Where's The Weight?

A note here on GIMME MES.  If you are considering a 5 foot putt a gimme, you might find it interesting to note that the average for tour pros on 6 foot putts is 50%.  So, if by subtracting only a foot gets it to gimme range I'd be surprised.

Well, played eighteen today, first score, front nine, 45, didn't keep score back nine.  did ok, but had two very bad fat hits, a few bad chips..the loading right sure helped, maybe i did a little to much, will just have to stay with it.

thanks so much,
mw

I listen again Surge, IM off to the course today, so, see what happens, it will help, IM sure!

Golfing is hard to learn, when you are 60, better when you are 10.....for my 5th year, I still don't keep score, but, maybe today I WILL.    Did get a couple of birdies last week, of course on par three's.. but still.   

You have helped me so much!

thank again,
marilyn wheat

RM:  Thank you very much.  As I mentioned to Jack, I've tried all different types of putters and the "broom-stick" just seems to work better for me.  Keep working on the regular putter - there are some really good ones out there and a lot of golfers get very comfortable (and accurate) with them.   Is this a great game or what?!!!  Hope you have a great day, R2  

Surge,,,,thanks so much, will work very hard to improve on the weight..!!!

Thanks for answering my question,,,,you have helped me soooooo much,,,as I said before this is my 5th year,,,,

mw

I was meaning that I think it is in his head.  (BTW,  I know I wouldn't be able to handle the pressure on a 5-footer for real money.)

Looking up some info:
Some Long term DJ Putting Stats/ Place on Tour:

2011 PGA TOUR Strokes Gained - Putting: -0.866, 188 (which means he's giving up almost a stroke PER ROUND on the field when putting from any distance.)
2010 PGA TOUR Strokes Gained - Putting: -0.466, 171
2011 Tour Leader: Steve Stricker + 0.923

2011 Putting from 3-5': 83.87%, 146 (He's actually doing better this year close in!)
2010 Putting from 3-5': 83.09%, 164
2011 Tour Leader: Y.E. Yang, 96.88%

2011 Overall Putting Average: 1.653, 183
2010 Overall Putting Average: 1.668, 188
2011 Tour Leader: Jim Renner 1.27

So I don't know what to think, except that I'm obsessing a bit too much over DJs stats.  He's a great guy and an incredible golfer.  I should just leave it at that.

Steve:  Just wanted you to know the drills you use are VERY EFFECTIVE learning drills!  I've been using them since you described them a while back, and they really help you learn the importance of stroking the ball, not just "slapping" it.  Good stuff!!!  Thanks again, R2 

R2,
You are so right about putting being so individual. Certain things seem to always apply to good putters and bad such as head/eye movement. I have gone back to a conventional putter after using a belly for about 8 months. I have noticed irregardless of the putter or stlye that "peeking" nearly always leads to a miss and usually a pulled miss. Keeping my head steady by keeping my eyes on the ball or spot until well after the ball leaves the putter sure makes a diffeence. Something else that is finally settled into the receptive part of my brain is the need to stay smooth regardless of the length putt and regulate the distance by the length of stroke and not stroking it softer or harder or "hitting" my putts which sometimes reseambled a stab!
Pace and tempo need to remanin the same and again the distance the ball rolls controled by a larger or smaller arc back and forth. I have been employing this the last week and by are my putts starting to fall.
   As for the side saddle, I've heard good things about it and may try that if I get out of whack down the road.I'll bet it helps your alignment looking down the line from behind verses from the side. Do you use a longer putter for that syle?

Thanks Roy

Congrats to DJ for a T9 finish.

Phil M is an equal opportunity short misser on both sides of the cup. The root to his problem is that his eyes are looking 15 degrees or so to the left. When the putt is "critically important" he swings the shaft where his eyes are looking and not down the aim line. From there instinct will cause a pull to get back on line, or a putt down the eye line and not the aim line resulting in the miss right.

Roger, congratulations to your East team & claiming the cup! Way to hang tough in your match. Glad to see your new driver was working well.

Robert:  About the side-saddle putter:  I just simply love it!  Very easy to use and simple to line up.  I have a 51" face-balanced "Force Focus Wishbone" putter that was custom built by Jake Holloway back at his Force Focus shop.  To use it,  I just face the target (no bend necessary), hold the top grip of the putter near my arm/shoulder joint, set my "skinny-horse" stance, and place my other hand in a natural, no-tension position on the lower grip.  The stroke is simple, pure and very, very smooth.  It is a joy to use and very effective on long lag putts.  I will never, ever go back to a regular putter.   I can highly recommend it.  R2

Can you recommend one or more club fitters in the Toronto, Canada area. Thanks.

George

Wow, sounds like my garage full of lonely putters.

I'm sorry he got a bogie on the last hole, but I'm glad that he took the risk to go for the green from the fairway bunker. He knew he needed an eagle to tie Perniece who was already in the clubhouse at -21 to have any shot at winning. Great to see that DJ wasn't there to play for position on the leader board. He was playing for the title. Not this week, but soon, DJ!

