Tag: Cutting

How Good Can Your Putting Get?

How Good Can Your Putting Get?

Article by Jack Moorehouse









Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse

Anyone who’s taken my golf lessons or read my golf tips knows how important I consider putting. Since about 30 percent of your shots during a match are putts, improving your putting is among the fastest ways of lowering your scores and cutting your golf handicap down to size. Improving your putting takes practice. But the question remains, how good can your putting get?

Two factors hamper putting accuracy. First, despite the most intensive care, greens are still natural lawns. They’ll never have flawless surfaces, like those of billiard tables, which means you can execute a putt perfectly and the ball can still miss the hole by a wide margin. Because of these imperfections (or in the ball itself), putts don’t always go in the direction you aim.

Second, even when the shot is off, you can’t see from the course of the ball what went wrong. You could have angled the club to the left or the right at impact. You could have moved the putter during the stroke. Or, you could have mis-hit the ball at impact. Whatever the reason, you don’t get sufficient feedback, so it’s hard improving your putting while practicing. Taking golf lessons helps, but it ‘s not enough.

How Good Can You Get?Thanks to these two factors your ability to sink putts-and lower your golf handicap-is limited. To test just how good a player can get at putting, experts conducted tests on well-kept greens using special equipment, designed to roll balls in the same direction and at the same speed every time. The experts used this equipment on numerous greens and from all sides of the pin, and were able to determine the maximum success rate from 12 feet (3.5 meters).

Most golfers would guess that the success rate was about 70 to 80 percent. No so. The maximum success rate is only 50 percent. That’s right, 50 percent. That means that from 12 feet (3.5 meters) a player can hit a ball perfectly every time and still sink only half of his or her putts. Even the pros’ statistics at this distance might surprise you. Results of research conducted by statisticians of the USPGA show that the average pro, under tour conditions, sinks only about 20 percent of his putts from 12 feet (3.5 meters) with the first shot.

Since most golfers think they don’t sink as many putts as they should, many alter their putting technique again and again to increase accuracy-which I see all the time with players taking my golf lessons. Thus, these players constantly readjust and make changes in how they putt. This approach promises little success and is completely unnecessary. It’s a major cause of the constant dissatisfaction of many players.

Improving Your PuttingGiven the above scenario, what can you do to improve your putting in addition to practicing more? Develop a good solid per-shot putting routine and use it every time you putt. If you saw the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open the other week, you saw a classic example of this. Before sinking an easy 2-foot putt for the title, Cristie Kerr executed her compete pre-shot putting routine, even though she was 2 shots ahead.

While everyone’s pre-shot putting routine will be different, they all should include the following six elements:

1. Take your last reading from behind the ball2. Hit your practice shots at this point3. Go to the ball/Align your putter4. Align your body at right angles to the putter’s face5. Take a last look from the head of the putter to the target6. Activate your “triggering mechanism” before stroking the ball.

Within these six elements, there’s room for variation. Some players like to practice while standing behind the ball. Others like to practice while standing beside the ball. Some players like to lift the club off the ground as a triggering mechanism. Others like to use the “forward press.” It doesn’t matter. When developing a pre-shot putting routine, find out what works for you and us it.

Always follow the steps of your pre-shot routine in the same order. Stay in motion, even though these movements are imperceptible. And never come to a complete stop before the shot. It gives you too much time to think about the putt. Finally, make sure no repetitions exist in the routine and that your subconscious always know where you are in the routine. Use this routine every time you putt and you may find yourself not only improving your putting, but also your cutting your golf handicap down to size.



About the Author

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.










Not Slicing the Golf Ball Takes Careful Understanding

Not Slicing the Golf Ball Takes Careful Understanding

In order to slice a golf ball (impart a left to right ball flight for a right handed golfer) you have to strike the golf ball in a manner that will cause a clockwise rotation of the ball. The more dramatic the rotation the more dramatic or worse the golf slice.

