The short game

[archie_struthers]

 


Been down this road before but appreciate any new insights.


Anyone experimented  with really heavy putters  and or switching sides (lefty /righty)  to improve performance . Looking for some help,here ! Thanks all

[mike_beene]

When my putting gets jumpy I have a Heavy Putter I go to. I highly recommend it. I would use it all the time if I didn't have to lug it in my bag. You would think the extra weight in the grip area would cost distance control, but it doesn't.

[Mark Bourgeois]

What I've read from noted teachers is to experiment, focusing on developing a stroke that relies on the big muscles. Plenty of excellent golfers have overcome them. Nil desperandum.

Also, "The Short Game" is an excellent documentary, available on Netflix and if IIRC soon to be a reality show.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Also, ski gloves:
http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2015/01/can-ski-gloves-cure-the-yips-h.html

My God, you are going to get page after page of mindless drivel -- but you started it! 

[archie_struthers]

 

Let's promise to stop it after page 1 , so as to stay on topic. It is a golf thing though . Just talking switching to left handed or a super heavy putter . Has anyone tired either with success?

[JMEvensky]

Two things that helped me:

Get a long or belly putter to practice with. They will take your hands out of the stroke. When I picked up a short putter again,the "handsiness" had disappeared. This cure might require a few treatments.

Go to your golf room and grab a Bullseye, an 8802,or something similarly non-perimeter weighted. Counterintuitively,for me,it was easier to make a good stroke. Probably because the only thing I was thinking about was hitting the sweet spot.

Edit--a friend has used a very heavy putter with some success (he just added 50-75 grams of lead,not a Heavy Putter).

[mike_beene]

The thing that cured me and made me a good putter again seemed very radical when the pro asked me to try it: I changed my left hand grip from the lifeline to a full swing position under the heelpad. At the same time I moved my hands level to the ball. I used a Seemore putter for a few years which promotes this,although not necessary. The grip changed everything for me.I would never have tried this if the pro was not having success with tour players doing the same thing.

[astavrides]

I still yipped with the heavy putter (just as often, if not more so), but when I yipped with the heavy putter, it didn't cause a miss as often due to the weight of the putter keeping the path of the putter straight.
What actually cured the yips (more or less, knock on wood) for me was a thick grip with a regular putter, right hand claw grip, and using no right hand force at all on short putts. And making sure my chest points toward the hole right after I make contact. And looking behind the ball rather than at the ball before hitting short putts.

[John Foley]

I had the yips soo bad I almost walked away

Three things saved me

The Claw
TM Spyder w/ heavyest weights installed
Thick Tiger Shark grip

Putt better today than I did 30 years ago.

[Michael Felton]

For me, the claw grip, a superstroke grip and a counterweight. The counterweight is the key thing right now. I have a 100 gram weight in the top of the shaft. Makes the putter feel light and it makes my stroke much smoother. Been holing everything I look at with it.

[astavrides]

For me, the claw grip, a superstroke grip and a counterweight. The counterweight is the key thing right now. I have a 100 gram weight in the top of the shaft. Makes the putter feel light and it makes my stroke much smoother. Been holing everything I look at with it.

This, then, is the opposite of a heavy putter, isn't it?

[Matt Elliot]

I went with a counterbalanced putter with a heavy head and it has greatly improved my stability!  I only have a 50 gram weight in the shaft. 

[Mark Fedeli]

What I've read from noted teachers is to experiment, focusing on developing a stroke that relies on the big muscles.

This is all ye need to know. Regardless of your equipment set up, whenever the putter goes cold, just focus on using your shoulders to rock it back and through. It's the hands and wrists that betray us. So remove them from the equation.

[Jud_T]

Thick grip and left hand low (or right hand low if you're a lefty).  Much more stable inside 10 feet although a bit awkward for long lag putts.  I tried the heavy putter for a while but never really took to it.

[Kevin Lynch]

I have always liked feeling the head more, so I am a big fan of the Heavy Putter.  The trade-off may be distance control, but I've always been fairly adept at that, so it just took a few rounds to get used to.  The extra weight helps with the pendulum feel, but it's not a cure-all for a bad takeaway. 

To help with accuracy on shorter putts, I have a adopted a modified one-legged stance.  It was an accidental discovery, born from my preference for continuous putting.  Many times in my casual rounds, I'd take an awkward stance to avoid someone else's line (stepping in with just my right foot while holding the left foot back).  I found that I hit my intended line much better this way (in the 3-4 foot range) than if I marked and took a full stance.  Over the past year or so, the range for this stance has expanded so that I use it routinely up to 15-20 feet.

[archie_struthers]

 

Thanks a lot guys, let's cut this off now so as to keep the airwaves clear. I'm going to try a few and see if something works !

Happy New Year to all!