Help with putting

[CincyKeith]

Hello Blake,

After practicing my putting last night, I realized that it was about time to ask for some help. I know that practicing bad form when it comes to putting can actually be more detrimental to your game than not practicing at all.

I find that after changing multiple forms that I have adopted a straddle putt for which I have the most success with, however I hate changing to a regular stance for anything further out than 35'. Overall, I would be much more satisfied with a regular stance if I could become consistant with it.

Of course I have read your articles for putting many many times. One thing that I have noticed about watching many of the pros putting videos is that on their release, their putter seems to flutter. I can see that this could drastically reduce cut throughs (which seems to be a big problem of mine). I have been using a birdie grip for a long time now, and would hate to give that up, as it is most comfortable for me. However, my release seems very smooth and I never have any flutter whatsoever, even if I try.....

My accuracy is so terrible that I have gotten quite frustrated with it. Some days I can't even hit 15 footers. I would say that my putt most resembles a push putt, as I try to keep it in line with the basket, from my chest out to my release. I also use an anhyzer putt, but I believe I can switch to a hyzer putt if I truely needed to. (keeping it flat just doesn't seem to go well for me)

I have switched putters many times and have tried everything out there. I believe I have the most success with my old school classic aviars, big bead (I've had two of them since I was about 10 years old, about 13 years old). I'm not sure if the type of putter I use is relevant, but I thought I would mention it anyways.

I was wondering if you could give me any pointers. I know this may be difficult to identify what is wrong with my putt without seeing video of it, but I would appreciate any help/advice that I could get. Thanks again.

[Blake_T]

Keith,

from the sound of it, you likely have a putt similar to nate doss. or if you look at justin jernigan's putt on my throw analysis section, he putts like what you described but with nose up.

a few things... you can usually force flutter by cocking your wrist more... but this also increases the chance of yanking the putt. generally, a clean release is good since flutter tends to take spin/speed off the disc and cause it to fade earlier and reduce its straight line carry. another means to putt with greater flutter is to use a control grip (could just modify your birdie grip to have the index finger outside the disc). this grip tweak eliminates the hinge of the disc off the index finger and makes it more succeptible to sliding/catching on the knuckles of the middle and ring fingers. taking all the fingers off the rim and putting the index finger outside the disc will also do this. i do not endorse flutter, but that is a couple of ways to force it.

as for outside 35', you could always switch to a jump straddle at that point. i have stuck with staggered for most putts as i have found similar range issues. your problems with putting flat are likely range oriented. putts carry farther on hyzer/anhyzer line since there is more air under them to make them work.

as for 15 footers, it sounds a lot like choke factor. your putt probably requires a certain amount of power/speed to get your mechanics working correctly and slowing it down will likely cause that to malfunction.

the old dx aviar driver was my favorite putter of all time, but alas, it was retooled and then discontinued.

my major advice is to adjust to a stronger style. i always endorse an underhand pitch over anything involving more of a throwing motion since that has non-linear extension (e.g. even with the disc moving on a straight line the vector veers off to the right). basically, i like putts where my only aim is height, and that is how my style has developed.

[CincyKeith]

You are right when you compare my putt to Justin's. I would like to eventually get my putt to look more like Kevin Mccoy's. Avery's putt is nice, but he seems to have a few incidental movements, that don't seem to compliment the putt itself (such as his bowed knee at the point where the disc is down between his legs). Is there someone else I'm missing that has a strong style that I might want to mimic?

I've re-read your short arm putting article and I believe I might have to completely revamp my putt altogether. There's a lot of muscle memory I'm going to have to forget/change. Another thing I'm going to have to do is "Minimize error-causing variables".

I think you're completely correct when you said my 15' putts were because of the requirement of specific power/speed that I change because of the distance from the basket. I have a hard time learning that distance shouldn't change speed/power. A lot of my success with my putts came with a spring in my wrist that I didn't continue to use as my distance varied.

How much wrist movement is required for an underhand pitch?

Thanks again for the quick response Blake!!!

[Blake_T]

i have a lot of clips of players using the short arm.
avery jenkins, dave feldberg, kevin mccoy, brian schweberger, dario re, to name a few.

all of them differ slightly...
as for wrist movement, you can use anywhere from a lot to none. the less wrist you use the more dependent you will be on a perfectly timed finger spring.

most of the players i listed do not have many error variables. the only real things i do (especially when teaching others) are:
1) i do not condone starting with the disc up, then pulling it back, only to pull it up again. i start with the disc at the farthest back point and just start from there. if you putt with wrist movement, starting up, pulling back, and going forward again can throw off the timing of the wrist movement and affect accuracy.

2) i do not putt with a follow through. this will force you to move quickly and finish stronger than you started with an abrupt stop that will help you time the finger spring. you can add a follow through after you have the timing, but learning with a follow through can give you lazy release and skew your putts.

as for revamping putting, you CAN become a very good putter with any style... but the style i use is very easy to get good at and requires very little practice to maintain. it's also fairly wind neutral and nearly every putter will fly the same (as long as there is no wind) up to about 25'.

[Solty]

2) i do not putt with a follow through. this will force you to move quickly and finish stronger than you started with an abrupt stop that will help you time the finger spring. you can add a follow through after you have the timing, but learning with a follow through can give you lazy release and skew your putts.

i cannot agree with you more. i learned putting by by uncle...who uses a lazy release. finger spring is crucial in good putting, least what i've found. it took a few months but i'm been able to maintain consistency with 20' and less puts with great success.

-Mike

[Blake_T]

i tend to putt with a follow through when i get inside 15', although it feels like i'm dropping the disc into the basket at that range. i was getting a TON of spits/cut throughs if i ran my normal putt in the 8-12' range and since then i have taken some off.

[Solty]

i agree on the kickouts under 15'...that is why i'm partial to my 86 softie from that range...only time i don't is in the wind. On a side note, i picked up a couple new super puppies. They are real chain grabbers as well.

mike

[TexasOutlaw]

I spent most of the summer learning Blake's style of putting, and it was worth it. I don't miss left or right any more. On misses, it's because I hit the top of the basket or the basket itself (high or low).

Before, I would on occasions nick the chains and miss directionally. Changing to an overstable putter helped me too.