Basement green and putter shootout

[mpatrickriley]

Introduction

 

I've done far more lurking than posting on mygolfspy, but I've definitely benefited from the content here. I've especially enjoyed reading the forum member reviews. This post here is really for my own amusement, but my hunch is that there are other equipment junkies here who might enjoy it as well.

 

A bit about me: I'm in my late 30s and have been golfing regularly for the last five years or so. When I was growing up, I played a couple times a summer with my dad and always enjoyed the game. But I got bit hard by golf after moving here to Michigan's Upper Peninsula (where I pastor a Baptist church). I took up the game to spend some time with one of the guys in my church, but quickly became quite drawn by golf myself.

 

Several elements combine for me to make this game so addicting. The first, obviously, is the challenge. But it isn't just the challenge: it's that, in principle, it seems like it should be something a person could figure out. I can't hit a slider or dunk a ball, but those are physical limitations. When a ball is sitting on a tee, and I still can't hit it straight—well, that just means I have a puzzle that needs to be solved.

 

Combine that with good company and conversation, along with ample opportunities to tinker, not only with clubs, but with a host of little gadgets (swing monitors, training aids, etc.), I was pretty much hooked.

 

As it stands, I've gotten myself down to being an entirely adequate mediocre golfer. Game Golf (one of my gadgets!) tells me I'm roughly a 15-handicap. I'm very short off the tee, strike my irons pretty well (for my handicap), I've had a miserable (but improving) short game, and I've learned to putt pretty solidly.

 

One new reason for me to love the game: my four-year-old boy has really taken to it as well. He started swinging plastic clubs at age one, and his enthusiasm for the game keeps growing. He and I normally play a round a week (he has the attention span to even go 18). He started the season playing from the 100-yard markers. I told him that if he could shoot a 45 from there, we'd back up to the 150s. He's done that, and before the snow fell (a hazard of being a golfer in the UP), he'd shot a 47 from the 150s.

 

Here's a couple of videos of his swing:

 

 

The Green

 

Because of the short golfing season here, indoor practice is a must. I've been a regular carpet-putter for some time, but had the desire to build a green with real holes. I ended up buying two of these 3x11 putting carpets (https://www.amazon.com/Putt-Bout-Putting-11-Feet-Green/dp/B00HXAJ4VQ) and a few packages of those interlocking foam mats. When my dad was here this past weekend, the building began.

 

Side note: when my dad gets involved, some degree of over-engineering is bound to result. That said, this green is now about a million times better than if I had built it myself.

 

The whole thing is built out of 2x4s, with cross beams every 15" or so. Spaced every couple of feet under the frame are lag bolts. These function as adjustable feet, which allowed us to get the thing properly set on the uneven basement floor.

 

One side of the green has been built with a slight break; the other is as flat as we could get it. Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

The Putters

Over these years, I've collected a variety of putters. I've sold some, but my current collection contains eight. For the most part, this collection skews toward the slightly-off-the-beaten-path, clearance rack side of things. I'm not the target audience for retail prices.

 

 

From left to right:

• Nike Method Converge B1-01 CounterFlex Counterbalance, 38"
• Odyssey Toe Up #1, 35"
• Yes! Rachel, 35"
• Adams A7 Select 60, 35", with a Golf Pride Tour SNSR 104
• Odyssey #7 Tank Versa, 38"
• Cleveland 2135 Satin Elevado, 35", with a Flatso 1.0 (with counterweight)
• MLA Pro XDream, 34" (thanks for the discount, MGS!)
• STX ProFit 6, cut down to about 34" from an original belly putter, with a heavy clevis pin as a counterweight and a SuperStroke 3.0 grip (my first attempt at customizing a putter)

Given my stroke and comfort (and their tech!), my expectation is that the Cleveland and MLA putters should be the favorites to come out on top of this contest.

 

The Shootout

 

Let me head this off: yep, it would be good to get fitted for a putter.

 

But this is fun.

 

My intention, over the next couple of weeks, is to pit these putters against each other in a couple of contests to see which emerges as the best for my game.

 

On the sloped side of the green, there are dots roughly every foot. On this side, the contest is simple: ten putts. Start with the four-footer that breaks left, then the four-footer that breaks right. The five, then six, seven, and eight. Here, I'm simply recording how many out of ten are made with each putter. My plan is to have each putter do this four times.

