Should You Try A Long Putter?
Putting has got to be one of the most frustrating aspects of golf at times. One day you’re curling in 30 foot putts and the next you can’t make a 4 footer to save your life. If you watch much golf on TV you’ll have noticed that more and more pros seem to be giving the long putter a shot.
Sometimes it seems to breathe new life into their games. Adam Scott is a great example. Scott has one of the nicest looking swings on tour (fairly similar to Tiger’s before all the swing changes) but his performance on the greens just wasn’t there. He switches to a chest putter and has his best year on tour.
So, is it time for you to try either a chest putter or belly putter?
You may be suprised to find out what Golf Tips Magazine has to say on the topic:
There are a few reasons why these longer putters work more efficiently than short putters, but the main reason so many players make the switch has little to do with mechanics of a long putter versus that of a regular putter. The reality is that most (not all) of the players on Tour who go to this style of putter do so because they have inherited some form of the yips. A perfect example of this is Bernhard Langer. It’s well documented that Langer’s affliction with this ailment occurred at a young age, and he wouldn’t have had the career he has had without the use of the chest putter.
HOW DO THE YIPS WORK?
This problem afflicts many golfers, and some don’t even know they have it. A putting yip is an uncontrollable, unconscious movement with one hand or both hands, usually occurring just before impact. It has to deal with neuro pathways in the mind, and the resulting effect is a putting stroke that produces uncontrollable results. In other words, having the yips is a lot like putting with a nervous mind. When you’re nervous, you shake and tremble, making it difficult to make a smooth, accelerating stroke through the ball. With the yips, virtually the same thing happens, although sometimes it’s extremely subtle, and the mind isn’t aware of the body making small, nervous-like movements through the stroke. And when it comes to putting, even subtle variations in your putting stroke can make the difference between making and missing any given putt.
When a player goes to an alternative grip such as the claw or pencil grip or to a belly or chest putter, the pathway from the brain to the yip hand is re-created. It’s literally a rewiring of the brain, and in almost every case, the yip goes away—sometimes forever and sometimes just for a few months. Regardless, the player is able to perform better on the greens, thus making more putts and shooting lower scores.
You can read the full article here: http://www.golftipsmag.com/instruction/putting/lessons/go-long.html
What if you don’t have the yips?
Well, it’s also true that using a long putter makes it easier for some to simulate the pendulum-type stroke that most people aim for so if you’re really struggling with your standard length putter what do you have to lose? Keep in mind that common “complaints” with chest and belly putters are difficulty judging speed on shorter putts and difficulty aiming along your intended line. Nothing’s simple in golf is it?
Maybe in a future article we’ll look at some tips for long putters – grip, stance, best length, etc.
If you’ve experimented or are having good results with a long putter feel free to leave a comment and tell us about it.
Read MoreHow To Hit A Driver – Just The Facts
In case you haven’t already read Golf Driving Tips For The Average Golfer you may want to check it out. It talks about the importance of tempo when practicing and also when swinging a driver.
There are of course many other golf swing tips on how to hit a driver. This article will provide some unique insight into today’s drivers and how to get the most out of yours.
You need to make sure your driver fits your swing and that you are getting optimum results. This can only be done by using a launch monitor. There are basically three factors that determine how far a golf ball will travel; the launch angle, spin rate and swing speed. These factors are all inter-related and the science is definitely beyond the scope of this article.
As a general rule though the faster your swing speed the lower the optimum launch angle and spin rate. However, it can be safely stated that the average golfer with a swing speed between 80 and 90 mph imparts way too much spin and does not have enough launch angle. The flight of the ball may seem ok but in reality the ball is actually ballooning in the air (how hard do you find it to hit into the wind) and landing very softly with little roll.
A little more about launch angle. You may have heard that you should hit your driver on the upswing and not with a downward blow as is best for irons. This is known as the angle of attack (AoA) and an AoA of 0 to 2 degrees is ideal for the driver. The AoA plus the loft of your driver should be equal to your optimum launch angle.
For the average golfer mentioned above the optimum launch angle is between 14 and 17 degrees. Are you doing the math? Assuming a 2 degree AoA the average golfer should be using a 12 to 15 degree driver! Now I have read that the lofts on off the rack drivers are actually 1 or 2 degrees more than what the clubs say but I don’t know if that is true. Doesn’t this make sense though? How many people do you know that actually hit their 3 wood further than their driver?
As far as spin rate is concerned there are a few things that can affect it. Not hitting the ball with at least a level AoA is a big one. Make sure you are teeing the ball near the front of your stance and try to keep your head behind the ball through impact to help with this.