Doc, the average on the PGA tour from 5' looks to be around ~79% (pgatour.com).  I don't know about the Nationwide or Champion Tours.  Edoardo Molinari is at 97.14%,  Brian Gay (#2) is at 94.37%.  While I would never consider anything beyond 1 foot a gimme for ME, if I were a Pro, I'd make DAMN sure I wasn't missing cuts and losing tournaments because of 3-5 foot misses.  Reminds me of Shaq.  The man played Basketball since he was a little kid, but still couldn't make more than 50% of his free throws.

Mike, don't worry. Your not the only one in the twilight zone on what day is what. When I'm working, it's normally everyday as we talked about and I lose track and now that I'm in the  middle of some down time and with my sleep pattern I never know what day it is.
 Nice close approach on your round today, i bet that was exhilarating. Continued success my friend.

Steve Smith:

    Not really!! LOL
    On further reflection, Tour greens are probably a little faster thatn what I am palying on -- So there "decision point" may be nearer to 5 or 6 feet vs my 4 to 5 foot.  But the point is still valid -- it can and does create a "hole" or "valley" in the per cent of made putts.

    Amos

Thanks Surge- this video has answered why I keep hitting chunks!! I preloaded just fine, but forgot about the bump. For some unknown reason, I thought the bump was only for the drive. Now I know better. Thanks again- egodoc92

Surge always tells us to keep stats.  So I spent some time last night on Shottracker (pgatour.com).  I looked at the top dozen golfers at the Viking Classic (tied with DJ or better) and analyzed their short putting only.  DJ missed 5 putts from 5'- to 10', but that was about average for those top finishers (1 to 10 miss range).  The biggest difference came from 5' in.  DJ missed 5 shots at 'gimme' range, within 5'.  The other top finishers averaged 1 miss (range 0 to 3 misses) for the tournament.  If you gave all these guys their 'gimmes', DJ would have finished T2.  Now, all these guys, including DJ, made great putts from all over the greens and DJ lagged really well.  But the yips keep costing him.

Hi people of the swing surgeon.
personelly I find this part of the swing the most difficult to control,
not pre-loading. It's on the down swing and when I get it right
I know it, for me that just happens. The problem is I dont know
why. It seams my timing is not the same from day to day.
The days I'm off I tend to go right and even sometimes adding
a fade those two dont mix well .If anyone has a suggestion 
I'm listening.
Thank's Don for all you give to the game, I' m sure you have
covered this part of the game. Sometimes earring does not mean 
understanding. thank's for your patience.

Ron from Qc, Canada    

Doc:

   Really? I would expect the pro's to do better than that.
   On my home course "where I know all the grass and all of their kids" - from 0 to about 3 1/2 feet I make at least 85% to 95% --- 6 to 8 feet nearly 75% (lately 6 feet has become nearly a gimme at about 95 %)   However, there is a "hole" in the stats in the 4 to 5 1/2 foot range -- it falls to about 50% to 60%)  I belive it is because that is the "decision distance" on must putts on our course -- to putt it firm in the center or stroke it a littlw easier an play the break.  The correct answer seems to vary from hole to hole and demands some experience to find the right answer for any given situation.

    Now to be fair, put me on a different course and my results might be anything!

    Keep hitting them STRAIGHT and LONG

    Amos

Robert F:

   RIGHT ON!!  THAT was going to be my comment --- Glad to see DJ taking the risk and going for the win.

    Amos

Roy, I read your reply to Robert M below
Sounds like a nice putter - better than mine I think
I have an "Aut-O-Sight" face balanced side saddle that I trot out from time to time
I agree with all your stated advantages of "side saddling"
I putt fairly well with my conventional putter but I definitely "see" the putt better with the side saddle
Also side saddle removes problems with head movement effecting the putt as per Robert's post
Mine has a laser light that drops into it's head so you can check your aim (practicing)

The truth is I just like experimenting & side saddle makes a lot of sense
Jack

ok, I had a 95 today, well, for my 5th year and the surge, not bad, it was 95 out too....

Still working on the weight thing and my grip...

Thanks Surge,
m. wheat

Ed--since you seem to think it is the yips after my post about how neuroscientists describe the yips, I was wondering--does your use of the term "yips" run the gamut from simply changing a putting stroke due to the pressure of the situation to what neuroscientists describe as arather massive corruption of the signals that the brain sends to the muscles?

If your data are representative of DJ's tournaments in general and not just the Viking, I still wouldn't know if it is losing concentration, a reaction to pressure, or a case of fairly or massive disrupted signals from the brain to the muscles, or something else, so I wouldn't be able to agree with "yips."  The treatments are different for all three conditions.

On target as usual Surge. Cindy was coaching my swing the other day video rolling and of all things she said I was not pre loading heavy right effectively and I had a bit of a reverse pivot going on. Really? I was shocked. Of all thing that I don't consistently do right that was not on the list. That along with correcting my shoulder alignment which still tends to be open really made a big difference. Started hitting it much more solid. Having someone who understands what you're wanting to accomplish is really helpful.
That was last week. I'm into my second week of short game only practice and am happy with the progress so far. Wedges are coming along and putter is showing improvement.
Managed 1 hour of putting this morning before heading to work. Did something a tad different for variety. I played just one ball all the way around the 6 holes on the practice green. They are spaced so that each is a fairly long lag putt. The goal was to roll it in or no more than 18 inches by for an easy two putt at worst. Getting better.

