Rory's Putting Routine at The Open

WacoKid

For me if I know the pace I don't practice swing as doing so gives you the opportunity to talk yourself out of it! For long putts (> 25ft) i practice swing to get a feel the distance.

You could say that any regulatr golf should know the pace from inside 20ft, unless its a sidewinder, and thus practice swings are questionable if they offer anything.

As for 6 ft and in its just put the club behind the ball and pul the trigger on that line. No time to talk yourself into missing.

Johnny_Fontane

so going out saturday morning just walking up to putts and pouring them in without a practice swing.

have been putting well recently too, what could go wrong :P

Whyner

GreeBo wrote: »

How are you measuring the effectiveness of the practice routine for those players?
If every great putter also scratched their left ear before taking a putt, would you think its a vital piece of good putting?

Do too big a stroke = the ball will go by the hole
Too short a stroke = ball will come up short
Feel for something in between

I don't do a practice stroke either but discrediting it is hilarious. Just agree it doesn't work for you

TheDoc

GreeBo wrote: »

How are you measuring the effectiveness of the practice routine for those players?
If every great putter also scratched their left ear before taking a putt, would you think its a vital piece of good putting?

Well, actually, a lot of great players in sport, including golf, do whats called muscle memory.

If they hit a good shot, they will make a unique body gesture, to trigger a response in their brain that registers "This is a good shot". The idea behind it is making your brain remember the pattern by which you performed the action, to repeat it again in the future.

Tiger was infamous for after a good shot, double tapping his right toe in the finish posture. Plenty of other players have other little things. And it happens across a number of sports.

It;s where the pre-shot routine came out off. Getting into a pattern that promotes muscle memory, for your brain to recall what needs to happen.

So there is just as good an argument for having a pre-shot routine, and arugeably a stronger one, then not having one. Personally I'm moving away from it on my chipping and putting as a confidence thing. I'm seeing a bad stroke and it shoots my confidence.

But if I was in good form, I don't honestly think I can say I wouldn't deploy a pre-shot routine.

GreeBo

NFH wrote: »

I'll take that as you admitting your point was baloney so.

Whyner wrote: »

Do too big a stroke = the ball will go by the hole
Too short a stroke = ball will come up short
Feel for something in between

I don't do a practice stroke either but discrediting it is hilarious. Just agree it doesn't work for you

But without hitting a ball and seeing the results you cant say where the ball will go.
You can take a huge stroke but decelerate or a short one an accelerate and get totally different results.
If arguably the best putting instructor in the game discredits it its good enough for me.

TheDoc wrote: »

Well, actually, a lot of great players in sport, including golf, do whats called muscle memory.

If they hit a good shot, they will make a unique body gesture, to trigger a response in their brain that registers "This is a good shot". The idea behind it is making your brain remember the pattern by which you performed the action, to repeat it again in the future.

Tiger was infamous for after a good shot, double tapping his right toe in the finish posture. Plenty of other players have other little things. And it happens across a number of sports.

It;s where the pre-shot routine came out off. Getting into a pattern that promotes muscle memory, for your brain to recall what needs to happen.

So there is just as good an argument for having a pre-shot routine, and arugeably a stronger one, then not having one. Personally I'm moving away from it on my chipping and putting as a confidence thing. I'm seeing a bad stroke and it shoots my confidence.

But if I was in good form, I don't honestly think I can say I wouldn't deploy a pre-shot routine.

The big point your argument misses/avoids is that a practice swing does nothing for muscle memory. There is no result to good shot that you want to remember or reinforce. Taking thousands of practice putts will promote motor learning, swinging a putter at thin air will make you an excellent air putter.

TheDoc

GreeBo wrote: »

The big point your argument misses/avoids is that a practice swing does nothing for muscle memory. There is no result to good shot that you want to remember or reinforce. Taking thousands of practice putts will promote motor learning, swinging a putter at thin air will make you an excellent air putter.

Yes I take your point about the actual swing during a pre-shot routine. I don't think I've ever really done a practice swing, as in trying to copy an actual swing. I just make little swings to keep loose, and around approach shots just get a feel for the distance I want to swing the club back to. But it never "looks" like a real shot if you know what I mean.

PARlance

alxmorgan wrote: »

Why don't we ask Parlance about putting pre-shot routines ?

Oh Camillio how I miss you.
I was showing someone his routine lately and I had to look around to make sure no one else was looking. The mortification. Ah that young lad was doing it (18*3putts) 54 times a round.

I've changed my own routine myself of late, anything within 4 feet is just walk up and sink it before I can even begin to think. Working well and not missing half as much short ones.

For anything outside of that it's 50/50 weather I "loosen" up before a putt.
I wouldn't call them practice swings as such. I may just get a feel for how much I'm going to bring the club back as I'm looking at the line... I've never practiced a putting stroke right beside the ball.

PARlance

TheDoc wrote: »

Yes I take your point about the actual swing during a pre-shot routine. I don't think I've ever really done a practice swing, as in trying to copy an actual swing. I just make little swings to keep loose, and around approach shots just get a feel for the distance I want to swing the club back to. But it never "looks" like a real shot if you know what I mean.

I do anyway, that's exactly what I do some of the time... No rhyme or reason to it other than on some longer putts I may feel the need to loosen up, it prob gives me a little bit extra confidence.
The putter head could be a foot off the ground, I'm just trying to get a feel for how far I'll be taking it back.