This next point may surprise many of you. The sweet spot in today’s drivers is a little above the equator. This is essentially where the club has the most spring but did you know that most pros intentionally make contact even higher-up on the clubface than the equator? There are some technical reasons relating to club design and center of gravity but the main reason is it reduces the spin on the ball. The best way for you to experiment with this is to use impact tape. Remember less spin will produce more roll so don’t focus just on your carry distance but on total distance. The last factor that can influence spin rate is ball selection so try using “low-spin” balls.
This article may have been a little too technical for some but hopefully it has provided some clarity on today’s driver technology and what you can do to learn how to hit a driver as far as possible.
Read MoreThree Tips To Improve Your Golf Swing
There are probably as many ideas on how to improve your golf swing as there are golf teachers. The trouble with writing an article like this is that it cannot be tailored to a particular person so after much thought about the best way to approach the topic you will find three totally different ideas below that should be useful for just about any golfer.
The first piece of advice is to have your swing video-taped and analyzed by a qualified teaching professional. This can be a real eye-opener to actually see your swing. The instructor will identify what parts of your swing or set-up need work and you will instantly be able to see what he or she is talking about. There can be no denial when you have the proof in front of you! This can then set the foundation for future instruction and hopefully put you on the right path for improving your golf swing.
Read MoreGreat Golf Tips For Beginners
Golf is one of those sports that people take up at various times in their life. If your parents golf they might get you swinging a club before you even go to school, while others might not pick up a club until they retire. Men, women and children all tend to have certain strengths and weaknesses when it comes to golf but this article will try to remain fairly generic and provide some useful golf tips for beginners.
The first piece of advice is to keep things simple. I still remember over 30 years ago heading to the course with just a 3, 5, 7, and 9 iron, a putter and a wood. That’s all you need. If you are just starting out you don’t need 14 clubs that set you back a thousand dollars. After all, you may find golf just isn’t for you.
Read MoreSimple Tips To Get Your Golf Swing On Plane
If you are reading this article you are probably a fairly good golfer already or you are more of a “mechanic” rather than a feel player and you want to know everything there is about the golf swing in the hopes of building a solid swing. Getting right down to business there are basically two issues to look at. First, what is the proper or best golf swing plane? Second, how do you get your golf swing on plane?
Quickly for those who may be a little uncertain as to what is meant by a plane, picture a sheet of paper. When that paper is lying flat on a table it is essentially a horizontal plane. If you pick up the paper at one end and let it hang straight up and down that is a vertical plane. The plane we are talking about when it comes to the golf swing is the path traced by the golf shaft from the address position to the top of the backswing and all the way through to the finish. If this description needs more clarification let’s say for the sake of argument that the plane at address is about 45 degrees (halfway between horizontal and vertical).
Read MoreThe Keys To Keeping Your Golf Downswing In Sync
If you have not read Simplify Your Golf Backswing For More Consistency it may be helpful to do so as the end of the backswing is, well…the start of the downswing. It was mentioned in that article you do not hit the ball on your backswing. Well, that is definitely not the case with your downswing and that simple fact alone can cause problems. We would all like to be able to reproduce our practice swing when we step up to the ball but that doesn’t usually happen! So, what golf downswing tip or tips can help you arrive at the ball ready to make solid contact?
A good downswing is made possible by a good backswing. The basic premise of a good backswing is not to over-swing. This could be due to either trying to rotate more than your body is capable of or by continuing to swing your arms backwards after your shoulders and chest have stopped turning.
Read MoreSimplify Your Golf Backswing For More Consistency
The backswing receives a huge amount of attention as far as golf swing tips and instruction is concerned. In one sense this makes sense as it is the beginning of the swing however if you stop to think about it you don’t hit the ball on your backswing so is all the fuss justified? This article will consider this question and provide a few golf backswing tips.
In general golfers pay too much attention to their backswing and not enough on the ultimate objective which is to get back to the ball in a good impact position. Of course to arrive at the proper impact position requires a downswing that occurs in the proper sequence. So really the purpose of the backswing is simply to give yourself the best chance of making a good downswing.
Read MoreOne Of The Best Putting Drills For Fewer 3-Putts
If you are looking for a great way to lower your score then putting drills are a great place to start. Professional golfers average 27 to 29 putts per round of golf while a bogey golfer (18 handicap) is usually around 35 putts per round. Even that comparison is not a true reflection on just how good the pros putt because the bogey golfer by definition misses a lot of greens in regulation and will have many more short pitch and chip shots which in theory should leave shorter putts. There may be more putting drills or putting instruction available than there is for any other facet of the game.
Anyway, the message is clear, improve your putting and lower your score. The question then becomes what is the best way to improve your putting. There are a few different grips you can experiment with and these days there are many different length putters that are designed to be either rested against your stomach or anchored to your chest as you putt. Note that if you do decide to go for a long putter you will also gain a little added benefit when it comes to taking your two club lengths from various hazards!
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