tgm and putting
 

i would like to hear what eveyone has to say about applying tgm to putting.
i personally use 3-f-5 for all strokes.swinging with horizontal hinge motion.same is true with putting.

John,

I'm a hitter and club teaching professional.

To get ready for Tournament Golf and Club Golf this season. I have changed my putting to a basic motion (12-5-1). I drive this motion with my right arm so on all putts I fan and extend to follow through. (I now "feel" like my right elbow is more the center of my stroke then my shoulders)

You don't see many of the guys on tour doing this anymore. I think Mickelson might be close but could be wrong here. However a lot of the old guys putted like this.

Why have I made this change????

I did it for continuity in my whole game. I feel like I'm driving my right arm flying wedge to follow through, ALL DAY LONG!!

Hit it, Hit it, Hit it, Pick it up out of the cup...Tee it up, Hit it, Hit it, Hit it, Pick it up out of the cup.

Sorting Through the Circuit Player's Handbook.

B-Ray

John,

I've been trying a lot of different strokes over the past several months and have settled on a pattern that works for me. Through each change, I've managed to keep one thing constant; 3-F-5 The Address Routine. It's a great habit to get into, but it takes discipline and it can be easy to forget. 3-F-5 almost forces you into the zone for the shot at hand. The repetition gets to be a comforting routine and it allows you to check out so many alignments ahead of time.
How often have you caught an alignment error in the address routine and corrected it? If not corrected, it's probably a sure miss.
I'm experimenting with hinge action right now. Trying to determine the roll characteristics of each one, so I don't have much to contribute in that area. Also attempting to define my pattern better.

"Putts are miniature drives".

Bagger

bagger you are right on.i spent 4.5 hours at scotty camerons monday.3-f-5 makes every stroke more precise.you ,me and the rest of the golfing world can make things alot easy by just following the setup routine.
thans for your outlook everyone,keepem coming

I like the basic push stroke with an angled hinge. Right elbow/forearm pickup, extend the right arm on the down stroke. The feel is the right palm and index finger down and out toward the target line. Feeling my hands and less the putter head.
I focus on making contact one dimple in from the aft center of the ball. Keeps my eyes focused on good contact and not results. Currently experimenting with impact address startup delofting the putter. It's a work in progress.

Can you explain this set up a little more as well as 3-f-5?

Putting is one of the best ways to learn the feel for the pressure points in your hands.

Left hand only - PP#2

Right hand only - PP#1 and PP#3

'click', 'click', 'click'....

trace the plane line
 

Forget about the path of the clubhead and just trace the straight plane line with your hands or pp3, like every other stroke.

I have switched to a hitting type of stroke to keep consistancy with the rest of my game. I try to drive pp#1 with my right arm through the ball down the chosen line. Since adopting this I've become more consistant with my line and if I keep the bend in my right wrist I don't flip or yip.:)

The only thing you need to do in putting is to trace a straight plane line and have a semi-open face at impact to allow for SOME rotation of the face.

I get every person i give putting lessons to trace a straight plane line NO MATTER HOW THEY HAVE TO DO IT. Some have been REALLY STRANGE setups and grips LOL. But, once you can consistently trace that straight plane line all you have to focus on is speed and line.

3-F-5 Far and Wide
 

John,

I would like to turn this into it's own thread, but you asked about putting. So let's keep it there for now and drill down.

First, let's talk about preliminary address. That is scoping out the putt. You are looking at basic conditions. As you walk up to the green and looking at your lie, what are some of the things that you key on?
Let's assume you are closest to the hole, but have a challenging 8 footer. What is going through your mind as you watch your opponents and then take your turn?
As you replace the marker with your ball, what is the routine?

Others?

We are talking about preliminary address here. We'll get into address later.

Thanks,

Bagger

nothing is going on in my mind.maybe watch the speed of the other players if they are on my line.i don't start thinking until it is my turn to play.
after i put my ball down all systems go.i read the green from both sides of the hole,then i get behind the ball to start my routine.which by the way is really simple,,,,,3-f-5 and go...that's it,where you expecting more,golf is hard enough so don't sweat the small stuff.just remember KISS,this was payne stewarts favorite saying.he won a few majors keep it simple stupid(kiss)

John,

Can you comment on what going to Scotty's Studio does for you.

How does he go about finding the best putter for you???Static and Dynamnic Fit??

What does he use to size up your stroke??? Cameras?? Lasers??

What comments did he make on your personal stroke???

Does he have any knowledge of TGM???

Good luck this next week, and thanks for your replies.

Sorting Through the Instructor's Textbook.

B-Ray

more on putting
 

John,
How much pressure do you feel in your #3, does it change on the length of putt?
Where does your putting power come from? Do you feel your are a arms putter, hands putter or shoulder putter?

scotty uses cameras from all angles.probably the best video setup i have ever seen.my path on my stroke was good,i was getting to much roll going back and through.he beleives the same as vj the putting arc is the way to go.thanks vj for my putting arc.it is helping me trmendous amounts.
scotty has know understanding of tgm,was trying to explain to him but was not to interested.

John - one of the areas I noticed in watching you at Henrico was how good your speed/distance control is, especially on longer putts.

What types of drills do you use when you come to a new course to get a feel for the speed?

What types of visual images do you use (spot vs line/track)?

Edz per 6-C-1-1, In your putting grip is PP#1 against your Left Hand thumb or the Clubshaft and where on the Clubshaft do you feel PP#2 and PP#3 in your putting motion?

the putting drill i use for speed is,look at the hole and hit a few putts.then i hit a few more and close my eyes at impact and try to guess where the ball finished.this is a great drill to learn feel.i do not spot putt nor think of anyhting other than where i want the ball to go in the hole.by this i think of the hole as a clock.on a putt that breaks rt to lt a fooot lets say.i would see the ball going in at 3 oclock.thats how simple i make it.as far as the stroke is concerned i work on letting my right arm straighten down and out,just like my driver swing.i zero out #3 power accm. so now i have angled hinge action,tracing a straight line.thats it pretty simple for me anyway.

In my putting grip PP#1 is against the side of my left hand thumb, and a bit of the side of the thumb pad. The 'feel' in my case is that the 'heel' of the right hand is PP#1 if using a right hand only stroke for a drill. Usually when I am focused on PP#1, I tend to focus on the entire forearm, with a bent right wrist staying constant.

For PP#2, the 'feel' is the last three fingers of the left hand, the 'pads', not the finger tips, are distictly pulling, on the 'back' of the shaft (3 o'clock, if the top is noon at address). I suppose technically it is more the groove at the upper most finger joint, so it is a bit of the middle section of the finger as well.

PP#3, the same as for any shot, the first section of the index finger.

Keep in mind when I say 'back' of the shaft, it is on plane at 90 degrees to the motion, which is not the same as exactly straight back from the target, (unless you somehow had a pure verticle plane, which anatomically is difficult if not impossible).

John - thanks for the response - I too find that imagining the clock really helps me see the overall line.