John Ambrose and his L2 putter

[logman]

I got Johns putter almost exactly one year ago. I picked up the huge package at the post office just after Christmas and put it straight to good use, I don't know if anybody here knows or has one of Johns putters( He's from Ohio) but I've been yakking backwards and forwards with him ever since. One of natures gentlemen as they say. Always keen to help and always interested.

So........the putter....It's called the L2 or lateral line putter. Its a face forward design with the top arm anchored against the chest and the bottom hand swinging as you would bowl a 10 pin bowling ball.

Anyway when I got the putter I didn't actually realize what I was buying. I didn't buy a golf stick I bought a system.....MMMMmmm?????. So in reality, and I didn't realize this at the time, I was buying a tool, a thing for hitting a ball in a hole. But I soon realized that I had to learn and commit to it. This was no ordinary bend over the ball and tap it towards the hole putter. It had baggage!

The beauty of the "system"is that it compartmentalizes the decisions of the putt. OK that sounds wanky but you've got the the decisions about line and weight and execution and Ambrose's technique makes you take decisions and execute them.

The heart of the system is the putter 45 inches long, it's as heavy as, with a face about 6 inches across. The width of the face means that you can putt while looking at the hole( very,very weird) and the weight of the club means it's very hard to make last second adjustments.....it's ALL pendulum.

So the putting process is very different. first thing walk the green and check the break......Then stand next to the ball and, looking at the hole swing the club as a pendulum making a mental note of the swing length......then, put the putter on the green and line up your putt......the putter is heavy enough that once you've got the line you can walk around the grounded putter and take up your putting position. So you stand next to the putter, you take a last second, fine tune of the length of the putt by looking at the hole, pull the putter back to the practiced height and putt.

The decisions about green reading have been made, line set and weight judged. There's no second guessing, no hitting, no last second decisions .

I love Johns putter, but I love the putting system even more.

Putting is strange, it's like a different game to golf. Swing coaches love to analyze golf swings to death but putting seems to be something else. Almost un-analyzable. People are either "good putters" or there not. There's a bit of voodoo about putting.

But what the L2 putting style does is turn that abstract, freaky bit of voodoo into a purely technique based process.

The putting task is now more akin to learning a swing a 5 iron and less like "I feel like I could sink some birdies today"

I know from my own experience that when my putting "goes off" that either my green read was bad or my technique is flawed. correction is as you would for a normal golf swing. Go back through the proceedure until you find the culprit, then correct it. Pure technique.......no voodoo.

Then it's just a matter of correcting the swing flaw...... and.......SHAZAM!! you're a good putter again

Check out Johns site at L2 putter

By the way I'm not paid by john, I'm a complete amateur . But John and his putter/technique is pure genius.

[iacas]

Dave and I met John and spent a few hours with him. His putting stroke at the time required anchoring, and I don't believe it'd be very effective without your left forearm (for a righty) not anchored across your chest.

There's something to be said for how if putting was re-imagined we might all putt facing our targets (though perhaps not, because it would vary from every other golf stroke we make), and I imagine that this proposed rules change will put John out of business.

He is a nice guy though. No doubt about that.

Originally Posted by logman

Putting is strange, it's like a different game to golf. Swing coaches love to analyze golf swings to death but putting seems to be something else. Almost un-analyzable. People are either "good putters" or there not. There's a bit of voodoo about putting.

...

I know from my own experience that when my putting "goes off" that either my green read was bad or my technique is flawed. correction is as you would for a normal golf swing. Go back through the proceedure until you find the culprit, then correct it. Pure technique.......no voodoo.

You contradicted yourself. If putting is "pure technique" then it's entirely analyzable.

We've turned some bad putters into good to great putters with a few things:

1) AimPoint and the associated drills

2) A putter they can aim and which fits their natural inclination to feel the proper speed

3) SAM PuttLab analysis and correction

Good putters (like good golfers) tend to have several things in common (we'd say there are three Keys to putting, and as with the full swing, many ways to "personalize" the putting stroke to deliver those Keys).

We just haven't released a DVD about it. Yet. Been teaching it for years though. I'm sure it's in a forum thread here somewhere. :)

[Ernest Jones]

I think the guy makes a wedge like this too. Pretty sure I saw a youtube of some hitting perfect little pitches over water with one. Pretty cool but, like Erik said, probably going out of business due to the rule changes.

[logman]

Originally Posted by iacas

Dave and I met John and spent a few hours with him. His putting stroke at the time required anchoring, and I don't believe it'd be very effective without your left forearm (for a righty) not anchored across your chest.

There's something to be said for how if putting was re-imagined we might all putt facing our targets (though perhaps not, because it would vary from every other golf stroke we make), and I imagine that this proposed rules change will put John out of business.

He is a nice guy though. No doubt about that.

You contradicted yourself. If putting is "pure technique" then it's entirely analyzable.

We've turned some bad putters into good to great putters with a few things:

1) AimPoint and the associated drills

2) A putter they can aim and which fits their natural inclination to feel the proper speed

3) SAM PuttLab analysis and correction

Good putters (like good golfers) tend to have several things in common (we'd say there are three Keys to putting, and as with the full swing, many ways to "personalize" the putting stroke to deliver those Keys).

We just haven't released a DVD about it. Yet. Been teaching it for years though. I'm sure it's in a forum thread here somewhere. :)

Yes sorry didn't make myself clear. What I meant to say is putting in a traditional way being more voodoo and putting with the L2 being pure technique.

And as for the anchoring, I hope its okay. I mean the forearm is across the chest but the wrist has full movement. I don't know is that's a pass of not. As for me I'll just keep using it. It's very enjoyable to use

[L2 putter]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the comments on the L2 and the Lateral Line system. If the new rule applies to everyone, then the forearm anchor will not be conforming. We new this as a possibility for a while and have created a slight modification to the motion that brings it back to conformity and in fact works as well or better than before. When the final rule is applied in February, and if it does apply to everyone, we will put the modification up on the site. you can watch for it on www.laterallineputter.com

thanks and hope to talk to you all soon.

John

[iacas]

Originally Posted by logman

Yes sorry didn't make myself clear. What I meant to say is putting in a traditional way being more voodoo and putting with the L2 being pure technique.

In that case, I continue to disagree. :) The putting stroke is technique and can be taught and analyzed.

Originally Posted by logman

And as for the anchoring, I hope its okay. I mean the forearm is across the chest but the wrist has full movement. I don't know is that's a pass of not. As for me I'll just keep using it. It's very enjoyable to use

That's going to be illegal if the proposed rule comes to pass.

[Ernest Jones]

Lol at voodoo. :-)