MYTH: TAKE A SHORT BACKSTROKE & THEN ACCELERATE May’s Tip of the Month

BY RYAN WILLIAMS PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL

Many of you have undoubtedly heard that advice applied to your putting or chipping motions. Overall, it makes sense; a shorter shot should be played with a smaller swing and the club should be speeding up when approaching the ball. That said, when pushing that concept to the extreme, your ability to control distance and repeat a consistent strike will be greatly compromised.

Almost every poor lag putter or chipper that has sought out my help has been trying, for years in some cases, to not “decel” or “flip their wrists.” The reality is that the pursuit of a short motion with loads of acceleration is the main source of these players’ struggles. For the next two months’ columns, I’d love to convince you that most great short game players in the game’s history have employed a motion with a longer backstroke than through throughstroke. Let’s start this month focusing on Putting!

Think of a pendulum swinging back and forth at a constant speed at a hypnotic rhythm. The pendulum accelerates at the rate of gravity as it reaches the bottom of the arc and then slows down at the rate of gravity as it reaches the top of its arc on either side. Although the rhythm is constant, the pendulum is speeding up until it reaches the bottom. Now, imagine that the pendulum collided with an object at the bottom. Obviously, the pendulum would go a shorter distance after that collision. The best putters of all time control the length of their stroke in a similar fashion. Take a look at maybe the best putter of his generation, Jordan Spieth (above).

Notice that his putter travels well past his right foot on the way back and stops even with his left foot. This is textbook and is one of many reasons why he’s holed long putts at a higher rate than almost anyone who has every played. So, how can you begin to learn to this rhythm great putters tend to share? Here are two drills sure to help:

One-Hand-Only Drill:

Simply roll putts of all distances using the hand of your choosing. The putter will naturally feel heavier and because you are only using one hand, you will not be able to control the putterhead as much as if you were using both hands. This is the drill’s purpose: to “give in” to the way the putterhead wants to change directions on its own. The more you manipulate your stroke away from that natural rhythm, the less consistent you will be and the more you will have to practice.

Start and Stop Drill:

Place a tee next to where the ball is resting on the ground. Then place a tee just beyond where your right foot is placed on the ground and one more even with your right foot. Then, hit putts taking the putter back and through to each tee. Essentially, you are copying the image above of Jordan Spieth using tees as your guide.

Those drills will get you started down a great path. Modern technology has confirmed this concept as being the most ideal. Club Measuring devices such as SAM Putt Lab or Blast Motion has shown us that the best putters employ a 2:1 tempo when comparing duration of backstroke to throughstroke. Even simply listening to the game’s greats gives further credence that there is an ideal rhythm or sequence! David Toms would simply whisper his name to himself when hitting putts. “David” (two syllables) on the way back, “Toms” (one syllable) on the way through: that simple thought produced one of the most beautiful putting strokes ever.

Struggling with your putting? In particular, distance control? Give these concepts a shot and don’t hesitate to reach out for a discussion on your game!