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Is your golf ball skipping off the putter face? Here’s how to fix it

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By now everyone has heard the benefits of getting your putter — and really, all of your clubs — custom fitted to your stroke/swing. However, many people over look loft when it comes to the putter. In fact, the putter’s loft at impact is one of the major factors involved in how the ball launches, and ultimately rolls on the surface.

But let’s stop for a second and understand that there are actually TWO different lofts within your putter; first, you have your static loft, which is the loft of the blade designed into the putter from the factory (most of today’s putters are set between 3 to 4 degrees). Second is the loft you deliver at impact that is controlled mostly by your hand action at the ball. You can either add or subtract loft; this is called your dynamic loft.

The SAM Puttlab and Quintic Ball Roll both measure this fundamental.

PutterLaunchandSpin

Here you can see that the static loft of the putter was 3 degrees, but when the player hit this particular putt, the shaft was leaning forward 2.3 degrees giving us a dynamic loft of 0.7 degrees at impact. That’s a far cry from the starting amount of 3 degrees at address. Therefore, this player’s dynamics (hand action) during his stroke caused the putter to become de-lofted more than necessary. In fact, in a perfect world, we want the loft to be delivered at a constant value that matches your stroke to make your putts more consistent.

The best way to understand dynamic loft changes is to show you a few photos with me testing this principal on a 25-foot putt.

PutterDrill

When you hit the ball with the correct amount of dynamic loft the ball will skid very little and begin to roll quickly, as pictured above. But when you hit the ball with too much added loft, you will see the ball jump up into the air, as pictured below.

PutterBallSkip

So how do you determine if your putter has the right amount of static and dynamic loft? Try these 4 steps.

  1. Take a golf ball as I have done above and color half of it black
  2. Hit a few putts on video* as I have done above (your iPhone works just fine)
  3. See if your ball is skidding, rolling, or jumping up
  4. If so, you have excessive hand action during impact, and/or too much static loft on your putter… any repair shop can take a degree or so of loft off of your putter

*If you don’t have a camera then you can do the same drill on a dew filled green early in the morning; the quicker the ball rolls on the ground the better you will be. If you have a hard time keeping the ball “down,” then you most likely have excessive hand action and too much dynamic loft.

Try your best to keep your putter’s shaft and your impact alignments solid like the photo below.

RoryPuttingStroke

Here you can see that the putter shaft did not pass the hands during impact. Remember, keep your hands working toward the target and you will be more successful on the greens!

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Tom F. Stickney II, is a specialist in Biomechanics for Golf, Physiology, and 3d Motion Analysis. He has a degree in Exercise and Fitness and has been a Director of Instruction for almost 30 years at resorts and clubs such as- The Four Seasons Punta Mita, BIGHORN Golf Club, The Club at Cordillera, The Promontory Club, and the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. His past and present instructional awards include the following: Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher, Golf Digest Top 50 International Instructor, Golf Tips Top 25 Instructor, Best in State (Florida, Colorado, and California,) Top 20 Teachers Under 40, Best Young Teachers and many more. Tom is a Trackman University Master/Partner, a distinction held by less than 25 people in the world. Tom is TPI Certified- Level 1, Golf Level 2, Level 2- Power, and Level 2- Fitness and believes that you cannot reach your maximum potential as a player with out some focus on your physiology. You can reach him at [email protected] and he welcomes any questions you may have.

20 Comments

20 Comments

  1. emerson boozer

    Aug 29, 2016 at 11:01 pm

    Everyone i know thinks they are a good putter because there are no penalties and they randomly make some. As long as they don’t miss a bunch of 5 footers they’re ‘good’ and go back to smashing drivers on the range.

    I can tell you if you have 3 or 4 degrees loft, if you ‘hold off’ the stroke, if your not arc’ing on a square stance then you are not a good putter. You’re a good compensator.

    And, you’ll read this comment and say ‘i’m a feel putter, rubbish’.

    you can be better but you don’t take the time to understand it

  2. KK

    Aug 27, 2016 at 2:49 am

    Rory’s the wrong guy to set as the standard. His putting blows. Where is the shaft for Jordan, Jason Day or Phil?

