David Feldberg putting clinic

[emiller3]

I've never been able to download it, says I don't have permissions to view it. I saw it initially, so I didn't complain.

[what'shisname]

still works fine for me at this link:

http://www.svdgc.org/forums/index.php?s ... &#entry232

[emiller3]

And I'm still getting a big fat "This is a private video" message. Oh well.

[FierceTable]

And I'm still getting a big fat "This is a private video" message. Oh well.

I get that message when I try to view it on the Vimeo site, but when it's embeded in that post I have no problem viewing it. Wish I had a practical resolution for you.

[peppermack]

I have been practicing this technique now for a week or so, only about 3 solid practice sessions. It is really interesting the things that seem to make the most difference for me. One, the thumb pressure needs to be strong and the pinky grip too, nose up (I have to exaggerate it or I don't get enough when I release), and like Dave mentions a good fast hit. Man, when it comes out right it is pretty, laser beam into the basket. I can see why it is so much more consistent than spin putting.

[Monocacy]

I was having trouble getting enough juice on 30-35’ putts using the Feldberg method, so I made a few changes that worked well today:

- Opening the stance slightly allows me to swing the putting arm inside the right knee rather than in front of the knee. A longer swing gives the putt more power and reduces the number of high putts.
- Starting the putt with my arm veeeery slightly bent at the elbow, and then straightening the arm at the release adds a good bit of power without causing inconsistency (so far, anyway).
- Finishing the putt with my fingers pointing directly at the target. This helps avoid missing the release point and putting too high or too low.

I would characterize the end results as moderately magical. Keep in mind that for me, throwing consistent 30-35’ putts is akin to magic. I was able to putt consistently during practice, but need to work on having this consistency carry over during a round. I suspect this is where repetition, repetition, and more repetition pay off.

[emiller3]

Anybody had success working on push putting for the last month?

I briefly tried it, but gave up almost immediately. I went back to the short arm technique and shortened up my release. I've been accidentally long-arming my release for a couple months now without realizing it, and trying out push putting helped me realize it.

So now my short arm technique is better than ever. I've been hitting 90% or more from 22' and in during practice, and the basket looks huge. My 25' and in range is up over 50% now and feels like it's improving daily. It's a big step from where I was a couple months ago, and a year ago I was choking on 15 footers consistently . Many of you guys probably putt a lot better than that, but it's a lot better than I was a couple months ago and I've improved rapidly without much practice. I think I'll be sticking with the short arm technique.

[MotoDj]

i had no luck, but i'm not the greatest at putting anyways
i couldn't get nose up for nothin, it was hard to push straight and not lob it

i did have success throwing really high, nose down and diving it at the basket, but i dont think thats wise
for me i have the most consistant success just throwing it in, treating it like a ball
but i dont think anyone would benefit from my style

[EKG]

I briefly tried it, but gave up almost immediately.

I don’t understand why people think they’re going to pick this up right off the bat. Its going to completely fix their putting flaws with little effort, and hardly any practice. You have to put an hour or two per day into learning this or you’ll never get good at it. It's really not at all easy to learn this no matter how great the teacher. This stroke isn't something that just comes natural to people like throwing a ball. It’s an awkward motion and it takes a long time to build up enough strength in the wrist to execute this properly. Like everything else in this game, the muscle memory takes a while to develop.

Challenge yourself and learn to do it. Stick with it and you'll be glad you did.

I went back to the short arm technique and shortened up my release. I've been accidentally long-arming my release for a couple months now without realizing it, and trying out push putting helped me realize it.

The push putt and short arm technique are one in the same. But I do understand what you mean about correcting flaws by trying other techniques. I went through the same thing you’re going through. It’s a process that will ultimately lead you to wanting to learn the push putt.

The funny thing is, the first time I picked up a putter I immediately tried to make the shot by push putting. Granted, the shot had so much hyzer angle on it I wouldn’t have called it a push putt. I then learned to spin putt, and I was pretty good at that for a while but realized it had many flaws, specifically what Feldberg describes in this video (the crosshair thing). I’ve now made it all the way back to square one with a much better overall technique and a much better understanding of the technique.

I think this all boils down to how good you want to be. I’d say that probably 90% of the good to great putters I’ve seen use this technique. The other 10% (spin putters) have burned those muscle memories into their brains so much so that they can hit their crosshair with really good consistency. The problem with that stroke is you’re not directing the entire stroke towards your target. You’re using a hinge/rip point and hoping you’re timing the hinge properly which creates a very small window for error. The great thing about push putting is that throughout the entire stroke the disc does not deviate from the target line.

When a spin putter is having a bad day, they’re having a really bad day. Aiiiiir ballllll!!! When a pitch/short-arm/push putter is having a bad day they’re barely missing.

