Putting - DO NOT Accelerate Through the Ball

[iacas]

I certainly looks like he is pushing through the stroke to my "highly calibrated" eye. It would be interesting to see his stroke on the puttlab.

I don't know. You can have success still accelerating through impact, it just makes it less likely. Ryan's currently 74th in Strokes Gained Putting for the season.

Also, the acceleration profile matters much less on, say, a six-footer than it does on a 30-footer.

[trickyputt]

[QUOTE name="CarlSpackler" url="/t/74295/putting-do-not-accelerate-through-the-ball/270#post_1116214"]   I was thinking of this thread yesterday watching Ryan Moore putt. He appears to have a short back swing with a much longer through swing. [/QUOTE] It's certainly possible to do this and hit the ball at the peak speed of the putter (or very close to it). My putting stroke used to look like this: [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/116003/] [/URL] I just demonstrated this for a student on Saturday. As you can see, I still hit the ball at peak speed, but I "carried on" my putting stroke for a long time (I didn't slow down at the same rate on the through-stroke at which I accelerated on the downstroke). I think my putting is a bit better now, but I have always had pretty good distance control. Of course, maybe Ryan Moore could stand to work on his acceleration profile a little bit, too? :-)

This may be the best graph/ explaination I personally have run across. I am sorry that I am responding to an upthread post, but it has impacted my game, and I have never seen it from any other source save this site.

[Joshua1108]

Thanks I hadn't had that type of explanation before and I can't wait to get back out there this weekend. I think that I going to help tremendously.

[vangator]

I think I found something. I've had 11 birdies the last 2 rounds. Could have been a couple more. Most of it is because of the putter. I've always done pretty well with GIR but could never make those 10 foot putts with any regularity. Now I am. Knock on wood. The golf god's are going to skewer me the next round. :-D

[trickyputt]

I think I found something. I've had 11 birdies the last 2 rounds. Could have been a couple more. Most of it is because of the putter. I've always done pretty well with GIR but could never make those 10 foot putts with any regularity. Now I am. Knock on wood. The golf god's are going to skewer me the next round. :-D

Be sure to tip the hole cutter person!

[Lihu]

Be sure to tip the hole cutter person!

That's what I need to start doing. . .oh, wait you meant tip after they cut it? :-D

[trickyputt]

[quote name="trickyputt" url="/t/74295/putting-do-not-accelerate-through-the-ball/288#post_1125752"] Be sure to tip the hole cutter person!

That's what I need to start doing. . .oh, wait you meant tip after they cut it? :-D[/quote] Only if they roll a ball and cut the hole over where it comes to rest.

[bm85]

Starting to loooove this site for the amazing insight. Will bring this, among other tips to the practice greens tomorrow.

[mvmac]

[Suchmo]

After accelerating through putts for so long, at first I was leaving a lot of putts short while following the advice in this thread. After a little perseverance, however, putting from distance has gone from being a constant cause of frustration to a notable strength in my game. Thanks to the OP.

[iacas]

 

[Limpinswinger]

When I first started playing golf, I was taught to control the distance of my pitching wedge when taking less than a full swing by the length of my backswing and followthrough and that the length of each should be equal, using the face of a clock as a reference ie: 2-10 O'Clock, 3-9 O'Clock, 4-8 O'clock, etc.  I wasn't told how hard to swing the club, but, I instinctively used less active acceleration than on a full swing.  After some practice I knew about how far each symmetrical swing would fly.  

It seemed logical to apply the same approach to putting.  At first, I was very systematic about it, applying one inch of backswing and followthrough for a given number of feet to the hole.  Over time, I dropped that specific approach and began to apply a swing length based on my overall perception of how long a swing it would take to get the ball to the hole given all of the variables of distance, slope, wind, etc., after a few practice swings.  

Until reading the OP, I didn't give much thought to when acceleration should stop in relation to contact.  I have presumed that I should accelerate through contact and decelerate naturally in the follow through, that distance control was dependent on accelerating through contact, and that, decelerating prior to contact would result in loss of distance control.  With this approach, my putting has been what I would call good, but not consistently excellent.  I have nailed my share of long putts, but, for the most part feel fortunate if I can get a 30 foot putt inside 4-5 feet.  

So, I'm very interested to see how OP's approach to stop accelerating prior to contact will affect my long distance control.  The question I still have (having not read the entire thread), is how to purposely stop accelerating just prior to contact?

Edited October 9, 2016 by Limpinswinger

[Golfingdad]

1 hour ago, Limpinswinger said:

When I first started playing golf, I was taught to control the distance of my pitching wedge when taking less than a full swing by the length of my backswing and followthrough and that the length of each should be equal, using the face of a clock as a reference ie: 2-10 O'Clock, 3-9 O'Clock, 4-8 O'clock, etc.  I wasn't told how hard to swing the club, but, I instinctively used less active acceleration than on a full swing.  After some practice I knew about how far each symmetrical swing would fly.  

 

It seemed logical to apply the same approach to putting.  At first, I was very systematic about it, applying one inch of backswing and followthrough for a given number of feet to the hole.  Over time, I dropped that specific approach and began to apply a swing length based on my overall perception of how long a swing it would take to get the ball to the hole given all of the variables of distance, slope, wind, etc., after a few practice swings.  

