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**mensforyouthis** · 05-12-2009, 01:21 AM

You know when it comes to this game, I think that way too many people think way too much about way too many things way too often.

To me, putting is simple: I have to move the ball from where it is to where I want it to be in as few attempts as possible. Whether I'm face balanced, toe balanced or mentally unbalanced doesn't matter nor does the issue of whether I swing the putter straight or in an arc and the reason why is this:

I don't think about it.

When I am looking to buy a putter, I pick up one club after another and if I like the way the club looks as I stare down at it, I make a few swings with each, I putt a few balls towards the hole with each and whichever one feels best in my hands and rolls the most balls to the place I want them to go, then that's the putter I buy.

I don't think about balance, swing arcs, lengths, brand names, or what kind of swirls are on the face or how many of them there are or in what direction they swoop. I don't care who made the putter, nor do I care to know how much they're overcharging for it. And most of all, I don't think about any "science" about putting. I simply pick the club that seems to allow me to get the most balls nearest the target in the fewest attempts.

My point here is that I don't think about the minutia of putting. I don't think about the so-called "science" of putting, nor do I worry about how or why a putter is balanced. I simply hit the ball and if the ball goes where I want it to go, then all is right with the world. And if it turns out that when I putt I do a triple loop the loop during my backswing -- I don't care, because it's not important.

What IS important is what I wrote above: to move the ball from where it is to where I want it to be in as few attempts as possible. Whatever my stroke is or whatever the balance point of my putter proves to be is of no concern to me as long as I am doing that.

And if I'm NOT doing that, then I either need to practice more, or I need to go buy a putter that allows me to do that - whatever it may look like and however it may be made.

-JP

Scary as it may seem I'm 100% with JP on this. With putting, you don't analyze.... you FEEL. This cannot be stressed too much. I've read all of the theories about mechanical putting... take the club back "x" inches for "x" feet of roll. BUNK!!!!!!! That can never take into account the varying speed of the greens combined with the grain, slope, etc. Learn to FEEL the putt, from reading the line to stroking the putt.... that is the only sure way I've ever heard of to become an accomplished putter. Look at the ball, look at the hole, feel the line between them, then feel the stroke required to hit that line.

If your stroke is not fundamentally sound, then fix that before you even think about the putter. If you know that you have a fairly solid foundation for your putting stroke, then from there it's all feel, and that means practice. Practice feeling distance from more than 20 feet, and practice stroking the short putts from about 5 or 6 feet in. Improving these 2 areas will result in better overall putting more than anything else you can work on.

Now you may have reached the point where you can actually feel the difference between putters sufficiently that you can choose the one that's right for you. I've putted with just about everything at one time or another, now I use a weird spaceship looking thing that is face balanced, has an odd, half dead feel when striking the ball, yet it putts like a dream for me. It can be built from Golfsmith components for under $60. If you go into a shopping trip with any preconceived notions, then you may well miss the one putter that's best for you. Be willing to experiment... try everything you can get your hands on. Like JP says, don't look at the brand or the price... shop by feel.

One more comment... if the putter in your hands doesn't feel like it's a flesh and blood extension of your hands, then it probably isn't right for you.

05-12-2009, 01:21 AM	#7
mensforyouthis Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 471 Senior Member	You know when it comes to this game, I think that way too many people think way too much about way too many things way too often. To me, putting is simple: I have to move the ball from where it is to where I want it to be in as few attempts as possible. Whether I'm face balanced, toe balanced or mentally unbalanced doesn't matter nor does the issue of whether I swing the putter straight or in an arc and the reason why is this: I don't think about it. When I am looking to buy a putter, I pick up one club after another and if I like the way the club looks as I stare down at it, I make a few swings with each, I putt a few balls towards the hole with each and whichever one feels best in my hands and rolls the most balls to the place I want them to go, then that's the putter I buy. I don't think about balance, swing arcs, lengths, brand names, or what kind of swirls are on the face or how many of them there are or in what direction they swoop. I don't care who made the putter, nor do I care to know how much they're overcharging for it. And most of all, I don't think about any "science" about putting. I simply pick the club that seems to allow me to get the most balls nearest the target in the fewest attempts. My point here is that I don't think about the minutia of putting. I don't think about the so-called "science" of putting, nor do I worry about how or why a putter is balanced. I simply hit the ball and if the ball goes where I want it to go, then all is right with the world. And if it turns out that when I putt I do a triple loop the loop during my backswing -- I don't care, because it's not important. What IS important is what I wrote above: to move the ball from where it is to where I want it to be in as few attempts as possible. Whatever my stroke is or whatever the balance point of my putter proves to be is of no concern to me as long as I am doing that. And if I'm NOT doing that, then I either need to practice more, or I need to go buy a putter that allows me to do that - whatever it may look like and however it may be made. -JP Scary as it may seem I'm 100% with JP on this. With putting, you don't analyze.... you FEEL. This cannot be stressed too much. I've read all of the theories about mechanical putting... take the club back "x" inches for "x" feet of roll. BUNK!!!!!!! That can never take into account the varying speed of the greens combined with the grain, slope, etc. Learn to FEEL the putt, from reading the line to stroking the putt.... that is the only sure way I've ever heard of to become an accomplished putter. Look at the ball, look at the hole, feel the line between them, then feel the stroke required to hit that line. If your stroke is not fundamentally sound, then fix that before you even think about the putter. If you know that you have a fairly solid foundation for your putting stroke, then from there it's all feel, and that means practice. Practice feeling distance from more than 20 feet, and practice stroking the short putts from about 5 or 6 feet in. Improving these 2 areas will result in better overall putting more than anything else you can work on. Now you may have reached the point where you can actually feel the difference between putters sufficiently that you can choose the one that's right for you. I've putted with just about everything at one time or another, now I use a weird spaceship looking thing that is face balanced, has an odd, half dead feel when striking the ball, yet it putts like a dream for me. It can be built from Golfsmith components for under $60. If you go into a shopping trip with any preconceived notions, then you may well miss the one putter that's best for you. Be willing to experiment... try everything you can get your hands on. Like JP says, don't look at the brand or the price... shop by feel. One more comment... if the putter in your hands doesn't feel like it's a flesh and blood extension of your hands, then it probably isn't right for you.
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