 

On the flat side of the green, I've set marks for a game I picked up from this little book: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Indoor-Golf-Games-ebook/dp/B0042JU7IU

 

The game is putting soccer. Five balls are arranged at either end of the green, guarding the hole. The putters alternate shots, each trying to sink all five balls before the other. The game puts a premium on placing balls in specific spots, setting up the next shot.

 

Here, I've put together a round-robin format in which each putter has to go head-to-head with all of the other putters.

 

If there's any interest in this thread, I'll post on occasion with the results that I'm getting. If you're still reading this: thanks

[jayjay0808]

First that is a great little swing your son has! As long as he continues to enjoy the game he will only get better

 

Really cool setup in the basement and loving the Yes! Such underrated putters

[STUDque]

Man this post has everything: member introduction, great kids swing, a WIYB, photos, reviews, and competition.

 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes. Congrats on stepping out of the lurking shadows and welcome to the forum!

 

 

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[cnosil]

Great post! Your son has a great swing and I am envious of you basement putting green. Noting wrong with any of those putters if the help you get the ball into the hole. Definitely keep us up to date on what you have learned

[downlowkey]

Such a great post! Thanks for sharing! I'll definitely be following your progress.

 

 

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[Kenny B]

Great job!  And welcome to the forums... both you and your son!  I've taught clinics with kids ranging from 3 - 12 years old.  Kirke's swing is great for his age.  Just let him enjoy it as much as he wants.  I'll be looking forward to your putter shootout.

[tommc23]

That was one heck of an intro post.

 

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[Mtiger10]

Great attention span for a 4-year old to want to play 18 holes!  When my oldest son started playing, we did the 100/150 yard thing to teach him the importance of short game if he wanted to score well.  Enjoy those basement times/practice sessions as well as the course- before you know it he'll be 14 and out-driving you!!

[Canucklehead]

Heck of an intro! Welcome to MGS! Your son has a nice swing! Quite the craftsmanship on that green, and I'm looking for Ward to your results. Definitely a variety of putters

 

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[mpatrickriley]

Thanks for the kind welcome!

 

Regarding the length of the post: it's part of the job description that I end up with more words than the time/space allotted to me 

 

A bit more on Kirke: he's already pretty stiff competition on the greens. The only real advantage I have on him overall is length, and I have a hunch that by the time he's ten, he might be hitting it by me.

 

Our local course allows juniors to play free until they're 12; I don't think they normally expect anyone to get ten years of free golf from that. That said, it's a pretty laid back course, and the course manager loves having Kirke there. I'm already getting used to being known mostly as "Kirke's dad."

 

One more picture: he got up this morning, put on a full soccer uniform, including shin guards, and went downstairs to putt:

 

[tony@CIC]

Great post. Congrats on getting your son involved so early. My son and I play whenever we can and its a lot of fun. Unfortunately I only started 5 or 6 years ago (I'm 70) I wish I took it up 30 years ago (he's 34). Golf has really enhanced our relationship.

 

 

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[tommc23]

That's cool that he wants to putt and practice at his age.

 

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[mpatrickriley]

First that is a great little swing your son has! As long as he continues to enjoy the game he will only get better

 

Really cool setup in the basement and loving the Yes! Such underrated putters

If you check out the other picture I just posted of Kirke, you'll see his putter is a Yes! Built it for him when Diamond Tour was clearing out a lot of Yes! heads. Just about time to pull the grip and lengthen the shaft a bit.

[BIG STU]

Glad you stopped lurking and spoke up    . Good to have another preacher on here. You were talking about your post being long well that is SOP for a Baptist I know because I was raised one so Cool.

 

Like the whole deal with your practice areas. I know what the weather is like in the UP of Michigan or the "yooop" as you guys call it. Back in my real trucking days I used to run across US 2 in the winter. Too cold for this Southern born and bred redneck but great folks up there.

 

I like to see you have your son started right at an early age. As others said he does have a good swing and appears to have good fundamentals. IMHO that is great to get the swing properly grooved in at a early age. BTW that is a pretty good start on a putter collection. I think I am the resident putter and wedge hoarder on MGS but mine is mostly classic stuff

 

So welcome again and please keep posting pics and chime in any time because this is one big happy family

[cksurfdude]

Hello from (getting chilly) NY!