  3. Steve Wozeniak

    Aug 26, 2016 at 12:32 pm

    Hello……..ball position,

    ALL great putters have it back, middle, or forward………watch out, it’s a tough one!!!!

    And it has EVERYTHING to do with the correct loft off the face………

    • S

      Aug 30, 2016 at 8:17 am

      Wrong…Good putters can control their dynamic loft regardless of ball position.

  4. Double Mocha Man

    Aug 26, 2016 at 12:20 pm

    Tom… for the test on the dew covered morning green are you looking at a 30 foot putt? 20, 10, 3 foot? Not that I ever play that early.

  5. pepperwhiteknight

    Aug 25, 2016 at 10:27 pm

    That looks like Rory putting in the picture. I always thought of him as a terrible putter with his 4 putts.

  6. Josh

    Aug 25, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    dude u suck shut it

  7. Arnold

    Aug 25, 2016 at 11:17 am

    I got the opportunity to go to San Diego and work put my putting stroke under the scope in the Scotty Cameron Studio… it turns out the reason why the ball jumps is because the putter is coming at a descending angle and actually strikes the ball at a negative amount of loft. This causes the ball to press ever so slightly into the ground and the result is the ball jumping up and down before it actually starts to roll. The loft of the putter is obviously meant to help the ball ~ 2 degrees into the air so that if you were to look at the ball with a high speed camera the first foot and a half or so, the ball would actually skid evenly on top of the surface with no roll, and then once it gets enough traction the ball will roll line over line.

    • Arnold

      Aug 25, 2016 at 11:18 am

      meant end over end… couple of typos here and there.

    • tom stickney

      Aug 25, 2016 at 4:47 pm

      Yes, that is one of the two ways to make the ball jump up…

  8. JP

    Aug 25, 2016 at 11:03 am

    What isn’t explained here, is what the ideal launch should be. You explain how to check what you’re doing, but have no explanation on what the end goal is. Should it be a launch angle of 1*, 2*, should it match the attack angle if coming up at the ball slightly?

    • JP

      Aug 25, 2016 at 11:43 am

      Maybe another article about the relationship of attack angle, effective loft and their impacts on the launch angle and spin loft numbers would be appropriate?

      Google search what ideal conditions are and you won’t find anything of substance for the actual player. It would be great if one of our expert instructors could break new ground for the WRX community.

      • Patricknorm

        Aug 25, 2016 at 4:30 pm

        Well I play a lot of tournaments and God help me if I really care about what the perfect roll is. What I’m always concentrating is a repeatable confidant stroke. Plus every green is slightly different and every round I feel different, as is the weather. It’s always about perfect distance and if I get the right read, it’s a bonus.
        The best way to improve your putting is practice. Preferably from 5-7 feet.

        • tom stickney

          Aug 25, 2016 at 4:46 pm

          Wouldn’t a consistent stroke include the proper impact dynamics/launch so the ball comes off the blade in a more predictable manner?

          • Patricknorm

            Aug 26, 2016 at 11:59 am

            You’re right Tom. My number one swing thought when putting is making sure the line I put on my ball lines up with the centre of my putter club face. I agree with your message but, under pressure I’m always worried about speed and hitting the ball in the middle of the club face, gives me that comfort of a repeatable stroke.

      • Felix

        Aug 26, 2016 at 11:34 pm

        It varies from player to player based on how they release the putter and the green speeds they play.

  9. FP

    Aug 25, 2016 at 10:51 am

    It helps to get yourself a putter with 2 degrees of loft rather than 3 or 4 degrees, if you struggle to forward press so much

    • KJ

      Aug 25, 2016 at 12:58 pm

      Effective loft 1.5 to 3 degrees
      Rise angle 2-3.5 degrees
      Launch 1.25 – 2 degrees

      Rise angle greater than effective loft will result in forward roll, less loft for faster greens.

      • FP

        Aug 25, 2016 at 4:59 pm

        Depends on the skill of the player, apparently

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Instruction

Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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