Putting is a very simple art and all you really have to do is simply feel the green under your feet and visualize the ball rolling into the hole at the speed that you want it to go in at.
"Not enough credit is given to visualising the correct outcome - the ball dropping in the hole at your desired speed. we spend vast amounts of time working on things which are correlatory to that - but as any good scientist knows, correlation does not equal causation. When good visualisation is combined with the philosophies behind IDEOMOTOR EFFECT, and the RETICULAR ACTIVATING SYSTEM, it can be a very powerful thing" (Adam Young).
Putting technique and stroke mechanics are pretty useless given that the putting green surface is imperfect and you really tend to lose the feel of the distance of the putt when you start focusing on stroke mechanics.
An example of frustration I've gone through: Putting started to become frustrating because I have this putting rail which helps groove my stroke. I was practicing with it a lot and I found that although my stroke became a perfect arc, I still was missing putts that I thought I ought to be making. In addition, my speed control was starting to diminish from so much focus on mechanics. I ignored visualizing and started experimenting with ball position, eye position, and different putters. But I still missed putts. I was trying to go after the perfect setup and stroke to make all my putts. Well, I forgot that no one makes every putt, so I was just kidding myself going around in circles for about a month.
Finally I read this article on Adam Young's blog "Thoughts on Putting" and found that "on average, players under-read a break on the green by 66%. So on a 3 foot breaking putt, players were only reading a 1 foot break. What this means is 'The better your technique and hence your ability to roll the ball on your intended line is, the less putts you will hole.'"
The next day I putted the best that I have in a good 3 years and sunk two putts over 35 feet. I was sold on visualization and I haven't gone back. Take it from Justin Rose who admitted that he also was focusing too much on stroke mechanics, "I was trying to be perfect with my putting stroke and that is not the way to make putts. I've had my putting stroke perfect on the practice green and then gone out and made nothing. I think it's all in your ability to read the greens and I do that with my feet." Justin Rose Tips (go to 4:00 for putting).
For me now, putting is almost all mental, about 95% mental in my opinion. I believe this because practically anyone can stroke a putt (just go to a mini golf course and watch all sorts of first time players make putts). Your brain learns the simple act of putting through the process of self-correction, where no instruction is necessary. The neurological process of myelination is taking place in our brains where electrical currents are firing down nerve fibers in the brain during the putting process. The wrapping of myelin around the circuitry allows the firing of the putting process more efficient and effortless. "This is the neurological basis for what we commonly know as habit, or in sports terms, muscle memory."
All we need to do then is to trust our myelin and our instincts and focus on putting the ball into the hole. Any thoughts about stroke mechanics is more detrimental than helpful in this part of the game. Just take a look at the varying setups and strokes of great putters in the past and present (ex: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Bobby Locke, Luke Donald, Dave Stockton, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, etc.).
Some Thoughts on Setup
A few suggestions that I have for a good setup are (in order of importance):
- To have your eyes directly over the ball
- To have the grip more in the fingers rather than in the palms
- To have a putter that is fit for you (putter length, lie, and loft are important)
What I've found since I've started to block a few putts is that my eyes were too far over the ball. I noticed I was feeling like I was just going to block everything to the right of the hole when I was setting up to the ball. I suggest using an eye alignment aid to put your eyes more directly over the ball if you can. I use this one: Eyeline putting mirror. It has gotten me back on track.
I also have had problems when my grip has been out of balance. I frequently have my left hand a little bit weaker than my right hand grip. This seems to make pushes and pulls easier as well as to cause some issues with distance control since I don't get the free-est stroke.
I tried putting the grip more in my palms like so many instructors recommend, but I have found that I have better touch with the grip more in the fingers (with my left thumb on top of my right thumb). See Dave Stockton's grip below:
Finally I would say that having a solid putter that is the proper length, lie, and loft is my 3rd most important setup suggestion. When you have a putter that is too long for you (which is all too common since the standard length of putters is 34" and 35") your elbows bend a lot and it makes it easy to start using a lot of wrist hinge in the stroke (This has become less desirable since green speeds today are uniformly much faster than they were in say Arnold Palmer's era). Obviously if the longer putter feels more comfortable, then by all means stick with it. However, it seems that I've been a bit more consistent and comfortable with a shorter putter on the faster greens we have today.
For a reference, I'm 5'8" and I use a 33" putter. Of course, the length you feel most comfortable with depends on your arm length too.
Some Tips and Tricks
A great tip for speed control on severely downhill/ fast putts is to visualize a hole short of the actual hole and putt to that image of the hole so that the ball doesn't race by. Use the same knowledge for severely uphill/ slow putts but this time visualizing a hole past the actual hole to swing to.
A great piece of strategy for attacking with your approach shots is to leave yourself with an uphill putt since they are in my opinion the easiest to make or get close. Downhill putts can tend to get away from you whereas uphill putts are generally more straightforward in that you know the ball won't keep trickling. You can think about the best places to miss your approaches so that you have a chip uphill
In Summation: my keys
- Visualize putts going into the hole at the speed that you want
- Develop positive emotion for putts that you make (ie: give a fist pump, or a "yes!") and no emotion when you don't hole the putt
- Accept all outcomes and focus on improving your mental game process not your stroke
- Have a comfortable setup and reliable putter
- Have Fun!
