Goal: Figure out if you are spacial or linear
Main Focus: Putting
Maintenance: Full swing, impact, tempo
Eye line Putting Aid
Fundamental Putting Grip
Linear Putters with Line on Ball
Towel Drill Video
Putting Practice
Set up:
- Stance – Most people get slightly closer than shoulder width apart. This is not that important. Main goal is to get comfortable in the best position to see your line when standing over the ball. I would recommend being square to the target like full shot set up or slightly open. I’ve never seen a closed set up lead to successful putting.
- Ball Position – fundamentally speaking, I like it in the middle of the stance because that is the
- Eye line – this is very important! One of my favorite training aids is the eyeline that I use and most tour pros use when practicing. It gives you a great check point to make sure your eyes are in the correct position in order to see down your line.
- Eyes over the ball, in line with your target line. If you error, error with eyes inside the ball, not to the outside!
How to grip a putter – gripping a putter is different from how we grip any other club in our bag. With the full swing, we want our hands in that position described in week 1 so we can get speed, leverage and rotation since it is a bigger swing. With putting, we want to stabilize the club face so that it is square at impact. The putting stroke is small, do NOT try to arc it. Just follow these drills to ensure proper path. The putter is built in a way so it will arc naturally, those that try and arc it, end up using too much rotation and losing control of the face at impact.
Keys for the proper grip:
- Grip lays in the palms of the hands
- Thumbs go down the shaft
- “Reverse overlap” is most common to add more stability and less rotation in the stroke.
Note: If you are a great putter, do NOT mess with the grip. Putting is very personal and does not have to be fundamentally correct. If you struggle with putting and see room for improvement, then experiment with this fundamental grip. Remember how important grip pressure is, grip it lightly so you gain better feel on long distance and trust your stroke! If you are not, try getting back to the basics, take the hands out of it. Watch all the great putters, they are swing their arms or rocking their shoulders. They do not “flick” it with their hands!
Spacial putter definition (dumbed down) – do not use a line on your ball to line up your putts for direction. You like to use your feel more for direction, you see curves and get creative in your pre shot routine to prepare for the putt.
Linear putter – Use a line on your ball for lining up and direction. You like to see putts as straight putts and you pick out a spot to the side of the hole and hit it like a straight but.
Are you spacial or linear test- most people are told they need to use a line on the ball because it lines it up for your. This all makes sense, but it depends on the player. There are great putters that are spacial putters such as Ben Crenshaw. Ben is not comfortable using a line on his ball because it causes doubt in his mind and leads to a poor stroke. Imagine, if he had a coach that made him try and be linear? We probably would never of heard of Ben Crenshaw!
Note: If you have prescription glasses or contacts in your eyes, the line may not look correct when standing over it because your eyes do not work properly. For example, I never felt comfortable using a line until I got lasik done. Now that my eyes are equally strong, the line looks correct and I now use the line for shorter distance putts.
Some players are sort of a hybrid. From short distances you may like the line and over 30 feet you may like to feel it and focus more on speed. Try this test to gauge when and if you like using a line for putting
Hit 5 putts with each a line and without a line from the following distances and breaks:
- Hit each distance from straight, left to right break, left to right break. This will ensure you are comfortable using the line on breaking putts as well as a straight putt.
- 5 feet
- 20 feet
- 50 feet
Drills:
10 putts in a row 3 feet, straight
10 putts in a row, left to right
10 putts in a row, right to left
Towel drill for speed, 5 in a row on the bath towel
15 ft
30 ft
45 ft
Full Swing Practice
- going through set up routine with 7 iron
- 10 drivers simulating fairway – score out of 10
Short Game Practice
- 15 shots with impact ball from 25 yards
- 5 shots from 5 different distances – vary the lies, vary hitting pitch shots and chip shots
Door Frame Impact Rehearsal Drill
At Home Practice
What I learned today worksheet – be specific when writing out how your spacial verse linear test was.
Full Swing
Orange whip for tempo – see instructions. 3 sets of 10 swings
Heavy club, 3 sec sequences for swing mechanics
3 sets 10 reps with 5 super sets – See Video and more detailed instructions
Putting Practice
3 in a row, 10 foot putt with alignment sticks
50 reps on putting arc
Short Game/ Impact Drills
5 sets of 5 reps door frame rehearsal drill – get in a good set up position. Put the club face against the door frame. Simulate impact, pressing the club head into the door frame. Remember to keep the shoulders square and hips slightly open.
20 shots with impact ball and nerf balls
Reading: Putting out of your mind by Bob Rotella – best book I ever read to improve my mindset for putting!