Comments on: Keep It Loose

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:19:58 +0000

Hi Stan,
Please tell me how to stop missing putts left. After 40 yeras playing it still remaims my problem despite trying left hand low , shoulder only, no wrists, Broom , handle and belly putters

By: Sam Weston

Sam Weston — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:33:04 +0000

There are so many things to think about when taking a shot that you natural tense up and trying to consciously ‘relax’ and also concentrate of getting everything ‘technically correct’ is not easy. Of course relaxation comes with experience and so I think that this is to a certain extent simply a matter of practice and time.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:14:03 +0000

Hi stan, I am 100% agree with this “important point I like to make is that a golf ball with a “hook” spin rolls better than a ball struck with a slicing motion.” And according to my personal experience a golf ball with a hook spin rolls is better as compared to a ball struck with a slicing motion.

By: Valerie

Valerie — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 16:35:38 +0000

It seems that no matter how relaxed I am, I can’t putt for the life of me. I always tend to miss that easy shot, or mess up really bad.

I know the basics of golf, but the simplest shot is where I really mess up, which is quite weird, no?

Valerie

By: Chris Murray

Chris Murray — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:13:25 +0000

Hi Stan, I have been using the putting method you teach for a couple of years now, but there are a couple of recurring issues that continue to come up and I would like to be a little more consistent with my setup. I am 5′11, putter is 35in /5* loft. You said in your book and video that the eyes should be inside the ball at address approximately 1 inch right and 1 inch inside the ball. When I drop a ball from my left eye it usually strikes the ball on the ground at the 4 o’clock position, is this too close? I feel a little more bent over from the hips. If I stand up more and then try dropping the ball it lands 1-2in. inside and doesn’t strike the ball (putter seems to arc more). However I don’t roll the “line” on the ball as pure or as often. The second question is how much forward press is to much? What do you see at address? Can you see any of the putter cavity? When I forward press my left hand covers my left knee (I’m right handed) and my right hand appears to be a little more on the side of the grip in my life line. Thanks for your time and hopefully you can clear up some of these issues for me so I won’t be switching back and forth based on how I roll the ball that day.

Best wishes,
Chris

By: Scott Chaffin

Scott Chaffin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:33:11 +0000

Hi Stan,
It appears that I am hitting up on the ball at impact more than I would prefer. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to level out the putter at impact. Are there any drills that can be done to level out the putter at impact and allow me to hit more solid putts.
Thanks

By: Stan Utley

Stan Utley — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:20:25 +0000

Jack,

I am always trying out new approaches, comparing them to old “feels”, to achieve the fundamentals of the stroke I am looking for.
Once you or anyone I teach really understands good fundamentals, I would never argue over a particular feel that is working for you.
Stay focused on your right hand if that is working, but keep an open mind to other feels that may also put a nice roll on the ball.

All the best,

Stan

By: jack harris

jack harris — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:28:56 +0000

While practicing using your approach I noticed that my attention migrated to my right hand: I felt like I was rolling the ball towards the hole with my right hand. This gave better results than thinking about wrists, elbows, shoulders, or worrying about what the putter was doing (as long as the putter was swinging).

I have tried to work this feeling into my routine: look at the aim spot and mime a toss as if the hand were holding the ball between the index finger and thumb where the putter grip will eventually go. Then repeat with the putter held only in the right hand. Then add the left, align, and roll the ball.

My question is this: is it undesirable to focus on one part of the body rather than the feeling of a whole swing?

By: Stan Utley

Stan Utley — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:26:00 +0000

Bob,

Wow! You seem to have understood my main points. I also have used a three or four iron on the green to find my stroke before simply making a mini chipping action. Here are a couple thoughts , but I don’t want you to over cook any of them:

1. I do like the thought of hitting down very slightly at impact, but that thought is most useful for a player who has always stroked “up” at impact. My putter head actually travels pretty level at impact and I see other good putters even 1 degree up at impact. The downward sensation come for the shaft being vertical or maybe one degree forward at impact (what I call a “hands forward” position…others call it the “forward press”).

2. My other thought is that although I do not want the left wrist breaking down at impact it may break slightly after the strike of the ball.

Remember there are really no absolutes. So, find YOUR stoke and know YOUR feels to cause a solid roll on the ball.

Stan

By: Stan Utley

Stan Utley — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:45:48 +0000

Hi Jeff,

Believe it or not, a golf ball sits down in the turf on the green, not on top of it. Not by a lot, but just enough that some putter loft is necessary to help lift the ball at impact. Ideally, 3 degrees of loft are necessary to get the ball rolling on top of the grass. If you strike the putt with a descending blow and your hands ahead, you de-loft the putter just enough that you might need 4 degrees of putter loft…one degree more than many off-the-shelf putters. I am probably extreme in that regard, and my putter has 5 degrees. Guys like Phil Mickelson who forward press a great deal might need more, others might need less. Hope this helps.

Stan