Putting 4

The path to a better putting game

The internet has seen an explosion of putting advice. Anyone with an internet connection and a mobile phone can offer their advice.

YouTube
Instagram
Facebook
Have you seen Tiktok?

A plethora of information but is any of this really helping?

My contention that the information explosion is making something that should be quite simple – rolling the ball along the grass – into a minefield of frustration, confusion and mental agony.

The reason a lot of the quick tip stuff is so popular is because it’s offers the miracle cure.

It hits our greed gland. Hard.

All we have to do is (buy new putter or try new grip or practice new tip) and we’ll putt like a demon.

They are every golfer’s dream.

But the irony is the very thing that we think can help us is the thing that’s actually destroying our game.

The bottom line is that the traditional way of learning golf should be replaced. Most don’t learn that way.

And if I can be so bold: the traditional teaching system is a brilliant business model. The golfer is fed a whole pile of junk (despite the teacher’s best intentions) that is unlikely to work. And when the golfer fails (and she will) the golfer is made to feel stupid and hopeless.

And then it gets better.

Because once you’re on the merry-go-round and your putting game suffers, you are forced to keep coming back for more information. You almost become a golf junkie addicted to the latest theory or gimmick.

Like I said, great biz model but it probably isn’t helping you.

And ultimately, this way of playing is completely unsatisfying. There’s no real enjoyment and any success can be short-lived. There’s almost zero trust in ourselves and we feel the need for someone else to tell us how to play.

Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention, it’s really hard work. It can be exhausting to putt this way.

Even some of the best players in the world can’t go anywhere without a guru or two telling him how to stand/swing/putt/chip/think/play

It’s quite funny (but sad) when you think about it because we can do so many things really well, but we lack belief in ourselves to roll a little ball along nice green grass.

“Quick tips, swing theories and miracle cures for your golf game, while tempting, are actually the reason you find the game so hard and dissatisfying.”

But here’s the good news:

You have full control on how you want to play. You don’t need to putt with the latest theory or high end putter. You can do it HOW you want.

Think about that for a second?

The technical path isn’t the only path to true success. And it never was.

You can unlock you best putting game, confidence, consistency, and skill level by ignoring a system that has failed you.

Here’s the key shift:

Instead if thinking that technique is the only way forward. You are going to replace the technique with a learning methodology

Instead of asking, “what’s wrong with my putting?” you start with a better question(s)…

“How do I really want to putt? What’s the best version of my putting game I’d like to bring to the golf course?”

Then things become infinitely easier. The entire putting process becomes simpler.

Bring a natural and instinctive putting stroke to the surface (if you’ve been playing golf for more than a year you’ll already have this)
Build your putting game around awareness, focus, learning and enjoyment
Develop a system that allows you to repeat this process over and over again (this is how you can putt your best under pressure. Even those really nasty pressure putts!)

The above three points are essentially what I taught Aaron Baddeley back in the day.

And it’s what I recommitted to once my putting game hit the skids.

Not only did this all “feel” better, it was way easier to do (compared to the traditional technique method)

“Hi Cameron,
I’m not normally one to write emails but just wanted to let you know I tried your putting technique for the first time today in a round and had 27 putts. 27 putts is fantastic for me and although having a little trouble on really long putts my short putting was unbelievable. Just wanted to say thank you, it certainly made putting enjoyable for me today. I’ve never trusted my stroke so much as what I did today. Keep up the good work and thanks again.”

Matt

And you can’t lose

You’re working optimally so your learning system responds. You start getting better results almost* immediately

* I say almost because I’m not going to bullshit you. There is a learning phase and depending on how far you’ve gone down the technical rabbit hole will determine how quickly you’ll get results. The fact is, so many crazy golfers have completely abused their learning system, there’s going to be a settling in period where it might take a few rounds to feel comfortable. There’s no getting away from this.

When you start working with your learning system, instead of against, your putting game gets an unfair advantage.

Your stroke mechanics get better naturally. Because your system is working optimally, there’s less clutter, confusion and fear. You will simply putt better.
You get a mental advantage. Again, this is because you’re working optimally and things just feel easier. It’s like having the weight of the world lifted from your shoulders.

I’m sure this is what Aaron Baddeley felt when he won the Aussie Open as an amateur. It’s definitely what I started to feel when I overcame a terrible dose of the putting yips.

