Joe,
I saw John Daly talk about using one hand to putt with during practice. According to John, this gives you a better feel for rolling the ball to the hole. I tried this, and found my distance control to be much better. My problem is I loose this "feel" when I put my left hand back on the club. I've been putting one handed most of the season with some success. The problem is sometimes the club twists slightly causing me to be off line. Is there a way to keep my left hand from taking over my putting stroke?
Hoobler
Hi Hoobler,
There are lots of theories about putting, and just because something works for one person, does not mean it will work for everyone. Many people try to keep their back hand out of the stroke, not the front hand, and that is why the “claw” grip has gained attention due to the success of Chris DiMarco and Mark Calcavecchia. Assuming you are right handed, you are trying to keep the opposite hand off the stroke, so Chris and Mark might beat you up for saying that. However, if you try to put equal pressure from both hands on your putting grip, it could be that one hand or the other is your naturally dominant hand, so it tries to take control over the other hand thus interfering with your stroke. If your dominant hand happens to be your back hand, then just use your other hand with very light pressure, which might steady your twisting without losing your feel. If this does not work, try a belly putter, which forces your hands to work together, thus eliminating the battle of which hand wants to take over.
Joe
Monday, December 12, 2005
Joe,
My game has steadily improved all year, but at the end of the year my scores got worse. Even tho my iron shots are crisp and on line, they seem to end up further from the hole than summertime. Also I have a lot more 3-putts even tho my putting stroke feels just as good as summertime. Is there something about fall that makes it harder to score?
Frankie
Hi Frankie,
Yes it is harder to score in the fall, mostly due to the conditions of the greens. Many courses do not change the pin positions as often as summer, so the foot traffic around the hole causes two problems that you do not see in the summer. First, the green becomes firmer near the hole and softer away from the hole, so shots that land near the hole will skid instead of biting, and shots that land short of the hole will stick instead of running up to the hole. As a result, all your approach putts are going to be longer, and that is one reason for more 3 putts. The other reason is the “slick donut” around the hole packed down by everyone’s stances for short putts. This donut area is a 2 to 3 foot circle away from the hole because nobody steps much closer to the hole to pick up their ball, so the center of this donut is raised like an imperceptibly shallow volcano, causing any putt which is not perfectly on line to veer away from the hole, so to sink any putt is like walking a tightrope, there is no room for error. Lag putts that normally stop close to the hole are likely to keep going right on thru this slick area resulting in fewer tap-ins. Just enjoy the game and don’t be too disappointed if you shoot a few strokes over your average.
Joe
My game has steadily improved all year, but at the end of the year my scores got worse. Even tho my iron shots are crisp and on line, they seem to end up further from the hole than summertime. Also I have a lot more 3-putts even tho my putting stroke feels just as good as summertime. Is there something about fall that makes it harder to score?
Frankie
Hi Frankie,
Yes it is harder to score in the fall, mostly due to the conditions of the greens. Many courses do not change the pin positions as often as summer, so the foot traffic around the hole causes two problems that you do not see in the summer. First, the green becomes firmer near the hole and softer away from the hole, so shots that land near the hole will skid instead of biting, and shots that land short of the hole will stick instead of running up to the hole. As a result, all your approach putts are going to be longer, and that is one reason for more 3 putts. The other reason is the “slick donut” around the hole packed down by everyone’s stances for short putts. This donut area is a 2 to 3 foot circle away from the hole because nobody steps much closer to the hole to pick up their ball, so the center of this donut is raised like an imperceptibly shallow volcano, causing any putt which is not perfectly on line to veer away from the hole, so to sink any putt is like walking a tightrope, there is no room for error. Lag putts that normally stop close to the hole are likely to keep going right on thru this slick area resulting in fewer tap-ins. Just enjoy the game and don’t be too disappointed if you shoot a few strokes over your average.
Joe