[emiller3]

If push putting and short arm are the same thing, then I must have misunderstood what Feldberg was teaching, and who knows what I was trying out. I'm a short arm putter, which according to you means I'm a push putter. I don't think we're disagreeing if that's the case.

I only got to watch the video once, unfortunately. I can't seem to view it anymore.

[EKG]

If push putting and short arm are the same thing, then I must have misunderstood what Feldberg was teaching, and who knows what I was trying out. I'm a short arm putter, which according to you means I'm a push putter. I don't think we're disagreeing if that's the case.

The easiest way to determine what style you're using is how the disc is being released. Does it come off of all your fingers simultaneously? Or is it hinging off of your index finger? That would answer your question.

Blake's article and Feldberg's examples do have some contradictions.

What Feldberg shows in his 10 to 15 ft example is a completely extended arm with just wrist movement. Blake would never teach that at any distance. What Feldberg doesn't get into in his example are 30 to 40 ft putts with this technique. A fully extended arm with just wrist movement at that distance would be disastrous. I'm assuming Feldberg did his example that way for players completely new to the game. Remember that this video was just part of it. Didn’t he say he had like 10 more principles or something?

Feldberg also puts a lot of emphasis on nose up trajectories which I happen to fully agree with. I know Blake realizes the benefit of all nose trajectories but teaches players to throw it completely flat.

If I'm wrong Blake feel free to correct me.

[emiller3]

I release the disc of all of my fingers simultaneously, with finger spring. No hinging on any fingers. And everything is moving in a line towards the basket, except the coiling/uncoiling of my wrist from neutral to closed to neutral, I'm not sure if that's considered linear or rotational.

The things I changed from the short arm technique to try what I thought was Dave's technique were:

+ Completely extended arm (I didn't realize he only advocated it for 15' putts, I thought I had heard him say he used that for anything inside the circle)

+ More palm push and less finger spring

+ Nose Up (I prefer throwing flat and arching the disc a little to throwing nose up stalls)

I didn't think any of those three things would fundamentally give me a leg up on the short arm technique described in Blake's article, so I gave up on them.

[EKG]

The things I changed from the short arm technique to try what I thought was Dave's technique were:

+ Completely extended arm (I didn't realize he only advocated it for 15' putts, I thought I had heard him say he used that for anything inside the circle)

+ More palm push and less finger spring

+ Nose Up (I prefer throwing flat and arching the disc a little to throwing nose up stalls)

I interpreted his extended arm thing as him saying he missed so many short make able putts to beat Climo until he learned to release the disc above the top lip of the cage (at that distance). Watch Feldberg on a 30 to 40 footer, his elbow definitely breaks.

He then goes into spin putting at further distances and briefly explains that he wants to extend the range of his push putt.

If your entire stroke is linear toward your target you’re essentially doing the palm push. The disc never touches my palm at all, but my palm or heel of my hand is pointing right at my target after I release. The palm push is a straight line guidance tool not a source of power like finger spring.

Nose up on putts does a couple things. 1. Less tendency to miss low. 2. Discs fly straight when they’re stalled, especially putters.

The only time I ever try to release the disc flat is when the wind kicks up to about 10+ mph.

[USAnarchy]

The Trick to learning anything from a pro is to do as they do, and not as they say.

People sometimes use a mnemonic phrase, word, or train of thought to produce a physical result.

While Feldberg talks about not breaking the elbow, you clearly see him do it.

This is why its crucial to listen to what a pro has to say to catch the emphasis of the point they are trying to get across, and then build upon that with what they actually physically do.

Most the time, by simply cutting off the audio and then watching, re-watching, re-winding, pausing, or using slow-motion play back, you can decipher what they truly mean as the perform the action.


Its a great example of do as I do, and not as i say.

[USAnarchy]

How to Download Feldberg Putting Clinic
==============================

1) Go into your favorite internet browser and change the size of your browser cache. I would recommend 500MB or so.

2) Let the video load in your browser window. Just click play and let it play until the whole video is cached on your system. in this case, you will see the progress bar that shows how far into the video you are turn from a bar with slashes [/////////] slowly start to turn to a full gray bar. Once the bar is fully gray from start to finish you can now stop the video. (the video will load fully before it is done playing)

3) Go to the location of your cached files for your browser. Each browser is different, but your good friend Google can help you turn up a result or two on where in your system files the cache folder is located.

4) Open the folder. Sort by file size. You should see a really huge file (around 250MB or so, or that would roughly be 260,000,000 bytes) with the extension of mp4. It will have some funky random characters as a name. Example: E9aser78g09asdh34erk.mp4

5) Copy file to a new location. After it gets done transferring to this new location, you can rename it. Make sure to keep the MP4 extension.

6) Enjoy your own personal copy of the putting clinic! If you need to convert the file to a different format, i would suggest an open source converter such as Handbrake. Then you can create an AVI file, or what not, and then rip to DVD.

Hope this helps, and remember, Google is always your friend.