Todd Sones and His Radical Putting Technique (Video)

I stated it is radical, however I'm going to take it even farther and educate you what I do. GCA educate Todd Somes wishes you to ignore your putter's swing direction!

Somes says not to worry approximately your swing direction, just consider in which you need the ball to head. But I'm going to take it a step in addition...

Your putter's swing route does not depend!

I mean it. Seriously. Your putter's swing direction would not be counted in any respect. Here's why:

When your putter is one foot behind the ball, does it contact the ball at all? No. So it doesn't affect your ball there. Nor does it affect the ball from two feet back or six inches back. Which begs the question: Exactly when does the putterhead affect where the ball goes?

ANSWER: From just a fraction of an inch before contact until the ball is no longer touching the ball. That is no more than TWO INCHES, give or take a quarter inch.

Now recollect the character of a putter's stroke. No depend whether your putter travels forward and again in a immediately line, or in a mild arc around your frame, there may be a brief phase of that stroke wherein the putterhead is visiting in a directly line. That phase is probably as long as 4 to six inches, relying to your stroke, and the middle of that phase is while the putter shaft is vertical.

Which means that, no matter what shape your putter stroke takes, the putterhead travels straight toward the hole in the middle of your stroke, and it does so for long enough to hit the ball on your chosen aim line. All you have to do is get the ball position correct and this will happen automatically, no matter how you swing the putter.

So the actual query is... Wherein should you position the ball?

ANSWER: Hold your putter in your normal putting grip and stance, and let your arms and hands hang down so the shaft is vertical. When you do, the shaft is pointing to your ball position. When you place the ball there and take your stance, your hands will be over the ball and the shaft will lean ever so slightly forward.

I've endorsed this ball position several instances on this weblog. It's the best manner to get a consistent ball position, which means you may get a more consistent strike. Your stance may be rectangular, open or closed; it simply would not be counted. As lengthy as the ball is inside the middle of that little straight section of your placing stroke, the ball will go down your aimline without any manipulation through you. You can attention to your velocity.

It sounds too excellent to be authentic, I know. But I actually have a pal who was a PGA Tour caddie and, whenever he sees me putt, he remarks about how solid my six- and seven-foot putts are, and about how little time I take to putt them. That's due to the fact I KNOW that, as long as I can see my line, my ball will normally cross where I need it to go. Nobody makes the whole thing, but I make sufficient to experience confident once I stand over the ball. (And maximum of my misses are misreads. Nobody's best!)

Yes, it sounds too good to be true, but it IS true. This isn't rocket science, folks. Don't make your putting harder than it has to be. Ball position is the most important key to better putting. It really is that simple.

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