Teaching with the FLAT STICK
You would think that an activity seemingly as simple as putting would have widespread agreement
as to how it’s best done…but, as with many things in golf, that’s not the case. All sorts of conflicting instruction is offered, which can leave students (and, frankly teachers!) confused and frustrated.
Let’s start with the very basic. All putts have only two components to them: distance and direction.
It would be fair to say that all instruction should focus on these aspects.
When it comes to instruction on distance and direction, it is important to distinguish between principles and preferences. Principles directly affect the movement of the club, while preferences are how individuals execute the principles. It is our position that too much instruction focuses on preferences and not on principles.
DISTANCE
The USGTF Technical Committee agrees that distance is the most important component of a putt. Many people think the distance you hit a putt is dependent upon the line you select, but in fact it’s just the opposite. Have you ever heard Tiger Woods say, after a poor putting performance, he couldn’t get his lines right because his distance control was off?
The first order of business is to determine how hard a putt needs to be hit, and from there we pick the line. Is it a delicate downhill putt that must be struck gingerly, thereby necessitating allowing for more break? Or, it is an uphill putt that must be struck boldly, meaning we need to play less break?
Dave Pelz conducted research many years ago that suggests hitting the putt with the force to go 17 inches (43 cm) by the hole gives a golfer the best chance to make the putt. He came up with this number after rolling thousands of balls on putting greens, from different distances and at different speeds. The theory is that you need to hit it firm enough so the imperfections in the green will not knock the ball offline, but at the same time hitting it soft enough to still fall into the hole.
It is important to know that the 17 inches Pelz talks about is an average. If we were to putt on greens that were pool-table smooth, the optimal distance to hit a putt would be one that dies at the hole. Geoff Mangum, among modern researchers, (Golf Teaching Pro, Winter 2011), suggests a ball speed of 2 r.p.m., about 8 inches (20 cm) past the hole, is more appropriate. Hubert Green’s old quote (“Ninety- five percent of all putts left short never go in”) notwithstanding, a starting point is that all agree the ball must at least reach the hole in order to go in.
And, whether 8 or 17 inches past the hole is the best speed, both feature the ball having at least a little bit of speed as it gets to the hole. This means students should be trained to at least get the ball to roll by the hole if missed, at least on shorter putts, where this is easier to do than with longer putts. A way to do this is to have the student hit several putts from various distances under 20 feet, and set a goal to either make the putt or to see it finish within 30 inches or so past the hole. Between 20 and 40 feet, getting the putt within 30 inches period is a good goal. From 40-60 feet, inside of 4 feet is acceptable. The bottom line is making our students aware of their distance control and making it a specific focus in putting instruction.
DIRECTION
Pelz also conducted research that shows virtually all golfers, even tour pros, vastly under-read putts. This research has been confirmed
in studies done at our certification classes. How can we get our students to better see the actual line?
One way is to putt on a dew- covered green. Students are often very surprised at the actual line they took vs. the one they thought they were taking. Another way is to have students hit putts “croquet” style, where they face the starting direction and hit putts this way. Finally, we can take an elevated string line and determine the starting point of breaking putts in this manner by having students putt balls under the string line.
You might have heard some golfers, and even pros, say that it’s easier to make a breaking putt than a straight putt. From a physics point of view, this is false. With straight putts, we have a much greater variance of possible force with which we can hit the putt that will enable the putt to be holed. With breaking putts, the more the break, the more precise the distance control must
be. Look at the extreme example
of a putt that breaks a full 90°.
The distance force variation can only be 4 1/4 inches, while with a straight putt, that variance can be several feet. However, from a feel or visualization point of view, it might be the case that a breaking putt is easier to hole than a straight one for some golfers, so this aspect should not be discounted.
TECHNIQUE
John Jacobs’ famous quote is especially fitting for putting: “The sole purpose of a golf swing is to produce a correct, repetitive impact, and the method employed is of no significance as long as it’s repetitive.” Yet, we hear teachers who say you “must” do this and you “must” do that. The only thing that “must” be done is to get the ball rolling at the proper speed on the proper line.
To get the proper line, aiming the putterface square to the intended starting direction is a good idea. This would be classified as a “principle” as it directly affects what the clubhead is doing.
The Technical Committee agreed that there is only one other setup principle – square shoulders. Having square shoulders makes it easier for the student to move the clubhead back and forth on the correct path.
Which brings us to the next point – what IS the correct path? Pelz says it’s straight back and straight through. Other teachers like Stan Utley believe it’s inside-square- inside. Still others, like researcher Marius Filmalter, say it’s inside- square-straight.
The answer lies in how the player moves his shoulders. If they tend to move up and down in a vertical plane, straight-back and straight-through fits this player best. If the shoulders rotate more around the spine, then inside on the backswing is best. Whether
the putter moves to the inside or down the line after impact is more a function of how the player moves his shoulders after impact.
Ball position, while a preference, should be just past where the clubhead bottoms out during the stroke. This helps create overspin at impact.
Other factors considered fundamentals are really preferences, such as the grip, placing the eyes over the ball or target line, square foot alignment, and weight forward. Preferences are important because they allow individuals to find what works best for them. However, because too many teachers confuse preferences for principles, they tend to stress identical preferences for all of their students, which is a mistake.
Most teachers prefer the arm- and-shoulder stoke as opposed to the wristy method, but both
have their positives and negatives. Contrary to popular opinion, a wristy stroke is not necessarily fundamentally incorrect. Since it is more of a feel-based method, a player who is “on” that day tends to be really on, but, conversely, off-days tend to be really bad. It is also more prone to break down under pressure.
The more commonly-taught arms-and-shoulders method is considered more fundamentally correct because it’s controlled mainly by the bigger muscles. Players tend not to get too hot or cold with this method, and instead can expect more consistent performance.
SUMMARY
Teaching the simplest of all golf activities, putting, has turned into a complicated venture. Focusing
on the core aspects of putting – distance and direction – will make any golf teacher more likely to find success with their students.