 

Your little is very cute and VERY athletic! Loved the way he smacked it outta that bunker!

 

Was happily surprised to see an MLA amongst your "testers" .. I have a Tour XDream (full milled, no face insert) and love it! Curious to hear your reaction to it, and how it comes out in your test.

[mpatrickriley]

Updates

 

So far, each putter has gone through two rounds of the "putting soccer" game and one round of "10 putts."

 

The head-to-head battles have produced some interesting results (I'll comment a bit more below on the what I'm learning about the game itself, and its pros and cons for this kind of testing).

 

There is currently a four-way tie for first place. The current standings:

• With 2.5 points: Adams, Odyssey 7, STX, and Rachel
• With 2 points: MLA
• With 1.5 points: Toe Up, Elevado
• With 1 point: Nike

Some further discussion on the game format. The pictures is the original post show the setup for this game: five balls set in a horizontal line a foot in front of each hole, with six inches between each ball. The basic rules, as I've already mentioned, is that each putter takes turns putting, trying to get all five balls holed before the other. Putts don't have to be made in a single shot: you can putt to a location, and then put in from there.

 

Some clarifications: putts that either roll off the 3' strip that this game is played on (either by falling off or by going to the "other" side of the green) are replaced in their original location, and the play goes to the other putter. Putts that hit the other putter's ball are also replaced, but the opponent is awarded two shots in a row.

 

Thus, the events that are most influential in a game are 1) putts that go directly in in a single shot and 2) putts that hit the opponent's ball.

 

Absent those things occurring, the game can be dull. The center-placed ball is obviously the last one that is normally putted, as it is the chief obstacle/defender. For that reason, many games come down to the second player (who always gets the last putt) having to make a straight full-length putt to gain a tie.

 

There are two imbalances in the directions of the putting green. On end is slightly higher than the other, so one player has uphill putts while the other is trying to control fairly quick downhill putts. The other is that on side also requires a platform (can be seen in the first pictures) and sometimes has to contend with that bit of plumbing jutting out from the wall there. For fairness, each round means that the game is played twice, switching ends between them. Thus, a putter can earn 2 points per round, giving 1 for a win and .5 for a tie each game.

 

The biggest con of this game are already suggested here: the margin between winning and losing is very small, and for that reason, most matches so far have ended in ties. It's going to be tough, I suspect, for any putter to gain a large lead here.

 

The biggest plus is that a game format like this actually provides pressure for putting. Having to roll in that last putt to secure a tie feels real. That's good practice.

 

Ten putts

 

My other contest, as noted above, is a series of putts of increasing distance, with alternating breaks (4, 5, 6, 7, 8 footers). Here, the score is simply how many out of ten are holes. The standings after one round:

• 10: Toe Up
• 8: Elevado, Nike
• 7: Odyssey 7, STX, Rachel
• 6: MLA
• 4: Adams

Biggest surprises so far:

• That the MLA hasn't done better. It is my newest acquisition, which means that it's the first putter I grab when I'm practicing. We'll see if it mounts a comeback.
• The strong performance of the Rachel. Tech-wise, other than the face grooves, there ain't much to this putter. It's a very small blade with a traditional small grip. I might have gamed this once in my life. I think it's pretty, but it isn't a putter that I'd generally give serious consideration to using, just because I wouldn't expect it to be as generous as some of the others.

Final bonus content: toy car tracks make for fun putting tricks!

 

[mpatrickriley]

Almost halfway through the test, and so I'll post an update at that point. Until then, here's another video, this time of Kirke pulling off a fun little trick chip:

 

[TWar]

All Hail this intro post!  way to come strong.  Awesome info on your son.  My son just turned 5 and loves playing. I need for you to talk to my wife and see if she will give me the space to build a putting green in our basement!

[Bags]

Introduction

 

I've done far more lurking than posting on mygolfspy, but I've definitely benefited from the content here. I've especially enjoyed reading the forum member reviews. This post here is really for my own amusement, but my hunch is that there are other equipment junkies here who might enjoy it as well.

 

A bit about me: I'm in my late 30s and have been golfing regularly for the last five years or so. When I was growing up, I played a couple times a summer with my dad and always enjoyed the game. But I got bit hard by golf after moving here to Michigan's Upper Peninsula (where I pastor a Baptist church). I took up the game to spend some time with one of the guys in my church, but quickly became quite drawn by golf myself.

