Putting Is More Than Half Your Score!
I have been playing golf ever since I first caddied for my dad when I was eleven
. That was in 1947. Sixty-two years of pursuing PAR have taught me a few things more about putting in addition to what I learned from my dad or his golfing buddies. (You should know that my dad was an excellent golfer, as were his golfing buddies, the Turnesa brothers ( Seven brothers from my dad's home town of Elmsford, NY. Three touring pros, three club pros and "Willy the Wedge", amateur who won both the US and British Amateur Championships), Tony Manero (1936 US OPEN Champion) and Jimmy Demaret (3 times Masters Champion).)
All these guys stressed the short game, and putting in particular. Two strokes a hole adds up to 50% of par on most regulation courses and as much as 67% on every par three. If you want to score well consistently, you must have your putting under control. So, let us examine what influences the putting game and how to use that information to lower our scores.
GRAVITY-The law of gravity is always in effect and it will always pull the ball toward the local low point, i.e., down hill. It is up to you to determine where that is. This may seem to be obvious, but is it? Haven't we all been fooled and seen our putts appear to break up hill? We were victims of an optical illusion, most likely, whenever that has happened to us. The cause is an erroneous vertical or horizontal reference. The cure is learning how to use a plumb bob or reasonable facsimile.
We have all seen golfers dangling their putters like a pendulum and sighting past the shaft down an imaginary line toward the hole. This is a common technique used to establish a vertical reference and thereby determine the direction of the slope of the green along that line and around the hole. The effects of nature's elements on the objects we use as references can exaggerate the optical illusions that fool us. Prevailing winds on seaside courses cause trees to lean into the wind as they grow. When the wind shifts, so does the lean, and we perceive a different sense of where vertical is. In steep and hilly terrain the sun and wind both influence how vegetation grows and can create havoc with our senses. It pays to learn to plumb.
TYPES OF GRASS-There are countless varieties of specially formulated hybrid grasses that are used for golf course greens. Climate and drought resistance are primary factors in selecting the type to use in any specific application. Bent grass and Bermuda along with St. Augustine are the most popular choices, with fewer courses opting to use Paspalums, Fescue or Zoysia. What is important to the golfer when putting is how much friction exists between the grass surface and the rolling ball(the speed of the green), and the influence of the grain of the green (direction of lean) on the balls path.
Green speed is dependent on leaf type/size, depth of cut, method of germination and relative moisture content, among other factors. The influence of the grain is dependent upon leaf type/size and the presence or absence of "buds".
It is safe to assume that all the greens on a course use the same type of grass and receive the same daily care and maintenance. Therefore, they should all exhibit the same speed, except for greens that receive shadowing from surrounding trees or show signs of recent watering. Excess moisture will make the green measurably slower.
Like all green growing things, grass needs sunlight to survive through the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process in which plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce simple carbohydrates, which are compounds plants need to live, grow and reproduce. Consequently, each blade or leaf seeks the sun. In the morning hours each blade turns eastward toward the sun, then tracks it across the sky to the West. Therefore, if you stand with the sun in your face, you are looking down-grain. Putts hit in this direction will be faster than those in any other direction. Balls rolling on the green in any direction will be pushed down-grain. You must make allowance for this when deciding on the path your ball will take as it rolls to the cup.
Most greens are cut every day, greens on Championship Courses may be cut as often as three or four times everyday. This tells us that the green is growing and reproducing every day. Many grasses form "buds" at their blade tips as a part of the growing cycle. These buds may be removed by the morning cutting, but they will return as the day passes. Their presence increases the influence the grain imposes on the path of the putt. Take notice of their presence and compensate when you set your target path.
The real secret to putting is confidence. Confidence in your read of the green and confidence in your putting stroke. Confidence comes through practice.
Putting is a combination of understanding all the factors involved and confident execution of the putting stroke.
Putters come in all sizes and shapes, from simple blades to exotic mallet heads, and with shafts that are intended to be anchored from the chin, chest, belly or conventionally held in the hands. In every case, it is taught that keeping the putter face square with the intended path and executing a pendulum type swing along the intended path, will produce the best results.
The idea is to get the ball rolling around and axis that is parallel to the surface of the green and perpendicular (square) to the intended path. You want to avoid any sideways spin that would cause the ball to curve due to the imparted "english". Swinging the putter in an arc around your body ( Ala Billy Mayfair) produces this type of deliberately induced spin. Some players think that it helps the ball bite on the lip of the cup, improving its chances of going in on off center approaches. This is a personal preference approach that works for some.
I hope you have learned something you did not know that will improve your putting game. Keep practicing!
by: Philip Fox
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