Hey Don once again another great video, i have been playing for a few months now with your ppgs, and i must say i love it, i have even shared this little experience with my daughter and sadly i must say she already has a better swing than me and she's 7.

Steve, we have a sport over here called Lawn Bowls
Bowls greens are incredibly well manicured & true
They also have a chalk line at one end of the rink where the green is the truest
I've used these facilities for putting as per your description
Any deviation is player error, they are so true
If I ever got caught I'd have to adjust my keyboard to several octaves higher
If you ever get the chance - give it a go ( the bowling rink, not the octaves) 
Jack

I was confused a bit when Dave Seeman said that, but of course the question of who's right is pretty simply answered: Surge!

Could'nt quite keep his rythym of the firsy three days. However he really is playing well. Anytime you finish 9th in a PGA event you are doing a lot of things right. He is close to putting all 4 days together. To bad about 18, heck he eagled it two days and a third he birdied it. He is improving ecery week though. maybe next week is it.

R2,
Read your post below on how you use and love your long side saddle putter and method. When I was in San Fransisco last month getting fit the their was a young Nationwide player practicing on thier "aimpoint" practice green. He demoed the side saddle method for me and yes it looks very logical and comfortable. I am improving with a conventional putter as of late so I'll go with that for now. Good golfing to you pal and I always appreciate your constructive comments.

OH, that weight thing again, maybe I will learn some day!!!

Thanks again,
m wheat

Amen to that. Just knowing or reading the stats at face value, does not tell the complete story. We would all rather have a straight level 10' putt, than a downhill or side hill severe curling breaker putt. Many 5' or even 3' putts are much more difficult than an easy 10 or 15' putt. The stats as stated, are only a portion of the complete story.

We're you here on Friday?

After two years I am gradually getting the swing.  I just saw a video of Tom Watson that helped me, I hope.  He stated that the spine angle, tilted forward a little, stays the same throughout the swing.  That means if the head comes up too soon, the spine angle changes.  It helped me visualize more and hopefully correct my tendency to move my feet and fall backward a little at the finish.

Guys (and gals), one of the observations I made above that no one seemed to comment on is the adding too much importance and therefor tension to our putts. (if you re read my explaination above you may better catch it.) We often easily make the "after thought" putt because we are less uptight and it's not "Oh G.. I have to make this" I think that is both DJ's and the challenge for the "rest" of us mortal amatures.

I'm confused.  In a recent video Dave Seeman talked about "stacking right" in conjunction with proper ball position.  As he demonstrated this concept, he leaned right from his hips - keeping his hips centered.  Yet as Surge describes "heavy right", he keeps his upper body centered over his hips and simply shift his hips (and weight) to the right.  He specifically warns against leaning right because that can lead to hips (and weight) shifting to the left.  (For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction......)  So which is it?  Are we supposed to tilt our upper body to the right at address or remain upright and slide our hips to the right to create a "heavy right" effect?

One interesting observation on short putts both for pros and the rest of us is that we seem more likely to miss if it is given too much importance. How many times have we or a pro on tv carefully measure and prepare for that 3-5 footer when it's for birdy or to save par, a "MUST MAKE"?! Then a golfer will often take half the prep to walk up and easily make the 4 foot come back bogie. Why? We're less tight mentally and physically and more instinctive. We are adding less importance. Notice how many Important putts Phil M.pulls when it's a "critically important"? There has been much writen and said that we need to find a way to not put more or less importance on any putt, staying even keel. Observations?

Arggg. That's it - the bump.

I have been struggling as of late with finishing with my weight over the forward foot. It just has not been happening. As was mentioned in the video notebook, I would sometimes bottom out behind the ball, sometimes find myself falling backwards onto the back foot and other times kind of, sort of, finishing with the weight shifting onto the forward foot but not being happy with the resulting distance.

Thanks, Surge!

Thanks to Surge I'm playing golf again after a bad back operation.  I'm a high handicaper with "only" 10 yrs experience at 70 yrs old but have gone from a 35 to a 24 in the last 3 months!  Getting the weight shift is critical.  I've found that I used to keep my right arm (I'm right handed) stiff in the follow through when I tried rotation swings.  You can't swing up the tree that way!  Now I'm trying to let my right arm fold like Surge does.  It results in a whipping motion and lots more power.  Thanks Surge!

Steve, I like that putting at a dime routine and I'll have to add it to my practice. I also have one of those golf whole size flat rubber saucers that you can put anywhere on the practice green. It helps you putt to anywhere on the surface and you never have to wait for a hole to open up. I got it at a demo day free from the Callaway putter desk.

Thank you for the message on pre loading right.   I am sure this concept and its correct implementation will help enormously to improve our game.   Don, you are a natural teacher and just so generous in imparting your knowlege.    Keep well and keep happy.     Sandy