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Putting Myths Debunked Five common tips you should never use again by preston combs
hether you’re on the practice green or on the course, there's a good chance someone has given you putting advice that might sound useful but is actually rooted in myth and will do more harm than good. Alarm bells should go off in your head any time you get a
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putting tip that disregards the three priorities: read, speed and direction. Here are five examples of things you often hear that aren’t helpful. Ignore them going forward and go with what I'm showing you here (yes, I’m a lefty), and you’ll start rolling it better than ever. — with gabrielle herzig
myth #1
“Swing a triangle” ▶ It’s likely that you’ve been told to create a triangular shape with your shoulders and arms when you hold a putter, and rock that shape back and through as one unit when you make your stroke. This well-intended advice, often given to improve consistency by making the stroke more repeatable, can feel unnatural and thus hinder speed control. It's also misleading, because the forearm and upper arm are two segments, not one. Along with the shoulder girdle, these five body parts should create more of a pentagon look instead of a triangle. A way to remember this is to visualise the look of baseball's home plate between your shoulders and arms when you address and stroke a putt (left). This is a more structurally sound setup that allows the arms to move more naturally. You'll be able to manage speed much better.
26 golfdigestme.com | august 2021