For the context of this article, I will speak from a right handed golfer’s swing and perspective.

When defining the golf slice there are a couple of basics characteristics to the ball flight. First, there is the slice that initially may start down the target line then move off line in a left to right movement. This type of slice tells us that the swing path was traveling down the intended target line, but at impact the club face was left open and did not get back to a square position at impact. Usually this type of golf slice doesn’t produce as sever of left to right movement of the golf ball since the swing path itself was not cutting across the ball in an outside to inside manner. This type of slicing of the golf ball is more easily cured. And can usually be done so with a bit of work on the golfer’s setup, alignment, and or grip.

The second type of golf slice is the one that plagues the vast majority of beginning and high handicap golfer’s. This is the type of slice that produces the ‘banana ball’ type of flight and is very uncontrollable and frustrating.

The attributes of this type of slice for the golfer are the ball will initially start left of the target line indicating that the swing path is incorrect right from the get go. When the ball immediately begins left of the target line that tells you that your swing path has come from the outside to the inside.

Now, having done that with your swing, doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you are going to slice the golf ball but you sure have made much easier for a slice to occur. Now combine the outside to inside swing path with an open clubface at impact and you now have a golf shot that starts left and has the double whammy of a slicing swing path across the golf ball, and an open club face. With these two laws of physics going for you; you have just produced one beautiful slice. One that only a proud parent could love! You know the one I’m talking about. The ball that travels 300 yards total distance, but only about 220 yards further down the course (if you can find it all).

A golfer who is plagued with this type of golf slice is going to require quite a bit more work in order to correct this because their basic swing is flawed and must be corrected. But, it’s important to understand what it is in your golf swing and your golf swing mechanics that makes the ball do what it does. Once you understand the 9 rules of ball flight you’ll be more able to understand what it is in your swing that is producing the flight of the ball you are seeing, and as such you can more quickly address and adjust to ensure success.

To read about poisonous berries and purple berries, visit the Types Of Berries site.

Tiger Woods And His Putter

Tiger Woods And His Putter

Seems like every time he has a putt of 30 feet or more, the ball grazes the hole or finishes a foot away for Tiger Woods.

No. 1, he puts a great roll on the ball, and that’s because his mechanics are very solid. The face of his putter is squaring to the path at impact, not cutting against it, and he has that constant acceleration. He never looks like he’s holding the putter back or accelerating it; it looks like the putter accelerates itself. And finally, he practices long, breaking putts. You’ve got to hit it solid to be close to the hole from long range.

Tiger talks about releasing the putterhead.

That’s a word that describes a specific feel for a very good player. It goes back to the pendulum: if you keep your center (head and sternum) still and you let the weight of the putter go past your center, that’s releasing the putter. I don’t think it’s flipping the putter or necessarily closing the face; it just has to do with simply letting the putter go past your center.

Is there a drill you’d recommend for short putts, long putts, or both?

Hit your long putt first, then try and convert the short one.

Most golfers have what I like to refer to as a signature backstroke. They take the club back the same distance for almost all putts. Let’s say it’s 12 inches – if they take it back 12 inches on a 4-foot putt their brain starts screaming, “Slow down!” If they take it back 12 inches on a 40-foot putt their brain screams, “Speed up!” Ultimately, what you really want to learn is what length backstroke is right for each putt. If you’ve got a 4-foot putt you should really have a backstroke of 6 inches. (Normal green speed, stimped at 10). If you’ve got a 40-foot putt you really need a backstroke that’s somewhere around 15 inches, so you’re allowing the putterhead to create its own momentum.

Think about a pendulum: A pendulum you swing way back and the distance it travels determines how fast it moves forward. If you swung it 6 inches it would swing slower than if you swung it 15 inches. What happens with most people is they’re controlling the putter’s speed versus letting it swing by itself. If you look at the best putters, they have a constant rate of acceleration and an equal back and through motion.

