Continue reading »]]> Phil Mickelson and Target Putting

Over the years I have seen Phil Mickelson miss more short putts than almost any other great player since Tom Watson when he got the yips .  Now, it seems that Mickelson has made a claim that he misses those putts because he just can’t get excited about such simple shots.

Even with the help of Dave Stockton, who is close to being right about shorter putting but still wrong, has not been able to help in any meaningful way.  If you want to see someone miss a short putt, all you have to do is watch Phil on Sunday afternoon when he is close to the lead.

Regardless of what excuse Phil comes up with to ease his mind, the cause of his problems on short putts is not a result of lack of attention to the putt.  It is a lack of attention to the line of putt while he is hitting it.

In many regards, Phil is no different than the average golfer who shoots 90 on Sunday.  His attention is misplaced when he needs to make a putt, and because of that he misses the putt.

I can fix Phil Mickelson’s short putting problem in five minutes.  Same for Sergio, and any other touring professional who has trouble on the shorter ones.  In fact, I have tried to contact several tour players to help them do just that, and have never received a response from any one of them.  When I see Phil and the others I have tried to contact miss a short putt, I laugh at them and their egos.

The solution to Phil Mickelsons short putting problems is so simple to understand and implement that it would amaze him if his ego could stand far enough out of the way to allow his ears and eyes to see and hear the solution.  As long as he thinks making 100 in a row on the practice green is more important than making one in a tournament when it counts, he will continue to miss those that matter.

All Phil needs is Target Putting.  He needs to take 15 minutes out of his busy schedule to read and understand it.  A few minutes of practice to implement it into his game and he would be the same putting machine on the back nine Sunday that he is on the practice green.

Phil, all you have to do is ask and I will give you the answer to your problems. Go to the Target Putting website and send me an email.  You can even have an assistant do it for you.

On the other hand, if ego is more important to you than making those crucial putts, I wish you luck as you complete your Hall of Fame career and wonder why you didn’t do twice as well with the talent you possess.

Continue reading »]]> In golf, there are two kinds of putting. Longer putts of 15 feet and longer that you want to leave a tap in second putt with, and shorter putts inside of 15 feet that you can make.

Most golfers have little strategy when they get on the greens. The think they are supposed to make every putt, when even the best can only make about 10% of their putts outside of 15 feet. That 10% is more luck than skill and you will make that many just by lagging for tap ins.

It is when you get inside of 15 feet that you can really make putts, or expect to make them.

Knowing when to go for it and when to lag will make a big difference in your putting and scores. Knowing how to adapt your putting to make more from close range will make it easier to make them. That is what Target Putting is and does.

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Continue reading »]]> The average golf score is the same today as it was 50 years ago or more.  That sad fact confirms that all of the advances in technology have done nothing to help the average golfer score better.

There are large Titanium drivers that look like the Fisher Price clubs in comparison to the old wooden models.  The balls of today go the distance of the original two piece rocks, but with the soft playability of the old would balls.  The grass, especially on the greens, has improved by leaps and bounds making the ball roll smoother and truer than ever before.

Yet, the average golfer has not benefited from these remarkable improvements.  At least on the score card.  They may drive the ball a little farther, and possibly a little straighter.  The putts are rolling truer, but not dropping any more than when they were bumpy sand surfaces.

The fact is, nothing science has to offer is going to help the average player score better.  That’s because science can not improve a golfers ability to make short putts.

The pros have enough time to perfect robotic strokes that repeat over and over again.  The average guy can’t do that, but still tries to putt as if they have that stroke.

Putting is a target game.  Apply the fundamentals of all other target games to putting and you will improve.  It’s that simple, and that is what Target Putting does.

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Continue reading »]]> With Rory lapping the field at the US Open, there are many saying the stage is his as Tiger fades away.

Tiger Woods dominated like nobody ever had for twelve years.  He had World Ranking scores above 19 when nobody else had above 9.  Since his fall from the top, several players have been in the position of #1.  But none of them has had more than 9 points at any one time.

The sad fact is that there is no Number 1 player in the world right now.  Nor is there a dominant player by any stretch of the imagination.

When someone exceeds 10 points in the World Ranking and nobody else has 9 or more, then you will have a number one.  Until that happens, the void left by Tiger remains.

Congratulations Rory.  You won the US Open.  I am happy for you, and happy about your win.  Keep it up and maybe you will get to be a true number 1, as opposed to precession of wannabe’s that followed in the wake of Tigers demise.

Continue reading »]]> Better Putting The Easy Way

Target Putting

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Continue reading »]]> Putting Yips. The very thought of them brings fear to average golfer and professional alike. Maybe its because the experts can not even agree as to what they are, much less what causes them.

The effects also vary from player to player. Some will feel a jerkiness in their stroke, others will peek at the hole. Still others will do both, either together or on consecutive strokes. So the putting yips are manifested in many ways, and those ways are often considered the cause.

