straight.

OK, uhm, eh, OK. Your pulling my leg with that reply, right? Also, I'm curious, why millimeters? Why not minutes of an arc? Or simply, God forbid, degrees? Also, you forgot to specify if your study was conducted during summer or winter? I have on good authority that people tend to push 75~83% of putts when the temperature drops below 12.8°C.

[Patrick57]

Originally Posted by Old1964

I am a right-handed golfer who doesn't miss 80-90% of my putts to the left! Therefore, your statement is not true (B.S. as observed above).

Your premise is not valid. If you can't understand acknowledge this, that is sad, but it will qualify you to run for public office!

Ha Ha!

I have an experiment for you. Not counting your putts, its too off-putting, count your playing partners misses and you will see the misses are more often left and do fall in the 80-90% bracket. (right handers)

Everyone says I don't miss so many to the left but the law of averages because of the mechanics and design of the putter are heavily swayed for misses to the left.

[Patrick57]

Originally Posted by kurisu

Also, I'm curious, why millimeters? Why not minutes of an arc? Or simply, God forbid, degrees?

Because of the 3 protectors. 1mm towards the toe can't be measured in degrees.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurisu

Also, you forgot to specify if your study was conducted during summer or winter? I have on good authority that people tend to push 75~83% of putts when the temperature drops below 12.8°C.

OK here in Austria we can only play in the summer but the temp does drop occasionally below 12.8° but the golfers still miss to the left .