 

Until reading the OP, I didn't give much thought to when acceleration should stop in relation to contact.  I have presumed that I should accelerate through contact and decelerate naturally in the follow through, that distance control was dependent on accelerating through contact, and that, decelerating prior to contact would result in loss of distance control.  With this approach, my putting has been what I would call good, but not consistently excellent.  I have nailed my share of long putts, but, for the most part feel fortunate if I can get a 30 foot putt inside 4-5 feet.  

 

So, I'm very interested to see how OP's approach to stop accelerating prior to contact will affect my long distance control.  The question I still have (having not read the entire thread), is how to purposely stop accelerating just prior to contact?

 

It can improve your distance control IMMENSELY.  That IS the point.  (It's a lot less important on short putts - accelerating through on short putts is fine).

And you actually don't "purposely" stop accelerating - that would pose all kinds of problems.  Just try to make a smooth pendulum stroke where the backswing and follow through are the same length.  That's all there is to it, really.

P.S. Besides the OP, I would highly recommend the reply that is mentioned and linked at the bottom of the OP.  You don't need to read the whole thread. :)

[Ernest Jones]

36 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

It can improve your distance control IMMENSELY.  That IS the point.  (It's a lot less important on short putts - accelerating through on short putts is fine).

And you actually don't "purposely" stop accelerating - that would pose all kinds of problems.  Just try to make a smooth pendulum stroke where the backswing and follow through are the same length.  That's all there is to it, really.

P.S. Besides the OP, I would highly recommend the reply that is mentioned and linked at the bottom of the OP.  You don't need to read the whole thread. :)

My swing thought for this is to simply make a longer backswing than I think I need and then just "feel" like gravity does the rest. I also play the ball up in my stance which makes it past the bottom of my swing meaning a) I'm naturally decelerating b) slightly ascending on contact. 

It absolutely improves distance control.   

[Limpinswinger]

On 10/9/2016 at 1:34 PM, Golfingdad said:

It can improve your distance control IMMENSELY.  That IS the point.  (It's a lot less important on short putts - accelerating through on short putts is fine).

And you actually don't "purposely" stop accelerating - that would pose all kinds of problems.  Just try to make a smooth pendulum stroke where the backswing and follow through are the same length.  That's all there is to it, really.

P.S. Besides the OP, I would highly recommend the reply that is mentioned and linked at the bottom of the OP.  You don't need to read the whole thread. :)

I gave it a try on the practice green the same afternoon that I wrote that last post.  Two thoughts.  It took some focus to let the putter passively stroke through contact, and it required a longer stroke to get the ball to the hole than I am used to.  However, when I executed it correctly, I was hitting 30+ foot putts within 2-3 feet from the hole, mostly short, but, I expect there to be a bit of a learning curve with this new approach.  I have to say that I'm quite excited about this.  

[iacas]

26 minutes ago, Limpinswinger said:

I gave it a try on the practice green the same afternoon that I wrote that last post.  Two thoughts.  It took some focus to let the putter passively stroke through contact, and it required a longer stroke to get the ball to the hole than I am used to.  However, when I executed it correctly, I was hitting 30+ foot putts within 2-3 feet from the hole, mostly short, but, I expect there to be a bit of a learning curve with this new approach.  I have to say that I'm quite excited about this.  

If your stroke feels really long… speed up the backstroke.

[skeedawg]

@iacas Do you find any particular putting grip style promotes the pendulum action better than another? I've always used my full swing stroke grip but more neutral, with right index finger pointing down the side of the shaft. Lately while experimenting I've separated my hands, left hand high, right hand low at the bottom of the grip, with mixed results. My biggest issue has always been longer putts of 30+ feet and getting them somewhere in the mythical 3 foot circle. I typically leave these well short which as I read this thread may be simply because my backstroke is not long enough. 

[iacas]

5 minutes ago, skeedawg said:

@iacas Do you find any particular putting grip style promotes the pendulum action better than another?

No, except that I do think marrying the hands close together tends to promote a good motion. There's still "soft" wrists in the putting stroke, but it shouldn't appear to be a "wristy" stroke either.

5 minutes ago, skeedawg said:

I've always used my full swing stroke grip but more neutral, with right index finger pointing down the side of the shaft.

I don't generally have a reason for it, but I really don't like the finger down the shaft thing. Logically, it should make some sense - you can feel pressure further down the shaft, maybe - but I've never seen a good putter who grips the putter like that.

I putted for a long, long time with my regular full-swing grip too. It's fine, but I've switched to the pretty traditional reverse double overlap grip (pinkie and ring finger on the left hand on the top, other two fingers overlapping the right hand). This puts the fingertips in good contact with the putter grip for pressure sensitivity but keeps the wrists close enough that they can softly flex/extend together.

5 minutes ago, skeedawg said:

Lately while experimenting I've separated my hands, left hand high, right hand low at the bottom of the grip, with mixed results. My biggest issue has always been longer putts of 30+ feet and getting them somewhere in the mythical 3 foot circle. I typically leave these well short which as I read this thread may be simply because my backstroke is not long enough. 

More likely because it's not fast enough. Try to up the tempo a bit.

And put your hands back together.  It may be better for your face control for the shorter putts, but it probably doesn't help with the fine motor control and sensitivity needed for the longer ones where distance control is the dominant factor.