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 March 2008 Back to Table of Contents Back to Archives Main Page Section: Life & Leisure For Those About to Putt By Anthony Chabala
Putting is undoubtedly the one thing everyone can strive to be better at, and it’s the one thing that will shave strokes off your score every time. Plus, hitting balls off of a mat and into a wall does little when it comes time to performing on the golf course. It may not be the most glamorous facet of the game, but putting is what matters most. After all, putting is the great equalizer. It’s perhaps the only thing in popular sports that a 75-year-old with arthritis and a pacemaker can be better than a professional at. The athleticism involved is minimal, but the dedication and technique needed to be at the top of the putting echelon is often overwhelming. Here is a shocking statistic: PGA tour players make 60 percent of their putts from around six feet. That is a tour statistic, so they are putting on the fastest, hardest greens on earth. If they are attempting a six-foot putt on a pool table, they are successful around 90 percent of the time. Two kinds of strokes work best: the stroke that goes straight back and through (the Dave Pelz philosophy) and the kind that rotates around the body in a half-moon shape (the Stan Utley philosophy). Both work well and have earned millions of dollars on tour, but before you decide which stroke is best for you, you first have to know if your equipment will fit that stroke. A face balanced putter, such as the popular Odyssey 2-ball, allows you to go straight back and through, like Dave Pelz would insist, without the putter-face rotating. The Stan Utley stroke (used by Tiger Woods, Brad Faxon, and Ben Crenshaw) requires a toe-heavy model such as the classic Ping Anser, so the putter can swing on an arc. Balance it on your finger. If the head falls towards the ground, you have a toe-heavy putter; if the head stays level, you have a face-balanced putter. Once you know what you’re working with, you can determine how to perfect your stroke. Any local PGA professional can make sure your putter fits you properly for length and lie, which are both essential for putting success. Both Pelz’s and Utley’s philosophies involve having the clubface square to the target at all times.The putter-head should never open or close, otherwise it is near impossible to return to square in time to hit the ball. Videotape your stroke from above and from the front; make certain the face never opens or closes. Be sure your backswing and follow through are roughly equidistant, and most importantly, be sure your eyes are either directly over the ball or just inside to the right. To check your eye position, set up to the ball, hold another ball right between your eyes, and drop it. It should either hit the ball on the floor or end up an inch back and to the right. We are lucky to live in an age where we can buy a putter that is custom fit. Odyssey putters are by far the best in the industry, and are quite inexpensive compared to most. Local Callaway/Odyssey rep Lee Clapp says, “Odyssey designers focus on creating the greatest looking and performing putters possible with a high moment of inertia. Insert technology is our heritage. We work endlessly to stay up with golf ball trends so that we know what sort of feel golfers are going to demand when dialing in their distances.” These putters are the best in the industry, and I personally guarantee there is one to improve your game. They are the most technologically advanced, the best feeling, and priced right. Get the right, proper fitting putter, get a putting lesson from a PGA professional, build your stroke around what works best for you, practice six-foot putts as if you are being paid by the putt, and one day you’ll be known as “the boss of the moss” in your group. Good luck, and good putting. Anthony Chabala is a teaching professional at Tan Tara Golf Club in North Tonawanda. He is a PGA Apprentice and instructs multiple local club champions and top ranked amateurs. To ask a question or book a lesson, contact him at anthonychabala@yahoo.com. back to top back to table of contents Current Issue | About Forever Young | Where to Find | Advertise | Our Advertisers | Community Calendar | Contest | Clubs | Contact Us | Archives | Home |