And it’s what clients are telling me every single day about their own game.

“I’ve seen a real improvement in putting overall particularly in getting long putts close enough to expect the next one to drop.”

– Chris Martin

And here’s something interesting. Your putting and overall score performances will improve naturally.

And you won’t need to be worry about this and keep stats and be concerned about HOW you’re actually putting.

All you need to do is put some trust in your learning system that it’s capable of putting that ball (because it is). The results will take care of themselves.

And with trust comes discipline and resilience. The discipline to keep doing what’s working over and over and over. And the resilience to understand the difference between the odd missed putt or when something is truly wrong.

Note: Almost all of the time, when you follow a learning approach, there’s no such thing as technically wrong. Sure, you can have a bad day and miss a few putts, but it’s not because your stroke is wonky. The putts missed because this happens sometimes. This is reality of peak performance and the art of putting (some days the ball just won’t go in but this is not a reason to throw away a perfectly good learning model).

If you’re going to go off the deep-end when you miss the occasional 4 footer, then you’ll always be disappointed. The counter-intuitive thing here is when you accept that misses are normal and there’s no such things as a “perfect putting stroke” you’ll miss far less of the time.

Go figure.

A different approach.

Most golfers are obsessed with their technique or their equipment. As we’ve discussed, this is pretty much the attitude of the entire golf industry. It works for some but not everyone.

98% of golfers are praying that their game turns around. They are hoping that the moons align and they start sinking putts at will. They are constantly searching, tweaking and trying new stuff.

Their effort is admirable but misguided. Most of these type of golfers never play/putt in a way that’s remarkable.

They are constantly disappointed and spend too much time wondering what’s going wrong.

If you take anything away from today, please take this…

“Putting well is no harder than rolling a ball along the grass. If you can learn to keep out of your own way for long enough, you can become very good on the greens.”

And the best way to keep out of your own way is to adopt a learning methodology over the traditional technical one.

When you get it right, everything falls into place.

Your stroke gets better

You putt/play better under pressure

You continue to get better and better

And golf becomes way more enjoyable

Let me be honest with you.

Playing golf the “old” way can work, but it’s ultimately tiring. It’s non stop stress and worry and any success is usually sort lived.

Case in point: Jordan Speith. He holed everything for a year or two and was the best golfer on the planet. Then he missed some putts (which was always going to happen). Then came the changes.

Then a loss of confidence. Then more changes. Then loses plot.

And yes! He’s still a very good golfer but he’s not playing as well as he should. I hope he can turn things around but he could spend the next 5 years chasing his tail TRYING too hard to figure things out.

At the end of the day, there was nothing wrong with his putting game. He missed some putts when he wanted to make them. He was so far in front he should have laughed the misses off and kept on trucking. There was no need for him to start making crazy changes. He needed to remain patient and trust in his talent.

Instead, he has potentially ruined his golf game.

If one of the best players in the world can’t make the technical/traditional way work for him, what chances have you got?

If you’ve come this far I’m hoping you can see that there’s a better way. I’m not offering some airy fairy approach that calls for you to become a meditation guru (or any type of guru).

Nope. I want you to play/putt like you do most other things. Throwing a ball, riding a bike or driving a car.

This is how you’re meant to putt. And if nothing else, it’s way easier than what you’ve been doing all this time.

If you haven’t believed in yourself in the past, I hope you can see it now.

Start trusting yourself to perform one of the simplest and easiest motions in sport

Trust yourself that you can roll that ball along the grass

Stop doubting yourself and changing your technique or equipment all the time

Stop panicking and getting anxious each time you pull the putter from your bag

You can do it

There’s no rocket science involved. Just proper learning science. And many other sports are years ahead of the curve. Golf, being all traditional and all (and very conservative), is a bit behind the times.

The learning model is actually an ancient learning model that has been around for centuries. Automatic Learning in this instance, is a modern take on a fairly new skill (putting). If you can throw a ball or ride a bike then you should be putting optimally. There’s really no excuse.

On the next page I’m going to share another story about a high profile golfer who has approached his putting game a little differently – and this has certainly worked very well for him.

I’m also going to highlight two golfers who are the epitome of the easy and hard way…