Do You Have Putting Alzheimers? “Stamford Golf Instruction”
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Let’s face it 90% of you are not going to spend a tremendous amount of time practicing lag putts. That is a reality! That said, many Cote Golf Instruction students are using this “Eyes Up” drill to improve their long putting results in a shorter time frame. The results have been awesome!
Goals - First, on long putts we must be realistic. If you’re a terrible long putter please expand the suggested circle radius as big as you need to succeed. I’ve seen people have an 8ft circle from 10ft…….that is not a typo. To start, I like a student’s to start rolling balls from 10ft away inside a 5ft circle. Putting is all about success! Success breeds confidence and a confident putter MAKES PUTTS, so let’s swallow our pride and accept the large circle then we’ll shrink it once you can consistently achieve the goal. Please read the highlighted sentence again because you’ll never hear a more sincere statement!
Simple Philosophy – Long putting is the ability to roll the ball a said distance taking into consideration break and elevation changes. To do this you must tap into your sense of feel using your athletic ability and hand eye coordination. We will do this using your Eyes!! Now, for this article we will be using a flat surface only….remember success breeds confidence. Cote Golf Instruction’s philosophy on putting will sound overly simple, but I truly believe we complicate all facets of golf instruction. There are simply two parts to putting: 1) Long putts, you must roll the ball within 4ft of the cup consistently to give yourself a realistic chance for a 2 putt. 2) Once you are able to lag the ball consistently we have to make the four footers. We will cover inside 4ft another time! I know it sounds to basic, but this is “the” starting point or put another way the building blocks and once mastered we can introduce other variables like elevation changes, break and grain. Realistic goals + Efficient Practice = Success and Confidence!
The Mechanics – Follow the below template to begin. This is a good starting point in which to make future adjustments if necessary.
-[if” alt=”” border=”0” />supportLists]—>1) Play ball 2” left of center for a righty and 2” right of center for a lefty.
-[if” alt=”” border=”0” />supportLists]—>2) Eyes directly over ball. Check by dropping a ball from your eyes. The ball should land on or within 1” of the ball on the ground.
-[if” alt=”” border=”0” />supportLists]—>3) Grip club normally i.e. right hand low or right hand high, but make sure the hand that is on top feel like it’s more in the palm “not the fingers”. Oh, and feel free to experiment with cross-handed, the claw and conventional methods…change is good.
-[if” alt=”” border=”0” />supportLists]—>4) The stroke should feel like the shoulders move the putter. The hands are somewhat firm and on a scale of 1 being soft and 10 being squeezing the heck out of it, you should start at a 5. By increasing the pressure you are commanding the wrists not to break down. Once the hands have learned what they are supposed to act like you will naturally soften the pressure.
Part 1 of The Drill) This drill is called “EYES UP” drill. Lagging the ball close from outside 10 ft (which is the distance where the ability to make putts drops drastically, requires two things to happen: 1) You must swing the putter at the appropriate speed 2) You must hit the ball in the same spot (preferably on the center) every time. Note: If you hit it consistently on the toe or heel the ball will consistently travel the same distance, so don’t worry too much about a perfect center strike for now.
Read Below at Least Three Times!!
Eyes Up Explained? In the process of putting most people will look a the ground, then the hole (calculating speed and line), look back at the ground taking a practice stroke hoping to remember how hard to hit it, then back at the hole confirming the speed in which they swung the club, then back at the ball playing the stroke. What I’ve found is in the time it takes you to look from the hole back to the ball, then stroking the putt it takes about 5 seconds. During this time people simply develop Putting Alzheimers / they forget how far the hole is! Keep your eyes on the hole while putting and you’ll never forget!
Try Tossing a Ball! Putting is simply putting like tossing a ball underhand, but with putting attached to your hand. Using your eyes you will control the speed of the hand and arm and you will control the distance the ball rolls. Take a ball and pretend you are tossing it across the room onto a chair or couch, but just before you toss it close your eyes for 10 seconds and while your eyes are closed toss it. Now try it with your eyes open and on the landing zone. If you’re honest with yourself you’ll find you’re not nearly as confident (there is that word again) as if your eyes were open and certainly won’t be nearly as accurate as constantly looking at the landing zone. Your eyes are the only tool you have to calculate distance, so by looking at the hole your eyes are streaming information constantly with no chance of forgetting. Makes sense doesn’t it? Oh, and I plead with you not to avoid this idea because you feel it’s unconventional because you wouldn’t believe what length golf professionals will do to become better putters. Why do you think they are using those crazy grips and putters? Also, next time you watch a tour event observe how many pro’s are looking up while taking practice strokes. There doing the same thing as the “Eyes Up” drill but they practice so much they don’t forget the distance. Think about it! When you shoot a basketball, throw a baseball or shoot darts you always look at the target.
Back to the drill!
Part 2 - After each practice stroke you should be judging whether or not your stroke was too soft or too hard. You probably won’t be guess right on the first few tries, but after a couple balls you will adjust. DON’T HIT THE BALL UNTIL YOU FEEL YOU HAVE THE PERFECT PRACTICE SPEED!! Now with a ball, lock your eyes on the hole make practice strokes feeling the putter weight and speed. Once your sure you’ve got the right speed make three strokes in a row at that speed then hit the ball repeating that speed….......with eyes on the hole. Reread that last sentence and don’t s learn to master it!
Part 3 – Keep your routine the same each and every time. This means, using the same number of practice strokes, in the same amount of time with every ball. Change the routine and you’ll change your results.
I hope you enjoyed the article and it benefits you in the future.
Jon Cote
Cote Golf Instruction llc
Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa
243 Tresser blvd
Stamford, Ct 06901
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