GOLF TIP
by Chuck Cox"Is Poor Putting Due to Deceleration?"
There have been many
claims that the game of golf is really made up of two separate games. One being the full
swing in which a player gets the ball airborne and sends it traveling towards the target,
and the other is rolling the ball with a short pendulum type stroke when you are in close
proximity of the hole, also know as putting.
There are many factors attributed to poor putting including poor grip and grip pressure, bad alignment, incorrect hand and ball position, swing path problems and deceleration. If all your fundamentals are sound and deceleration occurs, poor distance and wrong direction can be the result.
What is deceleration? Deceleration occurs when the putter is moving through the impact area at a rate of speed that is decreasing. The foremost cause of deceleration is taking the putter back too far in the backswing. Many players take the putter back so far, even on short putts, that the compensation move is to slow down the putter as it moves through the impact area so as not to hit the ball too hard or far. If the player were using a true pendulum stroke, he/she would stroke the ball way past the hole.
To avoid this problem, practice taking the putter back only as far as you need to and then accelerate through the ball. How far is far enough you might ask? This is where practice comes in, and here is a drill to help you accomplish your goal.
Find a flat area on the putting green. Place seven tees five inches apart from each other in a straight line. You will be using these tees as a gauge. Now place the ball next to the middle tee. Stroke a few putts taking the putter back only to the first tee behind the ball then accelerate through to at least the first tee in front of the ball. Mark where the balls end up. Next do the same thing gradually going all the way back to the last tee while all the time marking where the putts end up. You will soon gain a sense of how to accelerate through impact as well as working on your distance control.
Here are some other tips to help you with deceleration;
Hold your finish. Instead of stroking the putt and standing up to see if it went in or not, keep the putter head in its finish position until the ball reaches the target.
Keep your eyes focused on the front of the ball, instead of focusing on the back or the top portion of the ball. Train yourself to look at the front of the ball and accelerate the putter through that particular point.
Make the putter feel light. Before making a practice stroke, place the putter against the inside of your left foot. Using your normal grip, press forward applying light pressure against your foot for about five seconds. Now take a practice stroke. The putter will seem lighter and therefore easier to accelerate through impact.