Any advice for the weekend golfer?

There are 10 people come through our short game school regularly, and I think 70 percent have the wrong putter; it’s not the right specifications for them. So they’re never going to get better. It’s like glasses: You won’t see clearly until you have the right specs.

Stop wasting your time with band-aids and quick fixes that don’t do anything. Get to the heart of the problem, and get fitted.

John Daly: Golf Needs Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods Was Made Fun

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golf equipment

What Causes a Golf Shot to Slice or Hook Anyway?

What Causes a Golf Shot to Slice or Hook Anyway?

While there are many variables that can cause a golf ball to curve, only two things can happen at the time the club meets the ball that can affect the direction of the ball. This article explains what causes a misdirected golf shot not how to fix the problems. Information on learning the fundamentals of a sound golf shot are at the end of this article. So the first factor which causes a slice or hook is the direction that the club head is traveling when it hit the ball and the second is the position of the club head at the time it contacts the golf ball.

 

The Direction of the Club

As the club comes down from the top of your swing it travels inside, or close to your body, and then travels straight down the line leading to your target. After it hit’s the ball it should then travel back inside the line and on to the finish of your swing. At least that’s how it’s suppose to work. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Now if you swing inside/out then when your club meets the ball it will still be traveling to the right of the target, which will cause the ball to start traveling to the right. If the opposite is true and you swing outside/in, then when the club hit’s the ball you will start the ball off to the left. If you swing inside/out then you initially “push” your shot. And if you swing outside/in then you initially “pull” the ball.

In both cases, if you hit the ball squarely with the club face facing the same direction that the club is going then you will have a push to the right or a pull to the left. Not so bad. If however you have the club face facing the target and the club direction to either the right or left then you will impart a spin on the ball. This is sometimes referred to as cutting across the ball. This will cause the golf ball to curve in the direction of the spin. The result is a draw to the left or a fade to the right.

The Position of the Club Head

Now the other factor that determines a slice of a fade, the position of the club head at impact. This determines whether there will be a side spin on the ball or not. Ideally you will swing directly at the target with the club head facing directly at the target too. This results in a ball that does not have side spin and your golf shot will travel straight providing the wind does not affect it. But if you contact the ball with the club face facing to the right (open face) or with the club face facing to the left (closed face) then you will cause the ball to spin. This spin causes the ball to fade or slice to the right, or draw or hook to the left.

A Deadly Combination 

If you have the misfortune of combining either a push or a pull with an open face or closed face, then you have real trouble. If your shot initially starts to the left and then curves to the right, you have an outside/in swing with an open club face. This will result in a slice. The more you pull the shot or the more open your club face the more extreme your slice will be. This is where that banana slice comes from. You know, the shot that looks like it’s going into the woods on the left only to end up in the water on the right.

Conversely, if your shot starts to the right and then curves to the left, then you have an inside/out swing with a closed club face which will result in a hook. And of course the more you push the shot or close the face the more extreme the hook will be. And we all know where that shot ends up.

 

 

What it Takes to Fix it

Now that you know what two factors cause a slice of fade you can fiddle with your swing to see if you can straighten it out a bit. But of course the sure cure is a fundamentally sound golf swing. One that is repeatable and dependable. Weight shift, hip turn, shoulder position, wrist roll are all important to a sound golf swing. Investing in reliable golf instruction may be a wise investment in achieving this type of swing. Especially considering what golf costs these days.

 

A great affordable e-course is available that will teach you these fundamentals and you can even receive 5 FREE GOLF VIDEOS with no obligation just for checking it out. One of the videos is hilarious and amazing at the same time! You won’t want to miss it. So do yourself a favor and go to www.Golf1.webstarts.com NOW.　

 

 

 

   

David Faircloth is not a golf pro, just a student of the golf swing. He enjoys helping others improve and enjoy the game of golf more. www.Golf1.webstarts.com