 

Several elements combine for me to make this game so addicting. The first, obviously, is the challenge. But it isn't just the challenge: it's that, in principle, it seems like it should be something a person could figure out. I can't hit a slider or dunk a ball, but those are physical limitations. When a ball is sitting on a tee, and I still can't hit it straight—well, that just means I have a puzzle that needs to be solved.

 

Combine that with good company and conversation, along with ample opportunities to tinker, not only with clubs, but with a host of little gadgets (swing monitors, training aids, etc.), I was pretty much hooked.

 

As it stands, I've gotten myself down to being an entirely adequate mediocre golfer. Game Golf (one of my gadgets!) tells me I'm roughly a 15-handicap. I'm very short off the tee, strike my irons pretty well (for my handicap), I've had a miserable (but improving) short game, and I've learned to putt pretty solidly.

 

One new reason for me to love the game: my four-year-old boy has really taken to it as well. He started swinging plastic clubs at age one, and his enthusiasm for the game keeps growing. He and I normally play a round a week (he has the attention span to even go 18). He started the season playing from the 100-yard markers. I told him that if he could shoot a 45 from there, we'd back up to the 150s. He's done that, and before the snow fell (a hazard of being a golfer in the UP), he'd shot a 47 from the 150s.

 

Here's a couple of videos of his swing:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDOOmmmib8I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0h4nuJcZtE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8BcVdseqDQ

 

The Green

 

Because of the short golfing season here, indoor practice is a must. I've been a regular carpet-putter for some time, but had the desire to build a green with real holes. I ended up buying two of these 3x11 putting carpets (https://www.amazon.com/Putt-Bout-Putting-11-Feet-Green/dp/B00HXAJ4VQ) and a few packages of those interlocking foam mats. When my dad was here this past weekend, the building began.

 

Side note: when my dad gets involved, some degree of over-engineering is bound to result. That said, this green is now about a million times better than if I had built it myself.

 

The whole thing is built out of 2x4s, with cross beams every 15" or so. Spaced every couple of feet under the frame are lag bolts. These function as adjustable feet, which allowed us to get the thing properly set on the uneven basement floor.

 

One side of the green has been built with a slight break; the other is as flat as we could get it. Here are some pictures:

 

 

20171115_170033.jpg

20171116_210647.jpg

20171116_210724.jpg

 

The Putters

Over these years, I've collected a variety of putters. I've sold some, but my current collection contains eight. For the most part, this collection skews toward the slightly-off-the-beaten-path, clearance rack side of things. I'm not the target audience for retail prices.

 

20171116_205751.jpg

20171116_205856_Burst01.jpg

 

From left to right:

• Nike Method Converge B1-01 CounterFlex Counterbalance, 38"
• Odyssey Toe Up #1, 35"
• Yes! Rachel, 35"
• Adams A7 Select 60, 35", with a Golf Pride Tour SNSR 104
• Odyssey #7 Tank Versa, 38"
• Cleveland 2135 Satin Elevado, 35", with a Flatso 1.0 (with counterweight)
• MLA Pro XDream, 34" (thanks for the discount, MGS!)
• STX ProFit 6, cut down to about 34" from an original belly putter, with a heavy clevis pin as a counterweight and a SuperStroke 3.0 grip (my first attempt at customizing a putter)

Given my stroke and comfort (and their tech!), my expectation is that the Cleveland and MLA putters should be the favorites to come out on top of this contest.

 

The Shootout

 

Let me head this off: yep, it would be good to get fitted for a putter.

 

But this is fun.

 

My intention, over the next couple of weeks, is to pit these putters against each other in a couple of contests to see which emerges as the best for my game.

 

On the sloped side of the green, there are dots roughly every foot. On this side, the contest is simple: ten putts. Start with the four-footer that breaks left, then the four-footer that breaks right. The five, then six, seven, and eight. Here, I'm simply recording how many out of ten are made with each putter. My plan is to have each putter do this four times.

 

On the flat side of the green, I've set marks for a game I picked up from this little book: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Indoor-Golf-Games-ebook/dp/B0042JU7IU

 

The game is putting soccer. Five balls are arranged at either end of the green, guarding the hole. The putters alternate shots, each trying to sink all five balls before the other. The game puts a premium on placing balls in specific spots, setting up the next shot.

