CAPTO Putting Lesson

[BMart519]

About me: I averaged 34 putts/round this year, 25% 1 putts, and average 2-3 three putts per round. I went into my putting lesson wanting some feedback on my left miss and distance control. I found an instructor with the CAPTO system at a local academy I took lessons and physical training from in 2019. I'm an engineer so I'm comfortable with data and believe with the technology available in golf you would be foolish to rely only on someone "taking a look" and trying to diagnose swing faults visually at full speed.

CAPTO measures all stroke dynamics (path, face angle, shaft lean, tempo, loft and other) relative to your aim at address. The sensor was extremely light and fits underneath the shaft below the handle which minimizes visual distractions.

Prior to the lesson I had some emails back and forth with the instructor. I had 2 face balanced putters in 34" (355g) and 35" (345g) with identical heads that I wanted to capture data on. The CAPTO system highlighted the SuperStoke Flatso grip on one putter caused significantly more manipulations with my hands than the traditional Superstroke MidSlim 3.0 on the other putter. This is measured under a metric "Handling" which looks at rotation and other excess handle movement. 

 

I hit 10x 4-7 foot putts to capture some data on stroke tendencies and then reviewed the data. CAPTO showed a tendency to deliver the face 1 degree closed BUT the biggest surprise was a 2 degree in-out path. Before moving forward with fixes I asked to hit some 30' putts (which was the maximum at this indoor facility) to see if there were any changes to my tempo (Ranked good) or further face/path changes.  I hit 3 putts which finished within 2-3 feet of each other and the data showed my path was reaching as much as 4 degrees in to out. This was resulting in draw spin on the ball with the closed face. The CAPTO system present some very interesting data, it calculates an "energy efficiency" stat which combines your face angle path and loft to quantify how well you launch the ball. So if you cut across the ball out to in with and open face it would reflect less energy input to the ball similar to the full swing. Most numbers were in "Good" territory, CAPTO used red/yellow/green ranges and has multiple graphs of acceleration, lie angle, and face rotation through the entire stoke plotting your stroke versus ideal values. 

The instructor had me make practice swings without a ball on the Visio Mi putting mat to try and reduce the amount of face closure on the follow through and follow the arced path after impact instead of pushing the putter out past the target line. I then hit balls along the mat attempting to trace the arc as well as positioning a putting gate outside the ball along the toe line. 

To end the lesson the CAPTO sensor was mounted on my old 35" putter with the round SS 3.0 grip. I hit 7-10 short putts in the 4-7 foot range to get a comparison to my  gamer from the start of the lesson. These were the first putts with this putter today and I don't think I missed a SINGLE PUTT. I'm sure it was a combination of learning the break on the contoured green (vary breaks in each quadrant), drilling a proper arc, and the longer putter helping to flatten the arc for more curvature. Reviewing the data showed the most interesting piece of data on the day:

THE GRIP CHANGE SLASHED HANDLING in HALF from 40% down to an average of 20%. This was one of the few "yellow" values during the lesson the could use attention. CAPTO doesn't monitor the ball but does display loft and AoA to calculate launch and is a very comprehensive system. I would recommend anyone to use it if given the opportunity. The sensor is feather light and was imperceptible during the stroke. 

My takeaways were to drill with a putting gate on the toe side of putter and I am seriously considering getting a Visio mat to work on my arc and face to path. The majority of my stats were solidly in the "green" GOOD range including my tempo. The instructor felt the biggest issue with distance control on leaving putts short was too small of backswing based on discussing my backswing benchmarks around my trail foot. MY current stroke dynamics of drawing putts could also increase the chance of hitting putts long (efficiency averaged mid 90s). 

The question I can't get out of my head is: "do I close the putter face as a result of my path pushing out past the target line or do I push putts because my face is closed?"

Maybe I need a putter that isn't face balanced to slow down the toe closing and my path would follow an even arc back and through... Or maybe this is what I tell myself to justify buying a new putter to play with this winter. 

One thing for sure, I'm removing the Flatso on my gamer and replacing it with another traditional SS 3.0.

Edited November 1, 2020 by BMart519
Added photos

[cksurfdude]

That's pretty cool .. had not heard of CAPTO before. But.. I didn't see anything about impact location on the face..? That's a key piece of the putting puzzle, and knowing where your current tendency is can be a big help in deciding on more work on mechanics vs a new putter.

And FYI.. if you haven't heard of the Blast Motion Golf sensor - check it out, I think you may really like it!

 

[cnosil]

14 hours ago, BMart519 said:

The question I can't get out of my head is: "do I close the putter face as a result of my path pushing out past the target line or do I push putts because my face is closed?"

 

IF you are just swinging the putter,  the face closure is just how the putter works during the stroke;  strokes have an arc.  I think you are right handed so closed face makes the putt go left.  The face is responsible for about 85% of the balls direction and the path the remainder.  having an in to out or out to in stroke is not a big deal when it comes to putting;  you just need to have a putter that presents the correct face angle at impact.   just like the full swing having 0 path is extremely rare.

52 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

That's pretty cool .. had not heard of CAPTO before. But.. I didn't see anything about impact location on the face..? That's a key piece of the putting puzzle, and knowing where your current tendency is can be a big help in deciding on more work on mechanics vs a new putter.

And FYI.. if you haven't heard of the Blast Motion Golf sensor - check it out, I think you may really like it!

 

Yes,  blast motion is cool,  but CAPTO is 100x better.  It is a high end putting analysis that compares with Puttlab and Quintic.  

[cnosil]

@BMart519 great writeup;  I would love to have someone close to me with capto so I could go through a fitting session.  

[BMart519]

The "handling" metric was really interesting, I believe it also measured trembling in the hands and also movements you make at address including forward pressing and any lie angle adjustments. Handling was able to break out that I was turning the handle counter-clockwise to close the face in excess of what would take place due to the natural arc of the putter. 

I've taken a lesson on SAM Puttlab and found the reflectorto be distracting due to the size and mounting on the front of shaft. Other than an LED light on the CAPTO unit, you almost forget it is there. The instructor took measurements of the club to place in a specific location, but I didn't ask for details. 

[Kenny B]

22 hours ago, cnosil said:

@BMart519 great writeup;  I would love to have someone close to me with capto so I could go through a fitting session.  

Is there a list of fitters with capto available?

[cksurfdude]

22 hours ago, cnosil said:

Yes,  blast motion is cool

Meant for home practice; not in place of a quality fitting. 

[cnosil]

Is there a list of fitters with capto available?

Don’t know how complete their list is, but it is a start

https://www.captogolf.com/capto-user-map

[mike G PGA]

2 degrees from inside with a 1 degree closed face means in reality the face is open to the target it has to push. However you need to understand that Capto reads face from where you started at address . The only way to miss left from this stroke is from aiming left initially more than the above path and face positioning. A putt cant produce draw spin you cant curve a ball on the ground. BTW I'm a PGA pro from the uk with 20 years of coaching and when I first used Capto I was surprised my left miss was 99% face alignment at address. My fellow pro measured me a dozen times over using a laser product and it was all down to my poor alignment. Hope this helps