The biggest difference between the full swing and putting is that good players often have a fairly good idea of what went wrong when they hit a bad shot with a 5 iron or driver but very little clue of what went wrong with the putter. Was it the speed, the stroke, the read of the green, was it the player’s fault or an inconsistency in the playing surface? To putt well, a player needs to understand what caused the outcome of each missed putt. In order to do this it becomes important to be able to consistently hit a straight putt into the hole. This is why you often see tour players practicing with chalk lines and string suspended over their target line. They are grooving their strokes for a straight putt. Once a player can do that they will be able to feel the difference between that stroke and one that misses the target when they are out on the golf course. Let me assure you, holing 100 consecutive 5 foot putts is not beyond the average golfer. If you can identify what caused the miss, you can use that knowledge to hole the next one.

Tags: putting,

Today I am pleased to announce that Richie3Jack has added me to his list of Certified D-Plane instructors. Richie is one of the most respected bloggers in the worldwide golf community. In his own words he is looking for instructors who “understand D-Plane and the geometry of the circle and use it in their teaching”. I know many people wonder why I almost always take a hula hoop with me to lessons, suffice to say this has a lot to do with it! Simply put, the D-Plane tells us why the ball flies the way it does. The clubface is predominantly responsible for the starting direction of the golf ball and it then curves away from the path. Furthermore, the more down you hit on the ball the more your path shifts to the right and as you hit up on the ball your path moves increasingly leftward. This effect becomes increasingly significant as we move from a vertical plane angle towards a more horizontal plane. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more.

Tags: d-plane,

Every day you play golf, consciously or unconsciously, you are learning something new. The more you play the more adept you become at recognising certain feelings. You may be out playing one day and you'll come across something helpful and you start hitting every shot pure. The chances are the next time you play, this magical feel will have vanished. Nonetheless, you will have learned something. In order to properly monitor progress and improvement, I strongly recommend that every golfer carries a notebook with them at all times. I would even say that it is essential if you want to constantly improve and not find yourself stuck on a plateau. Write down all the different mechanics you worked on, what went well and what didn't go quite so well during your round. What can you do differently next time? Also write down the key points you have worked on following a lesson. If you have regular lessons with me no doubt you will already have a swing folder containing the matters we have worked on. As time goes by you can refer to this book and you will start to see patterns emerging. You will see which changes brought genuine progress and why others should be abandoned. Keep a record of all your scores; track the drills you have worked on and what your personal bests are for each of these. You want to learn and progress, not forget and regress.