Chisag's Tip Of The Day #38

[cnosil]

5 minutes ago, TAGolf13 said:

Any tips on bringing your putting green game to the gaming green? That seems to be my issue right now. I'm getting the speed right most of the time on the pratice green, but not so much when I'm playing. 

My problem as well.   Trying to trust my intuition; which seems to be helping.  

[TAGolf13]

25 minutes ago, cnosil said:

My problem as well.   Trying to trust my intuition; which seems to be helping.  

I think I'm going to try the heads up method to see if that helps. If I weren't doing better in practice than while playing I would think that I had a physical issue with depth perception or something. I've worked (not nearly enough yet) on keeping a steady tempo, but that doesn't seem to stop me from hitting it too hard most of the time, then too soft. When I get into a play situation, it's like I forget what I've been doing on the practice green and every putt looks like a foreign animal. Slight exaggeration but only slight. It's a head thing that I'll have to work out or accept being mediocre to bad on the greens. Hopefully I'll continue to enjoy the game even as a mediocre putter. Embrace my mediocrity

[Shapotomous]

5 minutes ago, TAGolf13 said:

I think I'm going to try the heads up method to see if that helps. If I weren't doing better in practice than while playing I would think that I had a physical issue with depth perception or something. I've worked (not nearly enough yet) on keeping a steady tempo, but that doesn't seem to stop me from hitting it too hard most of the time, then too soft. When I get into a play situation, it's like I forget what I've been doing on the practice green and every putt looks like a foreign animal. Slight exaggeration but only slight. It's a head thing that I'll have to work out or accept being mediocre to bad on the greens. Hopefully I'll continue to enjoy the game even as a mediocre putter. Embrace my mediocrity

I have had better speed control by doing heads up practice strokes, 2 or 3, then moving right into the real putt with that same length stroke.  But i focus on the ball then instead of heads up 

Thats how i practice too and i only hit one ball to a hole when oracticing.

Edited September 6 by Shapotomous

[chisag]

40 minutes ago, TAGolf13 said:

Any tips on bringing your putting green game to the gaming green? That seems to be my issue right now. I'm getting the speed right most of the time on the pratice green, but not so much when I'm playing. 

 

... The same reason it is easy to practice an audition piece at home and very difficult in front of a Producer and Director. One doesn't count and the other does. 

... The ONLY difference between the practice green and the course is you know the putt on the practice green doesn't count and that frees you up mentally. While you are trying to make the putt, you really don't care if it goes in or not because you can just putt it again. You do not have that option on the course and there is mental tension that can cause physical tension about missing a makable putt that just isn't there on the practice green. Even on Tour you hear ex-players in the booth say tension is causing a Pro to come up short late on Sunday. 

... The answer for many swing and putting issues is always the same. Focus on the execution and not the results. For many it is a very difficult to learn to not care approach. But in the end execution is the only thing you have control over and whether or not the ball rolls in the hole is out of your control. 

... It should be very easy to putt with your eyes closed if you trust your stroke. There really isn't any difference other than being comfortable because you have done it so many times with your eyes open, but if you don't care about the results your stroke should be the same. It is a great practice drill to close your eyes on every other putt and your brain will begin to understand it's full attention needs to be on the execution of your stroke and not your results. Learning not to care is easier for some than others but you can train yourself to do it.  

[TAGolf13]

7 hours ago, Shapotomous said:

I have had better speed control by doing heads up practice strokes, 2 or 3, then moving right into the real putt with that same length stroke.  But i focus on the ball then instead of heads up 

Thats how i practice too and i only hit one ball to a hole when oracticing.

I'm going to try the various variations to see if any feel good and produce results right off the bat. From there I'll pick one and work on that for a while. If after some practice sessions and play with a method, I'll stay with it if it works, or move onto another. Of course me being me, I'm going to tinker with whatever method to best suit me. I appreciate all feedback.

[TAGolf13]

Very similar insights to what i shared with my students. Will the brsin be more efficiently trained if you alternate? How about doing several closed? I might try 1/2 hour of eyes closed only to see how that goes. May take me that long or longer to just focus on making a good stroke.

[chisag]

4 minutes ago, TAGolf13 said:

Very similar insights to what i shared with my students. Will the brsin be more efficiently trained if you alternate? How about doing several closed? I might try 1/2 hour of eyes closed only to see how that goes. May take me that long or longer to just focus on making a good stroke.

 

... Putting with eyes closed for the first time can be very disconcerting and uncomfortable. I had students rotate so they could get the feedback between open and closed and realize they are the same. Sounds crazy but when all your focus has been on results, solely focusing on execution is brand new for many. Sure you could do all eyes closed if that works for you. Just be sure you keep your eyes closed for a good second or two after impact to get all the feel feedback it provides. 

[cnosil]

13 hours ago, chisag said:

Sounds crazy but when all your focus has been on results, solely focusing on execution is brand new for many. 