Some will argue the yips are a physical thing resulting from some fictitious nervous condition the player has. If there was some nervous system problem with the golfer, it would most certainly show itself in some other life activity. Golfers who believe this line of thought will try new grips and putters, and God knows what else. And they will keep on yipping.

There are also those who say it is entirely a mental thing. Fear from lack of confidence, or some such nonsense. Those who believe in this theory will have all kinds of remedies from putting practice drills to listening to music while you practice. And they will keep on yipping.

And there are those who will say the putting yips are a combination of the mental lack of confidence and physical nerves. I guess they don’t know which wrong conclusion to go with so they go with both of them. You will see these players practicing with a two thumb grip, with the right hand in a claw grip. They will be easy to spot, just look for the guy yipping on the green wearing headphones.

I have traced a lot of links to see what help there was available for the yippers out there. All I found was that nobody who claimed to be able to help had any idea of what causes the yips in the first place. At best, there was well meaning ways to waste your time on the practice green.

I guess I am amazed at the lack of thought and reason that is evident when it comes to addressing the putting yips phenomenon. In the end, common sense rules out all but one possibility. But I think I am the only one who sees it.

Lets look at the facts. First of all, there is universal agreement that the yips are involuntary. Ask any golfer afflicted and they will certainly agree there is nothing voluntary about it.

Secondly, since the yips are never diagnosed as a part of an actual neurological disorder that is affecting the golfer in doing anything else, there is obviously nothing wrong with the physical condition of the golfer.

Third, is it fear or lack of confidence? What came first, the lack of confidence or the fear? The chicken or the egg. That argument does not even have a foundation to be based on and can be summarily dismissed as nonsense.

So all we are left with for fact is that the yips are an involuntary action not caused by any nervous system disorders. Knowing that, where does the search for the cause begin? What is it when your body does things on its own, involuntarily? It’s called a reflex.

So putting yips are caused by a reflex. But a reflex to what? What are you doing with a putter that invokes this reflex?

There is only one reflex that could be involved in the yips. The human eye has a natural aversion to watching impacting objects. Often times, the reflex is just to look away at the instant of the impact between the objects. Other times you will reflexively blink your eyes at the exact instant of impact. I have coined this the “impact reflex”.

So there can be only one cause for the yips. The yips are caused by a natural reflex concerning how your eyes deal with impacting objects. The Impact Reflex. In the case of putting, the putter head hitting the ball. That reflex is the beginning of the yips.

I will concede at this point that the putting yips do lead to a lack of confidence, and even fear over time. But those are results, not the cause. They compound an already bad situation, but are not the reason you started yipping to begin with.

It is interesting to note that putting is the only shot in any target sport that requires you to be looking at the impact between the implement and the projectile. Probably that is because putting is played like golf.

In every other target game, that obstacle is dealt with through the fundamental approach to the game that the player employs. Fortunately, the fundamentals of other target games can be applied to putting to eliminate the cause of the yips.

You can never cure any disease by working on the symptoms. The putting yips are no different. Target Putting addresses the true cause of the yips and practically forces you to putt better by turning to your advantage the instincts you have been fighting all this time.

Continue reading »]]> Sometimes during a round of golf, a player will make a terrible putting stroke and miss an easy putt.  It may happen many times in a round, and if left untreated could turn into a full blown case of the yips.

To prevent that you must first understand that even the best putters have bad days where nothing seems to go in.  In the grand scheme of things, a bad putting day is no big deal.  But in the confidence department, it can be devastating if you dwell on it.

If you have had a bad day on the greens and feel the yips may be trying to get you, go back to the basics.  Most bad putting days by those who do not have the yips are because of poor alignment.  The yippy feeling strokes are because your body is trying to adjust through reflex for the bad alignment.

If you are having a bad day and making some bad strokes, take a little extra time to line up your ball.  Make sure it is correct.  It may even help to stand over the ball, back away and recheck, the get back to the ball and pull the trigger like Jim Furyk does sometimes.

Bad alignment can cause all kinds of problems, and even lead to the yips if you don’t do something about it early on.  When you make a bad stroke, your body is actually trying to help you overcome the bad alignment you have given it to work with.  Help your body help you make more putts by setting it up properly to start with.

For the best solution to ANY putting problem, Target Putting is the way to go.  It has helped many people overcome even the worst putting golf has to offer and it will do the same for you.

Continue reading »]]> Every golf score shot this weekend will be the result of one thing.  How well the golfer putts.

Here is a putting tip to think about on the greens this weekend.

Any time you are outside of ten feet from the hole, lag the putt.

It’s that simple folks.  Too many golfers waste too many stoke three putting.  And the three putt too much because they are trying to make very low percentage putts instead of happily taking two putts with a tap in second.

Think about this when you are looking at that hard breaking 15 footer.  You will leave more tap ins, and play a more enjoyable and stress free round of golf.

Not to mention shooting a better score.

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