 

Here, I've put together a round-robin format in which each putter has to go head-to-head with all of the other putters.

 

If there's any interest in this thread, I'll post on occasion with the results that I'm getting. If you're still reading this: thanks

great job

 

 

Bags

[mpatrickriley]

Halftime!

 

I'm just past the halfway point of my test. With eight putters, the round-robin competition has seven rounds; four of those have been completed. I'm doing the ten-putt competition four times; two of those are completed.

 

I've also tweaked how the standings are calculated. In essence, I'm trying to see just how much each putter is above or below the average of the field. For the putting soccer game, an average putter would obviously have a .500 record. The ten-putt drill, the average score is moving, depending on my performance.

 

The current standings are as follows:

 

Putting Soccer:

1. Odyssey 7
2. Cleveland Elevado
3. (Tie) Adams A7, MLA Pro Xdream, STX Profit 6, Yes! Rachel
4. Nike Converge
5. Odyssey Toe Up

Ten Putt Drill:

1. Odyssey Toe Up
2. (Tie) STX Profit 6, Nike Converge
3. Cleveland Elevado
4. MLA Pro Xdream
5. (Tie) Odyssey 7, Yes! Rachel
6. Adams A7

Overall:

1. Cleveland Elevado
2. Odyssey 7
3. STX Profit 6
4. Odyssey Toe Up
5. Nike Coverge
6. MLA Pro Xdream
7. Yes! Rachel
8. Adams A7

Thoughts so far:

 

The big picture makes sense: the mallets are generally at the top, the blades toward the bottom. My stroke intentionally has very little arc, so this result isn't a surprise.

 

The Odyssey Toe Up has produced the oddest results: the very lowest below-average performance in the game, but the very highest performance in the drill. I don't have any good theory as to why this would be. The Toe Up was my primary gaming putter through this past season here.

 

The MLA continues to be underwhelming, and again, I don't have a good explanation for that. It has been an entirely average performer in the game, slightly below average in the drill. One possible theory: for the ten-putt drill, I am using the breaking side of the green (five putts that break left, five that break right, alternating). I haven't typically been one who picks a specific aiming point for breaking putts (say, three inches to the right of the cup). Instead, I tend to visualize the overall line and try to create that. Perhaps this approach to putting mitigates the primary advantage of the MLA: its alignment feature.

 

A final thought: an exercise like this also brings in some of the psychology of putting. I know the tests done on this site have argued strongly that people play well with certain putters, regardless of whether they like the looks, feel, etc. The reality is that, in my collection, I do have putters I like more than others. I really, really like the Cleveland, for instance. Obviously, there's no way to do blind tests with putters, so within the test, I'm also able to see whether my affinity for one putter over another has any effect on the results.

 

Another psychological element that comes up in the putting game is this: the game dares you to take risks. Will you try to thread your putt between the balls at the other end of the green, risking losing two turns for a chance at a one-putt? I try to let my decisions on this happen naturally during a game, to see if any particular putter encourages a more aggressive approach.

 

Five more total rounds to go!

[10shot]

Just came across this post, u r a blessed person. Love the putting green and ur drive to have ur children play

merry christmas

 

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[mpatrickriley]

Just finished this up tonight: a little putter rack to go with the green.

 

 

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[Canucklehead]

Just finished this up tonight: a little putter rack to go with the green.

 

20171208_214726.jpg

 

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You must really have to be bent over to use those ones on the right 😂

 

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[mpatrickriley]

You must really have to be bent over to use those ones on the right 😂

 

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Whatever it takes to avoid anchoring, right?

 

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[josmi15]

Great introduction! Welcome to the forum

 

 

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[KCLeo12]

Your son has a solid swing!! Really cool set up you have. If I ever live somewhere cold again I would do something like this. Cant wait to see which putter wins.

[mpatrickriley]

Your son has a solid swing!! Really cool set up you have. If I ever live somewhere cold again I would do something like this. Cant wait to see which putter wins.

 

Getting close. One more round of each competition left.

[mpatrickriley]

Should be finished with the competition today. But decided that some of the boys' Christmas toys would make great putting aids:

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[STUDque]

I spy with my little eye, something........ flat

 

 

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[mpatrickriley]

And the results are in!