I am 100% on the same page as you with this;  you can't just focus on results you also have to focus on the execution.  You're sounding like someone that is telling people to focus on technique and body mechanics 

 

 

[TAGolf13]

14 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Putting with eyes closed for the first time can be very disconcerting and uncomfortable. I had students rotate so they could get the feedback between open and closed and realize they are the same. Sounds crazy but when all your focus has been on results, solely focusing on execution is brand new for many. Sure you could do all eyes closed if that works for you. Just be sure you keep your eyes closed for a good second or two after impact to get all the feel feedback it provides. 

Just got back from the practice green and an eyes closed on every putt session. Made it competitive with my beloved so that the putts would be meaningful. Of course, that's not the same as putting while playing, but it's a start. Went well. I'll keep doing that during this upcoming week and then give it a shot when I play next. I didn't have many miss hits, so I'll have to see if that remains the case on the course. Yes, I want to see if I can have results putting that way in the course . Thanks to the Spies who started and participated in the heads up thread! I suspect it'll contribute to better putting for me .

[cnosil]

13 hours ago, chisag said:

Sounds crazy but when all your focus has been on results, solely focusing on execution is brand new for many. 

I am 100% on the same page as you with this;  you can't just focus on results you also have to focus on the execution.  You're sounding like someone that is telling people to focus on technique and body mechanics 

 

 

[chisag]

Just now, cnosil said:

I am 100% on the same page as you with this;  you can't just focus on results you also have to focus on the execution.  You're sounding like someone that is telling people to focus on technique and body mechanics 

 

... Haha, exactly the opposite. Technique sure, but not mechanics as I am saying focus 100% on their feel. I had students that flipped their wrist putting and couldn't seem to stop as they didn't really feel they were doing  it, although they knew they did. With their eyes closed they could feel their wrist flipping. As amazing as it was, when they opened their eyes many went right back to flipping. The mind is a terrible thing to waste. 

[cnosil]

41 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

I had students that flipped their wrist putting and couldn't seem to stop as they didn't really feel they were doing  it, although they knew they did. With their eyes closed they could feel their wrist flipping. As amazing as it was, when they opened their eyes many went right back to flipping. 

splitting hairs,  but I fully consider that mechanical focus.  You are trying to get the person to feel how they are moving their body to ultimately change how they move their body.  Changing and having them understand how they move is body mechanics.   

[chisag]

39 minutes ago, cnosil said:

splitting hairs,  but I fully consider that mechanical focus.  You are trying to get the person to feel how they are moving their body to ultimately change how they move their body.  Changing and having them understand how they move is body mechanics.   

 

Saturday Putter Fun!

... As much as I completely disagree with that on the surface, I wonder how similar we are but just interpret the same thing from a right brain/left brain perspective. If I understand you, mechanics and feel go hand in hand and you can do both? While I think mechanics is the opposite of feel, impossible to do both. I could not putt from 30 feet and mechanically take my putter back to a specific point before starting forward as it would completely paralyze my feel. You say there is a personal mechanical formula for that same putt uphill or downhill that is different for a 30' flat out and I simply putt with more or less authority having absolutely no idea how far back I take my putter. I never want to think of any movement, just the feel for stroking my putt the right distance. I have never even considered how far back I take my putter head.  

... In your confusing mechanical world   I think you would say I developed that feel by mechanically trying different lengths for my backswing and finding what works I repeat it. In my wonderful world of feel  I would say I developed that distance control through trial and error and tuned in my feel for certain distances by feeling what it's like to throw shorter or longer and then adjusting. It would be interesting to hear a physiologist say "gentleman you are saying the same thing form completely different perspectives". 

.... I think we have both used this example, but if I had a student toss a golf ball underhand to a hole 20 feet away and they come up 5 feet short, doing it again would just involve tossing it with more velocity. Intrinsically through feel alone they would know they have to have a longer arm swing. Ironically this was one of the drills I used to get them to forget mechanical positions and trust their feel. If they tossed short, I asked them to make sure their weight was 60% on their front foot, start with their arm 25* in front of their body and take it back no more and no less than 25* behind them. Keep their wrists firm and extend their fingers as they toss the ball. I would go over it in slow motion demonstrating the mechanical points I wanted them to hit watching their eyes start too glaze over and some would even say "How can I remember all that?!?"  and then I had them try and accomplish that mechanical position driven ball toss going 5 yds farther. 

... It was always a poor toss and rarely did they have any success as their brains were filled with thoughts and not the distance they wanted to toss the ball. So then I said OK, forget everything I just said and just try and toss the ball a little farther any way you like. They always made a better toss. I then told them they did everything I asked because that's how anyone tosses a golf ball underhanded but they don't think about positions while they do it. Same for the full swing and putting. You can't think of positions while you swing or putt, you just have to trust yourself, look at the target and then attempt to hit that target.