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Putting - DO NOT Accelerate Through the Ball


iacas

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If you feel you may be "accelerating" your putter into impact, put three coins on the ground, equally spaced from each other, in a line. Put the ball near the middle one, and practice making backstrokes that go to one and finish at the other. Try to feel that you're not adding anything to the downstroke or follow-through: you're not accelerating the putter much (just let gravity do it - in reality your muscles will contribute, but it's uncommon to feel much muscle contribution) and you're not forcing yourself to "brake" the putter too much at the end, either. Just make a natural, smooth stroke that matches - coin to coin.

To change how far you hit the ball, move the coins farther apart or closer together, keeping the distances the same.

Excellent idea. I will try this out. I do find even with my Edel putter my old putting stroke sneaks its way back in from time to time, when I was forced to judge distance by changing how fast the putter head moved instead of the length of the putting stroke.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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iacas, The most helpful explanation I have ever read.  Thanks.

Agreed. If I'm honest with myself about distance control, I fit your profile of a bad putter. I'll bet my graph would show an accelerating stroke at impact, and that presentation format was very effective. Thousand words and all that.

My Swing


Driver: :ping: G30, Irons: :tmade: Burner 2.0, Putter: :cleveland:, Balls: :snell:

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@iacas are you including this type of information in your LSW book as well?

Of course it will take some time for me to fully understand what you have written, it's really impressive. Looks like my 3D accelerometers will come in handy for putting as well?

I really regret not having joined this site 3 years ago.

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Thanks very educational.

I make a "yip" something like a jabbing stroke. acceleration to the ball then dec at impact and then accelerate again which is my hitch.

is that the two peak velocity in graph 1?

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@iacas are you including this type of information in your LSW book as well?

Not with this much detail. We may link to this thread, though, if we get the chance and think it will fit. Perhaps I'll go add the URL to a footnote now.

I really regret not having joined this site 3 years ago.

No need to regret it. You've righted that wrong. :D

Very informative.   Thanks.  Good common sense that isn't so obvious.

File under "Feel ain't real… again." The "accelerate through the ball" advice is everywhere .

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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Finally had a moment to read the whole thing, excellent thread!

Yours in earnest, Jason.
Call me Ernest, or EJ or Ernie.

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Great thread. Thanks for the drill.

-Matt-

"does it still count as a hit fairway if it is the next one over"

DRIVER-Callaway FTiz__3 WOOD-Nike SQ Dymo 15__HYBRIDS-3,4,5 Adams__IRONS-6-PW Adams__WEDGES-50,55,60 Wilson Harmonized__PUTTER-Odyssey Dual Force Rossie II

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Great post Erik, but I have one significant issue with it.  I went to the Oxford English Dictionary and got this search result:

No results found for “craptacular” .

That being said, this is what I work on in putting, increasing the stroke length for longer putts and not the velocity of the down stroke. When I feel off, it is usually because I rush the down stroke.  So I go back to smoothing out the stroke.  I honestly don't even think about the stroke length when I am playing.  I don't even take a practice stroke.  I just visualize the distance, set up to my line and putt.  If I think about anything mechanical, it makes things worse.

Can you tell us who were the subjects for the data?

Scott

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This is all pretty much exactly what you guys told me when I got on the SAM last year. So ... great read. :beer:

In my bag:

Driver: Titleist TSi3 | 15º 3-Wood: Ping G410 | 17º 2-Hybrid: Ping G410 | 19º 3-Iron: TaylorMade GAPR Lo |4-PW Irons: Nike VR Pro Combo | 54º SW, 60º LW: Titleist Vokey SM8 | Putter: Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas H7

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Thanks for the information, @iacas . I'm definitely guilty of using a push stroke. As you said, I'm pretty decent from short to mid range, but I'm awful at long lag putts. I have to work on that gravity feel.

Bill

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” - Confucius

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This is all pretty much exactly what you guys told me when I got on the SAM last year. So ... great read. :beer:

Same here, and the drill has changed my putting making my ability to judge distance and hit my lines so much better.

Nate

:pxg:(10.5) :benhogan:(4W):titleist:U500(3UI) :benhogan: Icon(4-PW) :edel:(52/58)

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Same here, and the drill has changed my putting making my ability to judge distance and hit my lines so much better.

Which drill?

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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Which drill?

With the coins.

Nate

:pxg:(10.5) :benhogan:(4W):titleist:U500(3UI) :benhogan: Icon(4-PW) :edel:(52/58)

:odyssey:Putter :snell: MTB Black  

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With the coins.

Thought so, but I wanted to ask just to make sure I am not missing any sort of awesome putting drill :-D

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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Went to practice putting today and tried to position the ball opposite my knuckes or palm of hand so that my hands were either slightly ahead of the ball or inline with the ball and this conscious thought seem to improve my putting. I will no longer position the ball off my front foot for putting.

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