 

 

Let me start with the hard numbers, then I'll put in a needed caveat, and then I'll summarize my own thoughts.

 

 

The Standings

 

 

As stated at the beginning, I had eight putters competing against each other, in two contests. There is a putting soccer game, in which the putters pair off in a series of head-to-head matchups. Then there is a ten-putt test, with two putts each from 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 feet, alternating left and right breaks.

 

 

The putting soccer game was a a round-robin tournament, which means that each putter had seven matchups. Each matchup was conducted in two halves, so that differences between the two ends of the putting green were rendered moot.

 

 

Happily, this created a nice statistical parallelism. Because each of the seven head-to-head contests had two points at stake (one for each half), the average putter must have seven points. It turns out that, in the ten putt contest, I average 7 out of 10 putts. For this reason, I was able to take both contests (in a spreadsheet) and determine how much above and below average each putter was in each contest, and then combine those for a cumulative total.

 

 

Without further ado:

 

 

Putter Soccer

 

1. Odyssey 7: +2

 

2. Cleveland Elevado: +1.5

 

3. STX Profit: +.5

 

3. Nike Converge: +.5

 

5. Adams A7: -.5

 

5. Yes! Rachel: -.5

 

7. MLA Pro Xdream: -1

 

8. Odyssey Toe Up: -2.5

 

 

10 Putts

 

1. Odyssey Toe Up: +1.81

 

2. MLA Pro Xdream: +.56

 

3. Nike Converge: +.06

 

3. Yes! Rachel: +.06

 

5. Adams A7: -.19

 

6. Cleveland Elevado: -.44

 

7. STX Profit: -.69

 

8. Odyssey 7: -1.19

 

 

Combined:

 

1. Cleveland Elevado: +1.06

 

2. Odyssey 7: +.81

 

3. Nike Converge: +.56

 

4. STX Profit: -.19

 

5. MLA Pro XDream: -.44

 

5. Yes! Rachel: -.44

 

7. Adams A7: -.69

 

7. Odyssey Toe Up: -.69

 

 

The Caveat

 

 

To be a fair test, it wouldn't make sense to change the specs on the putters during the tournament. Nonetheless, I did. As I posted in the MLA thread, just before the last round of the 10 Putt contest, I pulled the standard grip off the MLA and replaced it with a Lamkin Flat Cat. I then proceeded to make 10 out of 10 with the MLA in the final round. I did another 10 Putt drill with it today and made 9 out of 10 (which didn't count for the contest). This might still be a honeymoon with the new grip, but I'm really hoping that this grip makes me get along better with the MLA, a putter whose performance in this contest was less than I had expected going in.

 

 

Concluding Thoughts

 

 

It seems to me that the putting soccer game ends up being a good measure of distance control. And because the holes in my green have only six inches past them until the wall, and because I made no provision for having to hole out misses, the 10 Putt contest ended up being primarily about starting the ball on my intended line.

 

 

If this is the case, it might explain the order of finish for the soccer game. The three top finishers all have softer feeling faces. For me, the mesh/insert face on the Odyssey 7 just seems to go exactly the distance that I expect it to go. And I'd like to think that the milling tech in the Cleveland is also contributing the predictable distances that I get with it.

 

 

By contrast, the Toe Up is an ordinary metal face, and I've not at all been impressed with the feel off the face of the MLA. Both tend toward the clicky side of things, at least to me. My suspicion that that those kinds of faces and I don't get along quite as well on distance control, at least not without lots of reps.

 

 

That the overall winner was the Cleveland was both not fully surprising and not at all disappointing. If groove tech has the influence that various MGS tests seem to suggest, I would expect this year's 2135 Satin range to do well in the upcoming Most Wanted Putters. In addition, the feel is tremendously soft; to me, it feels very premium. This is the only putter I've ever bought in its first year of release, rather than in a later clearance sale, and so far, I expect that it will be in the bag often this upcoming summer.

 

 

The grip change on the MLA is the wild card in all of this. To this point, the Flat Cat seems to strongly complement the largely SBST putting stroke that I've cultivated. For me, the back of my left hand is my mental key for a square stroke, and feeling the flat side of the grip on the palm of that hand really reinforces the feel that I'm after.

 

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