Putting Grip Pressure

Earlier this year I was struggling with my lag putting overall.  I was unable to judge the pace properly on longer putts.  So, I adjusted my grip pressure, holding the club might less firm.  Immediately, I began to seen the results on lagging the ball closer to the hole.  I have even found that this same tactic works for short putts.  The putter glides through the ball much  cleaner and the strike is more on the face.  I also had to take a much longer stroke since I was no longer "hitting" the putt rather, stroking the "putter".  The lighter grip pressure removes all of the tension from the hands, arms and shoulders which creates more of a rocking motion.  The stroke becomes more of a pendulum method resembling the strokes of touring professionals Justin Leonard and Loren Roberts.  I now make more long putts, have shorter second putts and can be much more relaxed on the greens.

the Why in golf instruction

I found this article on the Golf dash Blog ver intersting.  In the article, John states that golf scores have barely improved over the past thirty years even with all of the new technology.  I have a theory as to why this is the case.

I have always found it interesting that golf instruction and tips typically come in the form of “how to do something” rather than “why”? Obviously, a player needs to understand how to perform the fundamentals of the golf swing; proper grip, stance, posture, etc. However, a player also needs to understand why they are making the change or improvement.  If they do not understand the "why" then they will not understand the ramifications of a movement.

I believe this is why so many players that take lessons never really improve. The instructor never fully explains why the change is necessary and the role the change plays in the overall swing and swing sequence. So, they make a change for a brief period of time then slide back into old, bad habits.

I recently discovered a mistake I was making in my right hand grip. Although I knew that I needed to have the club in my two middle fingers it was too much in my palm. The result was I was not able to break my right wrist enough going back to create the angle necessary for a proper wrist load. This led to inconsistent hits and a lack of power. Although I have been told how many times, I never translated the how to the why. In other words, why is it so important to properly set the right wrist in the backswing? As a right handed player it is the difference between a proper wrist load and not. It affected my entire golf swing on every shot from the driver to the shortest wedge shot. With the change, I have much more consistency and a lot more power with less effort.

If we learn why then we can groove proper muscle memory and all achieve lasting improvements. Just knowing how is not always good enough.

Follow Me

I have added a follow me link on the right side of the blog.  Sign up today and follow me with new posts an updates.  I look forward to sharing my experiences, tips, recommendations and ideas with you.  Also, please let me know if you have a Golf Blog as well and I would love to check it out and add it to my site.

I had the opportunity this spring to play Pinehurst #8 in North Carolina with three good friends.  We had a great time and were unsure which course to play since #2 gets all the press.  After asking around and even speaking to the people at Pinehurst they said play 8.  They said Pinehurst #8 is a great track, should not be crowded and is a great course.  They were correct, it was a great track, very challenging and quite beautiful.  Since we played in the springtime it was not crowded or overly expensive compared to #2.  If you ever get to North Carolina for golf, Pinehurst is a must.  Although it is somewhat remote that is part of its charm.  Not to mention great golf, lovely people, excellent service from the staff and exciting history.

Major Confidence

My two cents on last weeks British Open won by South African Louis Oosthuizen.  I find it interesting that regardless of the world ranking it comes down to confidence to win majors. If it was a matter of ranking then Casey and Westwood would have won several already. Even his fellow South African players said that him winning a major was more about his confidence and his "underacheiver" mentality than about talent. If there is anyting we can learn from the past two majors is that there are plenty of guys who have the talent to win but few have the confidence to pull it off. The PGA next month should be interesting

Practical Golf Tips

I will be posting practical golf tips on my new blog and hope to include guest posts as they come in. 

Blogging

Let the golf blogging begin