After
yesterday’s exciting announcement, I’m sure many of us headed straight back to
the garage to figure out the perfect pendulum putting stroke – the legal
way. As someone who has struggled
mightily with the putter in the last few years, I have a few instruction tips
that I have used for many of my students.
1. Rotation –
The perfect pendulum putting stroke results from smooth rotation. Think of your shoulders and spine as a
T. The only movement you’re looking for
is to make the top of the T swing back and forth. Frequently, amateurs are stuck making the mistake
of swinging with the hands. This tends
to introduce a less fluid motion and leads to a breaking of the wrists that is
the most common cause of the “yips.”
2. Swing
with your back – This is a phrase you probably haven’t heard before. Next time you’re practicing on the putting
green set up to the golf ball as you would for a normal putt. Then, start the putting stroke with your back
muscles, using them to turn your shoulders, which then moves the putter. It’s not easy and it takes practice but it’s
a great way to feel your shoulders rotate properly and not swing the putter
with your hands. Tucking in your elbows
to your torso is particularly helpful for this drill.
3. The color
of the grass beneath the ball – This is probably the greatest question I was
ever asked as a student and have ever asked as a teacher, “What color is the
grass beneath the golf ball?” Of course
it’s green, but how could you know for sure unless you’re looking at that spot
after the golf club has struck the ball?
Especially in putting, it is important to focus on the golf ball and not
the putter during your stroke. Make sure
you’re looking for that spot underneath the golf ball well after you finish
your putting stroke, and preferably until you hear the ball roll into the
hole. As a drill, practice 3 footers
where you never look for the golf ball until after you hear it hit the hole
liner.
If you
can implement these three lessons into your putting you’re bound to become a
more fluid, pendulum-like putter, with or without the anchor.
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